Definitions and Descriptions Win’-di-go n. a spirit believed by the Algonquian, Cree, and Ojibway to take possession of vulnerable people, causing them to engage in cannibalism and other forms of antisocial behavior. The Wendigo is a creature that is born out of the desire in a human being to crave human flesh. Once the human eats the flesh, it not only undergoes a mental change, but begins to physically transform into a monstrous beast. More recently, as stories of the Wendigo have become more popular it has started to be a character used in literature and film, almost as frequently as the vampire, werewolf, or zombie. "Wendigo Psychosis" refers to a condition in which sufferers developed an insatiable desire to eat human flesh even when other food sources were readily available, often as a result of prior famine cannibalism. Wendigo psychosis traditionally has been identified by Western psychologists as a culture-bound syndrome. The theory was popular primarily in the early 1900s. The Wendigo (also known as Windigo, Weendigo, Windago, Waindigo, Windiga, Witiko, Wihtikow, and numerous other variants) is a mythical creature appearing in the mythology of the Algonquian people. It is a malevolent cannibalistic spirit into which humans could transform, or which could possess humans. Those who indulged in cannibalism were at particular risk, and the legend appears to have reinforced this practice as a taboo. This once occurred frequently among Algonquian Native cultures,