Dangerous Spirits: The Windigo in Myth and History

In the traditional Algonquian world, the windigo is the spirit of selfishness, which can transform a person into a murderous cannibal. Native peoples over a vast stretch of North America-from Virginia in the south to Labrador in the north, from Nova Scotia in the east to Minnesota in the west-believes in the windigo, not only as a myth told in the darkness of winter, but also as a real danger.

Written by Shawn Smallman