Talk:Skinwalker/@comment-24033533-20141016064715

Let me teach you a thing or two about actual skinwalkers. The skinwalker is not a demon, werewolf or a creature. In the traditional sense a skinwalker is a shaman or as we call them "medicine man". So it is a person. They dont murder people, skin them and assume the deads identity. Theyre only capable of shapeshifting into animals. A common belief is that the person must kill a close relative in order to gain this ability. A skinwalker does not kill people directly. They use an "evil way" ceremony to cause the intended victim misfortune. That ranges from death to simply bad luck. The only supernatural ablities I've seen or heard of is shapeshifting, invulnerability to damage (stories say the skinwalker choose a relative to take the injury or pain unknowningly), ability to run very fast and jump very high. These are the most common. Other abilities include the power to paralyze a victim using a powder derived from the bones of the dead. A common way to encounter a skinwalker is to whistle at night (making whistling at night taboo in the Navajo tradition). Skinwalkers are commonly described as being a person (usually naked) covered in an animal hide, with a painted face (usually white) with a necklace with a single turquoise bead.