The Navajo, or Diné, people of North America hold deep beliefs in magic and shape-shifting, exemplified by yee naaldlooshii, or the skinwalker, which is a great example of both. This entity, often reduced to a mere werewolf, is a mainstay in pop culture, leaving many to wonder: Are skinwalkers real?
The answer is complicated. As with aliens, there are believers and skeptics. But one thing is certain: whether or not skinwalkers exists is a long-standing question.
In fact, archaeological discoveries in modern-day Germany date the contemplation of therianthropes (shape-shifting or half-animal beings) back to between 35,000 and 40,000 years ago. Still, the concept remains a key feature of religion, myth and the fantastic.
What Are Skinwalkers?
According to Navajo (Diné) folklore, a skinwalker is a wicked witch who can change into, take on the form of, or appear as an animal. Skinwalkers go by different names in different Native American tribes. Yee naaldlooshii, the Navajo translation, means “with it, he goes on all fours.” “.
A person becomes a skinwalker by committing a heinous act, like killing a family member. This gives them supernatural powers, allowing them to shape-shift from a human to an animal at will. They often become coyotes, wolves, foxes or bears, though they can transition into any animal.
In Navajo society, skinwalkers were held accountable for all misfortunes, including disease, untimely death, unhappy marriages, and crop failures.
The skinwalker is not a creature found in a text, unlike Greek myths or a demon from medieval literature, which have long since faded from popular belief and whose characteristics are easily categorized and canonized in Western tomes.
Skinwalker Ranch
Skinwalker Ranch (also known as Sherman Ranch) borders the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation in Utah and is a hotbed of strange phenomena. The cattle ranch has spawned a popular book (“Hunt for the Skinwalker“), a feature-length documentary of the same name and a History Channel series (“The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch“).
According to legend, Terry Sherman and his family became well-known after witnessing multiple unexplained occurrences on their Utah ranch, which was given the nickname “Skinwalker Ranch” in honor of Navajo stories about shape-shifting witches. The Uintah Basin’s 512-acre ranch has been the scene of multiple unexplained events, including livestock mutilations, UFO sightings, and other mysterious activities.
In 1996, the Sherman family sold the ranch to billionaire Robert Bigelow, who was significantly interested in paranormal activities. Bigelow established the National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS) to investigate the paranormal incidents occurring there.
Since then, the ranch has come to be associated with paranormal and UFO-related activity, generating a great deal of curiosity, skepticism, and investigation. It has also become a hub for researchers and enthusiasts of the unexplained. In 2016, Robert Bigelow sold the ranch to Brandon Fugal.
“From encounters with mythical animals, to numerous cattle mutilations, poltergeist activity, crop circles, sightings of glowing orbs and even flying saucers, virtually everything you might call paranormal has been reported at the ranch and surrounding properties,” wrote Austin Craig in TechBuzz in 2021.
According to Fugal, the property had a 100-year history of paranormal activity, including reports of skinwalker sightings.
Characteristics and Supernatural Abilities
According to legend, “skinwalkers” put on the skin of the animal they wish to transform into, depending on the requirements of the task they wish to carry out. They might become a bear to have a immense strength. It should be noted that skinwalkers choose to adopt this role; unlike werewolves, it is not a punishment.
In addition, skinwalkers have the ability to read minds, command nocturnal creatures like owls, summon the dead, cause agony, and be nearly impossible to capture or eliminate. They must continue to kill or theyll die.
Legend has it that you can identify a skinwalker by looking into their eyes. When in animal form, their eyes glow a bright red when illuminated. In human form, their eyes seem animal-like.
To get rid of a skinwalker, you need a powerful shaman who knows the right spells and incantations to get the skinwalker to turn on itself. You can also shoot the witch with bullets dipped in white ash, but the shot must hit them in the neck or the hand.
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