Skudakumooch: The Flesh-Eating Undead Witch
PinterestA particular terrifying Native American ghost story tells the story of the evil undead sorcerers known as Skudakumooch.
One of the most terrifying Native American ghost stories concerns Skudakumooch (also called Skadegamutc) or “ghost witches.” Just as they sound, Skudakumooch are the evil spirits of Native American witches.
According to legends popular in the Wabanaki tribe, Skudakumooch are formed when an evil sorcerer dies. Refusing to stay dead, this fearsome ghost instead wreaks havoc among the living — killing, eating, and cursing anyone who crosses its path. Only fire can kill them.
One Native American ghost story tells the harrowing tale of one such Skudakumooch. This tale starts when an old, vindictive sorcerer finally died of old age. After a group of people left his body in an old tree, deep in the forest, stories spread about strange happenings in the woods.
One night, a couple, oblivious to the dark rumors, passed through the forest on their way east. As soon as they entered the woods, the wife felt an odd, cold feeling. She insisted that they leave, but her husband waved her suspicions aside.
“We shouldn’t be here,” the wife insisted, looking up into the tree branches and noticing strange, dark shadows. “I think we had better leave now.”
Again, her husband ignored her and fell asleep. The wife spent the night curled in a ball, wide awake with fear. As the night stretched on, she heard a strange gnawing noise.
Once the sun finally rose, the wife turned to wake up her husband — and found him dead, his face and entire left side a bloody pulp. His heart was gone.
Horrified, the wife ran until she came across some members of the Wabanaki tribe and told them what had happened. Though they originally suspected that she had killed her husband, they agreed to return with her to the tree. Once there, they remembered the witch buried inside.
Then they found the dead husband’s body. Realizing that the witch must be undead, they burned the corpse in the hopes of ousting the Skudakumooch. It’s unknown if they were successful.
