I was contacted by a gentleman who lives in Canada who wanted me to share his encounter with a shape-shifting beings known as the Night-crawler. He has done an extensive amount of research into what he saw that night and I have included it at the end of the article/Video. Here is the encounter in his own words.
My encounter experience happend back in 2010 in Lower mainland/Fraser Valley, British Columbia, Canada. It was approximately early October or mid October when I was 16 (I am 26 years old now) My old friend lived in the northwest rural part of my city which has a lot of forest area and farm land. His backyard has 5 acres of forest with a few houses surrounded in the distance around the outskirts of the forest. We would go and explore the forest all the time because it was quite mystical and just a cool place to wander. This one time me and my friend went outside to his forest with his dog like we would usually do in the daytime, but this time we went there at night. We were in his backyard forest at about 1 am to go explore.The plan was to have a smoke but we didnt even get that far, we were completely sober when we saw the being and it was much later at home before we finally did get that smoke.
There's a steep cliff made out of forest floor when you first walk in there. The cliff is only about 20 -25 feet into the forest area from the "entrance" When we were standing at the top of the cliff looking down the ravine I saw something, before the path way leading down to the rest of the forest and the creek at the very bottom, which was the only safe way to walk down especially at night, I could see a 7-8 feet tall pure white soft looking figure and it was in between the trees moving around softly swaying left to right back and forth slowly. It was standing (touching the forest floor) in the exact same place the whole time we saw it making absolutely no sound and there was absolutely no wind. I wasn't even going to say anything about the figure to my friend at first because I was waiting for my friend to say something.
We observed it for a couple seconds in complete silence and we were "mesmerised" by it's movements, then I asked my friend if he saw it too and he said "yeah" he could as well. We stood silent in fear as we were watching it do its strange unsettling soft swaying movements whilst trying to adjust our eyes to the Being and see what it was doing. As we continued watching it for a couple minutes I felt I was in a slight daze watching it sway and I started to feel impending doom "set in"
Here is the rough drawing I made of "exactly" what it looked like:
I had a the sinking feeling in my chest area like when you are going to die or are in a life threatening situation and I had shivers going throughout my body. That's when I told my friend specifically "I don't like this", he agreed and we left immediately. I wasn't so much scared of the sight of the Being, I was more curious about the strange movements it was making and what it really looked like, I was scared of the feeling of death it made me feel. I was frozen with fear and I literally felt like I was going to die or something bad was going to happen.
We left very quickly because we didn't know what it was, it scared us and our intuition (my feeling of dread/death) told us it was dangerous and to leave. We didn't want to go check out what it was or approach it and I knew it was time to leave. I remember my friend yelling something at it because he could tell his dog was scared. I am entirely positive the dog was whimpering and the Being was just still swaying back and forth left to right between the trees in the same exact same spot the whole time. Almost immediately after we got out of the forest, it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders and the feeling of dread left pretty much immediately.
The Supernatural Being was just a set of white long limbs which seemed to be at least 7 - 8 feet tall from where we were standing, it was about 30 - 40 feet away from us below, it was around the pathway we would of taken down to the rest of the forest. It was not a trick of the mind or light, there was no light or moon light shining in the forest because it was filled with tall pine trees and other vegetation at various heights. It was not a spiderweb or any sort of garbage. We went back in the morning when it was daylight and saw nothing out of the ordinary. His forest is in pristine condition be cause no one ever goes in it, there is no garbage or signs of humans in there. There were no houses close enough to give off any light or give off a shine through the trees and the Being was not see through, it looked like it was almost solid, but it was very ghostly/spirit looking as well. It was an upside down V or U shape and It had no facial features, no head at all from what we could see in the dark.
It was so white it looked like it was almost shining but it wasn't giving of any light of any sort or illuminating the ground or trees around it. You could see the shadow being cast while it was swaying in the pitch black forest like it was a real animal. It looked solid enough to the point where you couldn't see through it at all, it was solid white. It appeared to be three dimensional. It looked soft and kind of shiny and it was swaying left to right, right to left with its two really long arms. It looked bulky and strong at the top and shoulder areas and where a head would have been but there was no head that I could see.
