The Cherokee Legend of Spearfinger. Photo: Blue Ridge Blog

Spearfinger is a witch who can change her shape at will, and is said to have skin as hard as stone. But perhaps her most terrifying feature is the obsidian knife that replaces one of the fingers on her right hand.

Other Names for Spearfinger

The Cherokee word U’tlun’ta is sometimes used to refer to Spearfinger. It translates as “she had it sharp”, which is an apt description. She is sometimes known as Nûñ’yunu’ï. This moniker translates to “Stone dress,” a title that was inspired by her skin, which was said to be as hard as stone.

The Cherokee Legend of Spearfinger

The story goes that Spearfinger earned her stone clothes after building a rock bridge, called the “Tree Rock,” that spanned up through the air toward the Higher Beings’ place of residence.

Her arrogance upset them, and they struck down the bridge with a powerful bolt of lightning, causing it to crumble down upon Spearfinger and cloaking her in a body made of rock and rubble.

Today, the ruins of the Tree Rock are said to be located in Blount County, Tennessee, and the area is known as Nantahala, or “The Spearfinger Place,” in Cherokee.

Spearfinger, the shape-shifting witch, had a forefinger on her right hand that was known as her “sharp finger.” This deadly digit, which resembled a spear or obsidian knife, was used to cut her victims.

Her mouth was often stained with the blood of the livers she ate, making her a terrifying sight that sent chills throughout the mountains.

Spearfinger’s evil heart was hidden in her right hand, which was also her only weak spot. Therefore, she kept it tightly clutched to protect it from harm.

Her body, being made of stone, required her to ensure her heart was never exposed to danger.

As she walked, her stone body made a sound like rolling thunder, crushing rocks and boulders into the ground. Her voice would bounce off the mountains and echo down the valleys into the villages, sending the birds flying into the sky. The villagers would take this as a warning that Spearfinger was on the move.

Spearfinger had a range of terrifying abilities beyond her deadly spearfinger.

One such skill was the ability to transform into the family members of her child victims, making it easier to get close to them. Once she took on a different shape, she was unable to shift back into her stone form if she was in sight of another person.

Spearfinger’s default shape-shifting form was that of an old lady who was known and trusted by the children she hunted. Being made of stone, arrows couldn’t pierce her skin and would simply bounce off, falling harmlessly to the ground or shattering into tiny pieces.

Spearfinger also possessed immense physical strength, allowing her to effortlessly lift and manipulate rocks and boulders to cause havoc and destruction.

To aid her search for victims with fresh livers, Spearfinger would use the Cherokee customs to her advantage. In the fall, the Cherokee would set brush fires to roast chestnuts, and the smoke and flames would guide Spearfinger to the villages where she could hunt.

The witch also utilized the swirling fogs that rose from the valleys, which gave the Smoky Mountains their name. These clouds provided cover for Spearfinger to hunt children who were picking strawberries or drinking from streams on the mountainside.

The combination of her supernatural abilities and her knowledge of the local terrain made Spearfinger a formidable opponent to anyone who dared to cross her path.

Spearfinger’s Decption

Spearfinger’s greatest power was her ability to deceive. She would hide her sharp finger beneath her robes and then strike out, piercing her victim’s liver. Her favored method was to disguise herself as an older woman of the tribe, gaining the trust of her intended prey before luring them to sleep and attacking.

The unsuspecting children would then become her meal. The Cherokee, aware of her tactics, were cautious of strangers entering their camp and were suspicious of those who went into the woods alone. They feared that Spearfinger could take on the disguise of a family member and enter the village unnoticed.

Spearfinger was also skilled in the art of shape-shifting. She would sometimes assume the form of her victim, hiding the body if it passed away soon after she took their liver. She would then wait until the family was asleep and take all their livers.

Parents warned their children not to go into the woods at night, for fear of encountering Spearfinger. They would tell stories of how the monster could take on the appearance of their grandmother or aunt, making it impossible to know whether it was a family member or the monster in disguise. Spearfinger was the ultimate boogeyman, striking fear into the hearts of all who heard of her.

Spearfinger and the Stone Man

Spearfinger’s sole adversary, aside from the humans she preys upon, is the Stone Man. As both are made of stone, they have a natural ability to detect each other’s presence. They are rivals because they both crave the same delicacy – livers.

The Stone Man is said to possess greater powers than Spearfinger, and he doesn’t need to manipulate rocks to construct things. Instead, he wields a staff that enables him to create bridges that span from one mountain to another.

The Death of Spearfinger

The legend of Spearfinger

The Cherokee convened a council to devise a plan to eliminate Spearfinger once and for all. Representatives from surrounding villages gathered to discuss the matter. Being aware of her modus operandi, they decided to create a trap that would lure her in.

They dug a pit and camouflaged it with branches, then lit fires in the usual way to harvest chestnuts, hoping the smoke would attract her as she searched for fresh livers.

As expected, Spearfinger saw the smoke and made her way down the mountain, leaving a trail of destruction behind her. Disguised as an old woman and hiding her deadly finger under her cloak, she tried to trick the men into helping her.

But when they saw through her disguise, they were unsure of how to defeat her. Their arrows proved ineffective as they shattered upon hitting her stony skin.

Enraged, Spearfinger charged at the Cherokee, her sharp finger slashing at them. Despite falling into the pit, the stakes lining its interior shattered upon contact with her stony skin, failing to pierce her.

The tribe fired arrows at her, but they proved useless as she swatted them away effortlessly. In a moment of desperation, a titmouse came to their aid, singing “heart, heart, heart” to indicate where Spearfinger’s true weakness lay. However, the hunters mistakenly aimed for her chest instead of her hand, where her heart was hidden.

As a result, the arrows did not harm her but cut off the titmouse’s tongue instead. From that day on, people believed that titmice were liars because of the incident. The little bird flew back to the sky and never returned.

After the chickadee revealed the secret location of Spearfinger’s heart, the hunters took aim at her right hand, which protected her heart and held the spearfinger.

As they shot an arrow at her wrist, separating her heart from her body, Spearfinger trembled with fear. She fell to her knees and then collapsed into a pile of stones, bringing an end to her curse.

Stone Man, who also fed on livers, heard the cheers of the hunters as Spearfinger fell. He looked down from the mountainside and saw her right hand mounted on a post as a warning to him. However, he knew that the villagers didn’t know his weakness, so he ignored the warning and continued to hunt for livers and sing his song of war.

Do you know of any other cool Native American legends like Spearfinger? Let us know in the comments.

If you enjoyed the story of Spearfinger you might also be interested in the story of El Sibon or the legend of Loana the bloodthirster.