2 h 5 minAudiobook7 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the man who knows the forest best is the first to fear it?
In Algernon Blackwood’s The Wendigo, a hunting party enters the northern Canadian woods in search of moose. Camp life promises quiet, but the forest begins to feel less welcoming. Joseph Défago, a skilled French Canadian guide, grows afraid of something unseen. His fear unsettles the people who depend on his knowledge of the wild.
When the party divides to hunt, young divinity student Simpson camps with Défago in a place that feels increasingly wrong. Simpson’s uncle, Dr. Cathcart, trusts science and common sense. Yet the vast woods offer little comfort to a practical mind. Blackwood lets silence, landscape and suggestion build dread, bringing reason up against something it cannot name.
What you’ll discover
- A guide’s unsettling fear Feel the unease deepen as a capable woodsman loses his confidence in familiar country.
- Beauty with a threat Enter a wilderness where lovely surroundings can seem menacing without warning.
- Reason meets the unknown Follow Dr. Cathcart’s practical outlook as the forest challenges what he can explain.
- Dread without loud shocks Discover how silence and suggestion make the smallest signs feel deeply troubling.
- Fear within a group Watch one man’s growing terror unsettle companions far from the comfort of town.
Who will love it
For readers who love atmospheric ghost stories, wilderness settings and fear built from suggestion. It is also a good first step into Blackwood.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Six men enter the northern forest
- The party divides and the hunt begins
- Défago grows afraid of something unseen
- Strange signs gather around the camp
- Reason and belief pull against each other
- How Blackwood builds fear from landscape
Who’s who
- Dr. CathcartA Scottish physician on the hunting trip, practical and rational, who trusts what he can see and measure.
- SimpsonThe doctor's young nephew, a divinity student, sensitive and thoughtful, who feels the wilderness more than he will admit.
- Joseph DéfagoA French Canadian guide, skilled in the bush, whose growing fear of the forest unsettles everyone near him.
- Hank DavisAn experienced hunter in the party, steady and at home in the woods, who joins the search for game.
- PunkThe Indian cook of the camp, who stays mostly apart from the hunters' talk.
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- Audiobook
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- 15-minute summary
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- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Der Wendigo
by Algernon Blackwood · 1910
In the northern Canadian woods, a guide's unspoken fear draws a hunting party toward an unseen presence.
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From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
Six men enter the northern forest
The story opens with a hunting party in the Canadian wilds, far from any town. Two of the men hold the center of the tale. Dr. Cathcart is a Scottish physician, a calm and practical man who trusts what he can see and measure. With him is his nephew Simpson, a young divinity student who is more thoughtful and more open to strange ideas.
The rest of the party are the men who make the trip possible. Hank Davis is a seasoned hunter, and Joseph Défago is a French Canadian guide, quiet, skilled and deeply at home in the bush. Punk is the Indian cook, a man who keeps mostly to himself.
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What is The Wendigo by Algernon Blackwood about?
It is a horror novella about a hunting party in the northern Canadian forest. As two men separate from the group, one of them is gripped by fear of an unseen presence, and the wilderness itself seems to turn against them.
What is a Wendigo?
The Wendigo comes from the folklore of Algonquian peoples in northern North America. It is a spirit or being of the deep winter forest, linked to hunger and fear, and Blackwood uses it as a haunting presence rather than a drawn monster.
When was The Wendigo written?
Blackwood published it in 1910. It is a work of fiction, though it draws on real Native legends and on the author's own time in the Canadian wilderness.
The author
Algernon Blackwood
1869–1951 · English supernatural fiction writer
Algernon Blackwood (1869–1951) was an English short story writer and novelist. He was born in Kent and lived in Canada before returning to Britain. He wrote The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories (1906), The Willows (1907), John Silence (1908), and The Wendigo (1910). He died in London.
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