FEATURED TALES 6
Skinwalkers
(NOTE: This is a Native American legend that has
always fascinated me--the idea that there are men who can BECOME animals through
ritual--read this, and you'll see why I'm so interested...)
Growing
up on the Navajo reservation I had always heard of Skinwalkers. They are called by some,
"Navajo Werewolves or Navajo witches" In the tradition they wear the skins of
animals and can transform into certain animals. Bears, coyotes, owls, dogs, and even
shadows. They can run very fast; sometimes able to keep up with a car that's going about 60
miles per hour. They are very evil and until the 1960's if someone knew the identity of a
Skinwalker they would kill that person.
My
story begins at a convenience store where I worked during the graveyard shift when in
college. One night a young man came in and for some reason when he came close to me I felt
the overpowering urge to get away from him. He walked up to the counter and without
noticing I had my back to the opposite wall. He asked to use the phone. I handed him the
phone and stayed behind the counter which offered little protection. I don't know who he
called but he started crying and was saying in Navajo, "I did it, I can't go back. I
did it." When he handed me the phone I noticed his eyes were glowing red and
there was hair right underneath his eyes going down beneath his shirt collar. Needless to
say I was terrified.
Two
nights later I had just finished cleaning the back parking lot when I noticed a huge dog
trotting through. It stopped by the trash cans and stared at me. Well being the naive and
totally clueless person that I am, I ran out and yelled at the dog. I didn't want the
parking lot messed up again. The dog just stood there and stared at me. That's when I
noticed it had no tail and it's eyes were glowing red. The hair stood up on the back of my
neck. Suddenly I realized this was no dog. I backed up and slipped back into the store and
watched the dog for awhile. Finally it trotted off behind the big trash bin. By that time
I convinced myself that I was being silly and getting spooked over nothing. So (stupid me)
I ran back behind the trash bin where I saw the dog disappear to chase it off. I didn't
want trash all over the place.
When
I got back there I found nothing, no tracks, no dog, nothing. Where the trash bin was
located there were no bushes, no trees, no buildings. Just sand. I ran like a madman back
to the store and locked the doors and would let people in when they drove up and lock it
back after they left. When I went out to my car in the morning I noticed huge dog prints
all over the roof of the car.
The
next night was my night off and I stayed up all day so I could sleep in the evening. About
2am in the morning the dogs started howling and screaming. My bed was right under the
window and I had it open to let a breeze in. The curtains were slightly swaying in the
breeze but every now and then they would blow far enough that I could see glowing red eyes
staring down at me. I froze....I didn't know what to do. Finally I got the courage to roll
out of bed and run down the hall to my parent's room. My dad grabbed the shotgun and we
went outside. We couldn't find anything. I finally went to bed about 6 am.
A
week later I had two of my nephews outside looking at the stars, it was around 10pm.
Suddenly the youngest one clung to my neck and started whimpering. The older one grabbed
my leg and said he wanted to go inside. So I walked them to the front door and was setting
the youngest down on the living room floor when I happened to glance out where we were
sitting. Sitting on the roof of the car we were leaning on was something huge, hairy and
had glowing red eyes. It had a pointed head and long ears. I turned to my brother in law
and told him, "You gotta see this" I looked back outside and it was gone. That
night something started running back and forth along our roof; it lasted all night. Every
time we went out there it was gone but the moment we went back in, it would start.
The
next day my Navajo relatives came for a visit and I told them what was going on. They
asked if I had seen it's face, I described the young man in the store to them and they
said they would take care of it. I didn't have any problems after that. I never asked what
they did. I didn't want to know. But I was sure glad it stopped.
-Sam-