Gardner Village is a popular destination in Utah known for its historic charm and unique shopping experience. Every year, during the Halloween season, Gardner Village hosts a highly anticipated event called the "Witchfest." This event is a celebration of all things related to witches and magic, drawing thousands of visitors from near and far. The highlight of the Witchfest is the Gardner Village Witch Party, which takes place over four weekends leading up to Halloween. During the party, visitors are treated to a variety of activities and attractions that cater to both adults and children alike. One of the main attractions at the Gardner Village Witch Party is the infamous "Witchapalooza" parade.

Are Skinwalkers Real? Myth, Magic and Modern Interpretations

Anthropologist Clyde Kluckhohn described skinwalkers as secret witches (mostly male, some female) who creep out in the night to take the form of swift-moving animals like the wolf and coyote. Image by 024-657-834 from Pixabay

The Navajo, or Diné, people of North America hold deep beliefs in magic and shape-shifting, exemplified by yee naaldlooshii, or the skinwalker, which is a great example of both. This entity, often reduced to a mere werewolf, is a mainstay in pop culture, leaving many to wonder: Are skinwalkers real?

The answer is complicated. As with aliens, there are believers and skeptics. But one thing is certain: whether or not skinwalkers exists is a long-standing question.

In fact, archaeological discoveries in modern-day Germany date the contemplation of therianthropes (shape-shifting or half-animal beings) back to between 35,000 and 40,000 years ago. Still, the concept remains a key feature of religion, myth and the fantastic.

1. What Are Skinwalkers?
2. Secret Navajo Witches
3. Skinwalker Ranch
4. The Search for Evidence
5. Studying the Skinwalker
6. Cultural Appropriation and Celebration

What Are Skinwalkers?

Originating from Navajo (Diné) folklore, a skinwalker is a malevolent witch capable of transforming into, possessing or disguising themselves as an animal. Skinwalkers go by different names in different Native American tribes. The Navajo version is called yee naaldlooshii, which translates to "with it, he goes on all fours."

A person becomes a skinwalker by committing a heinous act, like killing a family member. This gives them supernatural powers, allowing them to shape-shift from a human to an animal at will. They often become coyotes, wolves, foxes or bears, though they can transition into any animal.

In Navajo society, skinwalkers were blamed for everything that went wrong: crop failures, bad marriages, sicknesses, sudden death — you name it.

Unlike Greek myths or a demon from medieval literature — creatures for which vibrant belief has long subsided and whose attributes are readily cataloged and canonized in Western tomes — the skinwalker does not reside in a text.

Characteristics and Supernatural Abilities

Skinwalkers are said to wear the skin of the animal they want to become (hence the name "skinwalker"), which depends on the needs of the task they want to perform. They might become a bear to have a immense strength. Note that skinwalkers voluntarily assume this role — it's not a curse, like being a werewolf.

Skinwalkers can also read people's minds, control animals of the night, like owls, call up spirits of the dead, inflict pain and are almost impossible to catch and get rid of. They must continue to kill or they'll die.

Accordingly to legend, you can tell if you're in the presence of a skinwalker by their eyes. If you shine a light on one when they're in animal form, their eyes glow bright red. In human form, their eyes seem animal-like.

To get rid of a skinwalker, you need a powerful shaman who knows the right spells and incantations to get the skinwalker to turn on itself. You can also shoot the witch with bullets dipped in white ash, but the shot must hit them in the neck or the hand.

Secret Navajo Witches

In his 1944 book "Navaho Witchcraft," noted anthropologist Clyde Kluckhohn explored magical traditions of contemporary Navajo people. Specifically, in his book he examined the "influencing of events by supernatural techniques that are socially disapproved."

The author noted that English-language translations like "witchcraft," are useful shorthand in this case, but they're not perfect. You can draw similarities between real or imagined European witches and skinwalkers, but the Navajo spirit world is undoubtedly unique.

Based on his interviews with Navajo people, Kluckhohn pieced together general descriptions of the various forms of "witchcraft" that existed within Navajo legend. He described skinwalkers as secret witches (mostly male, some female) who creep out in the night to take the form of swift-moving animals like the wolf and coyote.

They were said to gather in foreboding places to work dark magic against their victims and engage in various taboo rituals of incest, corpse defilement and sibling murder.

