Monstrous Profiles # 5 - The Baykok

If anyone has suggestions for a creature for Monstrous Profiles, I'm interested in hearing them. But in the meantime, onto number 5 - the Baykok.



The hunter walked slowly through the woods, careful not to make any sound that could alert his prey to his presence. He carefully approached a deer that was eating leaves of the trees, drawing out his bow and fitting an arrow to it. As he prepared to fire, he heard a rattling noise, then suddenly something struck him upside the he head and he collapsed, unconscious.

Next to him the figure of a skeleton holding a club let out a shrill cry and settled down to eat it's meal.

Name: Baykok, Bakaak, Bakuck, Paguk, and several others
Location: Great Lakes region

The baykok, like the Wendigo, is a creature of Chippewa mythology. Like the Wendigo, it's also something you never, ever want to bump into.

This creature is an emacipated, skeleton-like figure with red eyes and translucent skin. It flies through the forest sekking victims. Unlike the Wendigo, however, this creature only has one specific type of human prey.

From Monstropedia:

The Baykok only preys upon warriors, but does so ruthlessly, using invisible arrows or beating its prey to death with a club. The Baykok, after paralyzing or killing its prey, then devours the liver of its victim.

The Baykok is a hunter, stalking and killing human prey without a hint of guilt or remorse. However, this ghoulish creature never appears to more than one individual at a time, and only preys upon hunters and warriors. The Baykok prefers to hunt at
night, moving silently through the brush and the darkness in search of lone individuals.

It is said that the only way to sense an impending attack is by hearing the popping and creaking sounds made by the creature’s bones, and even sensing the threat is no guarantee of survival. Although the Baykok occasionally uses a heavy war club to bludgeon its victims to death, the creature prefers a bow that fires invisible arrows, which are tipped with a poison that induces a deep, dreamless sleep in those hit by the arrows. In this state (which lasts several hours), the unfortunate victim cannot feel any pain. All the better for the Baykok, as it can now feast…

Before it eats, the Baykok unsheathes a small silver knife, and slices open the victim’s abdomen. The revenant then thrusts in its bony hand, removes the liver, and greedily consumes the organ. After dining, the Baykok shoves a rock into the empty
cavity, and finishes by sewing the wound shut with a magic thread that heals any and all superficial signs of the incision.

The unsuspecting victim then wakes up the next morning in the middle of the woods, most often with no recollection of their encounter with the ghoulish Baykok. Surprisingly, the unfortunate individual often lives for days or even weeks without any adverse side effects, despite having unknowingly lost a vital organ. Then the victim suddenly becomes violently sick, inevitably wasting away and dying. There are no exceptions.

Fortunately, the Baykok never willingly approaches a human civilization, as the creature itself is extremely reluctant to leave the safety of the forest. The Baykok knows its forest domain better than a seasoned woodsman, using this knowledge to set ambushes, to track prey without being detected in turn, and to escape those that may be hunting it.

The Baykok inhabits the forest territories of the Great Lakes, especially if these places were once inhabited by the Chippewa.

Yikes. There is one potential way of stopping the monster from making a snack out of you:

One of the most horrifying aspects of the Baykok is that the creature has no known weaknesses. Holy water, religious icons, and perhaps even blessed weapons have no effect on this revenant. However, like most of the corporeal Undead, the Baykok may have some sort of susceptibility to fire. And, since this revenant is little more than a dried-up skeleton, some sort of bludgeoning attack is advisable if a fight is unavoidable (use the creature’s own war club for this, if necessary).

Since the Baykok is clinically dead, one cannot actually kill the creature. However, despite what the legends say, there may be a way to destroy it. It may be necessary to hunt down the Baykok to its lair deep in the forest, confront it, and break its brittle bones to splinters with a heavy bludgeon (a mace works best). Then, the remains should be gathered up and placed in a pile of dry wood, and then thoroughly soaked in gasoline or lighter fluid. Then, a lit match should be thrown onto the pile, igniting it. The fire should be constantly fed until nothing remains of the Baykok except for ashes. If luck holds out, this should permanently destroy the creature and prevent it from ever rising again. However, be aware that this is only a theory, and has never
actually been tested.

Your best bet when it comes to this monster is to just stay out of the woods after dark, and if you do go in, be sure and take someone with you, since it won't attack if you're not alone.

And if you hunt, and by chance find yourself alone in the woods this Halloween, be very, very careful.

Because that popping noise you hear behind you, that might just be a hungry Baykok.