Before the Wendigo became every horror movie's favorite antlered skeleton boy, it was a real fear in real communities, and people kept ending up in actual courtrooms over it. We pulled four documented Wendigo encounters spanning almost 400 years, from a Jesuit missionary's letter in 1636 to a Wisconsin bow hunter who emailed a paranormal blog in 2019. Somewhere in the middle is a guy named Swift Runner who confessed to being possessed by one before they hanged him. Court records. Trial transcripts. Witness testimony. No anonymous Reddit posts, no creator fan-fic, and the cases get worse the closer you read them.

If you're into Wendigo lore, Algonquian folklore, true paranormal encounters, cryptid deep dives, or the general genre of "North America has older monsters than the country itself," this one's for you. We cover the origin of the Wendigo legend, Wendigo psychosis as a documented phenomenon, the Swift Runner case, the Jack Fiddler trial, the Manitowoc County sighting, and one of the earliest written paranormal accounts on the continent. Headphones recommended. Daylight also recommended. Drop a comment if any of these happened in your backyard, because at this point we're collecting. New episodes weekly on Tall Tale Social Club, your home for true cryptid stories, paranormal history, and weirdos who can't leave well enough alone.

TIME STAMPS:

0:00 - Origins of the Wendigo / A Masterclass in Mispronunciations

5:50 - INTRO THEME

7:15 - Is Marilyn Manson a Wendigo? (Probably, Yes)

13:10 - STORY: Swift Runner's Confession — Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, 1879

12:44 - Similar Community Hive Mentality to the Witch Trials?

21:10 - It Was Sylvester The Cat, Guy (The Intermission)

21:35 - STORY: The Trial of Jack Fiddler — Sandy Lake / Norway House, 190

31:10:37 - STORY: David W. — Nipissing Swamp, Wisconsin, 2019

34:05 - Nipissing Intermission BRB

40:10 - STORY: Paul Le Jeune's Letter — Quebec, 1636

50:05 - LISTENER STORY From Jessica

54:55 - Top 5% Of Podcasts Worldwide = D-List Podcaster

57:35 - Wendigo Sighting in Alaska's Seward Peninsula

58:35 - Christian Derails Yet Another Outro

59:30 - Goodbye

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