The Shifter in European Folklore

European folklore is rich with its own shape-shifter legends. For example, werewolves — creatures that can transform between human and wolf forms — are widespread in many European folk stories, such as those from France, Germany and Eastern Europe. Similarly, tales of selkies, who change from seals to humans, can be found in the folklore of Scotland and Ireland.

In Slavic folklore, there are stories of vampires that can transform into bats, wolves and other creatures. Although these entities exhibit transformative abilities like skinwalkers, the cultural contexts, stories and moral lessons from these European shape-shifters differ significantly from those of the Navajo skinwalker.

While shape-shifting is a common theme worldwide, skinwalkers are particular to Navajo beliefs and narratives and are not found in European folk stories.

Skinwalker Ranch (also known as Sherman Ranch) borders the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation in Utah and is a hotbed of strange phenomena. The cattle ranch has spawned a popular book ("Hunt for the Skinwalker"), a feature-length documentary of the same name and a History Channel series ("The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch").

As the story goes, Terry Sherman and his family gained widespread attention after encountering numerous inexplicable phenomena on their Utah property, famously dubbed "Skinwalker Ranch" in reference to Navajo legends of shapeshifting witches. The 512-acre ranch in the Uintah Basin has been the epicenter of numerous unexplained incidents, such as UFO sightings, livestock mutilations and other mysterious activities.

In 1996, the Sherman family sold the ranch to billionaire Robert Bigelow, who was significantly interested in paranormal activities. Bigelow established the National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS) to investigate the paranormal incidents occurring there.

The ranch has since become synonymous with paranormal and UFO-related activities, spurring substantial intrigue, skepticism and various investigations, becoming a focal point for researchers and enthusiasts of the unexplained. In 2016, Robert Bigelow sold the ranch to Brandon Fugal.

"From encounters with mythical animals, to numerous cattle mutilations, poltergeist activity, crop circles, sightings of glowing orbs and even flying saucers, virtually everything you might call 'paranormal' has been reported at the ranch and surrounding properties," wrote Austin Craig in TechBuzz in 2021.

Fugal told the publication there was a 100-year-old history of paranormal activity, including skinwalker sightings, at the property.

The Ute Tribe Steer Clear of the Ranch

The Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation is the home of the Ute tribe. At one time, the Ute enslaved some of the Navajo people and also joined with U.S. troops against the Navajo during the Civil War. The result was that the Navajo were expelled from their lands in the Four Corners area, though they returned later.

The Ute believed the Navajo put a curse on them and left shape-shifters among them because of their vile deeds. This is why, allegely, the Ute will not go near Skinwalker Ranch.

Previous owners of the ranch had reported strange occurrences. Fugal said he bought the cattle ranch in 2016 not believing he would see anything unusual. Six months later, he saw "UFO activity" in broad daylight.

The Search for Evidence

Skeptics say there is no hard evidence of anything unusual happening at Skinwalker Ranch. However, a biochemist who was part of an investigative team there in 1997, claimed to see a "humanoid creature" in a tree staring down at the team. He fired at the creature with a rifle and it disappeared.

It was then he noticed it had left "a single large print in the snow with two sharp claws protruding from the rear of the mark going a couple of inches deeper. It almost looked like a bird of prey, maybe a raptor print, but huge and, from the depth of the print, from a very heavy creature," according to History.com. Was that a skinwalker sighting?

"The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch," a popular History Channel series, follows a team of researchers led by astrophysicist Dr. Travis Taylor, as they try "applying cutting edge technology to investigate the 512-acre property to uncover the possibly 'otherworldly' perpetrators behind it all," according to the show's website.

Studying the Skinwalker

Other anthropologists have studied and written about skinwalker beliefs over the decades since Kluckhohn's work. In the 1984 book "Some Kind of Power," Margaret K. Brady explored the social importance of skinwalker narratives among Navajo children. She discussed the way in which the skinwalker tales functioned to both serve as childhood ghost stories and echo contemporary Navajo cultural concerns.

In the 2016 book "Upward, Not Sunwise," anthropologist Kimberly Jenkins Marshall discussed the way skinwalker accounts and beliefs factored into neo-pentecostal Navajo communities.

