Hello this is my first post, and I would like to share a story I was told by my grandparents.. Some of my descriptions may not be 100% accurate, but they pretty darn close..

About 2-3 years ago my Grandpa and Grandma were driving down here (Phoenix, Arizona) from Iowa for a thanksgiving feast. I'd just like to mention that they are very religious and spiritual people; and own a church in Des Moines. Anyway, because of the type of people they are, they decide to take a stop near the Indian reservation & talk to the towns people about god/Christianity/etc. From what they tell me they didn't accomplish anything, but they got some weird information from some of the people living there. The citizens would mention local skinwalkers & some other really bizarre things that have happened in the area. Soon after that, they started heading out of the reservation. They noticed a man running alongside they RV that was moving at 65mph. My parents left the story at that, so I have no idea what the skinwalker did after they saw it.

But as they told me what they had seen, they seemed really unstable and spooked. And their not the type of people to play jokes of that sort, so I defiantly believe their story. I'm glad they weren't harmed though; because somthing like that would cause most people to lose their sanity.

Anways... Since they weren't really descriptive, I might confront them in the future with some questions... Like-
=Where was this reservation? (I think this happened in Arizona, but I’m not completely sure.)
=Where did the skinwalker go after you saw him?
=How can you describe it? other than it was really quick on its feet.

What are your guys opinions or questions on this topic? To my surprise I haven’t been able to find any first hand encounters with skinwalkers on this particular thead, so if you have found one, send the link my way please.

and im sorry if the story wasnt told very dramatically

[edit on 19-1-2007 by MManchester]

from some indians i've spoken to skinwalkers are demons that can manifest themselves in animals bodies. I'm not aware of a skinwalker being able to move 65mph in a limited physical body it posses.

But to my knowledge neither I, nor my indian friend ever saw one (she was afraid to even say the name "skinwalker"...says they can hear you..

Originally posted by hiii_98
from some indians i've spoken to skinwalkers are demons that can manifest themselves in animals bodies. I'm not aware of a skinwalker being able to move 65mph in a limited physical body it posses.

But to my knowledge neither I, nor my indian friend ever saw one (she was afraid to even say the name "skinwalker"...says they can hear you..

So do you believe that skinwalkers are demons, but don't retain any supernatural abilities? In my opinion they are more than a household for carcasses, drugs and demons; they have to bear somthing unearthly withinthemselves.

Originally posted by Wolvaurynphamir
Another Arizonan! Hooray!

As for skinwalkers, I myself have never had an experience with one, for which I thank my lucky stars. However, there are a million stories out there. I've heard tales of similar cases to that which your parents told you: a skinwalker running alongside a car doing upwards of 60, 70, and sometimes even 80MPH. Most of the descriptions I've heard of skinwalkers tell of a coyote, a wolf, or some other carnivore with human characteristics (legs, arms, etc.) with glowing red eyes.

I wrote a topic here that you might find interesting. It has a link to a skinwalker story. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), most Native Americans whose culture includes the skinwalker myths are very tight-lipped about the subject. They're very superstitious about the whole idea.

Nice to meet you Wolvaurynphamir! After I post i'll check out the articles you made. Anyway, from the short description I got from my parents, there was no odd physical traits the skinwalker had. Again, I really need to call them up soon and get the all the details down.

I think that all demons prey on the weak-minded and vulnerable. If you crack the door open such things push their foot and let themselves in.

If you were attacked, how would one go about killing it? You say that your friend was afraid to say the word Skinwalker, because they can hear you. I would like to attempt to see one, first by trying that method. Perhaps saying it enough to draw attention, if in fact they can hear it. Also, maybe some other methods if that didn't work, but before I did, I'd like to know if they can be killed just like a normal wolf or other animal.

Skinwalker, Bearwalker, Werewolf, Fae; they all fall into the family of Werekin. Simply different names for the same legend in my opinion. The fascating bit is that so many cultures over such vast distances and time frames have similar stories of the same myths.

There is a really good site, albeit with a few rather unstable people on it who all think themselves as various Werekin, physical or spiritual. I will find it when I get home from work and post it; searching for Werekind might make me look a bit like a nut job at a law firm.

I was under the impression that the Skinwalker legend, was more a spiritual than a physical event. As in a Shaman or spiritually devout person would in a semi-conscious state take on the attributes of a certain indigenous animal?

Nope the Bearwalker will physically turn into some animal or turn into a blue ball of light.

Say what you like about Wikipedia, while reading about skinwalker legend on Wiki, I just found out that the word 'berserker' actually comes from 'bear shirt' which comes from the Norse bearwalker mythology

Very interesting stuff - Baphomet, I'd love to check out the site you refer to.

Wow ... This is a very interesting topic. I have a generous amount of Cherokee and Blackfoot in my family on both sides of the family tree, so I'm deeply fascinated with the skinwalker legends. I have always had a deep fascination with werewolves since I was a little boy. In fact I used to dream about them before ever have even seen anything related to the topic of were-creatures. That's one of the main reasons it fascinates me so much. I would really love to find more information on the topic. I have read some threads on various native american forums and two popular names I've heard used by them are yandalooshi and igolooshi. Although I believe yandalooshi is a bit more common as I have not found much related to the second term yet. Anyway keep the information coming, this is very interesting stuff.

