Windigo psychosis

[David Morris]

http://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/permalink/windigo_psychosis/

Windigo Psychosis
The Edmonton Sun offers this description of a bizarre murder that
occurred in 1887 near Canada's Slave Lake:


Marie Courtereille, 40, died after being struck four times with an axe
-- twice by her husband Michel Courtereille and twice by her son
Cecil. Testimony at their trial indicated that Marie had begged to be
killed because she believed she was possessed by a Windigo, telling
them, "I am bound to eat you." Over a period of several weeks, she
became increasingly aggressive, "roaring like an animal" and attacking
her husband.
Eventually, she was tied down and guarded around the clock until it
was decided that there was no choice but to kill her. The community
supported the killing.

A Windigo (also spelled Wendigo) is a creature from Algonquin
mythology. The Algonquins believed that Windigos were malevolent
spirits who could possess people, transforming them into "wild-eyed,
violent, flesh-eating maniacs with superhuman strength." Horror fans
will be familiar with Windigos, since they've featured in a number of
horror books and movies.

The term "Windigo psychosis" describes a psychological condition in
which people who believed they were possessed by a Windigo would go on
cannibalistic rampages.

Many researchers regard Windigo psychosis as something of an Algonquin
urban legend, but ethno-historian Nathan Carlson argues that it was a
real phenomenon "which haunted communities right across northern
Alberta in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries and cost dozens of
lives." Carlson is working on a book that will documents dozens of
cases of Windigo psychosis. Sounds like fun reading.