While it might seem paradoxical that one might convert to Christianity and retain belief in skinwalkers, Marshall explored the ways traditional beliefs survive in the face of culture rupture.

In the 2007 journal article "Watching Navajos Watch Themselves," anthropologist Sam Pack examined the way often-flawed media representations of Navajo culture — including the 2002 movie "Skinwalkers" — clashed with cultural understanding of what it means to be Navajo.

Cultural Appropriation and Celebration

And so we come to another key aspect of the media's relationship with the skinwalker: cultural appropriation. Pack wrote that the Navajo viewers he questioned generally seemed to enjoy the film "Skinwalkers," despite some cultural and linguistic inaccuracies.

And yet, he also stressed, "This does not mean that the Navajo respondents in my study did not challenge the rights of both Anglos and non-Navajos to undertake such films."

While 2002's "Skinwalkers" was helmed by Cheyenne/Arapaho tribe member Chris Eyre and starred a predominantly Native American (but non-Navajo) cast, other media incarnations of the skinwalker have come at the hands of non-Native people.

In 2016, "Harry Potter" creator J.K. Rowling garnered criticism for including an altered version of the skinwalkers in her online series, "History of Magic in North America." Critics charged that the series reduced an important and interconnected part of Native belief to a mere prop in an Anglo-centric story.

Celebrations

In the Oregonian's coverage of the controversy, however, Douglas Perry pointed to a counterexample of an Anglo author whose treatment of Navajo culture was well-received by the Navajo Nation.

The late novelist Tony Hillerman was awarded the Navajo Special Friends of the Dineh Award in 1991. Hillerman frequently wrote about Navajo culture and Navajo cultural values and even penned the 1986 detective novel "Skinwalkers," upon which Chris Eyre's 2002 adaptation was based.

Where does all of this leave us concerning the mysterious skinwalker? Many contemporary Native Americans would argue that its place is in the living beliefs and customs of the Navajo — and that, as such, it is not necessarily open to interpretation and reinvention by those outside of it. Leave the skinwalker to the night.

This article was updated in conjunction with AI technology, then fact-checked and edited by a HowStuffWorks editor.

Clyde Kluckhohn wrote that while some skinwalkers were said to acquire wealth through grave robbing, others engaged in fee splitting. One witch would magically inflict an illness on a victim, while another would treat the illness and split the doctor's fee with their secret cohort.

Navajo witch doctor

Noah Nez is a Native American skeptic living in Arizona; he is a member of the Phoenix Area Skeptics Society (PASS) and author of Native Skeptic, a blog that looks at critical thinking from a Native American perspective.

There is little documented information about the details of “witchcraft” among the Najavo—or Diné, as they call themselves. What is relatively well known is
their term “Skinwalker,” or “yee naaldlooshii,” which means, “with it, he goes on all fours.” This is a reference to the special ability to transform into a four-legged animal. According to most modern descriptions, this seems to be the only real determinant for defining someone as a Skinwalker.
While there are many self-published books and websites that offer some insight into this world of Navajo witchcraft, much of the information is obscure and
does not provide any sort of real account for how these stories and their details came into being. In Navajo cultural beliefs, witchcraft itself is
regarded as a taboo subject because it deals with concepts and objects surrounding death. Therefore, Navajo people are strictly prohibited from even
speaking of such things.

The description of the Navajo witch consists of a rather general description that resembles the more familiar “witch doctor” found in much Haitian voodoo
folklore. But even the standard American image of the witch character is depicted as casting spells and, more importantly, possessing the supernatural
ability to transform shape; the witch is often depicted as mimicking the form of a black cat. While it is frequently mentioned that the Skinwalker
possesses the ability to assume the form of any animal, it is most often reported in the forms of a few key carnivorous animals: a coyote, a wolf, a fox,
an owl, or a crow.

Navajo tribal beliefs include the concept of living in harmony with nature, which is anthropomorphized as “Mother Earth.” The beliefs also involve two
different types of “beings”: the “Earth People” and the “Holy People.” For instance, “medicine men” are thought to be the bridge between “Earth People” and
the “spirit world.” Skinwalkers are really just another type of Navajo witch; more specifically, they are considered to be practitioners of what is called
the “witchery way.” The distinguishing characteristics between these different variations of witches are in the details. For example, one specific type of
witch relies on the usage of objects to transmit curses, referred to as the “frenzy way.” However, in most contemporary accounts, Skin­walkers often
possess certain supernatural abilities that encompass multiple types of Navajo witch.

