The Navajo Skinwalker from Native American lore takes on various forms in different tribes, but most agree on its appearance: a deformed animal-like body, a disfigured face, and bright, reddish-orange eyes. The legend of this shape-shifting entity, however, has largely been dismissed as a fabrication. It’s hard to believe that a humanoid figure could transform into a four-legged animal and terrorize families in the southwestern United States. But though not scientifically proven, the Navajo Skinwalker has deep roots in Native American tradition.
The First Taste of the Navajo Legend
The rest of the United States first got a real taste of the Navajo legend in 1996 when The Deseret News published an article titled “Frequent Flyers?” The story recounted the traumatic experience of a Utah family with the supposed creature, which included mutilations and disappearances of livestock, UFO sightings, and the appearance of crop circles.
But the most harrowing encounter for the Sherman family occurred one night, only 18 months after moving to their ranch. Terry Sherman, the father, was walking his dogs on the property late at night when he came across a wolf. But this was no ordinary wolf. It was perhaps three times larger than a normal one, had blazing red eyes, and was unfazed by three close-range shots Sherman fired at it.
The Sherman family wasn’t the only ones traumatized on the property. After they moved, several new owners experienced mysteriously similar encounters with these creatures, and today the ranch has become a paranormal research center aptly renamed Skinwalker Ranch.
While paranormal investigators delve into the property with new gadgets, what they seek has a centuries-old history.
The Navajo Legend of the Skinwalker
So, what is a Skinwalker? As the Navajo-English Dictionary explains, “Skinwalker” has been translated from the Navajo word “yee naaldlooshii.” This literally means “by means of it, he goes on all fours,” and the yee naaldlooshii is simply one of the many varieties of Skinwalkers, called ‘ánti’jhnii.
The Pueblo, Apache, and Hopi people also have their own legends involving the Skinwalker. Some traditions believe that Skinwalkers are born from a benevolent healer who abuses indigenous magic for evil purposes. The healer gains mythical powers of evil, which vary from one tradition to another, but the power they all mention is the ability to transform into or possess an animal or person. Other traditions believe that a man, woman, or child can become a Skinwalker if they commit some deeply rooted taboo.
Skinwalkers are mostly described as physically animal-like, even when in human form. They are said to be nearly impossible to kill, except with a bullet or a knife dipped in white ash.
Little else is known about this alleged being, as the Navajo are reluctant to discuss it with outsiders, and often even amongst themselves. Traditional belief dictates that talking about malevolent beings is not only bad luck but also increases the likelihood of their appearance.
Native American writer and historian Adrienne Keene explained how J.K. Rowling’s use of similar entities in her Harry Potter series affected Native American people who believed in the Skinwalker.
“What happens when Rowling does this is that we as Native peoples are now open to a barrage of questions about these beliefs and traditions,” Keene said, “but these are not things that need or should be discussed by outsiders.”
In 1996, a couple of strangers were introduced to the legend after a series of inexplicable events occurred on their new ranch.
Terry and Gwen Sherman first observed differently-sized UFOs hovering over their property, then seven of their cows died or vanished. Reportedly, one was found with a hole cut in the center of its left eyeball. Another had its rectum carved.
The cattle the Shermans found dead were surrounded by a strange chemical odor. One was found dead in a grove of trees. The branches overhead appeared to have been cut.
One of the vanished cows had left tracks in the snow that suddenly stopped.
“If it’s snow, it’s hard for a 1,200- or 1,400-pound animal to just walk without leaving tracks or stop and walk back completely and never lose its tracks,” Terry Sherman said. “It was just gone. It was very strange.”
Perhaps the most terrifying were the voices Terry Sherman heard while walking his dogs one late night. Sherman reported that the voices spoke in a language he didn’t recognize. He estimated they came from about 25 feet away, but he couldn’t see anything. His dogs went berserk, barking and rushing back to the house.
After the Shermans sold their property, these incidents only continued.
Robert Bigelow, a ufology enthusiast and Las Vegas real estate mogul, purchased the ranch for $200,000 in 1996. He established the National Institute for Discovery Science on the site and conducted extensive surveillance. The goal was to assess exactly what had been happening there.
On March 12, 1997, Bigelow’s employed biochemist, Dr. Colm Kelleher, saw a large humanoid figure perched in a tree. Detailed in his book, “Hunt for the Skinwalker,” the creature was 20 feet off the ground and about 50 feet away. Kelleher wrote:
“The large creature lay motionless, almost casually, in the tree. The only indication of the beast’s presence was the piercing yellow light of the eyes that did not blink as they stared fixedly toward the light.”
Kelleher shot at the alleged Skinwalker with a rifle, but it fled. It left claw marks and impressions on the ground. Kelleher described the evidence as signs of a “bird of prey, maybe a raptor track, but huge and, by the depth of the track, a very heavy creature.”
This was only a few days after another baffling incident. The ranch manager and his wife had just tagged a calf before their dog started behaving strangely.
“They came back to investigate 45 minutes later, and in broad daylight in the field found the calf’s body and hollowed-out chest,” Kelleher said. “Most people know if you kill an 84-pound calf, there’s blood scattered around. It was as if all the blood had been removed from it in a very thorough manner.”
The distressing activity continued well into the summer.
