A “Skin-walker” is a Native American legend about an evil witch or wizard who can transform themselves

into an animal. If that ability sounds familiar, you’ll remember the term animagus. Professor McGonagall, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew and Harry Potter’s own father James were among the animagi featured in the Harry Potter books. Not all of them were evil, obviously, but it sounds like this ability had its own legend in North America. People thought skin-walkers sacrificed their own family members to gain the ability to transform into an animal. But in reality, most of them used this trait as a way to hunt for their tribe… or escape persecution.