There is generally a common theme of the number four showing up in both the Navajo and Apache belief systems. Stories usually have spans of four days, tell
of four “beings,” or contain four elements as part of the theme. Another example, from the 1944 book Navajo Witch­craft by Clyde Kluck­hohn, states that
witches are actually divided into four different groups: witchery, sorcery, wizardry, and frenzy (Kluckhohn 1944, 22).

There seem to be slight variations to the origins of the Skinwalker that permeate the folklore of Navajo people. There is also the notion that this brand
of witch started off as a “medicine man” that was corrupted by absolute power. Another suggestion points out that the practice of wearing dead animal skins
and emulating them started for hunting purposes. Thus there are countless Native American legends that tell the story of how people were given the ability
to hunt by the gods, but these origin stories do not ex­plain the aspects surrounding the bad intentions of Skinwalkers or the Navajo witch.

United States Army surgeon and Civil War veteran Washington Matthews is historically known for his ethnographic study of Native American cultures. In one
of his early accounts into Navajo beliefs, “witchcraft” gets first established in the Navajo emergence story “Creation of First Man and Woman,” reported by
Matthews in 1894:

In four days after the last twins were born, the gods came again and took First Man and First Woman away to the eastern mountain for four days. The gods
may have taught them the awful secrets of witch-craft. Witches always use masks, and after they returned, they would occasionally put on masks and pray for
the good things they needed—abundant rain and abundant crops.

Witches also marry people who are too closely related to them, which is what First Man and First Woman’s children had done. After they had been to the
eastern mountain, however, the brothers and sisters separated. Keeping their first marriages secret, the brothers now married women of the Mirage People
and the sisters married men of the Mirage People. But they never told anyone, even their new families, the mysteries they had learned from the gods. Every
four days the women bore children, who grew to maturity in four days, then married, and in their turn had children every four days. In this way many
children of First Man and First Woman filled the land with people. (Matthews 1897)

Since both Navajo men and women can become “witches,” technically, women can become Skinwalkers as well. However, the generally accepted view is that
mainly men are this type of “witch”; otherwise it is thought to be only old or childless women who may possess these abilities. It is also said in the
account of this legend that Skin­walkers are a specific type of “Navajo witch” that have committed some sort of cultural taboo to gain their supernatural
ability. Some present the following portion of this legend from Matthews of “First Man” and “First Woman” as the evidence for the origins of witchcraft
within the Navajo culture:

The gods had the people build an enclosure of brushwood, and when it was finished, First Man and First Woman went in. The gods told them, “Live together
now as husband and wife.” At the end of four days, First Woman bore hermaphrodite twins. In four more days she gave birth to a boy and a girl, who grew to
maturity in four days and lived with one another as husband and wife. In all, First Man and First Woman had five pairs of twins, and all except the first
became couples who had children. (Matthews 1897)

There is one other account that rarely gets discussed that involves the origins of the Skinwalker legend: the Navajo “witch purge” in 1878. Apparently, in
the 1800s, the people of Salem were not alone in their quest to hunt down witches. As A. Lynn Allison wrote in the introduction of her article “The Navajo
Witch Purge of 1878,” which appeared in the Arizona State Uni­versity West literary magazine Paloverde:

The words “Navajo Witch Purge” might at first call to mind the similar phrase “Salem Witch Hunt” and all the lurid imagery that goes with it. A bit of
investigating, however, produces a cultural and historical picture of the Navajo and their tradition of witchcraft profoundly different from anything ever
imagined by those early New England Puritans. As the Salem Witch trials in seventeenth-century Massa­chusetts may have evolved as a societal re­sponse to
the religious thinking of the day, so the Navajo Witch Purge of 1878 evolved as a cultural response to the effects of colonialism on the Navajo way of
life. Witchcraft was always an accepted, if not widely acknowledged, part of Navajo culture, and the killing of “witches” was historically as much
ac­cepted among the Navajo as among the Europeans. The events of 1878 were a culmination of situation and circumstance that created the seemingly
sensational out of what had been the cultural norm. (Allison 2001)

