Ogre, << OH guhr, >> is an evil giant of European folklore that delights in eating human flesh. Ogres are usually said or shown to resemble ugly and misshapen people. In folk tales, they often represent the more brutal elements and animalistic impulses of human nature. The first mention of ogres in written European literature appears in the romantic poem Perceval, written by the French poet Chrétien de Troyes << kray TYEHN duh TRWAH >> in the late 1100’s. He uses the word Logres to describe England in this tale, which translated means land of ogres. This reference links the story to ancient Celtic traditions describing giants that once lived in the region before people.
Ogres are a common theme found in some variation in most mythic traditions of the world. In Japanese folklore, the oni are demonic spirits that eat human flesh. They have fearsome fangs and torment the wicked. Folk tales from the Isle of Man in the United Kingdom tell of the Bugganes. These enormous creatures have coarse black hair, wrinkled skin, red mouths, cloven feet, and eyes like fire. They are shape-shifters with an appetite for human flesh. The well-known story “Jack and the Beanstalk” features a giant who lives in the clouds. He threatens to grind the bones of any trespassers to make his bread.
In North America, the Winnebago Indians told of an ogrelike creature. They believed the creature was as tall as a tree. It ate human flesh to calm the ice in its stomach. Algonquian Indian tradition tells of the wendigo. This evil giant had enormous mystical power. The wendigo’s appetite for human flesh served as a representation of greed and excess.