The two long legs/arms almost looked like the front view of an ape crawling on all fours would look like, as if they were hunched up in front. The best way I can describe it is 7-8 foot thin separated curtains in the shape of a upside down V or U touching the forest floor and swaying left to right back and forth in a specific motion with no sound at all, absolutely no wind, dead silent. Its movements were "Psychedelic" and sort of "hypnotising". It was soft like Charlies white spirit entering Peters body after the attic scene from "Hereditary" Probably the most solid description I can give of what it looked like. It was making no sound at all while it was swaying, it was beautiful to look at and terrifying and unsettling at the same time, that's why it was so astonishing to look at, it was almost angelic.
There were absolutely no sounds in the forest, it was dead silent while it was moving back and forth. Its movements could have been a lure of some sort because it did not move towards us or anywhere, or it was just letting us know to stay away because it was scared to death as well or just didn't want us to disturb it. It was literally something you would see in a science fiction horror movie.
There are absolutely no animals in Northern British Columbia, Canada or the rest of Canada and U.S that look close to what we saw, there are absolutely no animals that are 7-8 feet tall and stand on 2 legs. It did not have a body, It's 2 legs/limbs were its body. It was not a animal, and there is no possible way to "debunk" this. I have explored all the options of what it could have been. This was the first time we ever went out to his forest at night, and it was the last time we ever went in the forest at night. The 5 acres of forest is the biggest area of woods around there. Around the area of town it is mostly just a couple million dollar houses, and farms,forest area. It is pretty much the greenbelt of my city. He has no neighbours that are close to the location, the closest neighbours being at least 3 blocks down the street on the right hand side of the forest.
To this day the feeling that I had when I saw the Being move still gives me shivers. The fact that we went out to the forest at that time really late at night and happened to see that freaks me out as well, because it was clearly meant to be seen by us. If we went out any later or any sooner we might not have seen it in his forest at that moment of time. Like I said, I didn't have to point out to my friend where the Being was he automatically saw it at the same time I saw it. I think the feeling of dread could have possibly have been a warning to keep away from it and that is why me and my friend left right away without any hesitation.
This was my only Paranormal Experience I have ever had. There was no paranormal activity that I experienced when I would go to my friends house or on his property in his forest besides this one experience, but now that I think back on hanging outside there and exploring the woods, there is for sure something "special" about the whole location. I understand a lot of people are scared of these types of things and they don't want to believe they exist, but you would have had to be there yourself to understand what it looked like, you needed to see the creeping movements, and feel what I felt. Seeing one of these beings up close is a spiritual experience that you need to experience and see for yourself to really understand what it was like. We have scaled my friends forest including the area where we saw the Supernatural Being at least 20 different times on different days before hand without seeing it and we went back the day after to the exact spot where we saw the Being in the forest and noticed nothing out of the ordinary. We both knew that it was some sort of being and it was something we shouldn't have been seeing or attempting to go up to. These specific beings go by the name "Sisiutl" (sass a sewl) and various other names from different Indigenous cultures that I have learnt since. I will never forget walking out of that forest that night and I will remember it for the rest of my life. I've looked all over the internet and Reddit for encounters that were identical to me and my friends or even similar and there are absolutely no encounters like ours.
Here is the Fresno Nightcrawler video without sound, this is the closest someone will ever get to the real experience due to how silent it was and how silent the forest was. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nMqja9d6M4 I included this so people will have an idea of the movement.
Here is a transcript of me and my friends conversation a year after we saw the Being (2011 when I was 17) I dug up in my Facebook messages. I clearly hadn't spoken to my friend in a while and I say "I can't stop thinking about the figure we saw in his forest, the feeling I had when I saw it was death", he states "hes never been as scared since, he was worried to tell anyone about it" and he was "Mesmerised by its movements". I even asked if it could have been a Bear or a Yeti, but there was no way it was either of those? He agreed.
