An
evil shape-shifting
witch in
Navajo folklore. Skinwalkers roam the
night dressed in
animal skins looking for victims, and have the power to turn into the animal whose skin they are wearing. They can
control people's minds, run faster than a car, jump from
mesa to mesa, and cause people to
sicken and
die by hiding "
witchcraft bundles" near their homes or even placing
cursed objects within their bodies.
Too Good to be True, a collection of urban legends by Jan Harold Brunvand, contains a transcript of several Navajo boys recounting a common urban myth ("The Boyfriend's Death") which they of course believe to be absolutely true. In their version, a skinwalker is the perpetrator rather than the standard homicidal maniac.