skin-walkers
Cursed animal transformers
Skin-walkers are malevolent shapeshifters in Navajo tradition—witches who can transform into animals, typically by wearing the creature's skin.
The concept carries serious weight in Navajo culture, where discussing skin-walkers is often taboo.
In broader use, skin-walker has spread through horror fiction and internet folklore to describe any humanoid that impersonates or inhabits others: The way he moved wasn't quite right—like a skin-walker learning to be human.
Practice of supernatural magic
- sorceryPractice of dark magic
- curseInvoked harm through words
- hexMalevolent incantation
- dark magicMalevolent supernatural practice
evil spirit · malevolent · possession · ritual · occult · necromancy · conjuration · forbidden knowledge
Conveying threat or danger
- forebodingFearful anticipation of harm
- sinisterThreateningly suggestive of harm
- eerieDisturbingly strange
- creepyDisturbingly strange
unsettling · dread · fear · terror · lurking · stalking · nighttime · darkness
Unverified traditional tale
- loreTraditional knowledge transmitted orally
- oral traditionCulture passed by speech
- tabooCultural or social prohibition
- eldersSenior community members
tribal stories · cautionary tale · superstition · belief · ethnography · anthropology · indigenous · sacred knowledge
Thorough change in form
- coyoteWild North American canid
- wolfWild pack canine
- owlNocturnal feathered predator
- crowLarge black corvid
bear · cougar · fox · disguise · metamorphosis · mimicry · shifting · human-animal
Sovereign tribal territory, Southwest US
- hoganNative American earth dwelling
- medicine manTraditional indigenous healer
- Four CornersQuadripoint of southwestern states
- reservationAdvance arrangement to hold
taboo · sacred · forbidden · traditional healers · ceremonial · protection ritual
witchcraft
Practice of supernatural magic
dark magic · evil spirit · malevolent · possession · ritual · occult · necromancy · conjuration · forbidden knowledge · black magic
menacing
Conveying threat or danger
- forebodingFearful anticipation of harm
- sinisterThreateningly suggestive of harm
- eerieDisturbingly strange
creepy · unsettling · dread · fear · terror · lurking · stalking · nighttime · darkness · shadows
legend
Unverified traditional tale
- loreTraditional knowledge transmitted orally
- oral traditionCulture passed by speech
- tabooCultural or social prohibition
elders · tribal stories · cautionary tale · superstition · belief · ethnography · anthropology · indigenous · sacred knowledge · spirit world
transformation
Thorough change in form
crow · bear · cougar · fox · disguise · metamorphosis · mimicry · shifting · human-animal · beast
Navajo Nation
Sovereign tribal territory, Southwest US
- hoganNative American earth dwelling
- medicine manTraditional indigenous healer
- Four CornersQuadripoint of southwestern states
reservation · taboo · sacred · forbidden · traditional healers · ceremonial · protection ritual
skin-walkersmedicine men
Traditional indigenous healers
healers · holy people · guardian spirits · spirit guides · angels
skin, walker, walkers, skins, skinned, skinning, skinny, skinnier, skinniest