I am now well aware of the Night crawler videos, I wasn't aware of the videos until a couple years after my encounter. I have seen the Fresno Night crawler videos many times, the movements looked way more terrifying and "psychedelic" in real life compared to the videos, and it looked a lot more ghostly/spirit like. It was visually stunning, haunting compared to the videos and something you would have to witness/experience for yourself. The one we saw stayed in the same exact spot the whole time we saw it. It did not walk anywhere like the ones in the videos and there were some differences in appearance.
I recently sent our experience and the drawing I did of the Being to someone that was First Nations on Instagram who lives in B.C not to far from me and he knew what it was right away. He told me what the name of the Being was in their language and showed me their cultures "High Status Symbol" which was a "Double Headed Serpent" shaped like a U with an additional Double Headed Serpent with horns on the back and head I was told to flip this symbol upside down because it represents the beings. I was told a little bit of other information and he told me to make a specific burial offering. I did some recent research based on what he told me and I found out some of the other various names different First Nations cultures call the "Night crawlers" here in BC, Canada. I was also told by another First Nations person that lives in the same city as me " If you do go outside at night don't eat or drink anything", "Ask before you enter the forests", and "it is best to keep your distance from them"
I showed a Tlingit artist our experience and the drawing I made and they said: "We in our region know it to be a shapeshifter, you are lucky it had no face as we also know that to make eye contact with it would turn you to salt. It’s origins start in a particular river here on the central coast where it was created by a fishermen, who upon spearing the fish split it vertically from the head towards the tail. The flesh inside was revealed to be a bright and shimmering rainbow of colours and the supernatural creature was born. It’s referenced in many stories throughout the 13 tribes. The sisiutł is indeed a powerful being and if you cross it you will find yourself in a bad spot. However based on your description, it either didn’t want to hurt you and may have been offering you something" "If you encounter it again, ask it what it wants, Gauge the situation, FEEL it. If you truly feel it malicious, then by all means don’t stick around. Take someone with you. Some entities are sly and it may attempt to entice you into something unsavoury"
Sadly I do not know enough about the Native American Lore to give an in depth description of these beings, one gentleman named Red Wolf once told me "Sometimes when you see a tree without bark, you can see the life it led, its scars, its healing, as all things here on earth are alive, in their own way, as it should be, some energies are as old as time and they can change into these living things, become one with them, as we humans once could.
There are many names for the energy that does this from Kustika to Seelkie (very similar to the English Selkie or water horse) The name is not important, understanding these beings and what they want from us is what you should be looking for. Red Wolf explained to me that "it is not just humans who have feelings and emotions, who yearn or demand, all living things are the same, some living beings choose a darker path, they feed on the emotion, it increases them and brings them to life in a more powerful way. There are energies that can transform at will, into you worst nightmare, they become the thing you fear the most, and they drink on the fear that you exude. Some of these beings are as old as time, some come from other worlds within ours, some are cosmic sent, they come to trick or deceive you, they will appear in female form to entice you, or take the form of a lost love or departed love one. They will entice you with flickering lights and lead you deep into the forests or caves. They use your inner darkness to charge themselves.
This confused me as on occasions the things I see dont scare me, I draw comfort from them, strength and clarity? Then I remembered an earlier lesson about life in its basic form. All energy has an opposite, so for every nightmare out there stalking the weak, there is another kind, the kind that heals, helps and grows with positive input. Dark and light, Hot and Cold, the choice in the end lies within us all whether living human or energy orb, ancient deity or Dimensional traveller. What we crave and project is what we attract. Fear builds on fear and keeps you trapped. Jealousy and hate work like poison.
The boys who witnessed the shape-shifting night-crawler did not ask for that to happen, they had no choice in it. The event will no doubt stay with both of them for the rest of their lives. They can not rewind time and face the event with new knowledge, they can not change one single microsecond. The only choice they have is how they deal with this going forward. It is different for everyone, each witness to a terrifying event finds there own way. What is important is the choice to move on from it. We will always be witnesses to impossible things, things that will bring fear and doubt in abundance, but that does not have to define us. If we experienced this horrifying event and made it through, then we can tolerate and achieve anything.
