Teenage years are tough. School, relationships, responsibilities, and puberty on top of it. The last thing you need is someone telling you you’re worthless, or undeserving of affection; someone encouraging you to end your life. Unfortunately, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, this is a reality, and the words of discouragement are coming from Walking Sam.
Walking Sam is described as a tall, thin skeleton of a man, dark as night. He wears a black top hat, and the souls of his victims, dangling from his arms. He lives in the woods, and you can tell if he is nearby when you hear a whistling coming from the trees. But beware, once you hear the whistling, it is already too late; he is already in your head, and soon you will begin to hear voices, telling you that you’re worthless, and you should take your own life.
More than just another urban legend, Walking Sam his roots in Native American lore. He is closely connected to the “Stick Indians,” or shadow people. These Stick Indians are malevolent and dangerous beings that live in the forest. Some tribes have described them as beings resembling Native Americans, while other tribes, the Nez Perces for example, call them little people. Still others, such as the Salish, claim they resemble Bigfoot. Despite the difference in appearance, they all have some things in common – they are rarely seen, and almost completely nocturnal. Their language isn’t anything you would recognize as speech, but rather sounds like birds, or other animals.
Stick Indians are said to mostly keep to themselves, and only act out when provoked. Believed to be vindictive, they seek revenge whenever they are crossed. They have powers of mental persuasion, allowing them to induce dread, confusion, anxiety, hypnotize or even cause instant insanity in humans.
The Stick Indians are so respected and feared that you will not find many who are willing to speak of them; and Walking Sam is believed to be the most powerful of these beings.
Walking Sam is more than just a story, fable, or legend. To the Oglala Sioux, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, he is real and in 2015 reminded the people that he would not be forgotten.
As of 2015, the reservation had a population of just under 17,000. From December of the previous year up until May, there was a reported 103 suicide attempts on the reservation. 9 people between the ages of 12 and 24 were successful. Another witness came forward claiming that over a three-month period, the attempted suicide rate was as high as 241.
The question remains, were they influenced by Walking Sam? A potential answer came in the form of a Facebook Post in February 2015. Oglala Sioux tribe Vice President Thomas Poor Bear reported that a parent had shown him an alarming post. It was a photo of Nooses hanging in the trees near Porcupine, a community of about 1,000 people. Tribal police removed 4 nooses, but believe they were left there as an invitation.
Teens gathered in a wooded area just outside the town of Pine Ridge where they tied nooses around their necks. Fortunately pastor John Two Bulls received a tip and was able to stop them before anyone was harmed. Vigilant teachers were able to step in and stop students before they were able to commit sucide. These teens were all counseled, and a common thread was the presence of a “Tall Man spirit” who had appeared to them and told them to kill themselves. When questioned, Oglala Sioux tribe president, John Yellow Bird Steele, told of an entity like a “suicide spirit similar to the Slender Man.”
John Yellow Bird Steele was forced to declare a state of emergency.
Whether you’re influenced by Walking Sam, or have any feelings or inclinations towards ending your own life, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline for free 24/7 confidential support at 1-800-273-8255. They also offer a free online chatting service 24/7.
Up Next: The Demon at Goatman’s Bridge
