Nootka masks

I wanted to share my thoughts on our Quantum of the Seas cruise to Alaska 8/21 thru 8/28. Curious if anyone else in here was on the cruise and what your thoughts are! It's a long post, sorry. But I wanted to provide answers to some questions I know I had going into the cruise, and others I've seen asked. If you have any questions let me know!
The cruise was just my wife and myself, mid 30s, no kids. Not drinkers. This was our first RC cruise, we have done a few Carnival western Caribbean previously. I’m going to be honest - if you put me in an unlabeled ship I wouldn’t be able to tell them apart. And that’s fine! I think they are both good cruise lines.
We picked this time of year with the hope of doing two things - being able to get closer to the Dawes Glacier, and possibly being able to see the northern lights. Both failed spectacularly. I’ll get into the Glacier more below, but for northern lights - it was almost always cloudy (but never rained), making it impossible to even have a chance to see the sky. Oh except when we went to the Glacier - bright and sunny! at the worst possible time. Neither of these are any fault of RC, but wanted to mention it in case others were thinking about it. Also, there was very little ice on the mountains, or sea ice.
I was very disappointed in our obstructed view in our deck 13 balcony cabin. I should have done more research before picking it, and/or RC should have labeled it as partially obstructed. Not being able to see the horizon (or large mountains) on an Alaskan cruise is not great! I didn’t care about noise from Windjammer above, but yikes the obstructed view. Everything else about the cabin was great. I think it was bigger than our hotel room in Seattle!
We did get The Key and I’m not sure it was worth it on our cruise, especially with no tender ports. But we knew that before reserving it so it’s fine. We wanted to make sure we got onboard early because we were in a hotel beforehand. The embarkation lunch was a good way to start too. The fruit plate randomly brought to the room on day 2 was weird. We also didn’t notice any reserved seating at Starwater. The big frustration I have is that when we reserved it, and even the day of embarkation, a feature of the key was 20% off specialty dining if booked the first day. That offer was missing the email we got a week before, and from the paperwork we got on the ship. I did get Jamie’s Italian to honor it when we ate there the first night, but that was it. So again, not sure The Key was worth the cost.
Ship Wi-Fi (it is Starlink) was fine for the most part. I don’t think it ever went out, but did slow down at times. Not super fast, but enough to get sites to load. I even managed to do my weekly profession quests in World of Wacraft on our at sea day haha. And it is one device per guest BUT you can sign in/out of multiple. So most of the time it was my phone, but sometimes I’d sign out and into it with my laptop.
The in-room entertainment on the TV was terrible. $12/each to rent recent movies! Otherwise we were at the mercy of the handful of live TV channels, mostly news with two “Prime” channels that had random tv/movies, and then a “Movies Now and Then” with also completely random things. Don’t rely on the TV for any entertainment!
Food - food was fine! Good even! We didn’t have bad experiences with the buffet on Carnival so you guys were scaring me about RC. But it was fine! We did Windjammer every meal except for one night each at Jamie’s and Chops (and whatever we ate at port). And just like Carnival, whatever was being served in the main dining hall that night was also in Windjammer if you didn’t feel like getting dressed up. Oh and the iced tea, another thing you guys freaked me out about. All I drink is unsweetened iced tea (and coffee). Yes the iced tea is Nestle Vitality but it’s perfectly fine. But as someone said, probably doesn’t contain much caffiene. So make sure you make up for that elsewhere or you will get some bad headaches! Breakfast is almost always the same from what I could tell, except rotating pancakes. Lunch and dinner was mostly the same each night, except one section of the nightly regional specialty. And always fresh ingredients to make a salad! Also, yes, you can eat too much bacon.
Oh, and the Bionic Bar and North Star were broken the entire trip. (From a comment from one of our tour guides, it sounds like North Star is pretty much always broken).
As for Covid, I don’t know yet. There were definitely more people coughing at the end of the cruise than the beginning. Almost never saw masks, including crew members. My wife got what seemed like a cold from days 2-5. I started on day 4, but felt better by the time we were flying home. But we also flew into Seattle 3 days before and stayed at a hotel, so we could have caught something from either of those. They did have hand sanitizer stations all over, and wanted everyone to wash their hands before going into Windjammer. Yeah that doesn’t help Covid but there are a lot of other fun diseases we can share in ships so that’s fine.
And not surprising, but I wanted to say that all the few members were very nice! I can’t say the same for some of the guests, yikes.
Anyway, onto my day to day - and remember to washy washy!
Day 1 - Embarkation
We had a 10:30 check in time (which was before The Key time of 11am). We got to the port at 10:20 from our hotel shuttle. Had a little confusion at first because the line near us said 11-12 check in, and the 10-11 was roped off across the road. So a few of us were standing in a weird place and one of the port members asked us what we were doing - and then they let us over to the line. We got through security quick. Right when we got in line to get on the boat they said it was open boarding for everyone who got there early and were sitting around. Yikes for the lines. But after we got on it was smooth - we wandered the ship a bit, did The Key lunch, got into the room at 1, then wandered the ship more and relaxed. Saw a dolphin, soaked in the Olympic National Park scenery in the distance, and had Jamie’s for dinner.
Day 2 - Cruising
The weather made this a miserable day. It was dense fog in the morning, followed by some rain (and one thunderclap), which cleared up into a cloudy afternoon. But VERY windy and cold all day. You did not want to be out on the open decks. And those pools were not open all day anyway. And the wind was so high the upper deck was closed. So not good for looking for whales, or anything really. I know the weather is not RC’s fault. Not sure if the weather is always like this in August and we should have picked a better time to go or what. And I know Alaskan cruises aren’t tropical cruises! I even laughed about the bundled up lifeguard.
Day 3 - Sitka
Sitka has free shuttle buses to get you from the port to town, but we learned when we got on-board that we had to go and pick up tickets to get on the suttle buses at 10:30 on day 2. And then those numbers were used to call groups down to the gangway to depart the ship. We were group.. 13? I think? And after getting off the ship it was about 30 minutes to get onto a shuttle bus. (If you had an excursion - scheduled through RC - you could go to the Royal Theatre and use the front gangway to depart). But Sitka was nice. The weather was good, if overcast. We did not have an excursion so we wandered around. Got some reindeer dogs from a food cart, had coffee at Backdoor Cafe, grabbed some chocolate bark from the Chocolate Moose. We enjoyed our time there.
At night we went to see the Starwater show. It started out.. strange. The first musical number was.. odd. And went on for a long time. But after that it found its groove and we enjoyed the show. Will you? I don't know. But we enjoy song and dance shows (NOT showtunes), like say for instance So You Think You Can Dance (the TV show), or Dead Man's Party at Six Flags during Fright Fest. So we enjoyed the show. We did not see any reserved seating area for The Key (maybe we missed it). We did also reserve ahead of time (they had a standby line for people who did not). Now I do want to say.. before the cruise started I tried to book this and it told me there was only 1 seat left. But once we were actually on the ship day 1 there was a lot more availability. Weird but wanted to point it out for any others who see that.
Day 4 - Icy Strait Point
Another nice weather day, overcast and cool. There was some morning fog so you couldn't see the top of the mountain that the gondolas and ziplines went to, but that cleared (And hey, maybe ziplining in fog adds to the experience! I didn't do it haha). We docked at I think 7am? And could get off any time after that. We had breakfast, then hung out in the room a bit. Got some photos of bald eagles in the trees. People watched. Then we headed off and wandered around the shops, and had very good halibut and chips at The Cookhouse. We saw a whale, sea lion, and birds around the beach and boardwalk there.
Then we went on our excursion - The Birds of Hoonah! It was a small group of us in a bus with our guide Hannah. It was a really good time, especially because we got to travel away from the dock into the town of Hoonah, and beyond. Our guide had to be armed in case of bears, if you want an idea of how rural we went! And we didn't just look for birds, Hannah stopped at salmon streams to let us look at that and see if there were any bears, for instance. A great time, and great views of the island.
Day 5 - Endicott Arm/Dawes Glacier
So if you have read this far, you know I keep saying it was cold, foggy, overcast. But not this morning! Well, it was still cold. The coldest the entire trip. But the views of Endicott Arm were absolutely gorgeous. Not a lot of ice, so if you want to see ice I think you need to go earlier in the season. And while we saw birds around, not much other wildlife (we heard someone saw a sea lion on some ice, but that was it). But still, gorgeous. Turning around from where we were standing up top and seeing enormous mountains on the other side of the ship was such a sight. Those pictures are definitely phone/computer backgrounds now and were sent around.
Of course, the same can't be said for Dawes Glacier. We knew the ship was large and might not get that close (ended up being about 7 miles away), and that was okay. The problem was - it was bright and sunny. at 7am. With the sun just coming up. Straight east where the glacier was. It was absolutely impossible to see anything. Credit to the crew for still rotating the ship for both sides to get an equal view, but it was a lost cause. Again, not RC's fault, but I wonder if earlier in the season would be better for this. Or a smaller ship. Or obviously take the excursion to the glacier that leaves from the ship.
Day 5 - Juneau
In the afternoon we docked at Juneau. If there was a process for people with excursions to leave from Royal Theater like in Sitka we didn't hear about it. But we managed to get off, take in the sights from the dock for a little while, and then go on our excursion - Dog Mushing! It's about 30 minutes outside of town on a bus, and our driver was a lot of fun. The whole experience was great. Yes, you get to see A LOT of dogs. Yes, you get pulled around for 5+ minutes by dogs! Yes, they are absolutely enjoying it! Yes, you get to pet those dogs! Yes, you get to pet and cuddle with puppies! I'm still not entirely sure who the actual company that ran the place, it was just labeled Alaska Excursions. But it's a place for raising and training recreational mushing dogs for races, and our musher was actively raising a team of her own to compete in the Iditarod.
After returning to town we went to Deckhand Dave's for fish tacos (recommended to us by our birding guide Hannah), and Alaskan Crepe Experience for, well, crepes. And drinks. It was a nice little outdoor area. Definitely recommend it. Then we wandered through the town and did some shopping. I will say that if we ever go back, I would do a glacier tour. I'm disappointed we didn't see a glacier on this trip, but that's on us. And there was no way we were not doing the dog mushing this time, that wasn't an option :D
Day 6 - Sailing
Another extremely foggy day where you could only see the water a few yards from the ship. It did clear in the early afternoon for an hour or two - enough to see a good number of whales! I still laugh thinking about the captain's random annoumcent "Big whale! Port side! .. This announcement is for the guests. Crew, you see whales every week". Luckily it was warmer than the other cruising day so sitting out on the open decks or in the pools was actually a nice experience. We decided to do Chops Grill for dinner and that was very good!
Day 7 - Victoria
So I didn’t realize until we were leaving Juneau that it was 44 hours of straight sailing until Victoria, yikes. And only 4 hours on shore. But we made those 4 hours count, and Victoria is absolutely beautiful. Like Sitka there are buses to get you to downtown, but unlike Sitka these are NOT free. $13/person round trip (they can take cards at the bus). We got off the ship fairly quickly (this time there was a separate area if you had an RC excursion, but nothing separate for The Key for some reason? Why is that only tendered ports?), and did not have an excursion. So we wandered over to Fisherman's Wharf and grabbed Pirate Pizza (it's an inside joke, which is why we went). Wasn't that good honestly, so we wouldn't get that again - but there are other food options. And it's a neat place.
Then we went back to the port and hopped on a bus and wandered around Government Street. Did the American tourist thing and went to Tim Horton's. Then Chocolats Favoris for ice cream. Then Beaver Tails for .. well, a Poutail. Yes, that's Poutine on a Beaver Tail. Then did LOTS of shopping, oof. The Maker store is really nice and had a lot of things from local artists. As we were leaving on the bus back we saw a store - Nootka Traders - off the main road which looked nice, will remember it for next time. But all in all Victoria was a really nice stop, and I wish we had more time there. And I'm glad we didn't book an excursion which would take up almost the entire time, and were able to just wander.
Day 8 - Going home
There was some initial confusion about what luggage tags/debarkation times we used as The Key members needing shuttle transport to the airport (The Key members can leave almost immediately). We ended up sticking with the shuttle luggage tags, and did breakfast in the dining room (The Key benefit). We were supposed to leave the ship at 9 (Group 20), so we sat down in the main theater and ended up getting called at 8:30. That was nice. So we grabbed our luggage and then stood in the line for the bus to the airport (A big charter bus). That took about a half hour, and then a half hour drive to the airport. We got there at 9:30, had an easy check-in near the drop point for Alaska, and then waited for our flight. There was an option to have us not worry about luggage at all and RC would transport it to the airport for us but yeahhhh, my trust only goes so far!
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Hello! I am working on de-stashing :) US Shipping is $4.50. I will respond in the order of comments. Preference for $5 minimum.
