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Dr. Hydeker was the human disguise of a shtriga, a witch-like monster that fed on the life force of children since 1893. He was once hunted by John Winchester, and attempted to feed off of a young Sam Winchester. John managed to stop him from killing Sam, but Hydeker escaped and John lost track of the creature for years.

History

Background

Hydekernews

Hydeker in 1893.

The earliest known case of Hydeker feeding was in Black River Falls in 1893. In the late 1980s, John Winchester hunted this Shtriga in Fort Douglas, Wisconsin. He left his two sons Sam and Dean alone in a hotel room while hunting for it. Eventually, Dean got bored of staying in the hotel and went out. When he came back, he found the Shtriga feeding on Sam. John returned in time to scare the Shtriga off. It was not seen or heard of for years.

Season 1

Sam and Dean pose as CDC agents to investigate the sudden, bizarre illnesses of local children. They encounter Dr. Hydeker in the pediatric ward of the local hospital. He says no treatments have proved successful, and that their immune systems are compromised. As he investigates similar past incidents, Sam discovers a picture that was taken in the 1890s, in which Dr. Hydeker appears. The brothers realize the doctor is the shtriga they are hunting. Sam calls Dean, who is in the hospital near the doctor when he is informed of his true identity. He maintains his cover, but barely.

The brothers realize that Hydeker is going after Michael, whose little brother Asher he'd fed on most recently, next. Dean is able to convince Michael to act as bait for Hydeker to save his brother's life and that night, around 3:00 in the morning, Hydeker enters Michael's room to feed on him. As Hydeker starts to feed, Sam and Dean burst in, yell at Michael to get under the bed and open fire on Hydeker, apparently killing him. However, Hydeker had not been feeding when he was shot so he rises again and throws Sam and Dean around. Hydeker ultimately throws Sam down on Michael's bed and starts draining him. As Hydeker drains Sam, Dean catches his attention then shoots Hydeker in the head, killing him. Following his death, Hydeker's body shrivels to nothing and all the life forces he consumed are released. As he shrivels, Dean shoots him in the head three more times just to be sure.

The next morning, Michael's mother Joanna informs the Winchesters that Hydeker's victims are recovering and will be fine. She also notes that Hydeker mysteriously wasn't at work that morning, a subject Sam, Dean and Michael keep quiet about their knowledge of.[1]

Powers and Abilities

Hydeker had all of the common powers of a shtriga.

  • Longevity - By feeding off life force, the shtriga can live for an extended period of time; the limits of this are unknown.
  • Life Force Draining - Shtrigas can remain immortal by sucking the life force out of children. They can drain the life force of humans of any age, but prefer children. The life force that shtrigas suck out is called "spiritus vitae" which is Latin for "breath of life." Due to this, their hand prints cause wood to rot. When they die, the life force they stole will return to all the children still alive.
  • Shtriga

    Hydeker about to feed.

    Invulnerability - Shtrigas are very difficult to kill. They can not be killed with normal weapons like standard bullets and knives.
  • Shapeshifting - By day, a shtriga can shapeshift into a human, so that hunters won't be able to detect the creature. At night, the shtriga can transform back to its hag form. They commonly take the form of old women, but this is not a rule. This particular shtriga took on the form of a male doctor treating his own victims.
  • Super Strength - Shtriga can easily overpower humans and lift and throw them with great force. Hydeker easily threw around the Winchesters.
  • Super Speed - Shtrigas can move faster than humans.
  • Super Agility - Hydeker was able to silently climb up to a two-story window with ease when going after Bethany.
  • Electromagnetic Interference - When Hydeker entered Michael's room, his presence caused interference in the camera feed Sam and Dean were watching.

Weaknesses

"She's vulnerable when she feeds. If you catch her when she's eating, you can blast her with consecrated wrought iron buckshot or rounds I think."

  • Consecrated Iron - When feeding, a shtriga is vulnerable to consecrated iron rounds. However, the shtriga must actually be feeding as one was only killed when Dean shot it while it was feeding on Sam. An attempt beforehand when it was interrupted feeding on Michael failed.
  • The Colt - Can kill almost anything so it can presumably kill a shtriga too.
  • The First Blade - It can kill anything.
  • Death's Scythe - It can kill anything.

Appearances

Trivia

References

  1. Something Wicked
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