Algonquian - Mysteries

The Wendigo: Hunger, Fear and the Spirit of the Northern Forest

November 9, 2026November 9, 2026 by Tommy Hayes

Snow-covered evergreen forest in Algonquin Park, Ontario, in winter — the kind of northern forest the Wendigo belongs to in Algonquian tradition, not a photograph of the Wendigo

About 5 min readIn the winter of 1878, a Cree trapper named Swift Runner walked out of the northern forest alone — his whole family dead — and told the police a wendigo had made him do it. His trial is still the most famous wendigo case on record.