I could see how the witness teeters between a horrifying event that felt like death, to mentioning them as angels at one point. Thats the fundamental question? What side do you lean on? Did it appear to feed from them, to lead them to their deaths? Or was it there to impart knowledge, a hint at an ability lay dormant, waiting to be tapped into and used.
Every country has a shapeshifter in its legends, from the Dryads, Vannara and Leshy, to the Puka, the Sortguld and the Tanuki. Tales passed on from the veil of time. Recorded in word and language. Back in the days when we barely saw other humans, when world communication was yet to be, but yet these stories are completely the same the whole world over. From dark Faeries that lead you into the woods, to the shape-shifting wolf that comes to eat you. The very first known cave painting of a shape shifter was found in Indonesia which is thought to be at least 44,000 years old. This ancient painting from the island of Sulawesi consists of a scene portraying part-human, part-animal figures hunting
I know many of you out there are plagued by some of these energy takers, energy that shifts in shape and confuses you. Still unsure which is good and which is not. We have to take back control, set out boundaries like a warrior. Surround yourself with positive thought, positive intent and a renewed sense self moving forward. Trust your gut instincts always.
Upon doing some recent research of what the First Nations person told me, many different cultures of indigenous people in B.C know about these beings and they all use a "Double Headed Serpent" to represent these beings. The Sto:lo First Nations states that there are 5 different kinds of "Stl’áleqem" (Supernatural Beings) and the "sʔi:ɬqəý̓" is one of them. "Dancers donning the mask of Sisiutl adorn themselves with western hemlock boughs, signifying wildness. Sisiutl masks were often hinged, allowing the serpent ends to simulate lifelike serpentine writhing movements. Sisiutl masks were decorated with flecks of mica, which were believed to be scales shed by Sisiutl (often found on beaches). These mica chips provided an enchanting glittery effect when danced in fire-light." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisiutl
The names of these beings and variants from different First Nations cultures in B.C are Sisiutl/laqaqua'sa, sʔi:ɬqəý̓/siilquey/si:lhqey/Seelkee/Sflhqey, Si'xqe, Shla- lah-kum, Su'ike, Ts'ewalf , Sunulqaz, énétlékē, wasgo, Say Nuth Kway , Sinulhka, Hi?, Grubworm, Larahwæse, Sisiuth, Se-sook, sulwa’us and Klu'bist. There are also various similarities/comparisons between these beings, the "Kelpie" "NAGA" and "Wendigo.
It specifically states in a Thesis from UBC called "The Northwest Coast Sisiutl" from 1975 they are Supernatural beings and shamanism is strongly associated with them. Sisiutl, the Kwakiutl primary variant of the double-headed serpent, is echoed in similar beings of the Tsimshian, Tlingit, Bella Coola, Nootka and Haida groups. Sisiutl occurs in many Kwakiutl myths, but it is an established supernatural spirit with many attributes and no myth of origin. This fact supports the notion that the character sisiutl originated among the northern tribes and was adopted by the Kwakiutl. In addition, the question of visual affinity among the Northwest Coast sisiutl and sisiutl-like beings in Shang/Chou China and seventeenth-nineteenth century New Zealand is briefly addressed.
The symbol is heavily used in different cultures to represent these beings, they even have a statue at UBC in B.C dedicated to the beings. "The soulcatcher (Haboolm Ksinaalgat) of the northern Tsimshian, Tlingit, and Haida peoples exhibits the same body form, and may derive its form from the sisiutl."
This soulcatcher of "Sisiutl" shows the actual "being" secretly ornamented with abalone as the lips. If you tilt your head to the right or left you can clearly see the shiny Abalone inlay for the lips of the snake or teeth are actually the being itself hidden in plain sight. https://imgur.com/a/ceA7ySs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soulcatcher "The word for "sisiutl" in Tsimshian is Laqaqua'sa, which literally means "both sides head". "Among Pacific Northwest cultures, horns or plumes on artwork indicate a supernatural being." "The sisiutl is a legendary creature found in many of the cultures of the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. It is typically depicted as a double-headed serpent with fish qualities, sometimes with an additional central face of a supernatural being. The sisuitl features prominently in Pacific Northwest art, dances and songs. The sisuitl is closely associated with shamans because both are seen as mediators between the natural and supernatural worlds."
