What are skinwalkers? Simply put, evil shapeshifting shaman of the American southwest. So… just what is a “fleshgait” anyway? Fleshgaits are creatures of Internet folklore. A Fleshgait is what you probably think a skinwalker is. They possess the characteristics of a combination of beasties (hence all the confusion). Which is true to their character since they mimic what they see and can become quite the literal hodgepodge themselves.
Nine out of ten times, online skinwalker stories, are actually talking about fleshgaits. But how can that be? Fleshgait is a new term! Yes, the term Fleshgait is relatively new, however, the term skinwalker was wrongfully appropriated from Native American culture and is being used to describe an exaggerated version of the actual skin-walker. So, finally, someone came up with a name to distinguish the two. The term “fleshgait” came from simply using synonyms for the words “skin” and “walk”.
Wait, an exaggerated version of the actual skin-walker? Are skinwalkers real?
Are skin-walkers real? Inquiring, panic-stricken minds would like to know. Well, technically, yes. There really are skin-walkers… they just aren’t quite what most Internet stories will have you think. It’s said to have all started when the Lakota people began dressing as animals while hunting – as a sort of disguise. This practice was also adopted by the Navajo people and eventually the medicine men. But it was literally about walking around, wearing skins for hunting purposes – providing for their tribe. It was meant to be practical but was twisted by those who left the community to follow a darker path. From there, the sinister folklore begins.
Really, we don’t know very much because Native Americans won’t speak of them to outsiders often. Which is understandable but unfortunate. People should be properly educated on each other’s cultures.
What is known about the sinister folklore of the skinwalker?
Yenaaldlooshi, or skinwalkers, are Navajo witches who use dark magic to get the ability to transform into various animals and lose their humanity in the process. Skinwalkers were once regular humans, that also happen to be practicing witches. They are not to be confused with the medicine men or healers of the tribes. Medicine men are good, it’s only those who pervert the teachings and magic to use it for evil that become a skinwalker. The evil practitioner wears animal pelts and skulls in order to harness their energy and absorb various attributes. Wolves, coyotes, bears… whatever animal embodies the skill they need at the time.
But where did all the darkness come from?
What made these medicine men turn on their own tribes? As far as origin stories go, versions vary by culture. Many Navajos believe the Anasazi are at the root of this curse and all the dark magic in the area.
The term “Anasazi” is Navajo and means “ancient enemy” or “ancient outsiders.” It refers to an ancient Native American culture from what’s now called the Four Corners region (southeastern Utah, northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southwestern Colorado). The appropriate, modern-day term would be “Ancestral Pueblo” or “Ancestral Puebloan.” However, this culture may not actually be the ancestors of the present occupants of this region. They fled the Four Corners area and then vanished. There is still no definitive evidence they ever returned or turned up anywhere else for that matter.
Some speculate contact with Anasazi ruins and corpses led to the initial infection, or possession. Could it be the spirits of the Anasazi? Or could some ancient evil really be to blame? Did it possess these medicine men and twist hunters and healers into killers and cannibals of their own tribesmen? Their new dark behavior certainly matches that of the “Anasazi”.
It’s no secret ancient Native American in the southwest region slaughtered and ate their enemies. Practicing cannibalism was not taboo to all tribes and there was evidence this was the case with the Anasazi. The skinwalker embraces these and other perverse practices that represent the antithesis of Navajo cultural values.
The simplest way to look at this is through your own cultural or spiritual terms.
Every culture has their beliefs and there are those who stray and choose direct opposition. That is essentially what the skinwalker is. They are the antithesis of Navajo tradition. As an example, imagine a Christian household that has a son who runs away to join a cult that reveres demons. He spends his life performing evil acts in exchange for power. For the skeptics out there: whether he attains any real power is besides the point – he is still out hurting people. It’s his religion to inflict pain. It’s evil.
During a dark initiation they commit evil in exchange for power.
It takes a great personal sacrifice to be given the kind of power it requires to shape shift at will. In order to receive supernatural abilities the practitioner must sacrifice the life of a loved one. Most commonly a sibling or close blood relative. Once completed, the evil fully integrates. It’s a type of demonic possession, they’re still awake. They willingly shed their humanity and slip into the skin of various animals. Serving evil and inflicting pain onto others.
What are skinwalkers’ powers?
The skinwalkers’ powers are parasitic in nature and they often involve ritual. They practice cannibalism and use human remains to make charms. They make corpse powder (which is exactly what it sounds like) to induce sickness. The intended victim may fall ill after being secretly fed the corpse powder. It’s also blown into the face to infect someone. This direct exposure to death can bring on intense physical and/or mental illness.
They’ve been known to make beads from human bone to shoot from blowguns. These nasty little buggers get embedded under the skin. It’s said often there is no mark left behind, so finding the culprit and removing it could prove to be a challenge. This human bone dust can cause paralysis and heart failure.
What are fleshgaits’ powers?
This shape-shifting cryptid has the ability to mimic the voices and appearance of humans and animals. Once in its territory, humans will be stalked by the fleshgait until one is separated from the group. The creature will wait, watch, and learn their behavior. Then, if needed, it will use its mimicry abilities to lure one deeper into the woods. Then it will strike.
