Title: The WendigoAuthor: Algernon Blackwood
First Published: January 1, 1910
Publisher: Project Gutenberg
Pages: 67
Genre: Classics, Horror
Format: Ebook
Source: Public Domain
Rating:
Synopsis:
Algernon Blackwood's 'The Wendigo' is a chilling horror classic that delves into the supernatural and the unknown. Set in the Canadian wilderness, the story follows a group of hunters who encounter an ancient and malevolent entity known as the Wendigo. Blackwood's eerie and atmospheric writing style creates a sense of dread and suspense that will leave readers on the edge of their seats. The theme of the wilderness as a place of primal fear and mystery is a recurring motif in Blackwood's works, making 'The Wendigo' a standout in the genre. The tension builds as the characters grapple with their own fears and the unseen forces at play, leading to a thrilling and unsettling conclusion.
Review
Wendigos are some of the most terrifying specters of Algonquin folklore, a malevolent spirit that is often associated with winter, starvation, cannibalism, and death. The Wendigo reads like a campfire ghost story told around hunting circles about the unexplainable phenomena that can only be experienced in the farthest reaches from civilization.
The story follows a moose-hunting party on their trek into the woods near the end of the fall season. The untamed wilderness leaves the hunters struck with awe at the beauty and terrible loneliness of the Candian wilderness. The writing is a master craft of atmosphere, as the adventure displays the majesty of nature and the ever-powerful call that it has on the hearts and minds of men. The terrifying silence of the natural world feels oppressive, feeling like a monster that swallows up the hunting camp.
The one glaring issue that holds this classic down is the casual racism that is used to describe character traits. While understandable for the time period in which it was written, it is archaic and simply unpleasant to read. A blemish on an otherwise superbly written story, a terrible shame really.
Even so, this book stands as a classic that brought a part of First Nations folklore into the literary canon and influenced other horror writers and filmmakers in the decades after it was written. The Wendigo is a testament that the unseen horror can be just as effective without the excessive blood and gore of more contemporary fiction. A true delight for the senses as the tightly written prose evokes both fear and wonder in readers for generations.
Quote
“Men were sometimes stricken with a strange fever of the wilderness, when the seduction of the uninhabited wastes caught them so fiercely that they went forth, half fascinated, half deluded, to their death.”
Content Warnings
View Spoiler »About the Author
About Algernon Blackwood
Algernon Henry Blackwood, CBE was an English broadcasting narrator, journalist, novelist and short story writer, and among the most prolific ghost story writers in the history of the genre. The son of a preacher, Blackwood had a life-long interest in the supernatural, the occult, and spiritualism, and firmly believed that humans possess latent psychic powers. In his late thirties, he moved back to England and started to write stories of the supernatural. He was very successful, writing at least ten original collections of short stories and eventually appearing on both radio and television to tell them. He also wrote fourteen novels, several children’s books, and a number of plays, most of which were produced but not published. He was an avid lover of nature and the outdoors, and many of his stories reflect this.
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