The Appalachian Mountains, known for their serene beauty and breathtaking landscapes, also harbour deep, dark secrets that have been whispered among the trees and echoed by the winds for centuries. One such secret is the terrifying tale of Spearfinger.
The Spearfinger, or *U’tlun’ta* in the Cherokee language, is described as a monstrous, sly humanoid creature that terrified the ancient Cherokee people for centuries.
What did the Spearfinger look like?
According to the stories, this creature was formed from the stones of the Chillhowee mountains in the northwestern part of the US state of Tennessee. Her skin was as hard as a rock, and she was completely impenetrable to the spears and arrows of the local people.
The spearfinger also possessed a distinctive right forefinger that was as long and sharp as an obsidian knife. It is believed that the creature used this finger to extract livers from the body of her victims.
In its natural form, the Spearfinger is described as a scary old woman whose mouth was stained with the blood from the livers of her victims. Since she is made from rock, and so, when she walks along the valleys of the mountains, it is said that she sounds like rumbling thunder.
It is believed that the only vulnerable part of the Spearfinger was her heart, which was located on a right palm.
The Horrors of the Spearfinger.
The spearfinger does not have any supernatural physical abilities; therefore, to catch her prey, this creature depends on tricks and deception. This is further aided by her ability to shapeshift.
This creature prefers to target children because of their innocence and tendency to fall for tricks. When a child wanders too far into the mountains, the spearfinger transforms into a grandmother in the child’s family and invites the child to come closer. When the unsuspecting child is close enough, the creature lures him to sleep and immediately stabs the sleeping child in the back of the neck or in the chest. It will then go on to extract and consume the liver of the child.
Sometimes, this sly creature takes her tricks a step further. According to the stories, the spearfinger would hide the body of the dead child and take its form. It will then go back into the village and blend with other members of the family of the child it had killed. In the middle of the night, when everyone is asleep, the spear finger will take its normal form and then collect the livers of the sleeping family members.
It is said that the finger of this creature is so sharp that it could retrieve the liver of its victims without leaving a scar or causing any pain to the victim. However, after some time, her victims will fall sick and die.
The Spearfinger and the Stone Man
According to the Cherokee folklore, the spearfinger was not the only monster with an unnatural appetite for human liver. There was another monster in the lurking in the mountains called the Stoneman.
Like the spearfinger, the Stoneman was also completely covered with stone. However, in the stories, the stone man is more powerful than the spearfinger and has no apparent weak point.
The Defeat of the Spearfinger
Unlike other creatures in American Mythology, the Spear finger did not escape the justice of the Cherokee people. Realizing that this horrifying monster could not be defeated by conventional means (her body was as hard as rocks), they devised a clever plan.
According to the stories, the Cherokee hunters dug a huge hole and then disguised it with leaves. They then started a huge fire to attract the shapeshifting monster. As expected, the Spearfinger saw the fire and approached the hunters in the shape of a frail old woman.
Realizing this trick, the hunters immediately started shooting arrows at her, forcing her to return to her original form and charge at them. In her blind rage, she fell into the trap that had been prepared for her.
As soon as the spearfinger was trapped, the Cherokee hunters attacked her with arrows and spears; however, this did very little damage to her stone skin. According to the legends, during the attack, a chickadee bird landed on the spearfinger’s right hand. The Hunters took this as a sign and targeted their attack on that part of the creature’s body. They finally struck her heart and put a final end to the horrible monster.
The Modern Legacy of Spearfinger
In modern times, the story of Spearfinger has found new life through various adaptations, including books, articles, and even a mention in the hit video game *Until Dawn*, where her legend serves as a source of inspiration for one of the game’s supernatural threats.
However, despite these modern interpretations, the legend’s core remains the same—a cautionary tale of a shapeshifting terror that once stalked the Appalachian Mountains.
Whether as a campfire tale to scare the young or as a cultural touchstone that connects people to their heritage, the legend of Spearfinger continues to haunt the imagination, a chilling reminder that some stories, once told, are never truly forgotten.