In Algonquian folklore, the Wendigo is a cannibalistic spirit associated with winter that can possess humans.
The belief appears in the traditions of several Algonquian-speaking peoples, including the Ojibwe, Cree, Saulteaux, Naskapi, and Innu. Wendigo stories connect the being with the north, freezing weather, famine, starvation, and the dangers of selfishness during times when survival depended on cooperation.
In many versions, a person may become a Wendigo through cannibalism, overwhelming greed, or spiritual contact with the being. The possessed victim develops an insatiable hunger and may desire human flesh. Some traditions describe the Wendigo as unnaturally thin despite growing larger whenever it eats, emphasizing that hunger can never be satisfied.
The Wendigo is not a Sasquatch or a general forest monster. Modern horror often portrays it as an antlered creature, but that image is not universal in Indigenous traditions. The term also appears in discussions of “Wendigo psychosis,” a debated culture-bound-syndrome label and not a simple synonym for cannibalism.