The Wendigo - An Aboriginal Nightmare

Aboriginal folklore is filled with stories and tales both fascinating and intriguing. The vast majority of this passed down through oral tradition, and this has been the case for thousands of years. 

Many of these stories have a moral which connects to the lifestyle of that specific Aboriginal tribe or community, to such an extent that spiritualism and lifestyle are merged as one. A fine example of this is the wendigo, which tells the moral that isolation and selfishness are to be avoided, and the importance of community is paramount.

The Wendigo, or Windigo as it is also spelled, is a type of malevolent spirit belonging to the Algonquin tribe of North America.  According to most oral traditions, the wendigo is a monstrous cannibal who preys upon the weak and socially disconnected, killing and eating its victims to sustain itself and stave off an evil hunger. 

There are a few different interpretations on how a wendigo is born, however, the two most well known are as follows. The first is that a human becomes a wendigo after their spirit is corrupted by greed, and/or weakened by extreme conditions like famine and cold. The second is that a human becomes a wendigo after being possessed by an evil spirit during a moment of weakness. The final interpretation is that a human will become a wendigo after resorting to cannibalism.  

Just like how there are a few different interpretations for how a wendigo is made, there's also a number of different variations on what the creature looks like. Sometimes a wendigo is described as extremely thin, with its bones and skull pushing through its ashy skin.

Other times a wendigo is believed to be well muscled and giant, growing larger each time it consumes a victim. 

Lastly, certain legends state that a wendigo has pointed animal ears, with horns or antlers sprouting out of its head. Its eyes are sunken deep into the skull and glow like red hot coals on a fire. Their teeth are sharp, pointed, and are accompanied by horrifically bad breath and equally bad body odor. 

In most cases of the legend, a wendigo is endowed with supernatural powers and abilities which allow it to better hunt, kill, and eat its prey. The first two are superhuman strength and stamina, which allow it to overpower and outrun anything it comes across. More often than not, the wendigo has enhanced eyesight, hearing, and sense of smell. 

Perhaps the most eerie of all, however, is the ability to move with the speed of the wind and run across deep snow and water without sinking.

To kill a Wendigo has varying levels of difficulty depending on which legend you choose. According to some, the Wendigo can be killed by conventional weapons such as a club, blade, or bullet. 

On the other hand, certain legends claim that a wendigo can only be killed by being subdued, its frozen heart cut out of its chest and then melted upon a roaring fire. Lastly, some legends say that only a highly skilled aboriginal spiritual leader, also known as a shaman, can dispatch a Wendigo with a specific spell or ritual. 

No matter which legend you choose to believe in, the wendigo revolves around a number of ideas, which speaks volumes about the culture that made these stories. One way to create a wendigo was becoming possessed after suffering extreme cold and hunger, which the Algonquin people dealt with each winter. Food becomes rare, the cold bites day and night, and isolation can drive people mad.

The legend of the wendigo highlights the importance of community, generosity, and selflessness, and what can happen to those who are left outside of said community. Most stories about wendigo’s begin with a group becoming isolated and food running out, which gives clarity to the historical origins of the legend.

In the end, the wendigo shows us that greed, selfishness, and isolation can cause terrible things to happen. Families can be broken, people lose trust in each other, and worst case, people die due to a lack of empathy. 

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Conor Bruce

Conor is an aspiring professional writer. Interested in a variety of genres from fantasy, science fiction, and action. In his free time he often reads, enjoys a video game or two, and writes his various ideas on the side.

The Difference Between High and Low Fantasy

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Fantasy writing is a huge genre with many different subgenres. We have things like heroic fantasy, historical fantasy, and supernatural fantasy. The differences between these three aren’t very difficult to understand if you dig deep enough.

But what’s the difference between high and low fantasy?

To begin, Fantasy itself is defined as a genre of speculative fiction, set in some sort of fictional universe. Fantasy is often inspired by real life folklore, and mythology. It originated as a form of oral tradition which eventually evolved into proper literature such as books, and dramas in the form of plays.

High fantasy is defined by the epic nature of it’s setting, its characters, its themes, and its plots. Epicness is in fact one of the most beloved parts of high fantasy, huge battles between armies of good and evil, magical spells that can build, or level an entire city. All of this fits in the realm of high fantasy, and it’s the gift that keeps on giving. 

