Skinwalkers
Magic of some form was
practised in almost every ancient culture. And said practitioners were not
outsiders, but part of established society. They were doctors, councillors,
strategists, etc. Smart people who used
their talents to benefit people … most of the time. Such practitioners of said magic are in the
mercy of it, depending on their character. If they were a good person their
magic healed and benefited people. Bad people would use it to do harm and, in
extreme cases, become monsters. Practitioners have to balance their good and
bad nature not to become a tragic folk tale. Its best described as yin and
yang. One of these folk tales is the Native American Skinwalker. A being so
scary Native Americans rarely venture out alone because of them.
What is a Skinwalker?
A Skinwalker is a witch
with the ability to transform into any animal they choose, depending on the
animal’s abilities. But most choose to do coyotes, wolves, foxes, eagles, owls
or crows. They can also “steal” faces and appear as someone you know – or even
you. Although they can take on many forms many people who see them in their
non-transformed state these days describe them as “hollowed out” dog-like
animals. Skinwalkers are no stranger to necrophilia with female corpses, cannibalism,
incest, and grave robbery.
Spotting Skinwalkers
Most descriptions of
skinwalkers are as follows - a fast-moving, four-legged deformed animal body
that’s disturbingly human-like, with a marred face and orange-red glowing eyes
that makes hellish noise. Although some have described their transformation
abilities as perfect, it is commonly believed that when they transform into an
animal that animal is white. I imagine that this belief has caused trouble for
innocent albino animals. When transformed back into human form a Skinwalker
sustains any injuries gained when in animal form. If you see an animal moving
rigidly, unnaturally, or acting strangely it could be a Skinwalker. But one
possible giveaway is their eyes. In animal form they look human. In human form
they look more animal-like. They also glow red, like an animal’s. Sometimes
more so in human form.
The Skinwalker Attire
Skinwalkers are usually
very hairy in human form and often wear animal pelts. They
are usually naked, but some have been reported to wear tattered shirts or
jeans. Legends say that to be able to
transform, the skinwalker wears a pelt of the animal they want to transform to,
hence their name. It’s the only garment worn in the initiation ritual, but they
sometimes wear the animal’s skull or antlers on their head. Because of this the
Navajo consider the wearing of pelt of predatory animals a taboo. Sheepskin,
buckskin and leather are acceptable. Modern skinwalkers tend not to wear pelts
anymore, as it is big giveaway that they are a skinwalker.
Who can be a
Skinwalker?
Anyone can be a
skinwalker, but most skinwalkers are male. They are female skinwalkers, but
they are small in number. It is generally thought that only childless women can
become witches. But not every witch is a skinwalker, but every skinwalker is a
witch. Many began life as respected healers or spiritual guides, before turning
evil. They are good shapeshifting witches that are so in tune with the flow of
nature that they would often take the form of a scared “totem animal,” kind
gentle creatures that have grown on humans so much to acquire sacredness in
their culture. They should not be confused with skinwalkers.
Puppet Masters
Some
say Skinwalkers can read minds and control their thoughts. Some say when you
look at a skinwalker in their eyes they can absorb themselves into you and make
you their puppet. Some say doing so will make your body freeze with fear, and
the skinwalker uses that fear to gain power. Some say they are able to control
creatures of the night, such as wolves and owls, to do their bidding. Some are
able to call up the sprits of the dead and reanimate their corpse.
It is said that Skinwalkers have great
agility. They are able to jump high cliffs and run for 200 miles in one evening.
Skinwalkers are able to leave tracks
that are larger than those of any animal, making tracking skinwalkers
difficult.
Becoming a Skinwalker
Some traditions say
that Skinwalkers start out as medicine men to decide to abuse their indigenous
magic for evil. Other traditions say that one can become one by just committing
any kind of deep-seated taboo. Especially if they want to be the highest
ranking of skinwalker (a clizyati, meaning “pure evil”). How Skinwalkers
are recruited is disputed. But some say that there is an official ceremony and
that Skinwalkers only take their form with a gathering of people and specific
chants. One has to be initiated into the group by
performing the biggest taboo – the killing of someone close to them, most often
a sibling. After doing the deed (and possibility eating them) they acquire
their powers. When doing so they lose their humanity. It is irreversible.
Skinwalker Gatherings
Skinwalkers
form secret groups that gather in secluded places for several reasons – to
initiate new members, plan their schemes, harm victims from a distance, and
perform dark ceremonial rites. These ceremonies are corrupted forms of rituals
normally performed by the tribe, such as dances, feats and sand-painting.
During such gatherings they transform into their animal forms or do their stuff
naked, except for beaded jewellery and ceremonial paint. The leader is usually
an old man, who is a very powerful and long-lived skinwalker.
Corpse Dust
One of
the skinwalker’s tools of the trade is corpse dust (also known as corpse
poison, corpse powder and án't'i). It is made of grounded infant bones, often
that of twins. Specifically the bones from the finger tips and the back of the
skull. They blow it into the faces of their victims, or down their home’s chimney.
