Wendigo

Wendigo is the second episode in season one of Supernatural. It aired on September 20, 2005.

Summary
Sam and Dean follow the coordinates left in their father's journal and land in the middle of the woods where they investigate the disappearance of several campers. The two brothers soon learn they are dealing with a Wendigo, a creature made famous in Native American legends. A Wendigo is a former human whose cannibalism has transformed him into a creature with superhuman strength and speed that feasts on human flesh.

Plot
After spending a week in Palo Alto looking the thing that killed Jessica, Sam and Dean head to Blackwater Ridge and the coordinates their father left in his journal. At the Lost Creek Trail Ranger Station, Ranger Wilkinson mistook the brothers for friends of Haley Collins, the sister of a boy, Tommy Collins, who went missing while on a camping trip with two friends. On a hunch, Sam and Dean visit Haley, and she showed them the last video Tommy sent her via cellphone before he disappeared. She also informed them that she and her younger brother, Ben Collins, have hired a guide and were headed into the hills to find Tommy the next morning.

Sam does some research and found that people went missing in Blackwater at regular intervals - every 23 years. He also played Tommy's last video in slow motion, and he and Dean spotted an extremely fast moving shadow on a tent wall. They then went to visit Shaw, a survivor of an alleged bear attack in 1959. The old man told them that it was not a grizzly that attacked his family, but a creature that was smart enough to unlock the cabin door, roared like no man or animal, and moved like lightning. They go back to Blackwater the next morning and arrive just as Haley, Ben, and their guide, Roy, are setting out for Tommy's campsite. When the group reached the campsite, they found ripped tents and damaged equipment. Screams for help sound in the distance so they all ran to check, but there was no one there and when they returned to the campsite their packs had been taken.

With the help of their father's journal, Sam and Dean realized that they were facing a Wendigo. They informed the disbelieving group, and Dean drew Anasazi symbols for protection as they made camp for the night. Sam argued with Dean that he wants to abandon this hunt and search for their father. Dean replied that they had to help others; it was "the family business." Once again, cries for help were heard, and Roy ignored Dean's warnings and ran into the dark with his gun. He gets caught by arms out of the tree and doesn't come back.

The next day, Sam and Dean explained that Wendigo means 'evil that devours'. They were once human but had become something else when forced to eat human flesh to survive. Tommy may still be alive, as Wendigos hibernate and liked to store live food, so they followed the Wendigo's bloody trail. Eventually, Roy's dead body fell from a tree and the Wendigo appeared, which caused everyone to scatter. Haley and Dean were captured by the Wendigo, but Sam and Ben followed a trail of peanut M&M's that Dean left behind. They eventually found Dean, Haley, and Tommy hanging from the ceiling of an abandoned mine, and they cut them loose.

Dean got hold of two flare guns along with the rest of their supplies, and while Sam left with the Collins siblings, Dean tried to draw the Wendigo away. The Wendigo followed Sam instead, cornering their group; however, Dean appeared from behind and shot his flare gun into its chest. The Wendigo burst into flame and dropped dead, they made their escape and summoned help. The group then fabricated a story to tell the police - they were attacked by a bear. Haley thanked Dean and then left with Tommy and Ben in the ambulance. Dean joked that he hated camping and informed Sam that they would find their dad. Sam agrees but in the meantime - he's driving.