Tei-Pai-Wankas

 Tei-Pai- Wankas are orbs of light said to be the souls of people the pukwudgies have killed. They are known to lure people to their doom. There's lots of being lured to your doom in pukwudgie lore. A hunter or hiker will spot one and follow it to try to figure out what it is and then Kablamo! I dont actually know what happens after you get lured. You might be tricked into walking off a cliff, get magic dust blown into your eyes or get shot by poison arrows.

In the Freetown State Forest there is something called the Assonet Ledge. Its a place where there has been many deaths from people falling off the cliff. One piece of lure surrounding this is that a Native American "princess" had fallen in love with a white man. Her parents didnt approve and the tribe killed him. She committed suicide by jumping off the cliff and her spirit now haunts the cliff and her sorrow is felt so deeply by others that they jump to. The alternative lore I've heard is that pukwudgies use Tei-Pai-Wankas here to lure people off the cliff.

The closest European equivalent is the Will-o-the-wisps. I've only heard Tei-Pei-Wankas in pukwudgie stories from the Hockomock swamp. Will-o-the-wisps are also known to specifically lurk around swamps. I'm not the government so i'm not going to tell you that they are just swamp gas. I'll leave that up to you to decide.

Sighting - Joan- Freetown, MA

 While walking her dog (see a pattern here?) in the Freetown State Forest one early morning in April, Joan had an encounter with one of our vertically challenged friends. Her dog, Sid, began to act on edge and strayed a few feet off the path. She followed him into the woods where she saw what she described as a troll standing on a rock. The creature was about 10 ft away so she was able to get a good look.

The creature she said had pale gray skin, was about 2 ft tall, had the face of a chipmunk, hair on his arms and the top of his head. She then went on to describe my favorite feature of pukwudgies. She said she couldn’t tell if he was wearing clothes or not because he had a pot belly that hung over his waist almost down to his knees. After covid lockdown, I think a lot of us can relate.

Both Joan and the pukwudgie just froze and stared at each other until Sid, being the pragmatic member of the bunch, decided it was time to go and dragged Joan back to the path with him. She said the encounter last about 30 seconds but the fear she experienced has stayed with her for years. Had Sid not been there, would Joan have fallen victim to the pukwudgie trance and been led to her death?

After the initial encounter, Joan reported multiple strange incidents in her home. There were 3 times where she woke up to see the creature peeking into her bedroom window. Pukwudgies aren't known to respect boundaries and personal space. How many times was he watching her and she didn't wake up and catch the tiny peeping Tom? And how did he reach the window anyway?

Sighting - Bill Russo - Raynam, MA - 1990

 As seen on the highly problematic 2013 documentary called The Bridgewater Triangle, Bill Russo’s sighting is one of the most famous. A life-long resident of the area, Bill lived near whats referred to as the “high Ts” which are high tension power lines known to be a game trail to both known and unknown creatures. 

Bill would walk his dog, Samantha, every night when he got home from work around midnight. One night on one of his walks, he decided to take a different route than normal. When he came to an old water wheel from a long defunct iron works, he approached the lone streetlight in the area. This is when Samantha started to pull on the leash and began shaking.

Before he could see anything, he heard a pitch pitch squeal and then something say “Ee-wan-choo, ee-wan-choo. Kia, kia”. He said the hairs on the back of his neck stood up and his dog was terrified. He then saw a creature walk into the light from the streetlamp. He describes the creature as about 4 ft tall with a pot belly, unclothed, 3-4 inch long hair covering its entire body, large eyes and chipmunk face. He goes on to say the creature was in the beginning stages of old age.

The creature then more insistently repeats “Ee-wan-choo, ee-wan-choo. Kia, kia” and begins to make a beckoning motion. At no point did the creature advance, but he continued his plea more and more urgently. He says he felt as if the creature was trying to lure him into his space. 

Bill did not fall victim to being lured to whatever the creature intended to lure him to. He feels the creature was trying to say “We want you. Here! Here!”

Are the pukwudgies learning English? Was this even a pukwudgie? Many people have proposed this may be a little foot or another creature and not in fact a pukwudgie. In that area, it would not be surprising for a completely new cryptid to pop up.

Sighting- Mary - Norwell, MA

 While dog sitting for a friend, Mary was out on an early morning walk in the beginning of March. Because this is a fairly rural area, there are no street lights so being early morning in the late winter, it was pitch black. She became alerted to a potential threat when the dog crouched down and began to growl. 

Thinking the dog had seen some kind of animal, Mary looked into the woods off the side of the road to investigate. There she saw what she described as a humanoid figure with matted black fur and glowing green eyes. The being was crouched down and appeared to be as startled at seeing her as she was to see it. She was able to wrangle the dog and leave without incident.

A couple weeks later, Mary began to hear unusual knocks on the side of her house. Having no other explanation for the knocks, she couldn’t help but wonder if it was the creature she saw in the woods paying her a visit.

Is this a pukwudgie? Behaviorally, its possible. A small, humanoid creature in the woods of south east MA certainly sounds like it. They are also known to stalk humans they encounter which would explain her home visit after the initial encounter. But matted black fur? No quills on bristles on the back? This deviates from the traditional description, but I have several possible theories on that. 

As pukwudgies are known to be shape-shifters, its entirely possible the traditional porcupine-like appearance isn’t it's completely natural state. The traditional description is also very old and was verbally passed down. There could have been a bit of a game of telephone and traits were embellished over the generations. 

The alternative is that this was not a pukwudgie at all. There are numerous little people in folklore. Who's to say that the pukwudgie doesn't share the area with some cousins?

What is a pukwudgie?

 Pukwudgies are small, half-troll, half-human like creatures that are about 2-4 feet tall. Traditionally they are found in the north east US and great lakes regions, but sightings have been reported throughout the US (stay tuned for the lore explaining how they are now in other areas). They have gray skin, porcupine-like quills or bristles on their backs and their faces are either described as having exaggerated human features or sometimes as being canine like.

They are mischief makers. The level of mischief depends on their relationship with the humans in their area. They had a particularly strained relationship with the Wampanoag people so are known to be more dangerous in the Hockomock swamp region in south east Massachusetts. Some of their reported powers include shape-shifting (porcupines, bears, large cats), poison arrows, magic dust, creating fire, the ability to lure people to their death and cause general confusion. There are even stories of them stealing children. 

As a fellow short person, I would like to point out that pukwudgies only act out when provoked. When you are smaller than everyone else you have to be creative. That might mean throwing your lemonade at a man at a gas station that wont leave you alone or sometimes you have to use magic to lure people into jumping off a cliff. You do what you need to do.