The second idea sounds more interesting to me. Would the spirit animals be sentient, with their own personalities? (Just curious.) Before I caught on to the fact that these animals are only visible to the skinwalkers, I was picturing actual pets that merge with their owners... people turning into hamsters and goldfish and bearded lizards. That would be a whole different kind of story.
I like this bit. I might have voted for option one, but this concept opens up so many possibilities in story and character.
I like both ideas, but there's something about the first idea, the way it reboots the concept into modern terms that I like. I also like the possibilities I see with the importance of the physical item itself. Like, if I snatch your skinwalker wolf jacket, will it work for me? Is the power imbued solely to the item or do I need to be "skinwalk-ready" in order for it to work? What if I don the wolk jacket and the cheetah vest at the same time, what then? These are not questions for which I expect answers. Just possible direction/queries for that first idea.
It depends on the tone you want for your story. If you go with the first idea the story is more grounded in the physical plane, whereas the second introduces more spiritual elements to it. I feel like the second one better fits my understanding of the skinwalker mythos. Which, for lack of better words, is a form of demon worship where the would-be skinwalker opens themselves up to demonic forces in exchange for power by committing certain acts of pure evil. Though I admit that this understanding is heavily biased by my christian background, but since the Navajo people prefer not to talk about skinwalkers to outsiders, there are gaps in understanding that want to be filled.
Combine the two. They must have a bond with the spirit animal in order to use the pelt. It's not as if anyone can transform by wearing an animal skin, otherwise we'd be overrun with skinwalker cows.
They kill the animal in an honourable hunt, and give thanks to its spirit, which then bonds with them and reveals the secret of how to prepare the skin.
Just tossing ideas around here... What if, long ago, the spirit animals were literal animals that accompanied their skinwalkers -- but over time the animals were hunted (or killed off systematically, because people were afraid of their magical nature)? Their ghosts might still hang around the pelts, but would only merge with someone they trusted.
I find the physicality of the first idea much more compelling. It's tangible, physical, and there's a gravity about it that the second idea simply doesn't have. Call it a preference between say, reading a crime novel vs reading a horror novel. That the first idea is so physical, for me, makes it more credible and also far creepier - a physical second skin of an animal enveloping you? Think about that for a minute. It's violent, bloody, and disturbing, and then to be completely engulfed within it by choice. It says something about the mental state or even mental strength of the skinwalker. The second idea of spirit animals - it feels cliche, like it's been done. The spirit animal would just become another supernatural character that, if you keep the it being subservient to the skinwalker idea, can essentially do nothing. Unless the plot idea is how one resists mental and spiritual possession and corruption, this second idea just doesn't do the same thing for me as the first one does.
Actually, your radar is correct, @Mckk. This has been done, or something very similar. The daemons in Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials operate something like this. They are animals, bonded to a particular human, and the humans and animals can talk to each other. The only difference is that the human and animal don't actually morph in to one another. This similarity doesn't mean the idea won't work, but do be careful that you're not unintentionally copying or echoing how Pullman works it, @Adam Bolander , or somebody might think you are. I'm also a little bit concerned about calling this phenomenon 'skinwalking' if that is how the Navajo actually refer to their version of it. If there is some other name you could call it, I'd pick one—out of respect to their beliefs. Again, you can write whatever you want, but make sure you either research it deeply, so you get it 'right', or understand that a lighthearted use of something that's sacred to their culture will be upsetting for them.
Right. Let me rephrase that. Skinwalkers are part of Navajo cultural mythology. Again, feel free to use the term, but be aware that, unless you get the details right, Navajos are unlikely to be impressed. You could bypass the whole problem by simply re-naming the phenomenon, if you're not actually writing about the Navajo boogeymen. I'm not trying to force you into PC territory. However, it might be worthwhile to use skinwalkers as a basic idea—a starting point—and develop them your own way ...and create a new name for them. Rather than look like you're getting the Navajo 'skinwalker' mythology wrong.
I personally like option 2 a lot better: the animal jumping into the character for transformation and the inclusion of the animal into the story as a character, because their spirits might struggle between them when "united" because of disagreement (maybe the spirit animal follows a myth or some ancient principle of conduct, while the MC is driven by love or compassion even when he knows the outcome will be disastrous, for instance). I think you can find a twist that will keep it away from becoming a cliche. I think the jacket would fit more a children's adventure story or a superhero story. But that is my first impression on the idea.
In the second harry dresden book ( I can't remember the name but the one with werewolves) there are various types of werewolves and one type transform by putting on a charmed belt of wolf skin... if i recall correctly anyone who has possession of the belt can transform
Just spitballing but i quite like the plot idea that the MC doesn't know they're a skin walker until they buy a jacket from a second hand shop, and 'kinnel man I've turned into a leopard