ALL ~1ML SAMPLES ARE $2.50 UNLESS SPECIFIED OTHERWISE, 5 SAMPLES for $10
BPAL
Brown Jenkin (1ml): dusty white sandalwood and orris root, dry coconut husk, creeping musk, and the residue of ceremonial incense
The Great Sword of War (1ml): Mandarin, tonka, saffron, black tea, cocoa, tobacco leaf, sanguine red musk and five classical herbs of conflict
Ninth Lash (1ml): Clove, honey, and helichrysum
Honey Marzipan (1ml): as titled
Mommy’s Little MI6 Agent (1ml): white pear, apple pulp, golden musk, fossilized amber
In Dubiis Libertas (1ml): golden amber, smoked vanilla, benzoin, and blue cypress
Oleander Honey (1ml): as titled
Famous Kabuki Actors in Imagined Scenes (1ml): Goat’s milk, honey dust, vanilla husk, oak bark, cardamom pod, tobacco leaf, cedarwood, and vetiver
Morocco (1ml): incense, arabian spices, warm musk, carnation, red sandalwood, cassia
On Imagination (2.3ml): a vibrant, airy, uplifted amber with smoked vanilla and coconut, tuberose, orange blossom, wildflower honey, and sheer musk ($9)
Back in Blueback (FS, ½ full): Cistus labdanum, oakmoss, black vetiver, Italian bergamot, chocolate oudh, French lavender, violet leaf and petal, and sweet aged patchouli ($10)
The Best Lies (FS, ⅓ full, lid is cracked): sugar-swept honey, rose ($8)
NAVA/eNVie
Poisoned Honey Potion (FS): Rich Black Honey accord, Orange Blossom Honey accord, White Cedar, White Patchouli and White Sandalwood ($19)
Quaternary (FS, 3.5ml remaining): Bergamot, Lavender, Egyptian Sweet Musk, Peony, Rose petals, White Patchouli, Verbena, Violet, Labdanum and Iris ($14)
Hathor (2ml): Incense of Aphrodesia, Black Coconut, Indian Vanilla Musk, Vanilla infused sweet milk, Coconut Milk, Egyptian Chypre, Black Incense, white Cinnamon, White Incense and Black Honey ($7)
POSSETS
Honey (1ml): Maltese honey
Phyllotaxis (1ml): black musk, dark brown musk, chai, arabica blend, lavender, hyssop, cassia
Fiore de Profumo (FS): acacia, lime, linden blossom ($16)
Custance (2.3ml): sandalwood, oude, tobacco flower, dry incense (incense, oriental)
Creative Juices (1ml): grey musk, cardamom, lime, parsley
NUI COBALT
Sleep Elixir (1.15ml): Bulgarian lavender, gentle rain, aloe leaf, tulsi, blue chamomile, neroli, catmint, a grain of kava, and a sliver of key lime
Achievement Unlocked (FS): A bold blend of Mahogany and Merlot with tart elderberry and a single long-stemmed rose ($14)
Selkie (FS, ¼-⅓ full): Smooth driftwood, ambergris, oat straw, and Irish moss with one drop each of black patchouli and molasses ($6)
Bee in your Bonnet (FS): Raw rhubarb and cardamom with toasted oats, Madagascar vanilla, ginger ale, and caramelized honey ($14)
Kahuna (FS & 1ml): Toasted coconut spritzed with lime, garnished with blackberry, and sprinkled with fresh-grated ginger ($14)
Pele’s Fire (FS): Sacred ʻōhelo berry, torch ginger, ʻōhiʻa flower, lehua honey, skin musk, and woodsmoke ($14)
ALPHAMUSK
Umber (1ml): rich frankincense and rosewood, flannel sheets, saffron cardamom twist, bitter orange, animal musk, black amber stones, brown musk
Brick House (1ml): densely textured brick from the 60’s, heavily baked terracotta clays, red peppery vetiver, crumbled hay, red clay musk, dried florals, carrot seed, unlit incense cones, a well loved by unlit suburban fireplace
Capybara (1ml): dusty greasy fur baby rolling around in sweet sandalwood musk, tinge of Australian red licorice, brown velvety cashmere, black vanilla, nervously gnawed cedarwoods
Smokey Amber (1ml): a touch of oud blended with a gray stone like amber and a touch of resinous mild incensey smoke
Boomerang (FS): rice milk on sparkling patchouli, sand & dry slightly sweet red clays, sandalwood and sweet oud, crystal Amber whites, bourbon vanilla Roobois tea leaves, buttery magnolia petals, ambrette seed musk accord, tonka beans and tolu, and warm soft brown Amber resins, touch of cardamom ($14)
Golden Hour (FS): no notes ($12)
Dreaming of the Past (FS): no notes ($12)Cistus labdanum, oakmoss, black vetiver, Italian bergamot, chocolate oudh, French lavender, violet leaf and petal, and sweet aged patchouli
Wet Lips (FS): expensive makeup peach, demi-rosebud, vanilla scent, all on top of a musk that captures the elements of the smooth yet lined skin on the lips ($14)
Escapism (FS): affordable Tarry ouds, soothing honey, dank ruby musks, soft ancient decaying woods, blackberries ripe for the picking on the bushes, cracking creme brûlée as a stim, tonka beans and smoke filled rooms ($14)
Egyptian Amber Cashmere Cream (FS): sweet Egyptian amber blended with some custom cashmere cream and sandalwood incense and just a bit more fuzzy woodsy imported musk ($14)
Her to Eternity (FS): grapefruit spritzer, Essence of deer musk, rich honeycomb, creamy cashmere, heliotrope musk ($14)
Spritz! (FS): Aquatic white ambers, lemon, cool lavender, sweet tea, chamomile musk ($14)
Banana Thief (FS): antique sandalwood, Egyptian lavender, salted bitter grapefruit skins, furry coconut husks, banana essence, ape skin & fur, city night ozone, grandpas wwii gunpowder dust ($14)
Tropi-Goth (FS): Hawaiian jasmine & plumerias, ethereal & glowing crystals, smoke tainted salty yet sweet oily hair, shelled pistachios, coconut water, grounded antique musk ($14)
New Pony (1 dram): warm buttery breath, sun kissed shiny fur musk, amber white ethereal accord ($6)
THE LITTLE BOOK EATER
Haunted House (FS): firewood embers, sandalwood, vanilla, spices ($12)
Book of Shadows (3ml roller): vanilla, chai tea, leather, sandalwood, tonka bean, musk ($5)
FIREBIRD
Cabin (FS): campfire smoke, Virginia cedar, fir needle ($7)
Nectar (FS): sun-warmed honey, beeswax, apricot nectar, vanilla pod, hay, a drop of clove ($7)
DEATH + FLORAL
‘The same way I am in love with the moon’ (5ml rollerball): Palo santo blended with smoked sandalwood and a lunar accord. Deep and reminiscent of a breezy night under a looming full moon ($8)
The Secrets of Wives and Widows (10ml rollerball): A dark and mysterious blend of Arabian sandalwood, luscious vanilla, orchids and southern night air, white tea in a fine cup of China held by a figure with long painted nails ($13)
ASTRID
Cover (FS, ~half full): An enveloping blanket of rice flower, sandalwood, cream, and a touch of cooling bergamot mint ($10)
Sacred Mountain (2.3ml): Cold smoke in the air mingling with warm campfire woodsmoke, sagebrush, cedar, ho wood, whiskey, vanilla musk, nootka tree, and cinnamon ($9)
MISC
Solstice Scents Conjure (1ml): Blend of Amber, Vanillas, Cedar, All Spice, Cauldron Smoke
Haus of Gloi Haus Amber (1ml): Rich and sultry amber, our own hand blended accord
Conjure Oils Bruja Zarate's Agua Dulce (FS): Raw milled cane juice, tapa de dulce, is dissolved in the warmth of pure water fresh off the boil and served with juicy pink grapefruit ($14)
Deconstructing Eden Empress Wu (2.5ml spray, ½ full): Delicate white peonies, white lotuses, narcotic poppies, and pale pink roses, splinters of black sandalwood, a drop of black patchouli, and golden opium ($5)
Black Baccara Mermaid Potion (1ml): bouquet of ozone and marine notes create a strong ocean base upon which lemon verbena and juicy grapefruit dance together to uplift the darker sea notes. Still, the blend remains on the darker side, with a dusting of vanilla bean peeking through on the dry down to lend a slight softness to the citrus whisper
CocoaPink White Zen (dram, ⅔ full): Ripples of Tahitian vanilla, cold spring water, sparkling, white sugar leaf, bamboo sugarcane ($3)
Stereoplasm Poseur (4.5ml): Pink sugar, vinyl, borrowed cologne, hairspray and clove cigarettes ($10)
Oil Perfumery Cafe Rose (our impression of Tom Ford) (FS): Turkish Rose Oil, Bulgarian Rose Absolute, Coffee Essence, Incense Resin, Sandalwood, Patchouli Oil Fraction ($12)
Little and Grim Pointe aux Barques (1 dram): lily of the valley, rose, cyclamen, sandalwood, sea kelp, ocean breeze, bergamot, citrus zest, clove, and pepper ($5) -- label a bit smudged
The Strange South Fire in a Bottle (1ml) : Lemon balm, amber, vanilla, and distant campfire smoke
Fortune Cookie Soap Co. Fortune Cookie Soap Co (FS rollerball): Crushed and distilled vanilla creeping with wild jasmine and a splash of juicy pear ($7)
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SOLD
Library (1ml): sandalwood, agarwood, nagarmotha, choya loban attar, guaiacwood, cedar, leather, copaiba, benzoin, rosewood, osmanthus attar
La Rosa (sample pip): ruby rosebuds gently opened in the morning sun softly kissed with earthy rosewood
Bearer of Secrets (1ml): A warm, woody blend of oak, oakmoss and vetiver softened with soft purple lilac, juicy sweet peach and brightened with bergamot.
Colornoise Holographic (1ml): rainbow lightning - cactus nectar - cucumber water -silver flower petals - holographic flash
Luvmilk Demon Wood (1 oz body spray): A blend of Italian bergamot, mandarin, rose, and white tea leaves mixed with jasmine, heliotrope and sandalwood meet warm tobacco, caramel, and honey ($3)
Salmonberry Origins Cloudberry (1ml): citrus, smooth and rich
smell bent Modern Love (4 ml spray, ⅓ left ): sweaty bodies, narcotic florals, and pheromone finished with dry amber ($3)
Andromeda’s Curse DRE:AM (5ml rollerball): An Ethereal Floral Shoppe- Yellow Roses, Cyan Wisteria, Magenta Orchids, Cherry Blossom Musk and Lucid Dreams ($6)
Manticore (1ml): Lush blooming last roses of summer (pink and antique, classic with a touch of lemon) and dark cedar from the depths of the swamp, essence of cypress “knees”, gloomy grey musk, a cob-webby essence I mix up which bulgarian lavender, pure Muscovado sugar gives it a dank/lightly aquatic/ clean yet dark slick edge, finally I add a thick black aged Madagascar vanilla (not too much).
A Karasu Tengu Copulating with the Knot-Hole of a Pine Tree (2.3ml): Pine needles and pine bark with terebinth, Bulgarian rose, white sandalwood, orris root, and oakmoss ($9)
Mother of the Stars (1ml): Opens with a spray of sea breeze and bright lime, followed by a heart of lotus, lemongrass, ginger and tropical fruit on a base of ambergris and cedar.
Deer in Headlights (1ml): motor oil in a still cold night, with fresh baked bread, cinnamon sugar cookies, clove winter brewed sweet wine, spruce trees, Douglas firs
Winternights (FS); mirthful Northern mix of three vanillas, frosty peppermint, a dab of white musk, and a hint of ripe young berries encased in ice ($19)
Hot Dog (1ml): ?! – free with purchase
Lovechild - Gingerbaby (1ml): fresh ginger, pear, Madagascar vanilla
Halloween 2018 (2.3ml): Pumpkin Incense, Raw Fig and Pumpkin puree, Tonka Bean, Blue Sugar, a drop of Kashmir, a drop of labdanum, a drop of clove and a breath of white amber ($8)
We Wear the Mask (2.3ml): soft lavender with dry woods, carrot seed and iris, sandalwood smoke, and wisteria ($9)
Coy Mermaids with a Vulva-Shaped Head (2.3ml): Pink champaca, jasmine incense, vanilla cream, sweet amber, white patchouli, and rose sandalwood ($9)
Madam Pearl (1ml): white tea leaves, bone china, vanilla pods, white pepper
Ambre Caramelise (1ml): Caramelized White Ambre
Persephone’s Descent (1ml): Pomegranate, pale musk, narcissus blossom and black amber
Lavender Sugar (1ml): bulgarian lavender, pure Muscovado sugar
Ginger Tea (1ml): spicy ginger, charred cedar, black tea
Titania (1ml): white grape, white peach, iced pear, musk rose, sweet pea, moonflower and snapdragon
Pismaniye Musk (1ml): soft, nougat-like lightly buttery, lightly custard like eggy, spun sugar touched by a vanilla fairy floss blended with a sweet musk
Dragon, Rabbit, and Snake (1ml): Blue cypress, butterfly jasmine, green tea, black orchid, and white champa blossom
Carnaval Diabolique (1ml): opium smoke, lemon flower, heliotrope, tuberose, black musk, vanilla, coconut, apricot flower
Fae (1ml): white musk, bergamot, heliotrope, peach and oakmoss
The Dream is Big Enough for Everyone (1ml): honeyed fig and sugar-dusted patchouli, sweet amber oud, a drop of red currant, and vanilla cream
Honey, Tuberose, and Vanilla Sugar (1ml): as titled
The Fox Sisters (1ml): rose geranium, tea roses, mahogany wood, bourbon vanilla, apple peel
Eternal Ankh Snow (FS): White Amber, Powdered and reconstructed oil of Egyptian Vanilla Husk, Vanilla fleck, African White Vanilla, White Amber, Roman Blue Chamomile, White Pine essence, Bay Leaf, White Musk and a drop of pure Peppermint infused orange skin ($21)
Boop (FS): Lavender cream, puppy paws, white patchouli, and honey dust ($18)
The Sun Rising (2.3ml): three shades of tawny amber radiating with orange blossom, Italian yellow bergamot, saffron, and mandarin ($9)
eNVIe Jasmin Saphir (1ml): Rapture of creamy imported jasmin bathed with warm waves of saphir and undertones of blue light and warm evening romance. ($6)
Romeo & Juliet (1ml): Sacred Kyphi essence, Pear Skin, Bastet’s Amber, Crystalline Absolute, White Patchouli, Incense Dust, Labdanum, Cedar and Teak Wood
The Mirror (1ml): Bulgarian Rose Petals, Bastet’s Amber, Sandalwood, Egyptian Musk, Clove, White Vetiver, Orange Zest, Ylang Ylang essence and Vanilla-Musk
Witches Trace Sigils in the Dirt (1.5ml): Lush green moss, soft forest floor, blood cedar trees, tangled vines winding over crags, damp patchouli leaves, and a faint trail of rosemary
Ghost (1ml): sugar thick and luscious, and there is the black rose which is more of a velvety fragrance than something from a rose. A tiny amount of heliotrope
Meyer Lemon (1ml): lemon and citrus
Scrying Smoke (1ml): Natural and Meditative Melting Frankincense Resin, Frankincense Smoke, Vanilla, Sandalwood, Cedar, Petigrain, Vetiver, Labdanum
Liquid Gold (1ml): zanzibar spice, lavender fields, bergamot black tea
Briar Rose (1ml): wild rose, lavender, rosemary, cedar, clove, bergamot
Ceraunophilia (1ml): Slivered almond and ozone swirled with white clove, ambergris accord, ponderous grey musk, spiced tobacco, and black cotton
Gulf Breeze (sample of burnishing glace): Saltwater, sand, seashells, sea oats, rain, ambergris ($3)
Fairytale (FS): Blue sweet musk, Yuzu, blue lotus, magnolia, cool soft amber white ($14)
Kittens and Cream (FS): dry vanilla amber with sweet gorgeous Tuberose buds, crushed fresh ginger pop, peru balsams ($14)
Soft Core (1ml): my honey scent: loved this honey note but it’s a loud almost clover-like honey scent and then i sexified it with some cocoa, a medium charming oud and some dark woods
Rouge Fumé (1ml): Sanguine grapefruit, green cognac, ylang ylang, pomegranate, Tunisian rosemary, black cassis, and langourous smoke accord
Hula Honey (FS): Hibiscus plumeria, sparkling white amber, manuka, tropical rain ($14)
​

Edit: as of 6/8/22 this is all up to date, I'm 100% still taking orders!
