teacup Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Just to make sure I understand your position so
> far, I read you as saying:
>
> (1) Skinwalkers actually exist;
> (2) Skinwalkers are human;
> (3) Skinwalkers do not have so-called
> 'supernatural' abilities;
> (4) Skinwalkers are trained from early childhood
> to be skinwalkers;
>
> and that as a result of this training:
>
> (5) Skinwalkers are able to do seemingly
> 'supernatural' things, such as running on all
> fours at speeds of 35-45 mph.

All except number 3 are correct. My husband and I selected the three top "supernatural" criteria that most people are aware of and tend to scoff at immediately. However, there are things that do defy explanation. People have gone ill from these things. A skinwalker's medicine lore can be roughly compared to the activities of the brujo in the movie, The Missing. As I have said, one of my uncles was rendered totally unconscious by one of these things and he was not struck by anything. All he saw was a dark shadow that rush towards him and he was out. There was no signs of injury on him, not even the smallest pinprick. Nothing would rouse him at all. He was dead to the world. It took a medicine man to wake him.

>
> If I have mis-stated your position in the nutshell
> summary above, please correct me. If the summary
> is correct, though, it seems to me you are boxing
> yourself into a intellectual dead end. Wouldn't
> it be better to keep your options open with:
>
> (1) Skinwalkers may or may not exist;

Skinwalkers do exist. I am aware of not only the accounts that Kluckhohn documented but upwards to a hundred of other firsthand accounts. On top of it, I have seen and experienced skinwalkers multiple times over the past 4 years.

> (2) Skinwalkers may or may not be human;

Skinwalkers are human. Skinwalkers will make their runs wearing an animal skin and only an animal skin. This leaves obvious parts of human anatomy visible as well as their entire bodies. They will coat themselves with ash and a greasy substance to perturb their appearance. Their hair is often heavily matted. Think the Grendel from the 13th Warrior and that's a pretty darn close depiction.

> (3) Skinwalkers may or may not have 'supernatural'
> abilities;

The unusual is part and parcel of life on the Navajo reservation (let alone any reservation). There are always things that are puzzling but cannot be explained. However, the three things that my husband and I selected are what are the skinwalker's "supernatural" hallmarks and can be explained by looking at humanity itself.

> (4) Skinwalkers may or may not be trained from
> early childhood to be skinwalkers;

It is pretty clear by the second version (passed through medicine men) that skinwalkers are in fact trained from early childhood, precisely like medicine men. I asked this question in particuliar and it was confirmed by a medicine man that they started their training at the same age range as a medicine men. It's interesting to note that skinwalkers and medicine men are rather like rivals. Much of the flute music that a skinwalker plays is the reverse of a healing song that a medicine man plays. They are said to be in direct opposition to the beauty way. They would seem to live in the perversion of a medicine man's ways.


> (5) People have reported an experience of being
> chased at 35-45 mph by something these people
> perceived as human.

You need more information. The experience that my husband and his friends had was more than just being chased by a group of skinwalkers. They were actually at a ranch of one of his friends when the visitation started. They were standing in the front yard when my husband spotted a skinwalker hovering above them on the rooftop. They all ran inside and panicked because, from the sounds of it, there were several up there. They decided to make a break for a car and that's what they did. There were about half a dozen or more skinwalkers present on the property. They were utterly surrounded before they got the car started and had very close visual inspection of the skinwalkers as a result. They went down the road to the ranch access gate. They all had glimpses of skinwalkers running on all fours alongside the road but managed to pull ahead. When they reached the gate, one of them had to get out of the car to open it. After several minutes of fighting over who was going to do it, one unlucky fellow got out of the car and opened the gate. At this time, the skinwalkers were at a close distance, watching and the young man was spoken in Navajo by a skinwalker near the gate. Apparently, he said that they weren't going to get out of there alive. Obviously they did and the skinwalkers were probably trying to terrorize them entirely. The young man was permitted to get back into the car but they were pursued for about 5 miles on open road by this group of skinwalkers at speeds up to 45mph. There is zero doubt that it was skinwalkers as the skinwalkers were quite close to the vehicle until they eventually pulled ahead of them.

> Once again, Steph, I'm not trying to give you a
> hard time, and I am certainly not scoffing. I
> just think you might want to keep your options
> open.

Actually, I have kept my options open. All of this information is based on firsthand accounts from family as well as secondhand accounts that were reported to family by friends. I know that it may not seem like much information but considering that my intention isn't to write a book on this messageboard, I am limiting my information down to a summarization. I have zero problem whatsoever retelling any of the firsthand accounts if need be, however.

Don't worry. I expected some of this reaction and am quite ready for it. It's an interesting topic and will garner a great variety of responses. I am not offended at all.

Stephanie





In every man there is something wherein I may learn of him, and in that I am his pupil.--Ralph Waldo Emerson