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Wendigo Psychosis
Wendigo (Or Windigo) Psychosis is a mental illness of ancient Algonquian origin, characterized by a sudden desire for human flesh, even when a non-human food source is readily available. It is closely related to cannibalism.

Ancient Origins
While there is no specific origin of the condition, it is widely accepted to be quite ancient. The wendigo itself is a mythical creature associated with the Algonquian tribe, and is said to be violent. In Algonquian mythology, many if not all, wendigos were at one point human. Because of an irreversible curse, normally an intense craving for human flesh, the human would then turn into a bloodthirsty monster.

The wendigo as a monster is considered the most feared and violent of most Native American mythological creatures. The monster itself is a malevolent spirit, which occupies the body of a human who has eaten another human's flesh. Traditionally, this would occur with hunters or trappers who become hopelessly lost and, out of desperation, one eats another. After being possessed by the evil spirit, the cursed violently vomits blood for hours, dies, and transforms into a wendigo.

Contemporary Occurrences
Very few cases of wendigo psychosis have been reported after the dawn of the twentieth century. In most cases, sufferers of the illness were already afraid of the culture-bound fear of the wendigo, and this became an overriding factor. Signs of the psychosis include:


 * A strong desire for human flesh, even if other food sources are available.
 * An irrational fear of spiritual possession, namely that of the wendigo.
 * Because it is an Algonquian syndrome, the psychosis and subsequent fear of possession were almost entirely centered around that tribe.

A native man of Fort Saskatchewan named Swift Runner was perhaps the most prominent sufferer of wendigo psychosis. In the late nineteenth century, many residents of Alberta believed the city was cursed, and a violent spree of murders swept the town over a winter. Swift Runner killed and ate several members of his own family before he was caught. Up until his execution, Swift Runner insisted he was possessed by a wendigo and was compelled to murder his own family.

Also of note, a shaman by the name Oji-Cree was renowned for his powers at handling wendigos. He was arrested in 1907 for murder, after it was discovered many of the people he 'treated' were killed by him.

Relevancy
Though there have been numerous examples of wendigo psychosis historically, its relevance is highly debated. The disorder is not mentioned at all in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, and occurrences of wendigo psychosis have all but stopped in the last century. The illness does, however, meet the criteria for dissociative trance disorder, which the DSM-IV-TR lists as "an involuntary state of trance that is not accepted by the person's culture as a normal part of a collective cultural or religious practice and that causes clinically significant distress of functional impairment."

However, there is simply not enough evidence to state either way if wendigo psychosis is (or was) a valid mental illness. Further research would need to be done for a more conclusive diagnosis, and considering the fact that no reported occurrences of wendigo psychosis have appeared in several dozen years, it is not likely to be confirmed for a long time.

In Media
The film Cannibal! The Musical begins with the historical figure Alferd Packer being tried in court for cannibalism. Although it is known that Packer resorted to cannibalism as a means to survive, the prosecutor glamorously, and in great detail, tells a story of Packer brutally murdering his companions before eating them. However, as Packer lethargically states (to himself) immediately after, "that's not how it happened." The judge's description is heavily similar to the cannibalistic side of wendigo psychosis, as this version of Packer is portrayed as a bloodthirsty cannibal.

The highly controversial horror cult film Cannibal Holocaust portrays a United States film crew coming across a native African tribe, all of which have become horrific cannibals despite being surrounded by other food sources.