Names: Wiindigoo, Wīhtikow, Wetiko,Wiindigoo, Weendigo, Windego, Wiindgoo, Windgo, Windago, Windiga, Wendego, Windagoo, Widjigo, Wiijigoo, Wijigo, Weejigo, Wìdjigò, Wintigo, Wentigo, Wehndigo, Wi·nteko·wa, Wentiko, Windgoe, Wītikō, and Wintsigo; plural: Windigoag, Windegoag, Wiindigooag, or Windikouk

Native American Mythology: Algonquin-speaking peoples, including the Ojibwe, Saulteaux, Cree, Naskapi, and Innu; folklore of Plains, Great Lakes, and First Nations Natives

Habitat: the East Coast forests of Canada, the Great Plains region of the United States, and the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada

The wendigo is is a mythological creature or evil spirit from the folklore of the First Nations Algonquin tribes based in the northern forests of Nova Scotia, the East Coast of Canada, and Great Lakes Region of Canada and in Wisconsin, United States.

The Wendigo is a macabre, frightening figure. Some depict it as a malevolent spirit, others as an entity that can possess others, a human-like monster, or even a creature that was once human. Basil H. Johnston, an Ojibwe scholar, described it as having an ash gray complexion, tattered, bloody lips, and eyes set deep in their sockets, smelling of decay, and being so emaciated that its skin pulled tightly against its bones; it can be summarized as looking like a skeleton dug up from its grave.

-Johnston, Basil (2001) [1995]. The Manitous. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press.

According to some sources, the Wendigo is also a giant being; when it eats another person, it grows in proportion to the meal—never able to feel full. While what it is and how it may look varies across cultures, all agree that it is a malevolent, cannibalistic, and supernatural thing. It is often connected to greed, gluttony, famine, and winter. 

Non-Indigenous peoples have contributed to non-traditional portrayals of the Wendigo; these add a deer-skull "hat" or antlers, replace a human head with that of a deer's, and sometimes human legs are exchanged for those of a goat or deer. Some remove humanity entirely, illustrating a zombie-like, hairy beast.

Appearing as an undead amalgamation of deer and man, this creature shares the unsatiable appetite, macabre form, malevolent spirit, and name of the traditional Wendigo; a monster described by non-Indigenous people, the deer-headed "Wendigo" has little else in common with the original. Comparable to Not Deer or the Deerman, this entity is a bipedal, hooved organism with a human-like gait and silhouette, great intelligence, and an unwavering animosity towards those who cross its path.

Topped with a hideous skull-head, this Wendigo has large, many-pointed antlers; the thickness of these structures denotes age, whereas the number of points reflects the individual's strength. Its blank, shiny eyes watch for signs of life in dark forests; it attacks with a muscular body, reaches with a serpentine neck, and tears with sharp fangs. It wanders the woodlands aimlessly, dragging its arms behind it, hunched and on edge.