Hello! I am working on de-stashing :) US Shipping is $4.50. I will respond in the order of comments. Preference for $5 minimum. Paypal G&S only.
Happy to consider swaps for the following (either FS or partials):
BPAL Left Atrium, Squirting Shoggoth, Earth Pig
Possets Lachrymosa
Nui Cobalt Aloha, Peace
Arcana Growl
ALL ~1ML SAMPLES ARE $2.50 UNLESS SPECIFIED OTHERWISE, 5 SAMPLES for $10
BPAL
Brown Jenkin (1ml): dusty white sandalwood and orris root, dry coconut husk, creeping musk, and the residue of ceremonial incense
The Great Sword of War (1ml): Mandarin, tonka, saffron, black tea, cocoa, tobacco leaf, sanguine red musk and five classical herbs of conflict
Ninth Lash (1ml): Clove, honey, and helichrysum
Honey Marzipan (1ml): as titled
Dragon, Rabbit, and Snake (1ml): Blue cypress, butterfly jasmine, green tea, black orchid, and white champa blossom
Carnaval Diabolique (1ml): opium smoke, lemon flower, heliotrope, tuberose, black musk, vanilla, coconut, apricot flower
Pallid Bat (1ml): Tea leaf, bourbon, a sting of white ginger, and Italian bergamot swirled in amber incense smoke
Fae (1ml): white musk, bergamot, heliotrope, peach and oakmoss
Mommy’s Little MI6 Agent (1ml): white pear, apple pulp, golden musk, fossilized amber
The Lights of Men’s Lives (1ml): The wax and smoke of millions upon millions of candles illuminating the walls of Death’s shadowy cave: some tall, straight, and strong, blazing with the fire of life, others dim and guttering.
In Dubiis Libertas (1ml): golden amber, smoked vanilla, benzoin, and blue cypress
Honey, Tuberose, and Vanilla Sugar (1ml): as titled
Oleander Honey (1ml): as titled
Famous Kabuki Actors in Imagined Scenes (1ml): Goat’s milk, honey dust, vanilla husk, oak bark, cardamom pod, tobacco leaf, cedarwood, and vetiver
Morocco (1ml): incense, arabian spices, warm musk, carnation, red sandalwood, cassia
The Dream is Big Enough for Everyone (1ml): honeyed fig and sugar-dusted patchouli, sweet amber oud, a drop of red currant, and vanilla cream
Dead Leaves, Blue Lilac, Black Currant, and Black Orchid (1ml): as stated
The Fox Sisters (1ml): rose geranium, tea roses, mahogany wood, bourbon vanilla, apple peel
Coy Mermaids with a Vulva-Shaped Head (2.3ml): Pink champaca, jasmine incense, vanilla cream, sweet amber, white patchouli, and rose sandalwood ($9)
A Karasu Tengu Copulating with the Knot-Hole of a Pine Tree (2.3ml): Pine needles and pine bark with terebinth, Bulgarian rose, white sandalwood, orris root, and oakmoss ($9)
We Wear the Mask (2.3ml): soft lavender with dry woods, carrot seed and iris, sandalwood smoke, and wisteria ($9)
NAVA/eNVie
Poisoned Honey Potion (FS): Rich Black Honey accord, Orange Blossom Honey accord, White Cedar, White Patchouli and White Sandalwood ($19)
Eternal Ankh Snow (FS): White Amber, Powdered and reconstructed oil of Egyptian Vanilla Husk, Vanilla fleck, African White Vanilla, White Amber, Roman Blue Chamomile, White Pine essence, Bay Leaf, White Musk and a drop of pure Peppermint infused orange skin ($21)
Quaternary (FS, 3.5ml remaining): Bergamot, Lavender, Egyptian Sweet Musk, Peony, Rose petals, White Patchouli, Verbena, Violet, Labdanum and Iris ($14)
Hathor (2ml): Incense of Aphrodesia, Black Coconut, Indian Vanilla Musk, Vanilla infused sweet milk, Coconut Milk, Egyptian Chypre, Black Incense, white Cinnamon, White Incense and Black Honey ($7)
Romeo & Juliet (1ml): Sacred Kyphi essence, Pear Skin, Bastet’s Amber, Crystalline Absolute, White Patchouli, Incense Dust, Labdanum, Cedar and Teak Wood
Halloween 2018 (2.3ml): Pumpkin Incense, Raw Fig and Pumpkin puree, Tonka Bean, Blue Sugar, a drop of Kashmir, a drop of labdanum, a drop of clove and a breath of white amber ($8)
POSSETS
Honey (1ml): Maltese honey
Phyllotaxis (1ml): black musk, dark brown musk, chai, arabica blend, lavender, hyssop, cassia
Fiore de Profumo (FS): acacia, lime, linden blossom ($16)
Custance (2.3ml): sandalwood, oude, tobacco flower, dry incense (incense, oriental) ($6)
Ghost (1ml): sugar thick and luscious, and there is the black rose which is more of a velvety fragrance than something from a rose. A tiny amount of heliotrope
Creative Juices (1ml): grey musk, cardamom, lime, parsley
ARCANA
Winternights (FS); mirthful Northern mix of three vanillas, frosty peppermint, a dab of white musk, and a hint of ripe young berries encased in ice ($19)
Snow Witch Moonrise (2ml? sample): blackened amber resin, wild-harvested fir and spruce branches, aged iron-distilled patchouli, frankincense tears, and bitter orange nectar ($5)
Witches Trace Sigils in the Dirt (1.5ml): Lush green moss, soft forest floor, blood cedar trees, tangled vines winding over crags, damp patchouli leaves, and a faint trail of rosemary
NUI COBALT
Ceraunophilia (1ml): Slivered almond and ozone swirled with white clove, ambergris accord, ponderous grey musk, spiced tobacco, and black cotton
Achievement Unlocked (FS): A bold blend of Mahogany and Merlot with tart elderberry and a single long-stemmed rose ($14)
Bee in your Bonnet (FS): Raw rhubarb and cardamom with toasted oats, Madagascar vanilla, ginger ale, and caramelized honey ($14)
Kahuna (FS): Toasted coconut spritzed with lime, garnished with blackberry, and sprinkled with fresh-grated ginger ($14)
Pele’s Fire (FS): Sacred ʻōhelo berry, torch ginger, ʻōhiʻa flower, lehua honey, skin musk, and woodsmoke ($14)
SUCREABEILLE
Liquid Gold (1ml): zanzibar spice, lavender fields, bergamot black tea
Briar Rose (1ml): wild rose, lavender, rosemary, cedar, clove, bergamot
SOLSTICE SCENTS
Library (1ml): sandalwood, agarwood, nagarmotha, choya loban attar, guaiacwood, cedar, leather, copaiba, benzoin, rosewood, osmanthus attar
Scrying Smoke (1ml): Natural and Meditative Melting Frankincense Resin, Frankincense Smoke, Vanilla, Sandalwood, Cedar, Petigrain, Vetiver, Labdanum
Conjure (1ml): Blend of Amber, Vanillas, Cedar, All Spice, Cauldron Smoke
ALPHAMUSK
Umber (1ml): rich frankincense and rosewood, flannel sheets, saffron cardamom twist, bitter orange, animal musk, black amber stones, brown musk
Deer in Headlights (1ml): motor oil in a still cold night, with fresh baked bread, cinnamon sugar cookies, clove winter brewed sweet wine, spruce trees, Douglas firs
Brick House (1ml): densely textured brick from the 60’s, heavily baked terracotta clays, red peppery vetiver, crumbled hay, red clay musk, dried florals, carrot seed, unlit incense cones, a well loved by unlit suburban fireplace
Hot Dog (1ml): ?! – free with purchase
Capybara (1ml): dusty greasy fur baby rolling around in sweet sandalwood musk, tinge of Australian red licorice, brown velvety cashmere, black vanilla, nervously gnawed cedarwoods
Smokey Amber (1ml): a touch of oud blended with a gray stone like amber and a touch of resinous mild incensey smoke
Soft Core (1ml): my honey scent: loved this honey note but it’s a loud almost clover-like honey scent and then i sexified it with some cocoa, a medium charming oud and some dark woods
Pismaniye Musk (1ml): soft, nougat-like lightly buttery, lightly custard like eggy, spun sugar touched by a vanilla fairy floss blended with a sweet musk
Boomerang (FS): rice milk on sparkling patchouli, sand & dry slightly sweet red clays, sandalwood and sweet oud, crystal Amber whites, bourbon vanilla Roobois tea leaves, buttery magnolia petals, ambrette seed musk accord, tonka beans and tolu, and warm soft brown Amber resins, touch of cardamom ($14)
Escapism (FS): affordable Tarry ouds, soothing honey, dank ruby musks, soft ancient decaying woods, blackberries ripe for the picking on the bushes, cracking creme brûlée as a stim, tonka beans and smoke filled rooms ($14)
Egyptian Amber Cashmere Cream (FS): sweet Egyptian amber blended with some custom cashmere cream and sandalwood incense and just a bit more fuzzy woodsy imported musk ($14)
New Pony (1 dram): warm buttery breath, sun kissed shiny fur musk, amber white ethereal accord ($6)
Pillow (1 dram): vanilla cotton touched by one of my favorite essential oils and blender, Peru balsam, a touch of ivory woods ($6)
Kittens and Cream (FS): dry vanilla amber with sweet gorgeous Tuberose buds, crushed fresh ginger pop, peru balsams ($14)
THE LITTLE BOOK EATER
Haunted House (FS): firewood embers, sandalwood, vanilla, spices ($12)
Book of Shadows (3ml roller): vanilla, chai tea, leather, sandalwood, tonka bean, musk ($5)
FIREBIRD
Cabin (FS): campfire smoke, Virginia cedar, fir needle ($7)
Ginger Tea (1ml): spicy ginger, charred cedar, black tea
HAUS OF GLOI
Persephone’s Descent (1ml): Pomegranate, pale musk, narcissus blossom and black amber
Haus Amber (1ml): Rich and sultry amber, our own hand blended accord
MISC
Astrid Sacred Mountain (2.3ml): Cold smoke in the air mingling with warm campfire woodsmoke, sagebrush, cedar, ho wood, whiskey, vanilla musk, nootka tree, and cinnamon ($9)
Alkemia Ambre Caramelise (1ml): Caramelized White Ambre
Conjure Oils Bruja Zarate's Agua Dulce (FS): Raw milled cane juice, tapa de dulce, is dissolved in the warmth of pure water fresh off the boil and served with juicy pink grapefruit ($14)
Oil Perfumery Cafe Rose (our impression of Tom Ford) (FS): Turkish Rose Oil, Bulgarian Rose Absolute, Coffee Essence, Incense Resin, Sandalwood, Patchouli Oil Fraction ($12)
Colornoise Holographic (1ml): rainbow lightning - cactus nectar - cucumber water -silver flower petals - holographic flash
Luvmilk Demon Wood (1 oz body spray): A blend of Italian bergamot, mandarin, rose, and white tea leaves mixed with jasmine, heliotrope and sandalwood meet warm tobacco, caramel, and honey ($3)
Salmonberry Origins Cloudberry (1ml): citrus, smooth and rich
Little and Grim Pointe aux Barques (1 dram): lily of the valley, rose, cyclamen, sandalwood, sea kelp, ocean breeze, bergamot, citrus zest, clove, and pepper ($5) -- label a bit smudged
The Strange South Fire in a Bottle (1ml) : Lemon balm, amber, vanilla, and distant campfire smoke
smell bent Modern Love (4 ml spray, ⅓ left ): sweaty bodies, narcotic florals, and pheromone finished with dry amber ($3)
Andromeda’s Curse DRE:AM (5ml rollerball): An Ethereal Floral Shoppe- Yellow Roses, Cyan Wisteria, Magenta Orchids, Cherry Blossom Musk and Lucid Dreams ($6)
Death + Floral The Secrets of Wives and Widows (FS rollerall): A dark and mysterious blend of Arabian sandalwood, luscious vanilla, orchids and southern night air, white tea in a fine cup of China held by a figure with long painted nails ($10)
Fortune Cookie Soap Co. Pearls and Girls (FS rollerball): Crushed and distilled vanilla creeping with wild jasmine and a splash of juicy pear ($7)
​
SOLD
Maplewood Inn (FS): sweet maple syrup, cedar, Alaskan cypress wood, wood smoke and benzoin coupled with a subtle waft of vanilla chai and bridged together with a warm glowing amber ($13)
Dream of October (1ml): Bulgarian lavender, cream, pumpkin spice, rice flower, petitgrain, and shea.
Dreaming of November (1ml): High elevation lavender, apple orchard accord, apple cider, fallen leaves, pear, and chimney smoke
Dreaming of Halloween (1ml): Lavender maillette, candy corn, dark chocolate, toffee, pumpkin, toasted hazelnut, marshmallow, and mugwort
Fall, Leaves, Fall (1ml): starry musk melting into blackcurrant, black oudh, black roses, and blood-red maple leaves
Cafe au Lait and a Wool Blanket (1ml): milky, cozy
Capital Prayers (1ml): ?! – free with purchase
Coming Home (1.5ml): Cinnamon and sugared folded into warm vanilla, aged oak and fresh firewood, mittens drying on the mantle, and golden amber December sun.
Owlviously (1ml): silkened red oud, crushed feathers, sparkling moon musk, elemi, frankincense, trail stones, Buddha wood, amyris, rosewood, tolu balsam, sweet patchouli buds, campfire ash
Bête Noire Brew (sp): honey infused with blue ginger sweetens blood red tea. Lychee, frangipani, night queen, haunted woods, Egyptian musk and golden copal round out this rogue remedy.