This reported incident is said to come from the days of the “Long Walk of the Navajo,” the deportation to Bosque Re­dondo (Fort Sumner) of the Navajo
people by the U.S. Government. Apparently, it was during these dire times that some Navajo people would “shape-shift” to escape their impoverished living
conditions. In an at­tempt to describe some of the conditions that Navajo people were being exposed to while at the Bosque Redondo in 1878, Raymond Locke
states in The Book of the Navajo that “They were convinced that their gods—even the benevolent Changing Woman—had deserted them” (Locke 1976, 365). Some
people, like Ruth Underhill, think that it was these tragic events that left a void in Navajo societies and ultimately lead to the resurgence in
accusations of witchcraft: “The indigenous cultural reality and the jealousy that the new rules caused, as well as unexpected sickness that killed both
people and livestock, cumulated in an age-old Navajo response: accusations of witchcraft” (Underhill 1956, 160).

The Navajo people used witchcraft to explain a sudden sickness or unexpected tragedies during these times of plight. After they thought their gods had left
them, it is believed that witches went unchallenged and became prevalent once again. The struggles that the Navajo people went through during that time are
often not fully detailed or well known. Another reason this topic is still reasonably difficult to put together is due to the nature of cultural beliefs
differentiating from each other in so many variations from one tribe to another. The general avoidance of death among the beliefs of the Navajo also
contributes a great deal to the scarcity of information. How­ever, there has always been witchcraft in Navajo culture since the creation of “First Man” and
“First Woman.” It is simply part of the “Navajo way” and is considered to be amoral but just another integral part of the spiritual system. l

References

Allison, A. Lynn. 2001. The Navajo witch purge of 1878. PaloVerde 9(1). Available online at www.west.asu.edu/paloverde/Paloverde2001/Witch.htm.

Kluckhohn, Clyde. 1944. Navajo Witchcraft. Boston: Beacon Press.

Locke, Raymond Friday. 1976. The Book of the Navajo. Los Angeles: Mankind Publishing Co.

Matthews, Washington. (1897) 1984. Creation of First Man and First Woman. In American Indian Myths and Legends, selected and edited by Richard Erdoes and
Alfonso Ortiz (New York: Pantheon, 39–40).

Underhill, Ruth M. 1956. The Navajos. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press.

My Boyfriend And I Went To A Navajo Medicine Man, But After The Visit, Weird Things Started Happening

When one thinks of a witch, the image of an archetypal elderly woman may come to mind, with a pointed hat and flying broomstick. To most, this image is hardly frightening, but the idea of witches in Navajo culture may paint a more bone-chilling (literally) picture – these witches are said to be involved in grave-robbing. In fact, it is said that in order to become a witch, a person has to kill a close family member or relative. Of course, nearly every culture has hair-raising myths and legends, and it is easy to brush off these tales as fanciful. Even I was a skeptic at one time, until I had my own encounters with a witch, in the form of a skinwalker.

The first time I heard of skinwalkers, I was a new student at a Navajo reservation high school, sitting awkwardly amongst a group of juniors and seniors at lunch. The incessant giggling of a few girls stopped at the mention of skinwalkers.

“I heard something on my roof last night,” one of the girls whispered. “I went out to check, and in the distance I saw it. Its eyes were glowing, and before I even had a chance to realize what it was, it was gone.”

I almost rolled my eyes at this point. That could have been any animal, I thought, but I guess it is more fun to make up scary explanations to natural phenomenon. I decided to stay quiet and keep my skepticism to myself.

I admit it was difficult getting used to my new home, with or without skinwalkers involved. New Mexico is a darkly beautiful place; it has an emptiness and fullness that somehow coexist. The red mesas, endless skies, and breathtaking sunsets did not always take away from the loneliness I felt. Since I moved to New Mexico during my junior year of high school, making friends was not the easiest task. People already had their cliques, and there did not seem much room for me. On top of that, I felt like an afterthought to my friends and family back home. I felt isolated physically and emotionally.