Some say the victim is mostly eaten and just the skin is worn. Others say the creature can slide into a hollowed-out body. In some stories the fleshgait shape-shifted into someone who was still alive and lost in the woods. Perhaps it can do all three of these things – and chooses what’s best depending on the situation and motive at the time.
Once the fleshgait is wearing a human body, it tries (awkwardly so) to lure others out into the woods alone with it. Presumably for eating/wearing at a later time? So far, it hasn’t been able to adapt and survive amongst humans very long – that we know of.
This is because a fleshgait can’t actually act human. Mimicking is one thing, understanding nuance is something completely different.
The victim returns from the woods without their personality. They’re no longer expressive, opinionated, or conversational. The phrases they use are severely limited – they can only repeat back what they’ve heard.
They also don’t understand the uses for even the most basic objects human’s use daily. Sometimes they even end up with inhuman features and extra parts. Like a mister potato head that was re-assembled wrong. Obviously, these signs immediately alert the party that something is wrong. This usually means leaving and that blows up the plan.
Just in case fleshgaits are real – they’re not but, just in case they are…
If you’re ever camping with friends and think a fleshgait or (something similar) may be amongst you, simply ask it about something it couldn’t have overheard. Anything that hasn’t been discussed in or near those woods. Just play dumb if it answers incorrectly. Act like nothing’s wrong and make your way out of there.
Skinwalkers stalk their prey but they don’t infiltrate friend groups
Skinwalkers stalk their victims like fleshgaits, however, they have no desire to pretend to be friends. They’d much rather subject them to various torments from the start. They collect hair and personal items belonging to those targeted for dark spell casting. Depending on the offense, often cursing them is just the beginning. There are stories of skinwalkers causing wrecks by jumping out in the road and attacking cars. Many have reported seeing a dark, animal-like figure watching them through their windows nightly, banging on the roof and door… even breaking into homes and physically attacking the occupants.
There are skinwalker superstitions within tribes
Skinwalkers are the equivalent to the boogeyman for Navajo. They are the scary story told in hushed tones at slumber parties. Emphasis on the hushed. There is a belief that saying “skinwalker” is enough to summon one and make yourself a target. Especially if spoken while near its natural habitat, like out hiking in canyons or the woods… or even near a tree line.
What is a Skin-Walker Stare?
Aside from a TikTok trend, the skinwalker stare refers to the danger and intensity of the beast’s gaze and its ability to entrap you with it. It’s a huge mistake to make eye contact with a skinwalker. It’s believed a skinwalker can control or even fully possess a human once they’ve locked eyes. Then it can make the person do unspeakable things. It’s best to avoid gazing into the tree line after dark, as you may find one staring out at you. Acknowledging it is the last thing you want to do.
Are skinwalkers immortal?
There is talk of these beasts becoming immortal, but as most Natives Americans will tell you, there is power in a name. If you can track a skinwalker and find out its true identity (before the darkness took over) you can stop it. You have to force it to face its own humanity by calling it by its real name. If it remembers itself and is faced with the monstrous acts it committed, it will get sick, waste away, and die about three days later.
In Navajo myth, only a blade or bullets dipped in white ash can effectively penetrate a skinwalker. If there is no white ash, then you have to shoot the skinwalker in its human form to kill it. There are multiple accounts of people guns suddenly jamming up or bullets having no effect when trying to shoot a skinwalker.
Where do skinwalkers live?
A good way to avoid a run in with a skinwalker, is to know where they are. So, where are skinwalkers commonly found? Predominately the American southwest. Some believe the curse of the skinwalker all began in the Four Corners region. Which encompasses southeastern Utah, northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southwestern Colorado. The most famous location for skinwalker sightings and a whole host of other freaky occurrences is the Skinwalker Ranch in Ballard Utah.
What is Skinwalker Ranch?
The 40 acre ranch borders the Ute Indian Reservation and has a history UFO and paranormal-related phenomenon. The number of skinwalker sightings on and near this stretch of land over the years is pretty alarming. A large red-eyed beast was spotted on the property by a former owner, who shot at it only to find it was apparently impervious to bullets. It’s not unusual to find mutilated cattle or witness spirit orbs. Unidentified objects have been seen hovering in the sky. Other sightings have included the spirit of a little girl, a sentient black mist, and what can only be described as a swirling mass of electromagnetic energy that could possible be a portal to nowhere good. This location is so out of this world, the military was even investigating it.
A similar shapeshifter worth mentioning are the Nahuales of central Mexico
Nahuales are said to transform into donkeys, turkeys, and dogs. They don’t kill anyone but they have been said to rape, steal, and play nasty pranks on people. Metal can be an effective ward against them, they lose control of their power if it touches them so naturally they’ll try to avoid it. Which sounds very fey-like. It’s possible that’s where their power originates from. Along with shapeshifting abilities, Nahuales have the power of hypnosis. They go through a master/apprentice training, their magic is handed down. And all of their abilities are used for nefarious behavior.
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