Poppycock (1ml): Lemon Meringue Pie: frothy citrus sweetness in a toasted almond crust, with white vanilla peaks gently browned under a blowtorch
Promises by Candlelight (1ml): amaretto liqueur, madagascar vanilla beans, yuzu, quince, curaçao, monoi tiara, white amber
Hexennacht Fluorite (1ml): lavender, chamomile, lemon balm, spearmint, a faint wafting of violets
Guardian (1ml): forest chypre with a full-bodied glowing amber core, Top notes of sacred white sage, wild desert sage, clary sage, spruce and bergamot lead to a rich pinyon pine and a dense shadowed forest aroma of fir balsam absolute. The base consists of a radiating and pervasive golden amber accord, sandalwood, oakmoss, Haitian vetiver, aged patchouli, Alaskan cypress, alligator juniper wood, green spikenard, muhuhu, oud and a hint of mushroom absolute. A very subtle addition of shiso leaf provides a crisp, spicy green nuance.
London (2ml): English Black Rose, Earl Grey Tea Leaves, Bergamot Tea, Black Amber, Vanilla, Cinnamon and Davana ($7)
Devil’s Millhopper (FS): Heather, Fern, Spring-fed Waterfall, New Spring Leaves, Earth, Oak, Wild Violet, Coumarin ($13)
Camp Willow (FS): Campfire, Fir Balsam, Spruce, Pine Needles, Black Coffee, Vanilla Pipe Tobacco, Marshmallow & Bourbon ($13)
La Crème de la Crème (1ml): creamy amber and trio of creamy toned musks that sort of allows the creamy qualities of all of them come to the forefront of the show
Moonalisa Hygge (full bottle ): Gently spiced wine and coffees, wafting of warm Beeswax with subtle smokiness with a background of Danish pastry ($10)
Sarabecca Vanilla Spice (1ml): amber, patchouli, jasmine, coriander, vanilla, sage
Windward Passage (1ml): marine accord, seaweed, and bladderwrack
CocoaPink Lucid Dreaming (atomizer sample? full ): wormwood, white sandalwood, golden amber, pale musk and cardamom ($4)
Blooddrop Sugar (2.5ml): Crystallized citrus, spun sugar, Anjou pear, Earl Grey, lotus, delphinium, and glittering musk ($5)
Bast (1ml): myrrh, golden amber, cardamom, honey, bourbon vanilla, cacao
Baccarat Rouge 540 (our impression of Maison Francis Kurkdjian) (FS): Top Notes: Jasmine, Saffron, Orange, Marigold // Heart Notes: Ambroxan, Evernyl // Base Notes: Cedarwood, Ambergris, Fir Balsam ($12)
Oud Silk Moon (our impression of Maison Francis Kurkdjian) (FS): Laotian Oud, Bulgarian Rose, Moroccan Blue Chamomile, Papyrus ($12)
Rare Moon (sample spray, ⅓ full ): Delicate vanilla essence, sugared amber musk, dark vetiver, juiced plums, and wild orchid ($2.50)
Incense Bee (FS): Incense accord, Black Honey Essence, Vanilla Bean Whole, Tahitian Vanilla with Egyptian Frankincense and Myrrh resin ($19)
Peppermint Crystalline (2ml): Peppermint Pure, Crystalline Absolute, Apricot essence, Marshmallow, Sandalwood Light, Strawberry and Lily accord ($7)
Zenith (2ml): White Tobacco infused with Sandalwood and Almond, Sweet Amber, Whole Madagascar Vanilla Beans, Australian Sandalwood, Light Incense, Frankincense, African Myrrh Resin, Bastet’s Amber Absolute, White Patchouli, Earl Grey Tea accord, Bergamot Essential, Davana, Green Cardamom, Bourbon Vanille, Vanilla Bean Liqueur, Pink Kashmir Red Musk and Nevada Desert Sage ($7)
Honeyed Figs (1.15ml): Autumn-harvest honey awakens distinctive layers of fig, madagascar vanilla bean, and black walnut
Dreaming of Softness (1ml): Bulgarian lavender, violets, violet leaf, and sugary salt water taffy
After the Rain (1ml): Lilac, Wisteria, Blue Lotus, Rain, Green Accord, Wild Violets, Earth
Sycamore Chai (1ml): Vanilla Chai Tea & A Ginger-Pumpkin Roll Filled With Marshmallow Creme
Grinds my Goat (1ml): ?! – free with purchase
Grey’s Cabin (1ml): Smoked Cocoa, Cedar, Embers, Black Musk, Copal Bark, Tobacco, Spice
Better Merry than Wise (2.3ml): fresh basil, juicy pink grapefruit, green jasmine buds, crisp muslin skirts ($7)
Just Like Heaven (2.3ml): delicate lavender, heavenly marshmallow accord, resinous incense ($7)
Serene Lace (2.3ml): palo santo incense, cedar smoke, vanilla, antique lace ($7)
Golden Shield (1.15ml): green tea, lemon verbena, sparkling clementine, honey
Twice to Tea (1.15ml): earl grey tea, natural lavender absolute, vanilla syrup, splash of milk
Ebb & Flow (1ml): Honeysuckle, frankincense, Argentine lemon, and sage
Fancy Boy (FS, ⅓ full ): slice of warm bread smothered in golden honey, white chocolate, almond bits, and rich vanilla ($7)
Death Unicorn (1ml): fresh cut lavender, black anise, sweet vanilla bean, black pepper
Talker (sample pip): lavender, soothing allspice and mind opening mint
Fluffing the Bunny (1ml): Madagascar vanilla, Tahitian vanilla, apricot, white musk, skin musk, and a tiny tickle of mint
Road to Hana (1ml): Anji white tea, young ginger root, ginger flower, ambrette muskmallow
Haiku (1ml): Jasmine Pearl Tea, Teaflower Aldehydes, Green Tea Buds
Luminae (1ml): Your skin but better
Bastet's Amber Brûlée Woods (FS): Brulée Castor Sugar, Santalum-Sugar, Sweet wood Essences of; California Redwood, Vetiver, Patchouli, Sandalwood - and Bastet Amber Absolute (Amber Resin imported from Alexandria, Guaiacwood, Crystal Benzoin and Crystal Frankincense) ($21)
N8 (FS): musk, ylang ylang, neroli, white jasmine, white floral musk, white rose petals, sandalwood, Bastet's Amber ($19)
eNVie Saphir Miel (1ml): A rich balsamic honey accord entices the olfactory with a longevity of days. A little goes a long way. Tempered by pure Italian Bergamot and Saphir Absolute, the black honey note fuses throughout the perfume notes. Top Notes: Black Honey Accord: French Green Cognac, French Brandy, Orange Flower Water, Styrax, Benzoin Honey Accord, Heart Notes: Aged Saphir Absolute (7 years), coriander essence, Vanillin-Ambre, Rose Water, Base Note: Egyptian Amber & Musk Resin purified into natural notes of blue balsamic amber, sweet papyrus oil from Cairo and Siam benzoin that hints naturally of occurring warm and pure vanillin ($5)
Solanine The Flower Girl (1ml): razor-thorned roses, vibrant bursts of oleander, drooping cascades of wisteria, sprays of white hemlock and lily of the valley, bruise-blue pillows of aconite, purple-veined henbane, and the snapping jaws of monstrously large flytraps, glistening wet with mucilag
Ancient Marshmallows (FS): nougat, honey, mallow plant ($16)
Opal Vanilla (2ml): Bastet’s Vanilla Custard accord, Bastet’s Ice Cream Absolute accord, Crystalline Vanilla Absolute, Vanilla Pudding accord, Vanilla Liqueur accord, True Vanilla Absolute from pod/fleck/orchid, French Vanilla Whole Beans pods, Bavarian Crème accord, Vanilla Crème, Vanilla Caramel, Brown Sugar and Vanilla Cookie essence accord ($7)

This experience was the only paranormal experience I've ever had, probably the only one that I will ever have in my life and was one of the two most spiritual/terrifying experiences I have ever had. I am 26 years old, this experience still scares me to this day, I will never forget walking out of that forest that night and I will remember it for the rest of my life. I've looked all over google, the internet and reddit for encounters that were like ours and i've found absolutely no encounters detailing exactly what I have described us witnessing and me feeling.
I am already well aware of the Nightcrawler videos, I wasn't aware of the videos till a couple years after our encounteexperience. I have seen the Fresno Nightcrawler videos many times, the movements looked way more terrfying and "psychedelic" in real life compared to the videos, and it looked a lot more ghostly/spirit like. It was visually stunning/haunting compared to the videos and something you would have to witness/experience for yourself. The one we saw stayed in the same exact spot the whole time we saw it. It did not walk anywhere like the ones in the videos and there were some differences in appearance. The white texture and soft silent movement of it "in person" looked identical to what is seen in the Ghosts of Gettysburg video and the Yosemite Nightcrawler Video.
I recently sent our experience and the sketch I did of the Being to someone that was First Nations on instagram that lives in B.C not to far from me and he knew what it was right away, told me what the name of the Being was in their language and showed me their cultures "High Status Symbol" which was a "Double Headed Serpent" shaped like a U with an additional Double Headed Serpent with horns on the back and head I was told to flip upside down because it represents the beings. I was told you can see them in the daytime as well as night, a little bit of other information and told to make a specific burial offering of food. I did some extensive research based off of what he told me and I found out some of the other various names different First Nations cultures call the "Nightcrawlers" here in Lower Mainland BC, Canada. I posted the research I did for the past year on the specific beings and the different names at the very bottom below our experience.
I was also told by another First Nations person that lives in the same city as me "If you do go outside at night don't eat or drink anything", "Ask before you enter forests","it is best to keep your distance from them", and "they haven't heard of too many other people encountering one"
I showed a Tlingit/Kwakwaka'wakw artist our experience and drawing, they said: "We in our region know it to be a shapeshifter, you are lucky it had no face as we also know that to make eye contact with it would turn you to salt. It’s origins start in a particular river here on the central coast where it was created by a fishermen, who upon spearing the fish split it vertically from the head towards the tail. The flesh inside was revealed to be a bright and shimmering rainbow or colours and the supernatural creature was born. It’s referenced in many stories throughout the 13 tribes of the Kwakwakawakw. The Sisiutł is tied very closely to Wina’lagalis. He is the centre, the genesis, of the warrior society. Which is not to say it’s restricted exclusively to those whom did physical battle. The sisiutł is indeed a power being and if you cross it you will find yourself in a bad spot. However based on your description, it either didn’t want to hurt you and may have been offering something"
"If you encounter it again, ask it what it wants Gauge the situation, FEEL it. If you truly feel it malicious, then by all means don’t stick around. Take someone with you. Some entities are sly and it may attempt to entice you into something unsavoury"
Here is a screenshot of the 5 acre forest located behind my friends old house with the spots marked out where we approximately were and where we saw the Tall White Being. https://imgur.com/KZFEGdb
Here are the rough sketches I made of "exactly" what the Tall White "Supernatural Being" looked like: https://imgur.com/a/5jAef6O This one I made in pencil so I could detail out what I meant by the two long arms being hunched in front like a ape and the upper half being bulky. https://imgur.com/qBUzBZ5
Here: https://imgur.com/a/ZM7cBN7 is me and my friends conversation a year after we saw the Being (2011 when I was 17) I dug up in my facebook messages. I clearly hadn't spoken to my friend in a while and I say "I can't stop thinking about the figure we saw in his forest", I say "the feeling I had when I saw it was death", he states "hes never been as scared since", "he was worried to tell anyone about it" and he was "Mesmerized by its movements".
Here is one of the Fresno Nightcrawler videos from Yosemite without sound, this is the closest someone will ever get to the real experience due to how silent it was and how silent the forest was and yet this video doesn't even do the experience itself justice because it is something you need to experience for yourself to understand. You can see the smaller one stop, stand in place as if it is looking at something, sway back and forth as I described at the 0:39 second mark for 3 seconds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXEusizrKxg
I just came across the Ghosts Of Gettysburg video and this is identical to what the white texture and silent movement of it looked like in person. I believe what they caught on camera was the same thing due to it being in a rural area. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kd5SQ34lgo
Yosemite/Fresno and the Lowermainland/Fraser Valley are about a 16 hour drive apart but they are both connected by a long strip of forest areas that consist of other national parks and national forests that are right on the edge of the North Pacific Ocean.
Encounteexperience:
Back in 2010 in Lowermainland/Fraser Valley, British Columbia, Canada approximately in early October or mid October when I was 16 (I am 26 years old now) my old friend lived in the northwest rural part of my city and his backyard had 5 acres of forest with a few houses surrounded in the distance around the outskirts of the 5 acres. Me and him would go and explore the forest all the time because it was quite mystical and just a cool place to wander and explore. This one time me and my friend went outside to his forest with his black labrador retriever like we would usually do in the daytime down to the creek but this time at night in his backyard forest at about 1 am to go explore and smoke a joint like usual (Which we were sober at the time and didn't even get to smoking because of encountering the "Being" and being terrified, we ended up smoking it inside his basement/room).
You go out the back door into the backyard and the 5 acre forest forms a natural sun trap, there is a specific "enterance" which is dense forestsed/bushed area you have to go through instead of going through rough terrain. You can't get through because the forest has a deer fence going across it except for the enterance to the forest area. There is a proper safe natural path to take down to the bottom of the forest and the creek. There's a steep tearaway out of the forest floor when you first walk in, it is only about 20 -25 feet into the forest area from the "entrance" of the forest. When we were standing at the top of the cliff/tearaway before the pathway leading down to the rest of the forest and the creek at the bottom (which was the only safe way to walk down especially at night), I could see a 7-8 feet tall pure white soft looking figure about 30-40 feet downwards in the forest and as I focused more it was inbetween the trees moving around softly swaying left to right back and forth slowly standing (touching the forest floor) in the exact same place the whole time we saw it making absolutely no sound and there was absolutely no wind.