Maybe that’s why it felt so right when I met Daniel, a boy from a pretty traditional Navajo family. He lived on the Navajo reservation, and for those of you who are not familiar with it, it is a giant, but at most times, empty space. You can drive for miles and often see nothing, or what appears to be nothing, at least to newcomers. On the long drives through the reservation to the surrounding cities, I liked to tally up the occasional homes and abandoned buildings that scattered the area. I could see everything around me, and the sky felt so close.

I’ll never forget when my mom told me a handsome man was at my door step.

“I don’t want to talk to anybody. Tell him I’m not here,” I yelled as I walked out of the bathroom, only to see him sitting on the living room recliner.

The next few moments defined my life. We all have these moments, and they often occur from relatively simple situations, not necessarily anything that seems profound at the time. When we look back, these moments seem to hold more value. I do not know if this is because what happens after these golden moments affects how important it is, or we just simply do not recognize how important they are at the time. In either case, this is now a snapshot in my mind. I sometimes want to lose it, but there is something about it that still feels beautiful, perhaps innocent.

On top of that, I couldn’t deny he was handsome. He was tall and thin but muscular, with strong cheekbones. Dark hair, dark eyes, and the most endearing smile and slight dimples were enough to win my naïve heart over.

It didn’t take us long to start dating and falling in love. It was the perfect beginning to my first college semester. As I think of that fall, all I feel is nostalgia. If my fairy tale had ended somewhere during that time, there would be no doubt in my mind we would live happily ever after, and at that time, that is exactly what I thought.

I was at my boyfriend’s home as often as possible, and at first, I wasn’t used to the stillness of the area. However, I eventually loved the quietness and peacefulness that I never had experienced growing up in bigger towns.

On the reservation, it is very common for extended family to live within walking distance from one another. Daniel’s cousin, Erik, lived on a trailer just over the hill. I often asked Daniel about the abandoned hogan next to Erik’s trailer because it seemed so unsettling.

“They say Erik’s grandma is a witch,” Daniel mentioned one time after I asked, “That’s where she does all her dark ceremonies.”

He smiled after he told me that, and I always wondered whether he was joking or not. The skeptic in me easily silenced my curiosity. Everything was going great, I thought, and there was no need to let negativity, even these so-called witches, interfere.

Of course, the fairy tale could not last forever. A few weeks after my boyfriend received his first major job offer, he started to get into some trouble, especially when Erik came around. Daniel started drinking a lot, too, and was making some awful decisions. His partying and drinking started to become the center of his life, and I was beginning to feel hopeless. I wanted to help him.

I went to his grandparents’ hogan often, but this time, I addressed my concern about Daniel. His grandma spoke mostly Navajo, so it was hard to make out what she was saying. His grandpa translated for me, explaining that it was time to go to a medicine man.

The next day we traveled about fifteen miles on dirt road to reach the medicine man. The sun was setting, and it was quiet.

The medicine man only spoke Navajo and I did my best to translate what I knew, but it was a failed effort. Daniel’s mom, Kathy, translated perfectly, but seemed to leave out certain sentences. I wasn’t sure if that was intentional.

I stared at the walls of the octagon-shaped room. The smell of sagebrush and heavy smoke filled the air. The medicine man took out the crystal and dragged it across the sand. He made patterns I did not recognize, but his stern face revealed concern. He spoke fast and Kathy translated quickly.

“Daniel is in trouble. He has to make decisions for himself. He is choosing his path now.”

After the crystal reading, they passed around a pipe and smoke filled the room. I fumbled with it, but finally inhaled and exhaled carefully. I held in my coughs, but anybody watching could tell I did not enjoy the taste or smell. Then, one by one we each walked to an area by the stove to drink some sort of cleansing liquid that reeked of pine. It was my turn, and I nervously walked to the bowl of liquid. I dropped to my knees and tried to look confident. I took a sip and swallowed it roughly. It tasted as though I was drinking straight from a pine tree.

As the ceremony winded down, traditional Navajo singing began. Its rhythms were soothing, a reflection of the peacefulness and hopefulness of the evening. Daniel and I held hands and let the deep vibrations take over.

I stared into his eyes and sensed a strong connection.