Taken from the "Sto:lo Heritage Policy Manual": “Stl’áleqem” is the word the Old People use to categorize certain spiritual beings inhabiting parts of S’ólh Téméxw. These beings’ spiritual potency affords them a significant place in Stó:lō culture, yet they are difficult to describe or explain to people raised outside of the culture. Metaphors of “monsters” and translations of stl’áleqem as “supernatural creatures” fall short of conveying the full meaning of the word and carry a western perspective that robs “stl’áleqem” of its Halq’eméylem essence. Likewise, the distinction western society makes between “real” and “unreal” is not applicable in categorizing stl’áleqem: some spiritual beings, such as the hairy giant sásq’ets (sasquatch), the s’ó:lmexw (water babies) who live at the bottoms of certain lakes and deep spots in rivers, the mimestíyexw (little people) who inhabit various regions of S’ólh Téméxw and assist spirit dancers, and the majestic shxwexwó:s (thunderbird) whose flapping wings make thunder, whose blinking eyes make lightning, and whose urine is rain, are all thought to be just as real as bears, chipmunks and sturgeon, and are not considered stl’áleqem.
Perhaps the best way of conveying what a stl’áleqem is simply to identify them by name and then describe how they are referred to within sxwôxwiyám and sqwelqwel (oral histories). The Old Ones speak of at least five different types or kinds of stl’áleqem: Sí:lhqey, the two-headed serpent; St’qoya, the frightening glowing red eyes sometimes seen at night; Ápel, the large maggot who inhabits the rock bluffs and deep bays above and in the southeast corner of Cultus Lake; and T’liteqo Spá:th, the underwater black bear who lives in the waters of the Fraser Canyon near Lady Franklin Rock. An encounter with any one of these creatures can be dangerous, holding the potential for mixed outcomes. Stó:lō therefore regard places inhabited by stl’áleqem as xá:xa (spiritually potent; ≅ taboo). Since many current Stó:lō activities – hunting, ritualistic spiritual swimming, and “leaving our things” – lead people to visit places where stl’áleqem reside, it is important to know their locations and to follow proper protocol. Those who have been taught how to act appropriately, such as shxwlá:m (Indian doctors), can attain spirit power by showing respect to stl’áleqem. For instance, rather than turning and running upon seeing a stl’áleqem – a typical reaction of someone not prepared for the encounter – one should face it and slowly back away until the creature is out of sight. Another teaching specifies that a person should pluck hair from their head and blow it towards the stl’áleqem. Failure to follow these or other appropriate, sacred teachings can lead to serious consequences. Common reactions to mild, unintentional stl’áleqem encounters are often described as "causing the hair to rise on the back of your neck” or producing a feeling that an unseen presence is near. Those who are warned away and yet knowingly trespass into a stl’áleqem site may suffer xó:lí:s (to twist up and die). Children are particularly prone to this condition. Those who do not immediately die require the treatment of a shxwlá:m to relieve their sickness" https://imgur.com/a/38oEZgI (http://www.srrmcentre.com/files/File/Stolo%20Heritage%20Policy%20Manual%20-%20May%202003%20-%20v1.2.pdf)
Taken From the "Dictionary Of Upriver halkomelem" "<stl'á:leqem>, df //s=ë %* e3 ·lcq(=)cm//, EZ /'animal or bird one is afraid of and can't see, powerful creature, supernatural creature'/, ASM ['includes the sasquatch, Cannibal Ogress (Th'ô 3wxiya), sí:lhqey (two-headed snake), thunderbird (shxwexwó:s), water pygmies (s'ó:lmexw), schichí' (monster), underwater bear (Halkomelem name unknown), sxexomô 3:lh (huge pretty frog with supernatural powers), Xéylxelemós (chief of the river monsters), Spótpeteláxel (Thunderwind), and perhaps some creatures without supernatural powers such as grizzly bear; if one sees a stl'áleqem one can get a special sickness called xo:lí:s which cause one to either vomit till one dies or twist up till one dies or go crazy with soul-loss, medicine-men in training often seek them to grab them and possess their power'], (<s=> nominalizer), root meaning unknown, possibly <=em> have/get, syntactic analysis: nominal, attested by AC (12/4/71), BJ (12/5/64), other