I wasn't even going to say anything about the figure to my friend at first because I was waiting for my friend to say something. We observed it for a couple seconds in complete silence and we were "mesmerized" by it's movements, then I asked my friend if he saw it and he said yeah he could as well. We stood silent in fear as we were watching it do its strange unsettling soft swaying movements/trying to adjust our eyes to the Being and see what it was doing. As we continued watching it for a couple minutes I felt I was in a slight daze watching it sway and I started to feel impending doom "set in" (the sinking feeling) in my chest area like when you are going to die or are in a life threatening situation and I had shivers going throughout my body. That's when I told my friend specifically "I don't like this", he agreed and we left immediately. I wasn't so much scared of the sight of the Being, I was more curious about the strange movements it was making and what it really looked like, I was scared of the feeling of death it made me feel. I was frozen with fear and I literally felt like I was going to die or something bad was going to happen.
We left very quick because we didn't know what it was, it scared us and our intuition (my feeling of dread/death) told us it was dangerous, we didn't want to go check out what it was and I knew it was time to leave. I remember my friend yelling something at it because he could tell his dog was scared , I am entirely positive the dog was whimpering and the Being was just still swaying back and forth left to right between the trees in the same exact spot. Almost immediately after we got out of the forest (left the "entrance" of the forest (which we were not far from) it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders and the feeling of dread left pretty much immediately.
It was so white it looked like it was almost shining but it wasn't because it wasn't giving of any light of any sort or illuminating the ground or trees around it, you could see the shadow being cast on while it was swaying in the pitch black forest like it was a real animal. It appeared to be opaque, it looked solid enough to the point where you couldn't see through it at all, it was solid white. It appeared to be three dimensional. It looked soft and kind of shiny, it was swaying left to right, right to left with its two really long arms, it looked bulky/strong at the top and shoulder areas and where a head would be but there was no head that I could see. The two long legs/arms looked like the frontal view of an apes forearms would look like when they are crawling on all fours as if the two long legs were hunched infront. The best way I can describe it is 7-8 foot thin separated curtains in the shape of a upside down V or U touching the forest floor and swaying left to right back and forth in a specific motion with no sound at all, absolutely no wind, dead silent. Its movements were "Psychedelic" and sort of "hypnotizing". The texture of it was soft like Charlies white spirit entering Peters body after the attic scene from "Hereditary" Probably the most solid description I can give of what the texture of it looked like "in person" besides the Fresno Nightcrawler Yosemite video, and the Ghosts Of Gettysburg triangular fields video. It was making no sound at all while it was swaying, it was beautiful to look at and terrifying/unsettling at the same time, that's why it was so astonishing to look at, it was almost angelic. There were absolutely no sounds in the forest, it was dead silent while it was moving back and forth. Its movements could have been a lure of some sort because it did not move towards us or anywhere, or it was just letting us know to stay away because it was scared to death as well or just didn't want us to disturb it. It was literally something you would see in a science fiction horror movie.
It was not a trick of the mind or light, there was no light or moon light shining in the forest because it was filled with tall Douglas fir trees, Cedar trees and other vegetation and the creature was downwards from us deeper in the pitch black forest. The forest also had various leveling's and rough terrain in certain parts due to the natural tearaway in the ground when you first walk in which consisted of a lot of clay at the bottom where the tearaway had occured. The forest was on a downward slant when you first walk in which is the pathway you take to get down safely where the creature was approxmately standing. There was no possible way of any light even entering the forest nor any light in the proximity. The houses were distanced too far apart and this forest goes down pretty steep, probably about a good 50-60 feet downwards till you get to the creek at the bottom, it was pitch black in that forest. It was not a spiderweb, fog, any sort of garbage, a weather baloon, prankster or material as a couple of people have ignorantly and stupidly suggested. We had gone back in the morning daylight to the approximate area where we thought it was standing and saw nothing out of the ordinary, even looked for prints and there was nothing we could notice. (It was also difficult because of the ground being thickly covered in Douglass-Fir needles and other debris). His forest was in pristine condition cause no one would ever go in it as it is a private forest located in peoples backyards, it is a quiet part of town people don't just go walking about everywhere like in the city. There were no houses close enough to give off any light or give off a shine through the trees and the Being was not see through it looked like it was almost solid, but it was very ghostly/spirit looking as well. It was upside down V or U shaped and It had no facial features/head at all from what we could see in the dark.
There is absolutely no animals in Northern British Columbia, Canada or the rest of Canada and U.S that look close to what we saw, there are absolutely no animals that are 7-8 feet tall and stand on 2 legs. There aren't even any animals in other countries that come close to what we saw. It did not have a body( It's 2 legs/limbs were its body) It was not a animal, and there is no possible way to "debunk" this. I have explored all the options of what it could have been. This was the first time we ever went out to his forest at night, and it was the last time we ever went in the forest at night. The 5 acres of forest is the biggest area of woods in that area. Around the area of town it is mostly just a couple million dollar houses, and farm/forest area. It is pretty much the greenbelt of my city. He has no neighbors that are close to the location because as I said his forest is 5 acres with the closest neighbors being at least 3 blocks down the street on the right hand side of the forest. To this day the feeling that I had when I saw the Being move still gives me shivers and I feel lucky to be alive. The fact that we went out to the forest at that time really late at night and happened to see that freaks me out as well, cause it was clearly meant to be seen by us. If we went out any later or any sooner we might not have seen it in his forest at that moment of time. Like I said, I didn't have to point out to my friend where the Being was he automatically saw it at the same time I saw it. I think the feeling of dread could have possibly have been a warning to keep away from it and that is why me and my friend left right away without any hesitation.
Like I said this was the only Parnaormal Experience I have ever had. There was no paranormal activity that I experienced when I would go to my friends house or on his property/in his forest besides the one experience/encounter, My friend never mentioned seeing anything strange or having any paranormal experiences in or around his house prior to our encounter. Now that I think back on the whole experience , hanging outside there and exploring the woods there is for sure something "special" about the whole location. I understand a lot of people are scared of these types of things and they don't want to believe they exist, but would have had to be there yourself to understand what it looked like, see the creeping movements, and feel what I felt. Seeing one of these beings up close is a spiritual experience that you need to experience and see for yourself to really understand what it was like. We have scaled my friends forest around the creek area and the area where we saw the Supernatural Being at least 20 different times/ different days before hand seeing it and we went back the day after to the exact spot where we saw the Being in the forest and noticed nothing out of the ordinary. We both knew that it was some sort of being and it was something we shouldn't have been seeing or attempt to go up to.
Here is my full description of the "Supernatural Being" Aka Nightcrawler, me and my friend saw:
7-8 feet Tall, Pure White (When I mean "pure white" I mean Paper, Bone white) Not see-through, Just 2 Pure White Long limbs (from what we could see in the dark). It was so white it looked like it was almost giving off light but it wasn't because it was not shining or illuminating the trees or ground and Im pretty sure you could see shadow on it from it moving back and forth in the same place between the trees, it looked bulky/strong at the top and shoulder areas and where a head would be but there was no head that I could see. It looked solid and looked three dimensional. I can only describe as 7-8 foot shiny separated curtains in the shape of a upside down V or U with some sort of bulkiness/shape to the top half, the whole thing was swaying touching the forest floor right and left back and forth in a specific motion with no sound at all, absolutely no wind, dead silent. The two long legs/arms almost looked like if how the front view of a ape crawling on all fours would look like as if the forearms were hunched infront. To my best estimate it looked like the legs/arms were about one to one and a half feet wide and the whole thing was about 3 - 4 and a half feet wide from top to bottom. I tried my best to squint my eyes and adjust them to the Supernatural Being/dark better to see what it was doing or if I could make out what it looked like better, but it did not help at all it just still appeared as I described. (The rough sketches I made are exactly what it looked like, I am an artist and I tried my best to recreate what it looked like to my ability, there was no extra detail necessary.)
TL;DR: Entered my friends backyard 5 acre forest at night close to 1 am in the northwest rural part of my city and both of us immediately saw something out of place down the path below about 30-40 feet away from us in between the trees that was tall, white and three dimensional. It appeared to be completely white and soft like light, but it did not illuminate the trees or ground around it. There was no face or any facial features we could see, no arms and it was shaped in a upside down V or U. It was making creepy swaying movements with its (whole body) two legs left to right back and forth silently still standing on the forest floor in the exact same spot the whole time we saw it. It was so white that you could see the shadow being cast on it while it was swaying like it was a real animal. It did not pick up its legs or walk at all. I can only explain it as looking like 7-8 foot really white, soft, shiny separated curtains in the shape of a upside down V or U with bulkiness/shape to the top, the two long legs/arms looked like the frontal view of an apes forearms would look like when they are crawling on all fours as if the two long legs were hunched infront. It was moving left to right in a specific motion standing on the forest floor in the same area between the trees making absolutely no sound, and there was absolutely no wind. It was beautiful to look at but terrifying at the same time. We watched it in silence as it was swaying and I started to feel impending doom (the sinking feeling in your chest) "set in" and it felt like I was going to die or something bad was going to happen. I told my friend specifically "I don't like this", he agreed, and we immediately left the forest. Here are the two rough sketches of exactly what it looked like:
https://imgur.com/a/5jAef6O
https://imgur.com/qBUzBZ5
(Names ,links and research to the beings) "Nightcrawler" is just a made up name by the public/internet because they were captured on camera at night and they dubbed them "Nightcrawlers". Upon doing some recent research of what the First Nations person told me, many different cultures of indigenous people in B.C know about these beings and they all use a "Double Headed Serpent" to represent these beings. The Sto:lo First Natons states that there are 5 different kinds of "Stl’áleqem" (Supernatural Beings) and the "sʔi:ɬqəý̓" is one of them. The names of these beings and variants from different First Nations cultures in B.C are Sisiutl/laqaqua'sa, sʔi:ɬqəý̓/siilquey/si:lhqey/Seelkee/Sflhqey, Si'xqe, Shla- lah-kum, Su'ike, Ts'ewalf , Sunulqaz, énétlékē, wasgo, Say Nuth Kway , Sinulhka, Hi?, Grubworm, Larahwæse, Sisiuth, Se-sook, sulwa’us and Klu'bist. There are also various similarities/comparisons between these beings the NAGA , Jinn, Quetzalcoatl, Rainbow Serpent, Kelpie, Lindworm, Ouroboros,Taniwha, and Wendigo.
"The word for "sisiutl" in Tsimshian is Laqaqua'sa, which literally means "both sides head".
"Among Pacific Northwest cultures, horns or plumes on artwork indicate a supernatural being."
It specifically states in a Thesis from UBC called "The Northwest Coast Sisiutl" from 1975 they are Supernatural beings and shamanism is strongly associated with them. Sisiutl, the Kwakiutl primary variant of the double-headed serpent, is echoed in similar beings of the Tsimshian, Tlingit, Bella Coola, Nootka and Haida groups. Sisiutl occurs in many Kwakiutl myths, but it is an established supernatural spirit with many attributes and no myth of origin. This fact supports the notion that the character sisiutl originated among the northern tribes and was adopted by the Kwakiutl. In addition, the question of visual affinity among the Northwest Coast sisiutl and sisiutl-like beings in Shang/Chou China and seventeenth-nineteenth century New Zealand is briefly addressed. (https://imgur.com/a/viQx9yT) (https://open.library.ubc.ca/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/831/items/1.0093447)
The symbol is heavily used in different cultures to represent these beings, they even have a statue at UBC in B.C dedicated to the beings. (https://imgur.com/a/UQsj1bA) (https://fnel.arts.ubc.ca/the-musqueam-s%CA%94i%C9%ACq%C9%99y%CC%93-qeq%C9%99n-double-headed-serpent-post-dedicated-at-ubc/)
"The soulcatcher (Haboolm Ksinaalgat) of the northern Tsimshian, Tlingit, and Haida peoples exhibits the same body form, and may derive its form from the sisiutl."
This soulcatcher of "Sisiutl" shows the actual "being" secretly ornamented with abalone as the lips. If you tilt your head to the right or left you can clearly see the shiny Abalone inlay for the lips of the snake or teeth are actually the being itself hidden in plain sight. https://imgur.com/a/ceA7ySs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soulcatcher
Mayan "Soul Tube" or "Double Headed Serpent Bar" symbolizing Quetzalcoatl
http://www.angelfire.com/folk/sunflowerfarm/soultube.html
Aztec Double Headed Serpent sculpture symbolizing Quetzalcoatl
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-headed_serpent
"The sisiutl is a legendary creature found in many of the cultures of the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. It is typically depicted as a double-headed serpent with fish qualities, sometimes with an additional central face of a supernatural being. The sisuitl features prominently in Pacific Northwest art, dances and songs. The sisuitl is closely associated with shamans because both are seen as mediators between the natural and supernatural worlds."
