(Image credit: mtv.com)
Trust Teen Wolf to always go for the coolest ideas when it comes to bringing mythology to a supernatural show! Nogitsunes, Oni, dark druides, you name it, they’ve had it! The latest creatures on the block –or rather, in the desert- are *drum-roll*: Skin-walkers! We learned a few months ago that Jeff Davis was planning on bringing Native American mythology and Navajo legends to the show, and after “Damnatio Memoriae” we have our first visual.
How awesome does this look?! OK, OK, you can add “terrifying” to that description, but consider me wowed. Thanks to this article, here’s a more detailed explanation about what Skin-walkers are:
According to Navajo legend, skinwalkers are accomplished medicine men or witches who reach the highest level of priesthood but choose to use their powers for evil rather than good. Skinwalkers take the form of an animal for the purpose of inflicting pain on others. The initiation procedure is pretty tough: all prospective skinwalkers must kill a close relative. Once a prospective skinwalker passes that test, he gains immense magical powers, including shape-shifting abilities. These abilities enable skinwalkers to turn into any animal they choose, though their top choices are usually foxes, owls, coyotes, wolves, or crows—the most feared or revered animals in Navajo mythology.
Sounds like they’d fit perfectly into Beacon Hills, right? Back to the show, they seem to be spearing off against Kira and her mother as she struggles to get her fox spirit under control.
According to most reports, Skin-walkers are usually men but on Teen Wolf the three we see seem to be women, and only one of them is wearing a pelt. I’m very intrigued by the intricate paint on their faces however, and I hope we learn more about them soon! Episode 5×13 is supposed to be all about Kira, so there shouldn’t be too long to wait.
Between this and La Bete du Gevaudan from 18th century France, Teen Wolf is really going all out this season!
In case you need some refreshing on all the creatures that have been featured so far, check out our mythology section.