Soon after this dust is breathed in, the victim’s tongue starts to swell and
blacken. Convulsions follow leading to death soon afterward. Because this powder
is made from dead bodies, this is why Skinwalkers can be observed in
graveyards. They are fast diggers, making the acquirement of “ingredients” (and
some buried valuables) very stealthy.
Rattlesnakes are known to be used as charms by
skinwalkers
.
A skin-walker can use anything that belongs to the victim in ceremonial
rituals against the person they are doing evil against. They have been known to find traces of
victim’s hair, wrap it around a pot shard, and place it in a tarantula hole.
Why they kill?
They
can be multiple motives for a Skinwalker to kill their victim. Anger, greed,
envy, the usual motives for murder. But their main reason is to stay alive.
Skinwalkers live on the unexpired lives of their victims. They have to
continuously kill, otherwise they die.
How
to defeat a Skinwalker
Killing a Skinwalker is notoriously near-impossible, and unsuccessful attempts can lead to them plotting revenge. You can kill a Skinwalker by simply calling them by their true pre-Skinwalker name. Also, you could use a bullet or knife dipped in white ash. But you have to aim for the head or neck for that to work. But if you have issues finding these items, the next best thing to do is to go into a place they are not invited to. Like vampires, Skinwalkers can’t enter someone’s home, until they are invited in. But be warned. Skinwalkers are great mimickers. Not just animal noises, but other people’s voices. Even a crying baby. It’s to lure you out or make you “invite” them in, so be cautious. The best advice is to employ the services of a powerful shaman who knows spells and rituals that could turn a skinwalker’s evil against them.
The Navajo
Association
The Skinwalker is
legend that takes various forms across the tribes of Native America. The
Pueblo, Apache and Hopi have their own legends regarding the Skinwalker. But
the Skinwalker is mostly associated with the Navajo tribe because their version
of it is the most documented and most interesting to researchers. Their term
for “Skinwalker” is Yee Naldlooshii (“he who walks on all fours.”) And the yee naaldlooshii are merely one of many
varieties of ‘ánti’jhnii (magic practitioners who have gained supernatural
powers by breaking a cultural taboo). The Navajo believe that they
are places where the powers of good and evil are present and such power can be
harnessed for either. Medicine men use this power to heal and aid the
community. But those who practise Navajo witchcraft seek to direct this force
to cause harm. This Navajo witchcraft is known as the “Witchery Way,” and uses
human remains as tools and ingredients for potions to cause harm.
The
Navajo Witch Purge
Witches
are subject to persecution when bad fortune happens to a community, due to
desperate people turning to such things during said crisis. Like the people of
Salem, Native American witches were also at the mercy of angry mobs. In 1864,
the US government forced the Navajo off their land to Bosque Redondo, New
Mexico. During the Long Walk of the Navajo they were plagued with bad water,
failed crops, illness; you name it, resulting in many deaths. Four years later
the government admitted their “mistake” and allowed them back on their own
lands. During that time many tribe members turned to shapeshifting to escape
their situation, while the rest thought their gods had deserted them. When
things settled down after 1868, accusations began. When someone found a
collection of witch artefacts wrapped in a copy of the Treaty of 1868, hell
broke loose. 40 suspected witches were killed during the Navajo Witch Purge of
1878.
Can’t talk about Skinwalkers
There is a superstition
that just mentioning a Skinwalker may cause one to hunt the sayer. Because of
this, many Native Americans are not willing to talk about the subject to
anyone, even among themselves. This problem has gotten worse for them as the
Skinwalker has entered modern culture. It’s hard to protest something when you
can’t say what the thing you’re protesting is.
“What happens when
Rowling pulls this in, is we as Native people are now opened up to a barrage of
questions about these beliefs and traditions (take a look at my twitter
mentions if you don’t believe me)–but these are not things that need or should
be discussed by outsiders. At all. I’m sorry if that seems “unfair,” but that’s
how our cultures survive.” - Adrienne
Keene, on JK Rowling mentioning Skinwalkers in Magic in North America
(2016)
The Modern Skinwalker
Most
encounters with skinwalkers in recent times have less been about death and
injury, but more about been “trickster-like.” Some say they have seen them
running through the night, sometimes turning into a fiery ball, leaving streaks
of colour behind them. Some have seen them as angry-looking figures looking
down on them from cliffs or mountains. They have been observed making sounds
around homes, knocking on windows, banging wall, and scraping the roof. On
occasion they have been caught peeping through windows. They have appeared in
front of vehicles possibly to cause accidents.
They are many stories
online about encounters with Skinwalkers. They occur on Native American
reservations and are allegedly only prevented by the blessings of medicine men.
Descriptions are almost always the same: a four-legged beast with a
disturbingly human, albeit marred face, and orange-red glowing eyes. They also
say that they were fast and made hellish noise.
Numerous
sightings describe a swift animal running alongside a vehicle, matching their
speed, and then running off into the wilderness after a while. During so they
sometimes transform into a human, and sometimes bang on the vehicle.
