Skinwalkers | Ep. 45
In this episode of Believing the Bizarre, we talk about Tyler’s favorite cryptic: the skinwalker.
A Navajo legend, Skinwalkers are evil witch doctors that commit heinous, taboo ritualistic acts to gain the ability to transform into animals. They often desire power out of greed and hate and can terrorize and cause feelings of absolute dread.
We discuss more of the Skinwalker lore along with a few personal encounters. Listen now!
In this episode we tackle the Navajo legend of the Skinwalker.
A Skinwalker is a person who can transform into an animal. These practitioners are considered witch doctors and the practice is frowned upon by the Navajos, who also believe that the discussion of these creatures, like this podcast, help give power to the Skinwalker.
Skinwalkers are commonly seen as coyotes, wolves, foxes, eagles, owls, or crows. There is some debate in the Navajo culture as to whether the witch doctors need to be wearing the pelt of the animal in order to transform. Regardless if they’re wearing the pelts or not this transformation is an act of depravity from an individual who is looking to use the natural magic of this world to their own twisted ideals.
In order to attain the power to become a Skinwalker, one must perform a horrendous act like, killing a loved one, incest, necrophilia, or cannibalism.
One characteristic that Skinwalkers share is that the animal they turn into never looks quite right. They may resemble a wolf, or an coyote, but it’s more like a close approximation rather than a “cloning” of the chosen animal.
Some powers that skinwalkers are known to exhibit include voice mimicry to lure victims out and away from their home or friends, incredible strength, improved hearing and vision, hypnosis if you were to look a skinwalker directly in the eyes – essentially being put in a trance and completely lending yourself to the control of the skinwalker to do and say things you normally wouldn’t.
Many experiences involve people hearing skinwalkers making creepy noises outside their homes, knocking on doors and windows, peering in windows, and crossing in front of cars, in hopes of causing severe accidents.
Here is one terrifying story from a young man who had an encounter with a Skinwalker.
Eric, and his cousins were staying at their grandmother’s house. Their ages ranged from 10-15 years old, with Eric being the oldest.
During their stay they would often stay up late telling ghost stories and on this particular night they had a campfire in grandma’s backyard.
Grandma’s house sat on a hill in a rural suburb with a few neighbors nearby, but her backyard was bordered by a dense forest.
Around 8 o’clock at night the cousins were playing truth or dare and telling scary stories around the campfire.
Eric’s cousin Amy, who was a year younger than him, dared him and his younger cousin, Sam, to go for a ten minute walk into the woods.
Not one to be easily scared, Eric said yes immediately, but Sam was less than thrilled to be a part of this dare.
They didn’t bring a flashlight as it was twilight and there was still a good amount of light out.
They entered the forest and after 5 minutes of walking the forest had seemed to swallow them. They couldn’t see the campfire anymore and Eric felt like they had almost entered another world. Feeling that it had been long enough Eric and Sam turned around to head back.
As they began to make their way back they stopped dead in their tracks.
In the middle of the path was a large dog-like creature hunched over in front of them.
The creature had the head of a human with bright white eyes that glared at them. The rest of the creature’s body appeared to be that of a dog, except for the hands and feet which still resembled a human’s.
Unexpectedly the creature took off in the opposite 
Later that night Eric woke up at 2 am. All of the cousins were huddled together on the bed on the opposite side of the room. They were staring at the window next to Eric’s bed.
“What are you looking at?” Eric said trying to clear the fog of sleep from his mind.
Sam looked quickly at Eric and nodded toward the window next to his bed.
Slowly, Eric turned his head slightly to the window and saw a terrifying looking face pressed to the window with gaping eyes looking directly at them.
The cousins screamed.
Grandma rushed into the room and called the police.
The police arrived but found no sign of anything outside the window. However, they did find that grandma’s two dogs had been killed.
They had been ripped to shreds.