Also you will have to excuse me if my spellings aren't exact on the native American terms. I don't speak native American, however I think the proper spelling of one of the terms is yendalooshi. I still haven't found a proper spelling for the second term although I've heard of both. Anyhow just some feedback and corrections from my last post

Skinwalkers are not demons who can tranform, nor Navajo witches who can take forms of animals. You all have it all wrong. Skinwalker is another name for Rougarou, Lupgarou, or λυκάνθρωπος. The only reason it shows up in many Native American cultures is because of the fact that Natives love to talk. Trust me, I should know. Anyways, no, they do not rip out human throats, nor eat human flesh. Though sometimes they would take great joy from it, seeing how arrogant humans can be. If you really want to know about Skinwalkers, or whatever it is you call them nowadays, walk up to your neighborhood reservation. But don't ask too many questions. If you dig too deeply into something that is none of your concern, you may not be able to speak of it again. Just a friendly warning. Like they say: Let sleeping dogs lie. If you don't bother them, they won't hurt you.

Originally posted by antmax21
I think that all demons prey on the weak-minded and vulnerable. If you crack the door open such things push their foot and let themselves in.

I definitely agree with you on that statement. People messing with the occult and satanic rituals are prime examples of weak minded, feeble idiots who fail to realize the horror their decisions will lead to in the end. Some begin by simply "experimenting" with such ideas, and they end up regretting it like their worst nightmare.

Ok, this is weird, I was just talking about this today. I read this post and got a chill. I think I was about 9 when my family and their friends went up for a weekend at lake powell. During the drive I remember passing a really bad car accident, only one lane was open. but later during the night, probably around 1am, as we were driving i noticed what looked like shadow firgures running with the car. Maybe about 30 yards to the side, but at the same speed as us. There were multiple figures and they seemed to be on horseback, because they were tall. It frightened me, and I swear i watched them for over a half hour. Part of me thought at the time that maybe it was my eyes playing tricks on me. And after that when ever we drove at night i would look for them, to confirm that it was my imagination, but I never saw it again. I officially have the creeps now.

Recently one of my friends told me about something that happened to her that really scared me. She is part Navajo and when she was little she and her mother were staying with her grandfather(who is full Navajo) on some land he owned. Late at night when they were all nearly asleep something started to scratch at the door of the cabin. Her grandfather grabbed a shotgun and shot at the door three times. Whatever was there continued scratching and he shot it more. Finally they heard a grunting sound and the scratching stopped. My friend's grandfather told her and her mother to go to sleep and so they did. In the morning when they opened the door there was nothing there except deep claw marks in the door and seven bullet holes. When she asked her grandfather what it was he said it could've been a skin walker. She gave me basically the same description of skin walkers that most of you have said here except she told me that in the daytime they appear as very old Native Americans and at night they appear as animals with human arms and legs and red eyes. She said that they cut off or skin the tops of your hands and feet and pull out your teeth and hair so no one can identify you. She also said that once a very old man was looking at her and her mom told her to shake his hand. She did and he shook her hand very roughly, trying to shake bad into her so she shook goodness right back into him. He didn't like that and he walked away without saying a word. Anyway, that's all I know about them.

Hello everyone,

Just wanted to join the conversation about 'Skinwalkers.'
The Indians are absolutely correct believing in such things.
Why?
Because Skinwalkers.. as they aptly named them..existed thousands of years before the Native Americans ever spoke about them.
And these 'entities' live(d) all throughout the world.
Ancient man has left behind millions of artifacts..pictures..paintings..carvings, etc.. all depicting these images.
The problem is.. living in this 'technology' generation.. has caused many people to disregard these ancient stories as simply myths or legends.
Modern people are usually too wrapped up in the latest fad.. or too busy to take the time to research the past.
And if they did..what they would discover.. much to their amazement.. is that a lot of our scientific advances (which we proudly take credit for) ..were actually created thousands of years ago..long before our time.
So.. when you see theses supernatural images..(for example like the ones painted on ancient Egyptian pyramid walls). That display these half human ..half animal.. UFO types of creatures.
Take the time to reflect for a moment.
How did the ancients come up with such images?
Or more importantly.. why would they?
Unless of course they were attempting to explain the world they lived in..
not a fairy tale...but real magic.

Originally posted by Anonymous ATS
Hello everyone,

Just wanted to join the conversation about 'Skinwalkers.'
The Indians are absolutely correct believing in such things.
Why?
Because Skinwalkers.. as they aptly named them..existed thousands of years before the Native Americans ever spoke about them.
And these 'entities' live(d) all throughout the world.
Ancient man has left behind millions of artifacts..pictures..paintings..carvings, etc.. all depicting these images.
The problem is.. living in this 'technology' generation.. has caused many people to disregard these ancient stories as simply myths or legends.
Modern people are usually too wrapped up in the latest fad.. or too busy to take the time to research the past.
And if they did..what they would discover.. much to their amazement.. is that a lot of our scientific advances (which we proudly take credit for) ..were actually created thousands of years ago..long before our time.
So.. when you see theses supernatural images..(for example like the ones painted on ancient Egyptian pyramid walls). That display these half human ..half animal.. UFO types of creatures.
Take the time to reflect for a moment.
How did the ancients come up with such images?
Or more importantly.. why would they?
Unless of course they were attempting to explain the world they lived in..
not a fairy tale...but real magic.

Care to elaborate?

Do you have any links or reference material to back your "Anonymous" post?

Unfortunately, although I think the "Anonymous Poster" idea is great,
when people come in here "Anonymously" and post information....they
have about the credibility if this comma , ...especially with no data to back up what they present to be fact.

Let me re-phrase this because I dont want to seem like Im bashing you, Im not. I find your comments interesting, and I would be interested in viewing your research on this topic. Feel free to respond at your earliest convenience.

Thx in advance,
Yours, Semi-Anonymously, 1nL~

Edited: for clarification.

[edit on 7/22/2008 by 1nL1ghtened]