After the ceremony things seemed a little better. One night my boyfriend fell asleep on his bed. It wasn’t quite dark yet. In fact, the sun was setting and I could feel a cool breeze come from the open window. Nobody was home at the time, except Kathy, who was outside cleaning the dogs. The blinds were partially open, and I was reading quietly.

Suddenly, I heard a man speaking in harsh Navajo right outside the window. I woke up and started shaking Daniel. As I shook him, I heard the loudest animal-like scream. It sounded as though somebody had kicked a dog, and the screeching continued for about a minute. We ran downstairs to the trailer, and at the same time, his mom came running inside. Without us having a chance to say anything she started telling us her story.

“I was just outside, grooming the dogs. All of a sudden, the dogs started acting strange and submissive. They started kneeling down when I tried to brush them.”

She continued, trying to catch her breath, “I looked over to where your bedroom window was and I saw a strange, about 7 foot tall, dark, shadowy man standing right outside our window. As soon as he noticed me, he grew angry and started speaking harshly in Navajo. He took off. It was so fast it was almost as if he disappeared before my eyes.”

There are not many places he could have gone. Again, this area is wide and easy to see everything. There was nobody home except us. We kept trying to explain away what happened, but it was just too strange. Even if it was just a man, how was he so fast? Who was he? Where could he have possibly gone? What did he want? Then, I really started to wonder, could it be a skinwalker?

Kathy explained that some Navajo witches were also skinwalkers. They somehow developed the ability to steal the skins of animals to utilize their powers, such as speed. This ability was to be used for evil.

Of course, I figured there had to be a logical explanation for the events that occurred. Besides, whatever Kathy saw seemed like a man, not an animal, not that that was very comforting. I was still scared, but decided I had to go home to my parent’s that night. The road home didn’t seem very appealing, and I didn’t want to go alone. This time I asked Daniel to come along with me and have his mom follow me out.

As we were driving, I saw a creature in the distance. We slowed down. It looked like a coyote, yet it was so bony, and there was something different about its face. We didn’t want to hit whatever it was as it crossed the street in front of our car. We had to stop. As it was crossing it was just staring at us, directly at us, with a hateful, human-like expression. It felt vile, almost demonic. Coyotes normally run, but this one was walking slowly — almost crawling. What stood out to me most was the glowing, yellow eyes. Deep down I knew, this was no coyote.

As soon as it passed, his mom drove in front of us “to break its path.” Some Navajo people believe that if a coyote (or whatever this creature was) crosses your path, it is a bad sign. We drove out and I was terrified. I didn’t look back. I don’t believe any of us did.

Strangely, none of us really spoke about the event immediately after it happened. There was really nothing left to say about it anyway, and things seemed to be getting worse in my relationship with Daniel. We did not have time to think about it.

Daniel was arrested for a DUI soon after, and turmoil was my new reality. Daniel, the one who had charmed me into his life, had now become a dark cloud that somehow held power of me. I think I started to fall out of love with him at this point, but something held me in. This is when I should have left him. I tried desperately to make things like they used to be, but I realized later that fairy tale was an illusion.

Daniel became angrier and more depressed. He lost his job and he was by himself a lot and drinking heavily. I tried to give him the help and support he needed, but he did not want to change. To make matters even stranger, we soon found out that the medicine man we went to was not there to help us. In fact, we were told that he was a medicine man by day, but a skinwalker by night. If someone had told me that before the “coyote” incident, I would have thought they were crazy, but my perception had definitely changed. If it were true, he had more than he needed to curse Daniel and his family. Not only did he have information, but he may have gathered hair or other personal items that are often used during witching ceremonies. These are like blessing ceremonies, except they are intended to hurt or curse others, like black masses.

Another ceremony had to be performed if what we were told was true. This time, his grandpa performed it, and we knew he was trustworthy. I clung on to the thread of hope I had for Daniel, but he seemed checked out of the ceremony emotionally. I listened carefully, perhaps desperately, to his grandpa’s words.

“This weekend,” his grandpa stated, “the source of the negativity in Daniel’s life will come to the surface.”

I almost forgot his words until I saw his cousin Erik at the door that Saturday. To be honest, I never really liked Erik to begin with, especially because he was the one that always invited Daniel to party. There was something always off about him, and I felt that eeriness even more that evening. Daniel was elated to see Erik, on the other hand, and they made plans to see each other later that evening.