High fantasy is quite diverse in it’s worldbuilding process. This is due to the fact that this form of fantasy is also characterized by being set in an alternative, or secondary world. It is common for fantasy worlds to remain relatively consistent, however, the laws of reality in this world often differ from our own. 

Perhaps the most recognized high fantasy work is the writing of J.R.R Tolkien, such as the Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and the Silmarillion. In all of these books, the setting takes place in a world entirely different from ours, and battles between good and evil take place in epic proportions. Notably more so in the Silmarillion, which goes into great detail of how a large amount of an entire continent was destroyed during various wars.

A funny misconception is that Tolkien’s works should be low to medium fantasy due to their limitations on the usage of magic. While it is true that Tolkien limited magic to a fair degree in his works, there are still other ways we can consider Tolkien’s books high fantasy. This is mainly because the world of Arda is so different from earth, the amount of divine entities which wield incredible power, such as the Valar and Maiar. Most of all however, with the fact that despite a low amount of magic, the world is still rife with magical items and weapons. There are also creatures born of magic, such as the orcs, trolls,  and balrogs.

Low fantasy on the other hand is characterized by magical events that intrude upon an otherwise normal world, and therefore contrasts with high fantasy stories. This form of story often holds less focus upon typical elements of fantasy, and instead sets a narrative on a realistic environment, with certain elements that can be considered fantastical.

A big trend in low fantasy is a world within a world. What I mean by this is best explained by example. In the Harry Potter books, the setting takes place on planet earth, in Scotland. However, Harry Potter also has the wizarding world, which is an entirely different society and culture, living in secret from those who do not know about magic.

Good Omens is another book which has recently received a live action show (and I really suggest watching it) which also is considered low fantasy, and very much emphasizes the world within a world term. An Angel and a Demon are both attempting to halt the coming of the apocalypse, doing so because they desire for the world to keep on existing. After all, if you are enemies with someone since demons and angels first came into creation, you eventually become friends. 

High fantasy and low fantasy are two genres that can at times overlap, or the line between them can become blurred. Nonetheless, as an avid enjoyer of both genres, I can say that taking the time to indulge upon these two sides of fantasy is totally worth it. Whether you enjoy huge battles like in Lord of the Rings, or prefer a more subtle approach like the wizards in Harry Potter, there is surely to be a high or low fantasy story for you.

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Conor Bruce

Conor is an aspiring professional writer. Interested in a variety of genres from fantasy, science fiction, and action. In his free time he often reads, enjoys a video game or two, and writes his various ideas on the side.

Hybrid Creatures in Fantasy

The word “hybrid” is defined as the offspring of two separate species, created through breeding. There are both plants and animals in the real world that are known to be hybrids, such as the Liger and Beefalo. The plantain and clementine are also hybrids, but of the plant variety.

However, in the world of fantasy the possibilities are nearly endless for the creation of hybrid species. We have things like Gryphons, fearsome yet noble beasts that often have the body, tail, and hind legs of a lion, yet with an eagle's head, wings, and legs as forelimbs. 

Then we have the Minotaur, a half human, half bull hybrid. Originally, this creature was conceived as part of Greek mythology. In most fantasy genres however, the Minotaur is known to be a violent and angry creature. This is due to the roots of the creature in its original myth. 

The beast itself is both guardian and prisoner of the Labyrinth of Crete. Built and designed to keep the Minotaur within, so that it was unable to wreak havoc on the outside world. Those who roam into the labyrinth are likely to die at the creature’s hands and then be consumed, for it enjoys killing and eating its victims.

In the world of Warhammer Fantasy, the Minotaur is a subspecies of the race known as Beastmen. An evil race known for the rabid, seething hatred of civilization and all things aligned with order. These Minotaur’s share a fair bit of the Greek vibe, being angry and filled with violence, but taken a step further.

In Warhammer Fantasy, Minotaur’s are often 12 feet in height, and equally as broad due to their heavily muscled bodies. While not as intelligent as the average beastman, they make up for this with their hot temper, incredible strength, and an insatiable desire to consume the blood and flesh of the recently slain. 