sources: ES /së %e§e3lcqcm/ animal (later corrected to powerful creature), also <stl'áleqem>, //s=ë % e3 l c q c m//, attested by EB (2/11/76), Salish cognate: Squamish /së %*álqm/ monster and perhaps related is /së %*c|álm/ grizzly bear W73:177, K67:291, Lushootseed /s-ë %*álqcb/ monster, anything you are afraid of, a fierce power (incl. Basket Ogress) H76:317, Samish dial. of NSt /së %*élcqcm/ powerful monster, creature with power to do harm (incl. any fierce water or land creatures like grizzly, snake, bear, killer whale, wolf, etc., and creatures like giants, wild small people, thunderbird, giant lizard-like creature, two-headed snake, sea monster)." https://books.google.ca/books?id=zvrdVG44R-IC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
"In Canadian folklore, "Seelkee" (s?i:łqəý) (transcribed in English from Halqemeylem, the local [indigenous language is a lake monster reported to have lived in the swamps of what is now Chilliwack, in British Columbia, Canada. Seelkee has been allegedly seen by the Stó:lō, people for hundreds of years. The most common description of Seelkee is a 10 to 15-foot-long (3.0 to 4.6 m) [sea serpent] like beast with the head of a horse. Most descriptions talk about how the creature was snake-like with two heads." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seelkee
"Once years ago I was eliciting ethnozoological information from an aged Lummi friend, Julius Charles. I had gone through Dalquest's Mammals of Washington, asking about everything from shrews to elk, and when I had finished Julius said something like: "There's another animal you haven't got there. They used to be around here but they've become pretty scarce and the white people have never caught one and put it in a zoo."
"Function and appearance. Although the details in the various accounts of the spirit-serpent vary, there are some recurring themes. These include: the general appearance in the form of a large animal, usually a snake and in that case quite often a two-headed snake." https://lingpapers.sites.olt.ubc.ca/files/2018/03/1992_vanEijk.pdf
"The Kwakiutl tribe, who lived on the British Columbian coast north of the present city of Bella Coola specified that sisiutl was an animal that was "of the earth", not one of the mythical creatures of the sea; this distinctly shows that the Pacific Northwest tribes were convinced of the animal's existence." http://allaboutdragons.com/dragons/Sisiutl
"The humanoid central head likely symbolizes Sisiutl's supernatural shape-shifting powers Sisiutl could also change size from a few centimeters to a span sufficient to block of a bay. As a transomative creature of vast shamanic power, the Sisiutl could travel across all boundaries: land, water and air." https://www.mymondotrading.com/gallery/view/614-sisiutl-sea-serpent-by-michael-price
"The Native Sea Serpent symbolizes protection, supernatural power and revival. It is one of the most powerful symbols in Kwakwaka’wakw culture. The Sisiutl is a supernatural three-headed serpent that possesses shapeshifting abilities and the ability to turn spectators into stone when gazed upon. Not only can the Sisiutl change shape into a human or animal, but it can also transform its body into a self-propelled canoe that the owner must feed with seals." https://spiritsofthewestcoast.com/collections/the-sisiutl-or-sea-serpent-symbol
"Lillooet traditional cosmology recognizes a supernatural being called sünuƚqaz', which manifests itself as a gigantic animal, usually a serpent. A being with an etymologically related name and similar attributes is recognized by a number of other Salish cultures, namely, Straits, Halkomelem, and Squamish, while a similar animal, called by unrelated names, appears in yet other Salish cultures. This article discusses the various functions of this being in those Salish cultures where it occurs, as well as the etymological history of the name sünuƚqaz', and serves as a contribution to cryptozoology and the study of beings not recognized in the western taxonomic canon." https://www.jstor.org/stable/30028780?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
"The Houses of these mythical people had Sisuith carved on their cross-beams and when visitors entered the tongues of the serpent would constantly wag. These symbols (Double Headed Serpent) are used by clan members today in the ornamenting of their houses and articles of daily use. They are also carved on their Totem Poles." https://www.sacred-texts.com/nam/nw/ttb/ttb13.htm
