Skinwalkers are supernatural creatures that were encountered by the Winchester Brothers and other Hunters. Dean Winchester, after reading John Winchester's journal, sees them as cousins of werewolves due to their similarities; much like them, skinwalkers can transform into animals.
All skinwalkers originate from the Alpha Skinwalker. This Alpha placed thirty skinwalkers in dog form with families. He planned to create an army of skinwalkers by turning the families in skinwalkers all at once, turning 30 into 150.
Characteristics
Skinwalkers are considered by hunters to be werewolf cousins because they have similar characteristics. They shape shift into an animal, they are killed by silver weapons, they infect people with a single bite, and they feed on human hearts.
Unlike werewolves, skinwalkers' transformation into a canine is complete and they are not limited by the phases of the moon. Skinwalkers can change into their animal form at any time, day or night. Skinwalkers also mostly change into canines instead of wolves or as a wolf-human hybrid like werewolves. Like other creatures such as vampires, and real canines, they seem to have a pack mentality, as they are led by an pack leader, who in turn answers to the Alpha Skinwalker.
Other common features similar to werewolves is the fact that they always eat the heart of their victim and they have an infectious bite, they can turn humans into skinwalkers simply by biting them and passing on the infection to the person. Silver has been shown to be the only thing that can kill a skinwalker. Whenever a skinwalker is killed by a silver bullet or knife in its animal form, it reverts back to its human form.
Powers and Abilities
- Shape-shifting: Like werewolves, skinwalkers possess the ability to transform into a canine. Unlike werewolves, however, skinwalkers transform into a complete animal rather than a hybrid between man and wolf creature. Skinwalkers can change for human to animal form anytime without a full moon.
- Infectious bite: Like werewolves, skinwalkers possess a poisonous bite; if someone is bitten by a skinwalker, he or she will also become a skinwalker.
- Enhanced Smelling : They can smell a scent far better than a human, in either form. Using this ability, they can tell if they are being followed or if someone is in the vicinity within a range of 100 yards or more, approximately.
- Super-hearing
- Accelerated Healing : They appear to be able to heal themselves much faster than humans. (E.g. A skinwalker was hit by a minivan, but when he returned back to his human form, he appeared to have no physical harm. The same skinwalker was shot with a bullet later, but the wound healed extremely quickly.)
- Enhanced Strength- Their strength seems to be greater than the average human.
- Super Speed: Skinwalkers, in their animal form, can run and move supernaturally faster than humans.
- Invulnerability: Like many other shapeshifters, skinwalkers can only be killed by silver bullets to the heart.
Vulnerabilities
Like all other shapeshifters, Skinwalkers are vulnerable to and can only be killed by weapons made out of silver. Either a silver bullet or knife in its heart or head will kill it.
Season 6
Crowley wants Sam and Dean to capture another Alpha for him, and he puts them on the trail of deaths he thinks may be linked to the Alpha Werewolf. Finding that Cal Garrigan is a common link between the victims, Sam and Dean suspect that he is a werewolf until he, too, is killed. Cal's girlfriend, Mandy, becomes their next suspect until Sam witnesses the woman's dog, Lucky, change into a man. It seems that Lucky has been killing anyone who threatens Mandy or her son.
Sam chases him, but the man (in dog form) is hit by a car. Sam and Dean take Lucky from the vet hospital, bind him in rope and silver chains to restrain him, and interrogate him. It transpires that the man was homeless when he was approached and recruited to become a skinwalker; he was told that being bitten would make him strong and fast. Lucky then reveals that he knows of about 30 skinwalkers who have been recruited and are living with families as pets. On a signal from their pack leader, they are supposed to infect their families, thus recruiting more skinwalkers. He tells Sam and Dean that there are packs in many towns, but he knows nothing of the Alpha Skinwalker.
Lucky leads Sam and Dean to the Pack Leader, but he has kidnapped Mandy and her son and threatens to kill them unless Lucky turns them. Sam and Dean attack, and all the Skinwalkers are killed except Lucky, who escapes despite being shot with a Silver bullet. Lucky, in human form, then goes to visit Mandy and tell her how much he appreciated her kindness, but she tells him to leave. Lucky transforms into a dog and dejectedly leaves.
Known Skinwalkers
Trivia
- They appeared in the series, as monsters of the week in Season 6 episode All Dogs Go To Heaven.
- Skinwalkers are the suspected culprits in Season 1 episode Wendigo and Skin, but turn out to be a Wendigo and a Shapeshifter, respectively.
- According to folklore, a skinwalker is a shape shifter that comes form Native American folklore.
- According to Native American folk lore, the only way for a human to become a skinwalker is by killing a family member.
- Like in Supernatural, Skinwalkers do hunt in packs and are mostly male then female. They also like to feed on human flesh.
- In Supernatural, skinwalkers transform into dogs but in Folklore, Skinwalkers could shape shift into any animal they want.They are known for transforming in dogs but, skinwalkers most commonly take the shape of a coyote or a wolf. The Coyote shape was the most favored because they worshiped the Coyote Shapeshifter/Trickster god.
- The Navajo word or skinwalker is Yee naaldlooshii. Which mean ( He who walks on four legs).
- In animal form, skinwalkers are said to possess supernatural speed. they can chase out to a car. Their also said to have superhuman strength and senses, can mimic any human and animal voices, can read minds, and were invulnerable to guns and knifes. Skinwalker in their human form, could cast spells that could hurt and kill humans. Like the witches on supernatural, skinwalkers only kill those who they have a grudge against.
- Skinwalkers on Supernatural, could only be killed by silver weapons to the heart. But in folklore, Skinwalkers could only be killed by shooting it in the neck by a bullet dipped in white ash.