In particular, human blood and flesh. 

https://warhammerfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Minotaur

The Minotaur of Warhammer originates in what can be called the first age of the world. A great catastrophe fell upon the world, which resulted in horrific amounts of destruction and mutation brought about by magic. Such a catastrophe spawned the Beastmen race itself, including the Minotaur. They are creatures that embody the worst traits of humans, and of beasts.

Last but not least, we have the Satyr, who are a bit of a comedic relief in Greek mythology. Being creatures that are half goat, and half human, they are a form of nature spirit which embodies mischief and lust. These creatures are known to be wild and untamed, but always seek to seduce and bed both mortal women and their twin race, the nymphs.

https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/Satyr

The Satyr’s in the Warcraft Universe have a bit of an interesting history, for they are not simply nature spirits, but corrupted and accursed elves who were either forced to agree or willingly agreed to a pact with demonic powers. They are insidious and sadistic, delighting only in wreaking havoc and destroying all that life holds precious.

Whether in the fantasy world or in the real world, Hybrid creatures are more often than not described as creatures which we must separate ourselves from.

 The Minotaur represents violence and anger, something that has often caused humans to make highly unreasonable choices. 

The Satyr represents lust and mischief, and lust can easily break happy relationships between one another. 

In the end, Hybrids are almost a reflection of the bad side of human instinct. They take us back to our most basic and instinctive desires as living creatures.

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Conor Bruce

Conor is an aspiring professional writer. Interested in a variety of genres from fantasy, science fiction, and action. In his free time he often reads, enjoys a video game or two, and writes his various ideas on the side.

Orcs In Fantasy

The orcs are a well-known creature in many works of fantasy, and even a few science fiction works. The race known as orcs was brought into modern usage by J.R.R Tolkien in his books The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings. However, even Tolkien was inspired, and is not the original creator of orcs themselves. There are various mythological creatures that resemble orcs, particularly in the Old English poem Beowulf, which Tolkien claims he took the word from. There are also other depictions of what we might call orcs in various fairy tales and folklore from northern Europe.

Tolkien’s works however, indeed brought the word and the widely acknowledged description of an Orc, to the modern world. This has inspired many authors and movie adaptations, such as the live action films of The Lord of the Rings, and The Hobbit. Various board games and video games have also taken a strong approach to the usage of orcs, perhaps the best-known examples are Warhammer, Dungeons & Dragons, Warcraft and The Elder Scrolls.

The Orcs of the fantasy world in The Lord of the Rings, have perhaps the most recognizable traits of an evil minion. They are corrupted and twisted elves, turned from a beautiful form to an incredibly vile and hideous one. Their original master and creator is known as Morgoth, meaning “the Dark Enemy of the World” in one of the various languages of Tolkien’s creation. While the race itself is the same in its origins, there are a few different acknowledged sub breeds of orcs. Such as Gundabad Orcs, Mordor Orcs, Black Uruk’s, and most famous of all, the fearsome Uruk-hai. The meaning of Uruk by the way, is “Orc”.

The Orcs in Warhammer are somewhat of a comic relief in an otherwise rather gritty and dark fantasy, and science fiction world. Warhammer itself has two specific sets of lore which they go off. Warhammer Fantasy, and Warhammer 40k. Despite this, the origins of orcs in both worlds are roughly the same. They are actually formed from fungi/mushrooms in various places which their race comes to call home, they are a highly violent and warlike race which lives only to fight. The comical relief, however, comes when you realize that these brutish monsters are incredibly stupid, and often communicate in a rough and humorous manner; going so far to believe that painting the color red upon your armor or weapons will cause faster movement, and the color purple causing you to be invisible and incredibly stealthy. After all, no orc in Warhammer has ever been seen wearing the color purple, so surely it must be true.

Orcs are perhaps the fourth most recognizable creature in fantasy aside from humans, elves and dwarves. Being creatures of strength, will, and sheer overwhelming force. However, in other works such as Warcraft and The Elder Scrolls, orcs are not inherently evil. Instead, they are born into a life and world which is harsh and incredibly unforgiving. Having no choice but to endure life’s worst trials and challenges or fall in the process.

Some may say orcs are a reflection of humanities will to survive and endure. An icon of overcoming challenges that life throws at you, and finding the strength to go on. No matter which lore you choose to learn about orcs, all of them are worth a read at the least. I hope you enjoyed learning about the brutes of the fantasy world!