The Wendigos

**The Wendigos** are the revealed main antagonists of *Until Dawn*.

They were humans who have been changed by a Native American spirit into cannibalistic monsters after eating the flesh of other humans because of starvation.

## About

### Debut

Chapter 8 (officially revealed, though briefly seen in earlier chapters)

### Death

Chapter 9
Chapter 10

### Cause of Death

Decapitation
Burned in explosion

### Series Lifespan

Prologue to Chapter 10

**The Wendigos** are the revealed main antagonists of *Until Dawn*.

The original Wendigo legends originated from First Nation tribes who were present on Mount Madaheefrom the 1400s until the 1850s. The Cree deeply respected the mountain and its nature. Believing it would be bad luck to harm an animal on this sacred mountain, they would hunt elsewhere. They believed harming the mountain in any way would bring a terrible curse with it.

European explorers and mining concerns arrived in the area, eager to make their fortune. In 1893, they officially started to mine the mountain. They found tin and later, traces of radium. They then mined deeper into the sacred mountain. The Cree claims that the mountain cried out at that moment, and the Wendigo spirits were released. Since then, there had been many possessed by the curse according to The Events of the Past, which were hunted by The Stranger's grandfather, including the Makkapitew, the fiercest of all Wendigos.

As the awareness of the mountain's rich reserves became more widespread, a group of new prospectors called *The Blasting Crew* came to mine the mountain again in the winter of 1951-1952. After that tragically resulted in a mining disaster, the curse was woken again. Dozens of men were murdered and cannibalized, and those who did survive, by eating the flesh of another, became Wendigos.

## Timeline

### **1893**

In 1893, the mine opened at the site of rich deposits of tin and radium, but over the years the Cree warned the miners that they had unleashed the spirit that dwelled within the mountain, cursing the land and its inhabitants.

### **1952**

In 1952, a structural failure caused part of the mine to cave in, trapping 30 miners. A rescue team later found only 12 survivors [1]. The miners who were still "missing" were hidden away in the archives, but it is clear that the survivors resorted to cannibalism to survive. This explains why the other miners were never found, as well as the reason there are so many Wendigos on the mountain.

The survivors began to display unusual physiological characteristics, and a cover-up ensued as they were confined in the Sanatorium for study. The staff observed and experimented on the miners as they swiftly mutated into Wendigos. If the Old Film Reel is found in Chapter 9, it shows a miner undergoing his transformation on a restraining chair while being checked up by a nurse. A few seconds later, the miner breaks free and crawls up a wall and out of the camera's sight. The nurse comes back in and looks around, before finally looking up and running away in fear. The film reel then cuts off and repeats the clip over and over again.

Eventually, the Wendigos broke out of confinement and slaughtered the Sanatorium staff, leaving traces of their destruction for Mike to find.

## Appearance

Wendigos are quite hideous in appearance. They exhibit spinal disfiguration, giving them a hunchback-like appearance. Their teeth become sharper and disfigured; their sight changes, causing them to have vision that is largely influenced by movement. Their limbs become much longer, giving them the ability to climb up walls, and to make small jumps to and from different spots in the blink of an eye. Their skin is also taut against their bodies; pulled tightly around their lengthy frames - their skin is much like a glossy, stretched armor. During a Wendigo's metamorphosis, their bodies, as mentioned, grow and lengthen. While their skin is being stretched, their bodies also perform different forms of skin torture, such as sweating acids, in order to strengthen their outer skin-like coating. This makes the Wendigo immune to almost all danger, including bullets and other various weapons. Their only weakness is fire, because fire burns off this outer layer of skin, and not only causes extreme pain, but it also makes them vulnerable to other lethal threats.

They also lose their hair and eventually lose their male and female characteristics, becoming skeletal in appearance. It's interesting to note that Wendigos will retain any tattoo or alterations to their skin, proved by Josh recognizing Hannah's tattoo, as well as Mike recognizing Billy's scar on one of the Wendigos.

## Characteristics

Wendigos are known to have some set behavior patterns. They often track their prey for up to several hours. It seems they like to hunt prey alone rather than in packs. They are shown to have great predatory skills. They do not appear to lose their humanity completely as they can use some human-like tricks to lure their prey. Another example of this is how Hannah never directly kills Mike, suggesting that some of her affection towards him remains. She may also spare Josh from death if he recognizes her.
[1]A Wendigo's vision.
Wendigos see movement, and mobile persons are highlighted in their vision. They are generally unable to track those who remain still. Their main way of communication is by screeching, and they can use their vocalizations to scare prey into moving, leading to a gruesome kill. It's interesting to note however, that they have the ability to mimic the voice of someone they hear. Wendigos may also attack each other, possibly as a way to reduce competition for food, or because they are simply sadistic killers, though the reason is never made clear.

Despite their frail appearance, Wendigos are immensely strong, capable of crushing a human skull with their bare hands and lifting over 750 lbs. They seem to favor brutal, deliberate methods of killing their prey, such as gouging out the eyes of their victims or impaling them on hooks rather than simply slashing them with their claws, indicating that Wendigos are sadistic, rather than merely animal killers.