"The Sea Sisuitl, a double-serpent of the Kwakuitls was one of the most powerful of the supernatural helpers. It aroused more awe than would be elicited by the representation of an ordinary snake. This creature was said in the lore of the British Columbia coast and Vancouver Island to be four feet in diameter and up to 20 feet long. At times it was in league with the mythological thunderbird. Its 'house' was either on land or in the water. The body has an identical head at each end with a human face, implying should power midway between. Almost always causing death when encountered, it was all the more dangerous because it would shrink itself to a tiny fraction of its true length. The sisuitl is holding an important symbol of wealth, the copper, which was used in potlatch ceremonies. Here, the combination of the all powerful sea-sisutl and the copper, symbol of the great wealth creates an awe-inspiring image." http://collection.legacy.uvic.ca/index.php?id=3954&artifact_action=info
"Woodworms play an important role in traditional religions of the Northwest Coast. Although small and seemingly insignificant, woodworms were considered powerful medicine animals due to their ability to bore through hard wood, and different northwestern tribes ascribed different magical powers to them, including shapeshifting, supernatural knowledge, prophecy, and healing. Woodworms are also used as a clan animal in some Native American cultures. Tribes with Woodworm Clans include the Tlingit. Woodworm is used as a clan symbol in some Northwest Coast tribes, and woodworm crests can sometimes be found carved on totem poles." http://www.native-languages.org/legends-woodworm.htm
"The Quileute people of western Washington know a similar dangerous entity, the "T´abale"
Many myths along the shores of Washington narrate the furious battles of A´yahos or related spirits with other mythical animals. According to the Suquamish Tribe"
"According to legends of the Duwamish people of the Cascade Range, some large boulders along the shores of the Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the area surrounding the city of Seattle are haunted by terrible "A´yahos". A´yahos were shape-shifter spirits, appearing in our world sometimes as large snake, other times as double-headed snake with horns or in their preferred shape with the body of a serpent and the antlers and forelegs of a deer." https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/history-of-geology/a-field-guide-to-the-north-american-earthquake-beasts/
"Non-Salish Cascadia Native representations of two-headed snakes. Neither of these figures has yet been explicitly linked to earthquakes, but they likely represent the same spirit power as a'yahous. Both have horns. representing spirit power. Quileute ceremonial representation of t'abale, a vicious guardian spirit on the northwestern Washington coast." https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Non-Salish-Cascadia-Native-representations-of-two-headed-snakes-Neither-of-these-figures_fig5_249551808
"In Native American myths and legends, horned serpents are usually very supernatural in character-- possessing magical abilities such as shape-shifting, invisibility, or hypnotic powers; bestowing powerful medicine upon humans who defeat them or help them; controlling storms and weather, and so on-- and were venerated as gods or spirit beings in some tribes. And unlike other animals such as crocodiles and snakes, horned serpents are not included in common Woodland Indian folktales about the animal kingdom. So it is likely that horned serpents have always been viewed as mythological spirits, not as animals, and that belief in them was simply very widespread in the eastern part of the country. Indeed, horned serpent mythology may trace back to ancestors of Eastern Native American tribes such as the Hopewell, Mississippian, and other mound-builder civilizations, as stylised serpent motifs have been found in their earthworks and artefacts which bear some resemblance to the horned serpents of historical Native American tribes." http://www.native-languages.org/horned-serpent.htm
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