I was reluctant to go, but I wanted to watch out for Daniel, and at least try to help him stay out of trouble. The party went better than expected, and Erik was unusually nice to me. Maybe I was wrong about everything.

As we were leaving, I even gave Erik a hug goodbye. As we drove away, I took one last glance at the abandoned hogan and wondered how Erik felt living right next to it. As my thoughts bounced around, they were interrupted by a glowing light I saw near the hogan. Those were eyes, yellow, glowing eyes.

As soon as I saw them, they disappeared. Daniel squeezed my hand.

I knew I didn’t have to say anything to Daniel, especially when I smelled the familiar scent of sagebrush on him and saw an emptiness in his eyes.

The months that followed were rough and rocky, with strange occurrences happening often. I lost faith in Daniel and somehow broke the power he held over me. He did not change, and he seemed to get worse as his drinking problem escalated. I finally left him.

This was years ago and every so often I drive through that patch of the reservation I once called my home, sometimes with nostalgia, but often with fear. I don’t speak to Daniel anymore, but I do accidentally cross paths with him once in a while. The emptiness in his eyes is still there.

One of the main attractions at the Gardner Village Witch Party is the infamous "Witchapalooza" parade. This parade features a cast of colorful characters dressed in elaborate witch costumes, complete with broomsticks and cauldrons. The parade weaves its way through the village, entertaining spectators with its lively music and energetic participants.

In addition to the parade, visitors can also enjoy various interactive experiences such as the "Wee Witches' Apprentice" scavenger hunt. This activity allows children to explore the village in search of hidden clues, ultimately leading them to a special prize. It's a fun and engaging way for kids to immerse themselves in the magical world of witches. For those seeking a spooky thrill, the "Ghosts & Goodies" event is a must-visit. This interactive experience takes visitors on a ghostly adventure through the haunted houses of Gardner Village. Participants can expect spine-chilling encounters, mysterious disappearances, and plenty of Halloween-themed treats along the way. While the Witch Party is undoubtedly the main attraction, Gardner Village also offers visitors the chance to shop for unique and enchanting merchandise. The village is home to a variety of specialty stores and boutiques, many of which carry Halloween-themed items and witch-inspired decor. Overall, the Gardner Village Witch Party is a one-of-a-kind event that combines the charm of an historic village with the excitement of Halloween. Whether you're young or young at heart, this celebration promises a magically memorable experience that will capture your imagination and leave you longing for more..

Reviews for "Join the Sisterhood of Witches at the Gardner Village Witch Party"

1. John Smith - 2 stars - I was really looking forward to the Gardner village witch party, but I was quite disappointed with the experience. Firstly, the event was overcrowded, making it difficult to move around and enjoy the different activities. Additionally, the costumes worn by the staff were underwhelming and lacked the creativity and attention to detail that I was expecting. Overall, I felt that the event was overhyped and didn't live up to its potential.

2. Emily Johnson - 1 star - The Gardner village witch party was a complete letdown. The event felt disorganized and chaotic, with long lines for the attractions and limited seating areas. The activities and shows were lackluster, and the overall atmosphere was far from magical. I would not recommend wasting your time and money on this event.

3. Mark Thompson - 2 stars - I attended the Gardner village witch party with my family, and it was a disappointing experience. The ticket prices were quite high for what was offered, and the lines for the attractions were unbearable. The event had potential, but it felt poorly executed, and it seemed like the organizers were more focused on making money than creating a memorable experience for the attendees. I would not attend this event again in the future.

4. Sarah Davis - 2 stars - The Gardner village witch party was a letdown for me. The decorations were subpar and lacked the Halloween spirit I was expecting. The activities and shows were unimpressive, and the overall entertainment value was lacking. I would suggest exploring other Halloween events in the area, as this one didn't meet my expectations.

5. Alex Reed - 1 star - I was extremely disappointed with the Gardner village witch party. The event felt poorly planned and executed, with long lines, mediocre attractions, and unenthusiastic staff. The costumes and decorations were lackluster, and it didn't feel immersive or exciting. Save your money and find a better Halloween event in the area, because this one is not worth your time.

Step into a World of Witchcraft and Wonder at the Gardner Village Witch Party