Skinwalker Stories from Reddit

Story 28 : Skinwalkers need friends too

Written by : u/AnnakinWinters

Year written : 2018

Northern Canada would get so cold in the winter that it was almost impossible for cars to function. So, my family became very skilled hunters. We would have a hearty meal of Deer or Rabbit every night and we learned to grow vegetables indoors for a little bit of freshness in our viking-like diet

I was around 15 when I first started to hunt alone, and I was 18 when this happened. It was early in the morning and I was tracking rabbits. I had found a nice spot near a rabbit den and bundled up, gun raised, ready to shoot. Something felt off though. It took a minute before I realized, the forest was dead quiet. No Chick-a-dee's, no coyotes howling, no wind. Nothing. It was if all the creatures in the wild disappeared. As weird as it was, I payed no mind to it and chalked it up to being too cold for animals to be out and about, though that didn't explain the lack of wind and no leaves rustling.

I lay in the snow for another 16 minutes before giving up and deciding to set off a different location. Just as I slung my gun over my shoulder, I glanced to the side and froze. A large black dog stood around 10 feet away from me. The dog had on a collar, so I assume it was tamed. But the nearest house was and hour away and it made no sense that a dog would be out here.

"Are you lost boy?" I asked casually, not at the time taking into account how wrong it was for a dog to be all the way out here. "Is your owner here?" The dog just stared. Its eyes were milky and I felt as if they were boring into my skull. I approached the dog and held my hand out for it to sniff it. The dog didn't move, it didn't flinch and its tail didn't wag.

I drew my hand back and rummaged through my coat pocket. I pulled out a piece of deer jerky my father had steamed during the week. I snapped it in half and offered the piece to the dog. It took the piece in its teeth before swallowing it whole. I laughed nervously as the dog licked its chaps. "Hungry huh? What are you doing out here?" I knelt down and stroked the dogs head. Its coat was freezing, like the dog had frostbite or fell in a river, but somehow wasn't wet. Its milky white eyes stared into me still, at the time I assumed it was cataracts.

A bark came from the left of me, and both me and the dog turned to look. An entire pack of dogs stood in the clearing, all with milky white eyes and black fur. Chills ran down my spine, but still, being a stupid teenager, I just thought it was just a trait of that breed. The dog looked back at me and licked my hand with a tongue that felt like ice before running over to the group. I watched as the pack moved on. The largest dogs eyes lingered on me, before following the others. I watched as they ran off out of the clearing.

It was like a reset mode as soon as they left because the forest came back to life. I could hear Chic-a-dee's, the rustle of wind through leaves and the scattering of nearby rabbits and shrews. I shot 3 rabbits and headed home, still curious about the dogs.

A week later I asked y dad about it, but he said that the neighbors dog, Sombra, had been missing for months and everyone else either didn't have a dog that matched my description, or just didn't have a dog in general. I thought that was very unnerving and didn't hunt for a while after that.

The next time I saw the dog it was early spring. I didn't have school to attend until the fall, so I just helped out at home and read and raised chickens.

One Monday, both my parents were in Calgary visiting friends, and my brother was sick downstairs watching Game of Thrones, so I was pretty much alone. I sat in the library, reading and sipping some sweet earl gray tea. The rain was in a full out downpour, so the chores i could carry out were mainly indoors and quick to complete. Scratching came at the door, causing the hair on my neck to stand up. we didn't own any animals that could scratch. Scared and curious, I grabbed a knife from the kitchen and opened the door. The black dog stood there, its familiar milky eyes staring into my soul. I jumped in surprise at first, but quickly smiled at the thought that the dog came all the way from the woods to my house, "Hey bud!" I said bending down and petting its frosty skin. "How did you find me? It was the Lavender, wasn't it." I joked, referring to the essential oil I always had on my hunting gloves and wrists. I could have been mistaken, but I swore the dog nodded its head slightly. "Where are your friends?" I asked "My brother loves dogs, we could all play a game of ultimate frisbee." The dog blinked up at me in an almost amused manner. It nudged my arm with its cold nose. "Do you want jerky bud?" I asked. The dog blinked. "Alright then. wait here." I walked to the pantry and grabbed a bag of jerky before returning to the dog. I once again, snapped a piece of jerky in half and gave the half to the dog. It swallowed it whole like it did the first time and just sort of wandered back into the treeline.I laughed to myself and the rest of the day went by normally.

I awoke that night with fear in my chest. It felt as if I was being watched. Slowly, I sat up and peeked through the curtains. My breath hitched. A woman stared back at me. She stood in the treeline completely naked. She looked Native American but with milky white skin that almost glowed in the moonlight. Her black hair was in two long braids. I felt my world crash around me as I stared into her big, white milky eyes. Just like the dogs, I realized. The woman caught my gaze through the window and smiled. It sent chills into my heart. She walked to the window, almost as if approaching an old friend and tapped onto the glass. I don't know why I did, but I opened the window out of pure curiosity. "Uhm....are you okay lady?" I asked, trying not to sound fearful. She just nodded and said something in a language that I couldn't pin down. I caught "Nighttime" and "Forest" so it may have been Cree, but it sounded so.....ancient. "Do you want me to call the police?" She cocked her head to the side. I take it she couldn't understand the question. She took me by surprise when she took hold of my wrist and put a feather into my hand. Her hands were so cold that I shivered. Then she just turned and ran back into the woods. I awoke the next morning convinced that it was a dream, but I turned to find the feather on my dresser.

I haven't seen the dog for a year now and I have no idea why the woman came to my window. I still have the feather and I still wear lavender oil. I don't know why the woman and the dog had the same eyes, but after doing some research, I learned about Skinwalkers and I feel that that is what I encountered. But they weren't malevolent in any way, and I never felt threatened, only a bit uneasy and cold.  And I dont know if this is related in any way, but I often find little "presents" on my windowsill like rabbit skin and my parents are curious why dead owls keep appearing on the porch.