Spirit of the Lonely Places
Based on the original short story "The Wendigo"
by Algernon Blackwood
Premise:
Drug out into the majestic solitude of the Canadian outback on a guided hunting trip by her devoted uncle, rebellious city slicker, Kimi Simpson, finds herself lost, alone and pursued when her woodland guide is abducted by the Wendigo of Native American legend.
Genre: Horror, Thriller/Suspense
Length: 99 pages
Rating: 17 and older
Creative Notes:
Although based on the original short story from 1910, ‘The Wendigo’ by Algernon Blackwood, this contemporary retelling adds a wealth of set pieces and scenarios, character changes, new themes and image systems, romance and humor, as well as an ending that diehard fans familiar with the short story will not see coming.
Themes and image systems include greed, deception, and spirituality.
Synopsis:
Kimi Simpson, a hard edged and rebellious young woman, is reluctantly taken on a guided moose hunting trip by her devoted uncle, Dr. Charles “Doc” Cathcart, a New York City surgeon intent on supplying Kimi a few of the essentials of happiness - familial love, quality bonding time, and a fun, adventurous getaway from her troubled life in the big city. Transported by bush plane, the pair travel deep into the majestic solitude of the Canadian outback to a secluded base camp run by a high-dollar outfitter comprised of the areas best huntsmen.
Besides the lack of urban amenities and the biting cold, the trip begins to look up for Kimi when she meets Joseph Defago, the strapping young hunter hired to teach her how to fire and care for her weapon and how to hunt moose within the frigid boreal terrain. She’s instantly smitten and a romance begins to evolve. Additionally, she finds humor in the grizzled camp foreman, Hank Davis, and security in the Ojibwa tracker and camp cook, Punk. However, the trip takes an unexpected turn when the experienced outfitters fail to produce the moose necessary to consummate a successful trophy hunt as promised.
In an effort to cover more ground, the group is divided: Hank and Doc will hunt the eastern Garden Lake grounds; Kimi and Defago will trek north into Fifty Island Water and hunt the southern shoreline; and Punk will maintain the base camp - a decision that puts Punk and Defago on edge, yet Kimi over the moon. Unknown to the clients, Fifty Island Water is forbidden First Nation's territory, and the legend of the untouched stretch of wilderness precedes the territory. Pressed to produce a trophy bull, Hank demands Defago make the trip, calling the stories fairy tales and bullshit to his team, while spinning lies to his cityfolk clients.
The experiences of both the divided parties take a turn for the worse - Hank’s team discovers a dead camp surrounded by booby traps, carpeted in shell casings, and littered with the remains of bodies; Defago’s team is stalked by a supernatural predator spirit, the Wendigo of Algonquin lore, escalating with the violent abduction of Defago, leaving Kimi alone to fend for herself in an environment she knows little about.
Following the blazes placed by Defago on the hike into Fifty Island Water, Kimi retreats for the base camp but is drawn into the wilds by Defago’s locating whistle - used for emergencies only. Desperately, she searches for Defago using her new knowledge of the terrain, tracks discovered in the snow fall, and armed with her moose rifle. The sounds of the whistle become shrill reports on the wind, a sinister trick of the Wendigo, luring her to its killing field. To her surprise, she hears Defago, unseen yet nearby, shouting for her to run! It isn’t until she spies a form stalking her that she realizes the danger she has hiked into. The spirit attacks and pursues Kimi through the outback, injuring her in the process. Kimi witnesses the Wendigo materialize, an primeval shapeshifter which is changing into a human form. For reasons unknown to Kimi, the Wendigo departs, leaving her in the gully of a frozen creek bed.
It isn’t long before Hank and Doc, concerned for Kimi and Defago’s well being, meet back up with Punk at the base camp and head out for Fifty Island Water. Upon arriving, they find Kimi at the Fifty Island Water campsite, unresponsive and near death, and Defago nowhere to be found. Doc nurses Kimi back to health while Hank and Punk secure the campsite. When Kimi is well enough to share her story, she tells of the Wendigo encounter and of Defago’s abduction but that he’s still alive out there. Hank dismisses the ghost story while Punk tries to assure the party she’s telling the truth. Ultimately, Punk braves the territory to track Defago in hopes of returning him safely to camp and Hank and Doc create defenses to protect the camp from the potential predator. Kimi rests and hopes for Defago’s return.
In the night, Defago does return; worn, exhausted and frostbitten - a shade of his former self, but more than that, he doesn’t seem right. He’s not himself and Hank knows it. Awaiting Punk’s return, the camp settles in. Hank on firewatch, Doc, Kimi and Defago bedding down. It’s what Punk finds out there in the snow that strikes fear into his heart, that affirms the legend is not just a fairy tale, and that the camp is in very real danger. The Wendigo has infiltrated them and means to consume them all.
