I had a cabin on cass lake in northern minnesota until a event that will forever haunt me. Cass lake is a large lake near the mississippi headwaters that offers beautiful escape from the crowded resort areas. Cass lake is a popular spot in the summer months, but very quiet in the winter time. The few resorts on the lake close for the season and only a handfull of locals inhabit the 15,000 acre lake in the winter. What attracted me to area in the winter months was the fantastic is fishing the lake offered without the noise of 1000's of snowmobiles that more popular lakes like mille lacs has. I had a 12'x16' ice house where I would spend most weekends alone with my thoughts. On the day of dec. 21 1996 I was trying to decide if I wanted to brave the 5 hour drive back to minneapolis with major winter storm on the way. I decided to stay another day and wait it out, the fish were biting and I had everthing I need for another few days.

A gentle snowfall began at about 8pm and conditions rapidly deteriorated with snow comming down at the rate of inches per hour. At 12:30 am I was awakend by a thunderous sound that shock my my house. The rapidly falling temps had caused a "breaker" or ice heave that occurs when the pressure from expansion of ice against the shoreline creates a fault line in the ice. When I went out to inspect the conditions I had a 8ft wall of ice looming over the west side of the house. I knew I had to move it but the fault would be there the entire winter and ice conditions would not allow me take my house off the ice if I did'nt act soon. I pulled a large iron bar to chip and pry the skids from the ice. The wind is very unforgiving on a large lake, it is like a frozen dessert with visibility of 20 feet or less. I would estimate wind of at least 40mph with wind chills in the -50f range. The howle of the wind is nothing new to me, but something was different about it. It sounded as if it was comming towards me and getting much louder. The sound transformed into a shreking scream that was begining to frighten me. A large figure that appeared to be an gaint of a man emerged from the white out conditions and towered over me emiting this horrible sound. I was struck with terror unable to move at first, myself wanting to scream, but unable to move my mouth. I thought to myself I am a outdoors person who has been isolated 100's of miles from anyone in the canadian wilderness, why can't I move now? I looked away from the figure, jumped to my snowmobile and headed for land.

Later I talked with an elderly native american gentleman I fished with, he then told me of the windigo and that he too had such an encounter on the lakes star island. The small lake on the island is named windigo. I was unable to recover my ice house that winter and decided I could no longer stand to spend time alone in the area I once loved. I sold the cabin that summer and now lok over my shoulder every time I venture into the woods.