Sentence:  Standing naked against a wintry landscape, the figure became a screen for the projection of identities--beast, bigfoot, <WSD>manimal</WSD>, specter, even, to use a word Newkirk's work encourages one to use in all its dangerousness, spook. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A fanciful life form that is part human and part beast; a creature recognizable as human but possessing physical or primitive behavioral characteristics that are exclusive to animals.