Occult Chat

[DrZachofGBCD]

Hello there folks, Dr. La Voy, occult specialist at your service.

Advice about amulets ? Get it here.

Wonderings of Windigos? Ask here.

Concerns about crystals? Get answers here

I'm an open book for all of your supernatural queries.

[Travis, GBDH]

gotta ask all the arcane gbs......
Is you the devil boy!?!

[DrKyleStevens]

Here's some information on the Wendigo....
While this creature is considered by many to be the creation of horror writer Algernon Blackwood in his classic terror tale, "The Wendigo", this woods spirit was, and is, very real to many in the northern woods and prairies of the state. Many legends and stories have circulated over the years about a mysterious creature who was encountered by hunters and campers in the shadowy forests of the upper regions of Minnesota. In one variation of the story, the creature could only be seen if it faced the witness head-on, because it was so thin that it could not be seen from the side. The spirit was said to have a voracious appetite for human flesh and the many forest dwellers who disappeared over the years were said to be victims of the monster.

The American Indians had their own tales of the Wendigo, dating back so many years that most who were interviewed could not remember when the story had not been told. The Inuit Indians of the region called the creature by various names, including Wendigo, Witigo, Witiko and Wee-Tee-Go but each of them was roughly translated to mean "the evil spirit that devours mankind". Around 1860, a German explorer translated Wendigo to mean "cannibal" among the tribes along the Great Lakes.

Native American versions of the creature spoke of a gigantic spirit, over fifteen feet tall, that had once been human but had been transformed into a creature by the use of magic. Though all of the descriptions of the creature vary slightly, the Wendigo is generally said to have glowing eyes, long yellowed fangs and overly long tongues. Most have a sallow, yellowish skin but others are said to be matted with hair. They are tall and lanky and are driven by a horrible hunger. But how would a person grow to become one of this strange creatures?

According to the lore, the Wendigo is created whenever a human resorts to cannibalism to survive. In years past, such a practice was possible, although still rare, as many of the tribes and settlers in the region were cut off by the bitter snows and ice of the north woods. Unfortunately, eating another person to survive was sometimes resorted to and thus, the legend of the Wendigo was created.

But how real were (or are) these creatures? Could the legend of the Wendigo have been created merely as a "warning" against cannibalism? Or could sightings of Bigfoot-type creatures have created the stories. While this is unknown, it is believed that white settlers to the region took the stories seriously. At times, they even took the sightings and reports quite seriously and made it enough of the local culture that stories like those of Algernon Blackwood were penned. Real-life stories were told as well and according to the settlers' version of the legend, the Wendigo would often be seen (banshee-like) to signal a death in the community. A Wendigo allegedly made a number of appearances near a town called Rosesu in Northern Minnesota from the late 1800's through the 1920's. Each time that it was reported, an unexpected death followed and finally, it was seen no more.

Even into the last century, Native Americans actively believed in, and searched for, the Wendigo. One of the most famous Wendigo hunters was a Cree Indian named Jack Fiddler. He claimed to kill at least 14 of the creatures in his lifetime, although the last murder resulted in his imprisonment at the age of 87. In October 1907, Fiddler and his son, Joseph, were tried for the murder of a Cree Indian woman. They both pleaded guilty to the crime but defended themselves by stating that the woman had been possessed by the spirit of a Wendigo and was on the verge of transforming into one entirely. According to their defense, she had to be killed before she murdered other members of the tribe.

There are still many stories told of Wendigo's that have been seen in northern Ontario, near the Cave of the Wendigo, and around the town of Kenora, where a creature has been spotted by traders, trackers and trappers for decades. There are many who still believe that the Wendigo roams the woods and the prairies of northern Minnesota and Canada. Whether it seeks human flesh, or acts as a portent of coming doom, is anyone's guess but before you start to doubt that it exists - remember that the stories and legends of this fearsome creature have been around since before the white man walked on these shores. The legends had to have gotten started somehow, didn't they?

[DrZachofGBCD]

Well, Dr. Stevens certainly doesn't have any wonderings of the creature known as Wendigo.



As for your query Travis, no I am not the devil. At least, not that I know of.

[Ripclaw]

Do you have any info on an entity called the mothman? Has GBI ever captured one?

[Dr. William Ketchum]

Mothman is an entity that some belive is a harbinger.
In the 60's it was belived that a bridge in Point Pleasant, West Virgina colapsed and in the weeks leading up to the events a creature described as moth like with red eyes appeared to a few members of the town. There have been other mothman sightings over the years. Some belive that it is an alien others think its a harbinger that atempts to warn people of empending danger.
There are tons of imformation on the internet about the mothman..For more info there is the movie and the book The Mothman Prophicies (sp)..sorry to jump in on your topic Zach..but mothmans kinda a hobby of mine...

[DrZachofGBCD]

It's ok Dr. Ketchum, I appriciate your information on the matter.It seems that my books don't have any refrence to the Mothman.

But to be fair, most of these books are centuries old

[Ripclaw]

Thanks guys. I have another question, this one's about gargoyles. I'm curious how would Ghostbusters be able to bust them. I know that gargoyles for the most part when they're not in their stone forms can be zapped and trapped, but what are some other procedures for taking them down?

[TheRazorsEdge]

Solid creatures, because they cannot normally be trapped, are better off being plain old destroyed. I imagine if you tossed a stone gargoyle off his perch to the street below, he wouldn't be a problem anymore.

And for the record, I just love how everybody but me is getting to answer questions about the occult these days...

[Guest]

Excuse me Jeff, but that's only partially true. There are some species of gargoyles that have an ectoplasmic essence within them. Thus, making the traps and throwers effective on them. From what I've heard their bodies are more similar to a hobgoblin's body.

[woodsricardo]

Damn, the J-man got schooled in his main area. Well, thanks for clearing all that up, but I've got another question: Is there any real connection between lycanthropy and vampirism? I ask because I've heard that in some legends when a person that was a werewolf in life dies, he/she is damned to return to the mortal realm as a vampire.

[TheRazorsEdge]

Many different entities fit the bill of "demonic looking and turn to stone in sunlight". True gargoyles are creatures of flesh and bone.

It's similar to the legend of the golem. Anything robot-like created through magic fits the name "golem"(i.e. Frankenstein's monster), but only the ones made of clay or stone are "true" golems.

Either way, I still say they should be destroyed rather than captured.

[woodsricardo]

All right dude, if you say so, but after seeing some previous GBI case files, I'm still gonna hafta agree with the guest. Anyway, what about my last question, about the supposed link between lycanthropy and vampirism?

[TheRazorsEdge]

It's really so hard to believe there could be more than one type of gargoyle?

[woodsricardo]

No it's not, and that's what's being said. There are infact certain sub-species of gargoyle that are ecto-ethereal like many other demon-like entites.

Well, now that that's settled, back to that last question about the supposed connection between vampirism and lycanthropy? Please?