Amikuk- Shapeshifters of Alaska

After learning more about the Amikuk of Yup’ik folklore from the Bering Strait region of Alaska, I’ve decided that these guys might be one of the most terrifying creatures I have ever read about. Beyond the creep factor of their physical forms, their supernatural abilities make it virtually impossible to escape them once you have been targeted as prey, no matter if you are on land or in the water. Personally, I like it better when the lore includes ways for victims to fight back or evade a sinister creature's clutches. But these guys kind of seem invincible.

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What exactly do I mean? Well, to start with, Amikuks are shapeshifters and will present themselves in different physical forms depending on where you encounter them. For example, if you run into an Amikuk at sea, it will appear as a large, leathery-skinned monster with four long, spindly arms. It’s disputed whether they have legs, since descriptions include both with and without them.

Kayakers have long been cautious of these creatures because the Amikuk are known to wait silently in icy water for a kayaker to approach, then attack by wrapping their long arms around both the kayaker and the kayak. Then they will pull them down into the frigid water below. Pretty scary, right?

Now here is where it gets really freaky. When an Amikuk is on land, it can swim through solid ground as if it were water. If it travels underground, it creates a thumping sound, and the surrounding dirt turns to quicksand, trapping unsuspecting victims standing or walking above. 

As if their monstrous forms weren't terrifying enough, these creatures are also known to be master shapeshifters who can walk among us in human form. When they are in this state, they go by the name Qamungelriit. Because of this, you should never simply assume you're meeting a regular person out in the Alaskan wilderness; you might actually be coming face-to-face with an Amikuk in disguise. The only real clue to their true nature is that, while they appear human, they are almost always spotted pulling a sled across the frozen landscape.

If an Amikuk is shot or attacked, it doesn’t necessarily die; instead, it is said to multiply into eight separate beings. Once I read that, well, I decided that a run-in with an Amikuk is something to be avoided at all costs. Lastly, they can jump through a person, rendering them weak or even causing death.

Given all the power this creature has, I was rather surprised by this unexpected trait. While the Amikuk is in human form, it can only walk in a straight line. If you block its path, it will become distraught and will offer the person blocking it gifts. It is suggested that you don’t respond at first because the Amikuk will keep offering the person blocking them more extravagant gifts, so the longer you can hold out, the better.

So, sure, you might receive an extravagant gift if you cross paths with an Amikuk, but given all the fierce ways it can take a human out, I think I’d rather run in the opposite direction. Perhaps the folklore that surrounds the Amikuk was simply a way to explain the eerie disappearances and the relentless dangers of the Alaskan environment: a place of profound beauty that hides predatory terrors beneath both ice and earth.