One notable event took
place in the 1980s. A family was driving through the Navajo Reservation. As
they slowed down to make a sharp turn, something jumped out of a ditch – a
black, hairy being that wore a shirt and pants. A few days later, the family
were in their home in Flagstaff, Arizona. They were awakened by sounds of loud
drumming and chanting. Outside their home were three dark forms of “men”
outside their fence. But these beings seemed unable to climb over their fence
and soon left.
There is a similar creepypasta called The Rake. It is found in the northeast United States.
Skinwalker Ranch
By Gordon Wallace
One location that seems to be a magnet for skinwalkers is a ranch located in the Uintah Basin in northeast Utah. It borders the Ute Indian reservation.
The Ute believe that skinwalkers don’t live on the ranch, but hide in a place nearby called Dark Canyon. Its far north off this map.
Natives have said that the bordering ranch is “on
the path of the skinwalker.” They think it is because of a curse the
Navajo put on them because of previous events between them. The Ute and Navajo
were once warlike people who once teamed up against common enemies. Then the
Spanish gave the Ute horses and the Ute used them to abduct Navajos to sell
them in the New Mexico slave market. Then some Utes joined with Kit Carson of
the Union Army in a campaign against the Navajo during the Civil War, which
ended with the Long Walk of the Navajo.
The ranch was first homesteaded by the Myers family
in 1905,
who remained there until 1987. They never reported anything, but neighbours
did.
Then, in 1994, Terry and Gwen Sherman bought the
ranch. They were surprised to find the previous owners installed deadbolt
locks on every door and window, including ones inside. Some had deadbolts on
both sides of them. Both ends of the house had iron stakes with heavy chains
installed, suggesting that the previous owners had large guard dogs. Did
something actually happen while the Myers lived there?
On the day the Shermans took procession of the ranch the family
spotted a large coyote or wolf in one of their pastures. It grabbed a calf by
the nose and tried to drag it away through a fence. Terry and his dad began to
beat the animal to make it release the calf. When that didn’t work, they shot
it, with a .357 magnum, at point-blank range, but it still held. They shot again
and it let go and just stood there calmly looking at them. After a few more
shots it ran away. The animal had no sign on injury. They followed its tracks
for a mile before they came to a sudden end, like it just vanished. This was the beginning of 18 months of weird
unexplained events that took place in that ranch.
A few weeks
later, Gwen was in her car when she saw a large wolf, whose back was parallel
with the top of her window. It was accompanied with a dog-like animal she
couldn’t identify. The Shermans and neighbours reported other strange animal
sightings, including exotic multi-coloured birds not native to the area and
tall dark beasts that resemble Bigfoot. On one occasion the Shermans saw a
hyena-like animal attacking one of their horses. It was “low to the ground,
heavily muscled, weighing perhaps 200 pounds, with curly red hair and a bushy
tail.” When Mr Sherman approached it, it vanished before his eyes. The horse
had numerous claw marks on the legs. A similar creature was spotted by a
neighbour a few months later running across their property.
UFOs were
observed flying above the ranch. Crop circles appeared on the ranch. Pastures unexplainably
light up at night. Sounds of heavy machinery were heard underground.
Poltergeist-like activity happened, like items disappearing and then reappearing
later. Strange disembodied voices, often in an unfamiliar language, were heard.
Four cows vanished without trace, with one
leaving tracks in snow that suddenly stopped. Three were found dead. One was found with a hole into the centre of
its left eyeball and nothing else. One had a similar hole and a one large one
carved out of her rectum. One was seen alive just five-minutes earlier by
Sherman’s son. She had a 6-inch wide, 18-inch deep hole cut out of her rectum
that extended into the body cavity. Twigs were found surrounding it and tree
branches above her appeared trimmed. These dead cows were found with no
evidence of whom or what killed them – except for an odd chemical smell.
"You talk
to a lot of people around here that at one time or another have seen something
they can't explain. There's been a lot of cattle mutilations, and a lot of them
weren't reported. Several (ranchers) told me that when they had a (mutilation),
they called the authorities and the authorities couldn't do anything, so it was
just a waste of time and effort."
– Terry Sherman,
from Frequent Flyers? Those aliens do get around,
by Zack Van Eyck
(Deseret News, 1996)
One night, in May 1996, Terry was walking
his three dogs when he saw a blue orb moving around a field near his house. He
made the dogs chase it. They followed it to a thick bush. The dogs made three
terrible yelps and didn’t respond when Terry called for them. The next morning,
three round greasy lumps on a scotched spot was found. The dogs were never seen
again.
Incidents continued after the Shermans sold it to
UFO enthusiast Robert Bigelow in 1996. He established his National Institute
for Discovery Science on the ground to investigate what was going on. His
research team experienced over 100 incidents on what was now called Skinwalker
Ranch. But not enough evidence to get something published in scientific
literature.
UFOs have been spotted flying above the Uintah Basin since the late-18th century. By the 1970s, the Utah Highway Patrol received so many calls that troopers stopped filling out incident reports. The cattle mutilations begin to happen at the same time.
Robert sold the ranch to Brandon Fugal, through Adamantium Holdings, in 2016. After this purchase every road to the ranch was blocked and a perimeter of barbed wire, cameras, armed guards and signs were set up. Despite this fortification, incidents have continued to happen there.
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