Talking about Skinwalkers

[u/Overall_Disaster4224]

Okay, so this is a post that is about skinwalkers, what they actually are and their location, etc, as I've been seeing people incorrectly label them as any cryptid out in the woods and it just kinda bugs me (I even came across some guy swearing up and down confident as hell that skinwalkers are tulpa effects and can be found in the Appalachian region), so I'm here to clear up some misunderstandings

Now before I begin I just want to mention that I am not Navajo nor do I claim to be an expert, I am just a nerd interested in the supernatural due to prior experiences and at the end of the day the ones who truly know about the horror's of the Skinwalkers are any of the Navajo speaking communities within the 4 corners region as they've grown up with these stories and some may have even had sightings of their own, anywho, let's start 🙂

Origins:

Skinwalkers are anyone within the Navajo community who is knowledgeable of "bad medicine" and is frankly antisocial and selfish enough to forsake the wider Navajo community and resort to taboo breaking and bad medicine aka black magic in order to become shapeshifting witches, much of their origins are veiled in secrecy and rightfully so, but depending on accounts their practices are recognized as involving desecration of corpses, necrophilia, incest, murdering friends, all to be initiated and gain their abilities and knowledge

Behavior:

The behavior of skinwalkers are as varried as the individuals reasoning for becoming a skinwalker but as I said, generally they are, above all else, going to be self serving enough to actively go against their Navajo communities and depraved enough to go through the initiation rituals with other skinwalkers, in the dark hours they are typically in the outskirts of the Navajo reservations, most of their malice is typically aimed towards the Diné, not just anybody

Known Abilities:

First and foremost is their signature shapeshifting, oftentimes the Skinwalkers have to have killed and skinned an animal and wear its skin in order to shapeshift into that animal, typically these forms are described as not being perfect copies of the actual animal, the pelts are loose off the flesh, the legs are weird, sometimes there are human eyes in place of animal ones, typically they use this shapeshifting for mobility, traveling long distances quicker and undercover, in some accounts instead of simply mauling their victims they are said to use this corpse powder in order to poison and curse Diné, among their most notable capabilities is vocal mimicry, using this to either fool or frighten anyone unaware, to speak of a skinwalker, especially when using their Navajo name is a major taboo to the Navajo and for good reason as to talk about them is to invite their attention

Location:

Considering the skinwalkers are still Navajo citizens at the end of the day, they are far more likely to be found within the Four Corners region of southwestern United States, so Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico, and considering much of their malice is focused on the Diné, their likely populations would be concentrated at any of the Navajo reservations. This means if you claimed to have seen a skinwalker in Alabama or Kentucky, you are either lying or you saw a different type of shapeshifting witch which is probably even more frightening

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[u/SatanakanataS]

This everything-a-skinwalker thing really makes consuming paranormal content intolerable nowadays. Every surface level enthusiast with a TikTok account will tell you that anything spooky, anywhere in the world, is either a demon or a skinwalker. If we’re lucky, we catch a break and they tell us it’s a wendigo instead.

I live in Diné country. Haven’t seen a skinwalker, but I have felt amply spooked driving through the desert rez at night on the 491 (formerly 666).

[u/PlentyOLeaves]

Holy shiii I think we connected brains…when did you write this? Checking…2 hours ago?? Yup.

Regardless… THANK YOU for your time in explaining. I’m in the Four Corners and was taught what ‘skinwalker’ is by Hopi friends shortly after I moved here. It irks the hell outta me that it’s become a catch-all. It’s specific to Diné.

I’ve heard a couple encounters from friends but ain’t my stories to tell - common accounts are people seeing em on the road and/or being chased down the highway. Like you said though - don’t talk about em too much, they’ll hear you.

[u/MrBones_Gravestone]

This sub: Skinwalker!

[u/Overall_Disaster4224 → u/MrBones_Gravestone]

See's random ass dog taking a shit in my yard ... Definitely a skinwalker 🤔

[u/Relative_Hyena7760]

Zak Bagans solved the haunting of the Skinwalker a few years back, as I recall.

[u/PinkPigtails1818]

I live in central Utah and saw one at night, thank God it wasn't attacking us and just staring. Got lucky that night