"Dancers donning the mask of Sisiutl adorn themselves with western hemlock boughs, signifying wildness. Sisiutl masks were often hinged, allowing the serpent ends to simulate lifelike serpentine writhing movements. Sisiutl masks were decorated with flecks of mica, which were believed to be scales shed by Sisiutl (often found on beaches). These mica chips provided an enchanting glittery effect when danced in fire-light." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisiutl
"The Kwakiutl tribe, who lived on the British Columbian coast north of the present city of Bella Coola specified that sisiutl was an animal that was "of the earth", not one of the mythical creatures of the sea; this distinctly shows that the Pacific Northwest tribes were convinced of the animal's existence." http://allaboutdragons.com/dragons/Sisiutl
"The Sea Sisuitl, a double-serpent of the Kwakuitls was one of the most powerful of the supernatural helpers. It aroused more awe than would be elicited by the representation of an ordinary snake. This creature was said in the lore of the British Columbia coast and Vancouver Island to be four feet in diameter and up to 20 feet long. At times it was in league with the mythological thunderbird. Its 'house' was either on land or in the water. The body has an identical head at each end with a human face, implying should power midway between. Almost always causing death when encountered, it was all the more dangerous because it would shrink itself to a tiny fraction of its true length. The sisuitl is holding an important symbol of wealth, the copper, which was used in potlatch ceremonies. Here, the combination of the all powerful sea-sisutl and the copper, symbol of the great wealth creates an awe-inspiring image." http://collection.legacy.uvic.ca/index.php?id=3954&artifact_action=info
"The humanoid central head likely symbolizes Sisiutl's supernatural shape-shifting powers Sisiutl could also change size from a few centimeters to a span sufficient to block off a bay. As a transomative creature of vast shamanic power, the Sisiutl could travel across all boundaries: land, water and air." https://www.mymondotrading.com/gallery/view/614-sisiutl-sea-serpent-by-michael-price
"The Native Sea Serpent symbolizes protection, supernatural power and revival. It is one of the most powerful symbols in Kwakwaka’wakw culture. The Sisiutl is a supernatural three-headed serpent that possesses shapeshifting abilities and the ability to turn spectators into stone when gazed upon. Not only can the Sisiutl change shape into a human or animal, but it can also transform its body into a self-propelled canoe that the owner must feed with seals." https://spiritsofthewestcoast.com/collections/the-sisiutl-or-sea-serpent-symbol
"In his study entitled: " The serpent in Kwakiutl religion, a study inprimitive culture ”, demonstrates that he is at the same time Alakila, god of the origin of life, Laquagila, god of the underworld, Qomogwa, god of the sea, Winalagilis, god of war, orstill Baxbakualanuxsiwae, cannibal demon…Represented in the form of a creature with snake head at each end and with a human head in its center, it can change into a canoe, in human, in salmon, and to be at will visible or invisible.This god is extremely important, and in closer relationship with winter rituals, founding pole of Kwakiutl culture. According to the thought of this people indeed, the light and the sun are, during the night and during the season of winter,masked by the forces of the underworld, personalized by Sisiutl-Baxbakualanuxsiwae (theSun also has a mask representing the Sisiutl). But at the end of the eternal struggle between light and darkness, the Sun ends up escaping, and rising above the Ocean(Sisiutl-Qomogwa). He then appears to the east, where Sisiutl-Alakila's home is located. Winter is also the season in which the spirits of the gods descend to the earth,and where magical phenomena can take place. The Sisiutl is also connected to the Sun, to the Moon, to the Milky Way (supposed to be the center of Heaven), to life, to death, to invincibility, to rebirth, to the underworld and to the visible world, to prosperity, to wisdom, to cannibalism ... In the mythology of the Bella Coola, cannibalism is also the fact no not of the cannibal himself, but of the serpent that was placed in place during initiation rites, and whose bite it reproduces"
Taken from the "Sto:lo Heritage Policy Manual": “Stl’áleqem” is the word the Old People use to categorize certain spiritual beings inhabiting parts of S’ólh Téméxw. These beings’ spiritual potency affords them a significant place in Stó:lō culture, yet they are difficult to describe or explain to people raised outside of the culture. Metaphors of “monsters” and translations of stl’áleqem as “supernatural creatures” fall short of conveying the full meaning of the word and carry a western perspective that robs “stl’áleqem” of its Halq’eméylem essence. Likewise, the distinction western society makes between “real” and “unreal” is not applicable in categorizing stl’áleqem: some spiritual beings, such as the hairy giant sásq’ets (sasquatch), the s’ó:lmexw (water babies) who live at the bottoms of certain lakes and deep spots in rivers, the mimestíyexw (little people) who inhabit various regions of S’ólh Téméxw and assist spirit dancers, and the majestic shxwexwó:s (thunderbird) whose flapping wings make thunder, whose blinking eyes make lightning, and whose urine is rain, are all thought to be just as real as bears, chipmunks and sturgeon, and are not considered stl’áleqem.
Perhaps the best way of conveying what a stl’áleqem is simply to identify them by name and then describe how they are referred to within sxwôxwiyám and sqwelqwel (oral histories). The Old Ones speak of at least five different types or kinds of stl’áleqem: Sí:lhqey, the two-headed serpent; St’qoya, the frightening glowing red eyes sometimes seen at night; Ápel, the large maggot who inhabits the rock bluffs and deep bays above and in the southeast corner of Cultus Lake; and T’liteqo Spá:th, the underwater black bear who lives in the waters of the Fraser Canyon near Lady Franklin Rock. An encounter with any one of these creatures can be dangerous, holding the potential for mixed outcomes. Stó:lō therefore regard places inhabited by stl’áleqem as xá:xa (spiritually potent; ≅ taboo). Since many current Stó:lō activities – hunting, ritualistic spiritual swimming, and “leaving our things” – lead people to visit places where stl’áleqem reside, it is important to know their locations and to follow proper protocol. Those who have been taught how to act appropriately, such as shxwlá:m (Indian doctors), can attain spirit power by showing respect to stl’áleqem. For instance, rather than turning and running upon seeing a stl’áleqem – a typical reaction of someone not prepared for the encounter – one should face it and slowly back away until the creature is out of sight. Another teaching specifies that a person should pluck hair from their head and blow it towards the stl’áleqem. Failure to follow these or other appropriate, sacred teachings can lead to serious consequences. Common reactions to mild, unintentional stl’áleqem encounters are often described as "causing the hair to rise on the back of your neck” or producing a feeling that an unseen presence is near. Those who are warned away and yet knowingly trespass into a stl’áleqem site may suffer xó:lí:s (to twist up and die). Children are particularly prone to this condition. Those who do not immediately die require the treatment of a shxwlá:m to relieve their sickness" https://imgur.com/a/38oEZgI (http://www.srrmcentre.com/files/File/Stolo%20Heritage%20Policy%20Manual%20-%20May%202003%20-%20v1.2.pdf)
"In Canadian folklore, "Seelkee" (s?i:łqəý) (transcribed in English from Halqemeylem, the local [indigenous language is a lake monster reported to have lived in the swamps of what is now Chilliwack, in British Columbia, Canada. Seelkee has been allegedly seen by the Stó:lō, people for hundreds of years. The most common description of Seelkee is a 10 to 15-foot-long (3.0 to 4.6 m) [sea serpent] like beast with the head of a horse. Most descriptions talk about how the creature was snake-like with two heads." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seelkee
"Function and appearance. Although the details in the various accounts of the spirit-serpent vary, there are some recurring themes. These include: the general appearance in the form of a large animal, usually a snake and in that case quite often a two-headed snake." https://lingpapers.sites.olt.ubc.ca/files/2018/03/1992_vanEijk.pdf
"Lillooet traditional cosmology recognizes a supernatural being called sünuƚqaz', which manifests itself as a gigantic animal, usually a serpent. A being with an etymologically related name and similar attributes is recognized by a number of other Salish cultures, namely, Straits, Halkomelem, and Squamish, while a similar animal, called by unrelated names, appears in yet other Salish cultures. This article discusses the various functions of this being in those Salish cultures where it occurs, as well as the etymological history of the name sünuƚqaz', and serves as a contribution to cryptozoology and the study of beings not recognized in the western taxonomic canon." https://www.jstor.org/stable/30028780?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
"It is known both as a benevolent protector of its people (the groups from the country around) and as a malevolent punisher of law breakers. The Rainbow Serpent's mythology is closely linked to land, water, life, social relationships, and fertility. The Rainbow Serpent often takes part in transitions from adolescence to adulthood for young men and swallows them to vomit them up later." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_Serpent
The "Weewillmekq" and "Jipijka'm" is "a worm an inch long, which can make itself into a horrid monster as large as a deer; yes, and much larger. It is m'teoulin; yes, it is a great magician."
"Jipijka'm is an underwater horned serpent, common to the legends of most Algonquian tribes.It is said to lurk in lakes and eat humans."" https://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/aborig/fp/fpz2f34e.html
"The "U Thlen" (Shapeshifting Man-eating serpent of Sohra) can change his shape and size at will and sucks up humans whole "Unlike his mother, U Thlen could not transform himself into any likeness but that of a snake, but he had power to diminish or to enlarge his size at will. Sometimes he appeared so small as to be no bigger than a string of fine thread, at other times he expanded himself to such dimensions that he could swallow a man bodily." https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37884/37884-h/37884-h.htm
"Psi-ya-hus (also spelled Psai-Yah-hus) is a spirit rock near the Fauntleroy ferry terminal in Seattle, Washington. Coast Salish peoples associate the rock with A'yahos, a "malevolent and dangerous" spirit, capable of shapeshifting, who sometimes appears in a two-headed serpent form, who is associated with other earthquake-related areas like landslides near the Seattle Fault."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psai-Yah-hus
"The Quileute people of western Washington know a similar dangerous entity, the "T´abale"
Many myths along the shores of Washington narrate the furious battles of A´yahos or related spirits with other mythical animals. According to the Suquamish Tribe"
"According to legends of the Duwamish people of the Cascade Range, some large boulders along the shores of the Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the area surrounding the city of Seattle are haunted by terrible "A´yahos". A´yahos were shape-shifter spirits, appearing in our world sometimes as large snake, other times as double-headed snake with horns or in their preferred shape with the body of a serpent and the antlers and forelegs of a deer." https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/history-of-geology/a-field-guide-to-the-north-american-earthquake-beasts/
"Non-Salish Cascadia Native representations of two-headed snakes. Neither of these figures has yet been explicitly linked to earthquakes, but they likely represent the same spirit power as a'yahous. Both have horns. representing spirit power. Quileute ceremonial representation of t'abale, a vicious guardian spirit on the northwestern Washington coast." https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Non-Salish-Cascadia-Native-representations-of-two-headed-snakes-Neither-of-these-figures_fig5_249551808
According to another First Nations resident, a group of young children encountered the water-serpent in the 1950s on Parry Island. The creature was snake-like and had legs. It could travel through the forest as well as the water. One Native Elder on the Island, when asked about the water-serpent, reinforced the belief that the creature is actually a spirit." https://www.muskokaregion.com/news-story/3571845-bay-monster
"Sint-Holo or Sinti Lapitta is the great horned serpent of Choctaw and Chickasaw folklore. Although the great serpent is dangerous and may drag people to a watery death, it is also a powerful spirit guide that appears to certain people during fasting and bestows spiritual gifts upon them. As with other horned serpents of east coast tribes, Sint-Holo is the avowed enemy of the Thunder spirits, who can defeat him with their thunderbolts." http://www.native-languages.org/morelegends/sint-holo.htm
"In Native American myths and legends, horned serpents are usually very supernatural in character-- possessing magical abilities such as shape-shifting, invisibility, or hypnotic powers; bestowing powerful medicine upon humans who defeat them or help them; controlling storms and weather, and so on-- and were venerated as gods or spirit beings in some tribes. And unlike other animals such as crocodiles and snakes, horned serpents are not included in common Woodland Indian folktales about the animal kingdom. So it is likely that horned serpents have always been viewed as mythological spirits, not as animals, and that belief in them was simply very widespread in the eastern part of the country. Indeed, horned serpent mythology may trace back to ancestors of Eastern Native American tribes such as the Hopewell, Mississippian, and other mound-builder civilizations, as stylized serpent motifs have been found in their earthworks and artifacts which bear some resemblance to the horned serpents of historical Native American tribes." http://www.native-languages.org/horned-serpent.htm
"The Nahuatl term 'coatl' can be translated as both serpent and twin. The Mexica considered serpents to be pwoerful, multifaceted creatures that could bridge the spheres (the underworld, water and sky) owing to their physical and mythical characterisitics. Serpents were also associated with fertility and with water, owing to the undulating movement of their bodies. In Mexica iconography turquoise serpents (xiuhcoatl) are related to celestial events. On the Mexica Calendar Stone, two xiucoatl accompany the sun on its daily journey across the sky. Double-headed serpents (maquizcoatl) were considered to be the bearers of bad omens and were associated with elite figures." https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/E_Am1894-634

This experience was the only paranormal experience I've ever had, probably the only one that I will ever have in my life and was one of the two most spiritual/terrifying experiences I have ever had. I am 26 years old, this experience still scares me to this day, I will never forget walking out of that forest that night and I will remember it for the rest of my life. I've looked all over google, the internet and reddit for encounters that were like ours and i've found absolutely no encounters detailing exactly what I have described us witnessing and me feeling.
I am already well aware of the Nightcrawler videos, I wasn't aware of the videos till a couple years after our encounteexperience. I have seen the Fresno Nightcrawler videos many times, the movements looked way more terrfying and "psychedelic" in real life compared to the videos, and it looked a lot more ghostly/spirit like. It was visually stunning/haunting compared to the videos and something you would have to witness/experience for yourself. The one we saw stayed in the same exact spot the whole time we saw it. It did not walk anywhere like the ones in the videos and there were some differences in appearance. The white texture and soft silent movement of it "in person" looked identical to what is seen in the Ghosts of Gettysburg video and the Yosemite Nightcrawler Video.
I recently sent our experience and the sketch I did of the Being to someone that was First Nations on instagram that lives in B.C not to far from me and he knew what it was right away, told me what the name of the Being was in their language and showed me their cultures "High Status Symbol" which was a "Double Headed Serpent" shaped like a U with an additional Double Headed Serpent with horns on the back and head I was told to flip upside down because it represents the beings. I was told you can see them in the daytime as well as night, a little bit of other information and told to make a specific burial offering of food. I did some extensive research based off of what he told me and I found out some of the other various names different First Nations cultures call the "Nightcrawlers" here in Lower Mainland BC, Canada. I posted the research I did for the past year on the specific beings and the different names at the very bottom below our experience.
I was also told by another First Nations person that lives in the same city as me "If you do go outside at night don't eat or drink anything", "Ask before you enter forests","it is best to keep your distance from them", and "they haven't heard of too many other people encountering one"
I showed a Tlingit/Kwakwaka'wakw artist our experience and drawing, they said: "We in our region know it to be a shapeshifter, you are lucky it had no face as we also know that to make eye contact with it would turn you to salt. It’s origins start in a particular river here on the central coast where it was created by a fishermen, who upon spearing the fish split it vertically from the head towards the tail. The flesh inside was revealed to be a bright and shimmering rainbow or colours and the supernatural creature was born. It’s referenced in many stories throughout the 13 tribes of the Kwakwakawakw. The Sisiutł is tied very closely to Wina’lagalis. He is the centre, the genesis, of the warrior society. Which is not to say it’s restricted exclusively to those whom did physical battle. The sisiutł is indeed a power being and if you cross it you will find yourself in a bad spot. However based on your description, it either didn’t want to hurt you and may have been offering something"
"If you encounter it again, ask it what it wants Gauge the situation, FEEL it. If you truly feel it malicious, then by all means don’t stick around. Take someone with you. Some entities are sly and it may attempt to entice you into something unsavoury"
Here is a screenshot of the 5 acre forest located behind my friends old house with the spots marked out where we approximately were and where we saw the Tall White Being. https://imgur.com/KZFEGdb
Here are the rough sketches I made of "exactly" what the Tall White "Supernatural Being" looked like: https://imgur.com/a/5jAef6O This one I made in pencil so I could detail out what I meant by the two long arms being hunched in front like a ape and the upper half being bulky. https://imgur.com/qBUzBZ5
Here: https://imgur.com/a/ZM7cBN7 is me and my friends conversation a year after we saw the Being (2011 when I was 17) I dug up in my facebook messages. I clearly hadn't spoken to my friend in a while and I say "I can't stop thinking about the figure we saw in his forest", I say "the feeling I had when I saw it was death", he states "hes never been as scared since", "he was worried to tell anyone about it" and he was "Mesmerized by its movements".
