In this episode, Skoden Cinema features guest host Chris Hill who discusses the Legend of the Deer Woman. Tribal stories that have been told for centuries and even Chris Hill’s own personal encounter with the Deer Woman is included in this series. Guaranteed to send chills down your spine, this podcast episode is one of my favorites of the summer.
The Legend has it that the Deer Woman is known to be a succubus, likely the woman of your dreams. Beautiful, daring, and seductive, the Deer Woman is perfect in every way, despite her hooved feet. The Deer Woman is very enticing; she has the power to make men obsess over her and do what she asks. It is said that many tribes have different stories of the Deer Woman, but her supernatural ability to seduce men is one universal thing that has never been in question.
Chris Hill starts the episode by telling what he knows to be the history of the Deer Woman. Long ago, a beautiful Indian woman was traveling alone from one tribe to another. As she was traveling, some men brutally attacked her and left her to die in a field. As the woman was nearing her death, a hind (female deer) approached the woman and wrapped her body around her. The spirit of the deer helped the woman to pass over, and in the midst of the woman’s transition, she made a deal with the deer. The woman made a deal that she would become both half deer and half human. Through the spirit of the deer, the woman would then seek revenge on the men who attacked her and any other men that had bad intentions.
Other stories from different tribes mention these entities were cursed by evil spirits and used their power for revenge. The Deer Woman specifically seeks to capture the soul of man.
Chris Hill also mentions his own personal encounter with the Deer Woman at a Powwow event that he attended in Iowa.
“Is she called or summoned? Does she just appear?” Chris: “They come around Indian functions to take Indians because they’re mad they were cursed that way…It’s revenge for them.”
Chris was in his early 30s visiting family members in Iowa when a beautiful Indian woman approached him at the dance. It was evening time; the sun was about to set. The woman introduced herself to Chris and started to spark conversation about his origins and why he was there at the event.
Suddenly as Chris was talking to the woman, her face began to change into something distorted. Unsure of whether the heat of the evening was getting to him, Chris decided to look away. The woman began to explain that she wanted to introduce him to her people and pointed toward the woods. Feeling uncomfortable and confused, Chris broke away from the woman and went back to his relatives.
After explaining to one of his elder relatives about what he had seen, they had asked him if he had looked at her feet. Shortly after, Chris’ relatives and friends went looking for the woman in the woods, and they said they couldn’t find her. The people of that part of town insisted Chris had interacted with the Deer Woman because it’s what they believe in “those parts.”
The Deer Woman will call for you, appear in your dreams, and can make you sick or insane. So when this occurred, the people of the area cleansed Chris and sent him off with something to take home in order to protect his energy.
The Legend of the Deer Woman has been told amongst many tribes across the Indian country. We’ve listened to a lot of eerie mysteries, but this particular episode gave us the SPOOKS. Skoden Cinema is one of my top podcasts of the summer because they uncover many other thrillers in this series. Skoden Cinema is a must-listen if you’re into suspenseful podcasts.
