The Wendigo

# "The Wendigo" by Algernon Blackwood (1910)

A supernatural horror story set in the Canadian wilderness north of Rat Portage in late October. Dr. Cathcart, a physician studying collective hallucination, leads a hunting expedition with his nephew Simpson (a divinity student), guide Hank Davis, French-Canadian guide Joseph Défago, and Indian cook Punk. After a week without moose, Hank proposes splitting the party: he and Cathcart will hunt westward while Défago takes Simpson east to Fifty Island Water. Défago reacts with inexplicable dread to this assignment. That night, Punk senses an strange, unknown odor on the wind from the forbidden region. The next morning, the party separates as planned, with Défago and Simpson departing by canoe. The narrative establishes mounting unease and hints at supernatural danger lurking in the northern wilderness.