Here is one of the Fresno Nightcrawler videos from Yosemite without sound, this is the closest someone will ever get to the real experience due to how silent it was and how silent the forest was and yet this video doesn't even do the experience itself justice because it is something you need to experience for yourself to understand. You can see the smaller one stop, stand in place as if it is looking at something, sway back and forth as I described at the 0:39 second mark for 3 seconds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXEusizrKxg
I just came across the Ghosts Of Gettysburg video and this is identical to what the white texture and silent movement of it looked like in person. I believe what they caught on camera was the same thing due to it being in a rural area. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kd5SQ34lgo
Yosemite/Fresno and the Lowermainland/Fraser Valley are about a 16 hour drive apart but they are both connected by a long strip of forest areas that consist of other national parks and national forests that are right on the edge of the North Pacific Ocean.
Encounteexperience:
Back in 2010 in Lowermainland/Fraser Valley, British Columbia, Canada approximately in early October or mid October when I was 16 (I am 26 years old now) my old friend lived in the northwest rural part of my city and his backyard had 5 acres of forest with a few houses surrounded in the distance around the outskirts of the 5 acres. Me and him would go and explore the forest all the time because it was quite mystical and just a cool place to wander and explore. This one time me and my friend went outside to his forest with his black labrador retriever like we would usually do in the daytime down to the creek but this time at night in his backyard forest at about 1 am to go explore and smoke a joint like usual (Which we were sober at the time and didn't even get to smoking because of encountering the "Being" and being terrified, we ended up smoking it inside his basement/room).
You go out the back door into the backyard and the 5 acre forest forms a natural sun trap, there is a specific "enterance" which is dense forestsed/bushed area you have to go through instead of going through rough terrain. You can't get through because the forest has a deer fence going across it except for the enterance to the forest area. There is a proper safe natural path to take down to the bottom of the forest and the creek. There's a steep tearaway out of the forest floor when you first walk in, it is only about 20 -25 feet into the forest area from the "entrance" of the forest. When we were standing at the top of the cliff/tearaway before the pathway leading down to the rest of the forest and the creek at the bottom (which was the only safe way to walk down especially at night), I could see a 7-8 feet tall pure white soft looking figure about 30-40 feet downwards in the forest and as I focused more it was inbetween the trees moving around softly swaying left to right back and forth slowly standing (touching the forest floor) in the exact same place the whole time we saw it making absolutely no sound and there was absolutely no wind.
I wasn't even going to say anything about the figure to my friend at first because I was waiting for my friend to say something. We observed it for a couple seconds in complete silence and we were "mesmerized" by it's movements, then I asked my friend if he saw it and he said yeah he could as well. We stood silent in fear as we were watching it do its strange unsettling soft swaying movements/trying to adjust our eyes to the Being and see what it was doing. As we continued watching it for a couple minutes I felt I was in a slight daze watching it sway and I started to feel impending doom "set in" (the sinking feeling) in my chest area like when you are going to die or are in a life threatening situation and I had shivers going throughout my body. That's when I told my friend specifically "I don't like this", he agreed and we left immediately. I wasn't so much scared of the sight of the Being, I was more curious about the strange movements it was making and what it really looked like, I was scared of the feeling of death it made me feel. I was frozen with fear and I literally felt like I was going to die or something bad was going to happen.
We left very quick because we didn't know what it was, it scared us and our intuition (my feeling of dread/death) told us it was dangerous, we didn't want to go check out what it was and I knew it was time to leave. I remember my friend yelling something at it because he could tell his dog was scared , I am entirely positive the dog was whimpering and the Being was just still swaying back and forth left to right between the trees in the same exact spot. Almost immediately after we got out of the forest (left the "entrance" of the forest (which we were not far from) it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders and the feeling of dread left pretty much immediately.
It was so white it looked like it was almost shining but it wasn't because it wasn't giving of any light of any sort or illuminating the ground or trees around it, you could see the shadow being cast on while it was swaying in the pitch black forest like it was a real animal. It appeared to be opaque, it looked solid enough to the point where you couldn't see through it at all, it was solid white. It appeared to be three dimensional. It looked soft and kind of shiny, it was swaying left to right, right to left with its two really long arms, it looked bulky/strong at the top and shoulder areas and where a head would be but there was no head that I could see. The two long legs/arms looked like the frontal view of an apes forearms would look like when they are crawling on all fours as if the two long legs were hunched infront. The best way I can describe it is 7-8 foot thin separated curtains in the shape of a upside down V or U touching the forest floor and swaying left to right back and forth in a specific motion with no sound at all, absolutely no wind, dead silent. Its movements were "Psychedelic" and sort of "hypnotizing". The texture of it was soft like Charlies white spirit entering Peters body after the attic scene from "Hereditary" Probably the most solid description I can give of what the texture of it looked like "in person" besides the Fresno Nightcrawler Yosemite video, and the Ghosts Of Gettysburg triangular fields video. It was making no sound at all while it was swaying, it was beautiful to look at and terrifying/unsettling at the same time, that's why it was so astonishing to look at, it was almost angelic. There were absolutely no sounds in the forest, it was dead silent while it was moving back and forth. Its movements could have been a lure of some sort because it did not move towards us or anywhere, or it was just letting us know to stay away because it was scared to death as well or just didn't want us to disturb it. It was literally something you would see in a science fiction horror movie.
It was not a trick of the mind or light, there was no light or moon light shining in the forest because it was filled with tall Douglas fir trees, Cedar trees and other vegetation and the creature was downwards from us deeper in the pitch black forest. The forest also had various leveling's and rough terrain in certain parts due to the natural tearaway in the ground when you first walk in which consisted of a lot of clay at the bottom where the tearaway had occured. The forest was on a downward slant when you first walk in which is the pathway you take to get down safely where the creature was approxmately standing. There was no possible way of any light even entering the forest nor any light in the proximity. The houses were distanced too far apart and this forest goes down pretty steep, probably about a good 50-60 feet downwards till you get to the creek at the bottom, it was pitch black in that forest. It was not a spiderweb, fog, any sort of garbage, a weather baloon, prankster or material as a couple of people have ignorantly and stupidly suggested. We had gone back in the morning daylight to the approximate area where we thought it was standing and saw nothing out of the ordinary, even looked for prints and there was nothing we could notice. (It was also difficult because of the ground being thickly covered in Douglass-Fir needles and other debris). His forest was in pristine condition cause no one would ever go in it as it is a private forest located in peoples backyards, it is a quiet part of town people don't just go walking about everywhere like in the city. There were no houses close enough to give off any light or give off a shine through the trees and the Being was not see through it looked like it was almost solid, but it was very ghostly/spirit looking as well. It was upside down V or U shaped and It had no facial features/head at all from what we could see in the dark.
There is absolutely no animals in Northern British Columbia, Canada or the rest of Canada and U.S that look close to what we saw, there are absolutely no animals that are 7-8 feet tall and stand on 2 legs. There aren't even any animals in other countries that come close to what we saw. It did not have a body( It's 2 legs/limbs were its body) It was not a animal, and there is no possible way to "debunk" this. I have explored all the options of what it could have been. This was the first time we ever went out to his forest at night, and it was the last time we ever went in the forest at night. The 5 acres of forest is the biggest area of woods in that area. Around the area of town it is mostly just a couple million dollar houses, and farm/forest area. It is pretty much the greenbelt of my city. He has no neighbors that are close to the location because as I said his forest is 5 acres with the closest neighbors being at least 3 blocks down the street on the right hand side of the forest. To this day the feeling that I had when I saw the Being move still gives me shivers and I feel lucky to be alive. The fact that we went out to the forest at that time really late at night and happened to see that freaks me out as well, cause it was clearly meant to be seen by us. If we went out any later or any sooner we might not have seen it in his forest at that moment of time. Like I said, I didn't have to point out to my friend where the Being was he automatically saw it at the same time I saw it. I think the feeling of dread could have possibly have been a warning to keep away from it and that is why me and my friend left right away without any hesitation.
Like I said this was the only Parnaormal Experience I have ever had. There was no paranormal activity that I experienced when I would go to my friends house or on his property/in his forest besides the one experience/encounter, My friend never mentioned seeing anything strange or having any paranormal experiences in or around his house prior to our encounter. Now that I think back on the whole experience , hanging outside there and exploring the woods there is for sure something "special" about the whole location. I understand a lot of people are scared of these types of things and they don't want to believe they exist, but would have had to be there yourself to understand what it looked like, see the creeping movements, and feel what I felt. Seeing one of these beings up close is a spiritual experience that you need to experience and see for yourself to really understand what it was like. We have scaled my friends forest around the creek area and the area where we saw the Supernatural Being at least 20 different times/ different days before hand seeing it and we went back the day after to the exact spot where we saw the Being in the forest and noticed nothing out of the ordinary. We both knew that it was some sort of being and it was something we shouldn't have been seeing or attempt to go up to.
Here is my full description of the "Supernatural Being" Aka Nightcrawler, me and my friend saw:
7-8 feet Tall, Pure White (When I mean "pure white" I mean Paper, Bone white) Not see-through, Just 2 Pure White Long limbs (from what we could see in the dark). It was so white it looked like it was almost giving off light but it wasn't because it was not shining or illuminating the trees or ground and Im pretty sure you could see shadow on it from it moving back and forth in the same place between the trees, it looked bulky/strong at the top and shoulder areas and where a head would be but there was no head that I could see. It looked solid and looked three dimensional. I can only describe as 7-8 foot shiny separated curtains in the shape of a upside down V or U with some sort of bulkiness/shape to the top half, the whole thing was swaying touching the forest floor right and left back and forth in a specific motion with no sound at all, absolutely no wind, dead silent. The two long legs/arms almost looked like if how the front view of a ape crawling on all fours would look like as if the forearms were hunched infront. To my best estimate it looked like the legs/arms were about one to one and a half feet wide and the whole thing was about 3 - 4 and a half feet wide from top to bottom. I tried my best to squint my eyes and adjust them to the Supernatural Being/dark better to see what it was doing or if I could make out what it looked like better, but it did not help at all it just still appeared as I described. (The rough sketches I made are exactly what it looked like, I am an artist and I tried my best to recreate what it looked like to my ability, there was no extra detail necessary.)
TL;DR: Entered my friends backyard 5 acre forest at night close to 1 am in the northwest rural part of my city and both of us immediately saw something out of place down the path below about 30-40 feet away from us in between the trees that was tall, white and three dimensional. It appeared to be completely white and soft like light, but it did not illuminate the trees or ground around it. There was no face or any facial features we could see, no arms and it was shaped in a upside down V or U. It was making creepy swaying movements with its (whole body) two legs left to right back and forth silently still standing on the forest floor in the exact same spot the whole time we saw it. It was so white that you could see the shadow being cast on it while it was swaying like it was a real animal. It did not pick up its legs or walk at all. I can only explain it as looking like 7-8 foot really white, soft, shiny separated curtains in the shape of a upside down V or U with bulkiness/shape to the top, the two long legs/arms looked like the frontal view of an apes forearms would look like when they are crawling on all fours as if the two long legs were hunched infront. It was moving left to right in a specific motion standing on the forest floor in the same area between the trees making absolutely no sound, and there was absolutely no wind. It was beautiful to look at but terrifying at the same time. We watched it in silence as it was swaying and I started to feel impending doom (the sinking feeling in your chest) "set in" and it felt like I was going to die or something bad was going to happen. I told my friend specifically "I don't like this", he agreed, and we immediately left the forest. Here are the two rough sketches of exactly what it looked like:
https://imgur.com/a/5jAef6O
https://imgur.com/qBUzBZ5
(Names ,links and research to the beings) "Nightcrawler" is just a made up name by the public/internet because they were captured on camera at night and they dubbed them "Nightcrawlers". Upon doing some recent research of what the First Nations person told me, many different cultures of indigenous people in B.C know about these beings and they all use a "Double Headed Serpent" to represent these beings. The Sto:lo First Natons states that there are 5 different kinds of "Stl’áleqem" (Supernatural Beings) and the "sʔi:ɬqəý̓" is one of them. The names of these beings and variants from different First Nations cultures in B.C are Sisiutl/laqaqua'sa, sʔi:ɬqəý̓/siilquey/si:lhqey/Seelkee/Sflhqey, Si'xqe, Shla- lah-kum, Su'ike, Ts'ewalf , Sunulqaz, énétlékē, wasgo, Say Nuth Kway , Sinulhka, Hi?, Grubworm, Larahwæse, Sisiuth, Se-sook, sulwa’us and Klu'bist. There are also various similarities/comparisons between these beings the NAGA , Jinn, Quetzalcoatl, Rainbow Serpent, Kelpie, Lindworm, Ouroboros,Taniwha, and Wendigo.
"The word for "sisiutl" in Tsimshian is Laqaqua'sa, which literally means "both sides head".
"Among Pacific Northwest cultures, horns or plumes on artwork indicate a supernatural being."
It specifically states in a Thesis from UBC called "The Northwest Coast Sisiutl" from 1975 they are Supernatural beings and shamanism is strongly associated with them. Sisiutl, the Kwakiutl primary variant of the double-headed serpent, is echoed in similar beings of the Tsimshian, Tlingit, Bella Coola, Nootka and Haida groups. Sisiutl occurs in many Kwakiutl myths, but it is an established supernatural spirit with many attributes and no myth of origin. This fact supports the notion that the character sisiutl originated among the northern tribes and was adopted by the Kwakiutl. In addition, the question of visual affinity among the Northwest Coast sisiutl and sisiutl-like beings in Shang/Chou China and seventeenth-nineteenth century New Zealand is briefly addressed. (https://imgur.com/a/viQx9yT) (https://open.library.ubc.ca/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/831/items/1.0093447)
The symbol is heavily used in different cultures to represent these beings, they even have a statue at UBC in B.C dedicated to the beings. (https://imgur.com/a/UQsj1bA) (https://fnel.arts.ubc.ca/the-musqueam-s%CA%94i%C9%ACq%C9%99y%CC%93-qeq%C9%99n-double-headed-serpent-post-dedicated-at-ubc/)
"The soulcatcher (Haboolm Ksinaalgat) of the northern Tsimshian, Tlingit, and Haida peoples exhibits the same body form, and may derive its form from the sisiutl."
This soulcatcher of "Sisiutl" shows the actual "being" secretly ornamented with abalone as the lips. If you tilt your head to the right or left you can clearly see the shiny Abalone inlay for the lips of the snake or teeth are actually the being itself hidden in plain sight. https://imgur.com/a/ceA7ySs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soulcatcher
Mayan "Soul Tube" or "Double Headed Serpent Bar" symbolizing Quetzalcoatl
http://www.angelfire.com/folk/sunflowerfarm/soultube.html
Aztec Double Headed Serpent sculpture symbolizing Quetzalcoatl
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-headed_serpent
"The sisiutl is a legendary creature found in many of the cultures of the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. It is typically depicted as a double-headed serpent with fish qualities, sometimes with an additional central face of a supernatural being. The sisuitl features prominently in Pacific Northwest art, dances and songs. The sisuitl is closely associated with shamans because both are seen as mediators between the natural and supernatural worlds."
"Dancers donning the mask of Sisiutl adorn themselves with western hemlock boughs, signifying wildness. Sisiutl masks were often hinged, allowing the serpent ends to simulate lifelike serpentine writhing movements. Sisiutl masks were decorated with flecks of mica, which were believed to be scales shed by Sisiutl (often found on beaches). These mica chips provided an enchanting glittery effect when danced in fire-light." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisiutl
"The Kwakiutl tribe, who lived on the British Columbian coast north of the present city of Bella Coola specified that sisiutl was an animal that was "of the earth", not one of the mythical creatures of the sea; this distinctly shows that the Pacific Northwest tribes were convinced of the animal's existence." http://allaboutdragons.com/dragons/Sisiutl
"The Sea Sisuitl, a double-serpent of the Kwakuitls was one of the most powerful of the supernatural helpers. It aroused more awe than would be elicited by the representation of an ordinary snake. This creature was said in the lore of the British Columbia coast and Vancouver Island to be four feet in diameter and up to 20 feet long. At times it was in league with the mythological thunderbird. Its 'house' was either on land or in the water. The body has an identical head at each end with a human face, implying should power midway between. Almost always causing death when encountered, it was all the more dangerous because it would shrink itself to a tiny fraction of its true length. The sisuitl is holding an important symbol of wealth, the copper, which was used in potlatch ceremonies. Here, the combination of the all powerful sea-sisutl and the copper, symbol of the great wealth creates an awe-inspiring image." http://collection.legacy.uvic.ca/index.php?id=3954&artifact_action=info
"The humanoid central head likely symbolizes Sisiutl's supernatural shape-shifting powers Sisiutl could also change size from a few centimeters to a span sufficient to block off a bay. As a transomative creature of vast shamanic power, the Sisiutl could travel across all boundaries: land, water and air." https://www.mymondotrading.com/gallery/view/614-sisiutl-sea-serpent-by-michael-price
"The Native Sea Serpent symbolizes protection, supernatural power and revival. It is one of the most powerful symbols in Kwakwaka’wakw culture. The Sisiutl is a supernatural three-headed serpent that possesses shapeshifting abilities and the ability to turn spectators into stone when gazed upon. Not only can the Sisiutl change shape into a human or animal, but it can also transform its body into a self-propelled canoe that the owner must feed with seals." https://spiritsofthewestcoast.com/collections/the-sisiutl-or-sea-serpent-symbol
"In his study entitled: " The serpent in Kwakiutl religion, a study inprimitive culture ”, demonstrates that he is at the same time Alakila, god of the origin of life, Laquagila, god of the underworld, Qomogwa, god of the sea, Winalagilis, god of war, orstill Baxbakualanuxsiwae, cannibal demon…Represented in the form of a creature with snake head at each end and with a human head in its center, it can change into a canoe, in human, in salmon, and to be at will visible or invisible.This god is extremely important, and in closer relationship with winter rituals, founding pole of Kwakiutl culture. According to the thought of this people indeed, the light and the sun are, during the night and during the season of winter,masked by the forces of the underworld, personalized by Sisiutl-Baxbakualanuxsiwae (theSun also has a mask representing the Sisiutl). But at the end of the eternal struggle between light and darkness, the Sun ends up escaping, and rising above the Ocean(Sisiutl-Qomogwa). He then appears to the east, where Sisiutl-Alakila's home is located. Winter is also the season in which the spirits of the gods descend to the earth,and where magical phenomena can take place. The Sisiutl is also connected to the Sun, to the Moon, to the Milky Way (supposed to be the center of Heaven), to life, to death, to invincibility, to rebirth, to the underworld and to the visible world, to prosperity, to wisdom, to cannibalism ... In the mythology of the Bella Coola, cannibalism is also the fact no not of the cannibal himself, but of the serpent that was placed in place during initiation rites, and whose bite it reproduces"
Taken from the "Sto:lo Heritage Policy Manual": “Stl’áleqem” is the word the Old People use to categorize certain spiritual beings inhabiting parts of S’ólh Téméxw. These beings’ spiritual potency affords them a significant place in Stó:lō culture, yet they are difficult to describe or explain to people raised outside of the culture. Metaphors of “monsters” and translations of stl’áleqem as “supernatural creatures” fall short of conveying the full meaning of the word and carry a western perspective that robs “stl’áleqem” of its Halq’eméylem essence. Likewise, the distinction western society makes between “real” and “unreal” is not applicable in categorizing stl’áleqem: some spiritual beings, such as the hairy giant sásq’ets (sasquatch), the s’ó:lmexw (water babies) who live at the bottoms of certain lakes and deep spots in rivers, the mimestíyexw (little people) who inhabit various regions of S’ólh Téméxw and assist spirit dancers, and the majestic shxwexwó:s (thunderbird) whose flapping wings make thunder, whose blinking eyes make lightning, and whose urine is rain, are all thought to be just as real as bears, chipmunks and sturgeon, and are not considered stl’áleqem.
Perhaps the best way of conveying what a stl’áleqem is simply to identify them by name and then describe how they are referred to within sxwôxwiyám and sqwelqwel (oral histories). The Old Ones speak of at least five different types or kinds of stl’áleqem: Sí:lhqey, the two-headed serpent; St’qoya, the frightening glowing red eyes sometimes seen at night; Ápel, the large maggot who inhabits the rock bluffs and deep bays above and in the southeast corner of Cultus Lake; and T’liteqo Spá:th, the underwater black bear who lives in the waters of the Fraser Canyon near Lady Franklin Rock. An encounter with any one of these creatures can be dangerous, holding the potential for mixed outcomes. Stó:lō therefore regard places inhabited by stl’áleqem as xá:xa (spiritually potent; ≅ taboo). Since many current Stó:lō activities – hunting, ritualistic spiritual swimming, and “leaving our things” – lead people to visit places where stl’áleqem reside, it is important to know their locations and to follow proper protocol. Those who have been taught how to act appropriately, such as shxwlá:m (Indian doctors), can attain spirit power by showing respect to stl’áleqem. For instance, rather than turning and running upon seeing a stl’áleqem – a typical reaction of someone not prepared for the encounter – one should face it and slowly back away until the creature is out of sight. Another teaching specifies that a person should pluck hair from their head and blow it towards the stl’áleqem. Failure to follow these or other appropriate, sacred teachings can lead to serious consequences. Common reactions to mild, unintentional stl’áleqem encounters are often described as "causing the hair to rise on the back of your neck” or producing a feeling that an unseen presence is near. Those who are warned away and yet knowingly trespass into a stl’áleqem site may suffer xó:lí:s (to twist up and die). Children are particularly prone to this condition. Those who do not immediately die require the treatment of a shxwlá:m to relieve their sickness" https://imgur.com/a/38oEZgI (http://www.srrmcentre.com/files/File/Stolo%20Heritage%20Policy%20Manual%20-%20May%202003%20-%20v1.2.pdf)
"In Canadian folklore, "Seelkee" (s?i:łqəý) (transcribed in English from Halqemeylem, the local [indigenous language is a lake monster reported to have lived in the swamps of what is now Chilliwack, in British Columbia, Canada. Seelkee has been allegedly seen by the Stó:lō, people for hundreds of years. The most common description of Seelkee is a 10 to 15-foot-long (3.0 to 4.6 m) [sea serpent] like beast with the head of a horse. Most descriptions talk about how the creature was snake-like with two heads." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seelkee
"Function and appearance. Although the details in the various accounts of the spirit-serpent vary, there are some recurring themes. These include: the general appearance in the form of a large animal, usually a snake and in that case quite often a two-headed snake." https://lingpapers.sites.olt.ubc.ca/files/2018/03/1992_vanEijk.pdf
"Lillooet traditional cosmology recognizes a supernatural being called sünuƚqaz', which manifests itself as a gigantic animal, usually a serpent. A being with an etymologically related name and similar attributes is recognized by a number of other Salish cultures, namely, Straits, Halkomelem, and Squamish, while a similar animal, called by unrelated names, appears in yet other Salish cultures. This article discusses the various functions of this being in those Salish cultures where it occurs, as well as the etymological history of the name sünuƚqaz', and serves as a contribution to cryptozoology and the study of beings not recognized in the western taxonomic canon." https://www.jstor.org/stable/30028780?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
"It is known both as a benevolent protector of its people (the groups from the country around) and as a malevolent punisher of law breakers. The Rainbow Serpent's mythology is closely linked to land, water, life, social relationships, and fertility. The Rainbow Serpent often takes part in transitions from adolescence to adulthood for young men and swallows them to vomit them up later." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_Serpent
The "Weewillmekq" and "Jipijka'm" is "a worm an inch long, which can make itself into a horrid monster as large as a deer; yes, and much larger. It is m'teoulin; yes, it is a great magician."
"Jipijka'm is an underwater horned serpent, common to the legends of most Algonquian tribes.It is said to lurk in lakes and eat humans."" https://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/aborig/fp/fpz2f34e.html
"The "U Thlen" (Shapeshifting Man-eating serpent of Sohra) can change his shape and size at will and sucks up humans whole "Unlike his mother, U Thlen could not transform himself into any likeness but that of a snake, but he had power to diminish or to enlarge his size at will. Sometimes he appeared so small as to be no bigger than a string of fine thread, at other times he expanded himself to such dimensions that he could swallow a man bodily." https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37884/37884-h/37884-h.htm
"Psi-ya-hus (also spelled Psai-Yah-hus) is a spirit rock near the Fauntleroy ferry terminal in Seattle, Washington. Coast Salish peoples associate the rock with A'yahos, a "malevolent and dangerous" spirit, capable of shapeshifting, who sometimes appears in a two-headed serpent form, who is associated with other earthquake-related areas like landslides near the Seattle Fault."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psai-Yah-hus
"The Quileute people of western Washington know a similar dangerous entity, the "T´abale"
Many myths along the shores of Washington narrate the furious battles of A´yahos or related spirits with other mythical animals. According to the Suquamish Tribe"
"According to legends of the Duwamish people of the Cascade Range, some large boulders along the shores of the Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the area surrounding the city of Seattle are haunted by terrible "A´yahos". A´yahos were shape-shifter spirits, appearing in our world sometimes as large snake, other times as double-headed snake with horns or in their preferred shape with the body of a serpent and the antlers and forelegs of a deer." https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/history-of-geology/a-field-guide-to-the-north-american-earthquake-beasts/
"Non-Salish Cascadia Native representations of two-headed snakes. Neither of these figures has yet been explicitly linked to earthquakes, but they likely represent the same spirit power as a'yahous. Both have horns. representing spirit power. Quileute ceremonial representation of t'abale, a vicious guardian spirit on the northwestern Washington coast." https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Non-Salish-Cascadia-Native-representations-of-two-headed-snakes-Neither-of-these-figures_fig5_249551808
According to another First Nations resident, a group of young children encountered the water-serpent in the 1950s on Parry Island. The creature was snake-like and had legs. It could travel through the forest as well as the water. One Native Elder on the Island, when asked about the water-serpent, reinforced the belief that the creature is actually a spirit." https://www.muskokaregion.com/news-story/3571845-bay-monster
"Sint-Holo or Sinti Lapitta is the great horned serpent of Choctaw and Chickasaw folklore. Although the great serpent is dangerous and may drag people to a watery death, it is also a powerful spirit guide that appears to certain people during fasting and bestows spiritual gifts upon them. As with other horned serpents of east coast tribes, Sint-Holo is the avowed enemy of the Thunder spirits, who can defeat him with their thunderbolts." http://www.native-languages.org/morelegends/sint-holo.htm
"In Native American myths and legends, horned serpents are usually very supernatural in character-- possessing magical abilities such as shape-shifting, invisibility, or hypnotic powers; bestowing powerful medicine upon humans who defeat them or help them; controlling storms and weather, and so on-- and were venerated as gods or spirit beings in some tribes. And unlike other animals such as crocodiles and snakes, horned serpents are not included in common Woodland Indian folktales about the animal kingdom. So it is likely that horned serpents have always been viewed as mythological spirits, not as animals, and that belief in them was simply very widespread in the eastern part of the country. Indeed, horned serpent mythology may trace back to ancestors of Eastern Native American tribes such as the Hopewell, Mississippian, and other mound-builder civilizations, as stylized serpent motifs have been found in their earthworks and artifacts which bear some resemblance to the horned serpents of historical Native American tribes." http://www.native-languages.org/horned-serpent.htm
"The Nahuatl term 'coatl' can be translated as both serpent and twin. The Mexica considered serpents to be pwoerful, multifaceted creatures that could bridge the spheres (the underworld, water and sky) owing to their physical and mythical characterisitics. Serpents were also associated with fertility and with water, owing to the undulating movement of their bodies. In Mexica iconography turquoise serpents (xiuhcoatl) are related to celestial events. On the Mexica Calendar Stone, two xiucoatl accompany the sun on its daily journey across the sky. Double-headed serpents (maquizcoatl) were considered to be the bearers of bad omens and were associated with elite figures." https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/E_Am1894-634