{{Short description|Water spirit in Central American folklore}} '''Wihwin''' is the name given to a malevolent water spirit of Central America, particularly associated with the Miskito tribe.{{sfnp|Bassett|1885|p=93|ps=}} Similar mythological creatures around the world include the kelpie in Scotland,{{sfnp|Varner|2007|p=24|ps=}} the Scandinavian bäckahäst{{sfnp|Middleton|2012|p=44|ps=}} and the Australian bunyip.{{sfnp|McPherson|1929|p=61|ps=}} Although normally a sea-dwelling demon, it prowls through mountain ridges during the summer months.{{r|Bell}}
The horse-shaped monster has "jaws fenced round with horrid teeth",{{r|Bell}} which it uses to consume humans and other prey it finds on its nocturnal hunts.{{r|Bell}}
==References== '''Citations''' {{reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name=Bell> {{citation |last=Bell |first=Charles N.|title=Remarks on the Mosquito Territory |journal=The Journal of the Royal Geographical Society |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8S47AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA254 |year=1862 |volume=32 |page=254}} </ref> }}
'''Bibliography''' {{refbegin}} *{{citation |last=Bassett |first=Fletcher S. |title=Legends and Superstitions of the Sea and of Sailors |year=1885 |publisher=Belford, Clarke and Co. |url=https://archive.org/stream/legendssuperstit00bass#page/92/mode/2up/search/Wihwin}} *{{citation |last=McPherson |first=Joseph McKenzie |title=Primitive Beliefs in the North-East of Scotland |journal=Nature |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2qhZAAAAMAAJ |year=1929 |volume=124 |issue=3118 |page=175 |publisher=Longmans, Green|doi=10.1038/124175a0 |bibcode=1929Natur.124Q.175. |s2cid=4089570 |url-access=subscription }} *{{citation |last=Middleton |first=Nick |title=Rivers: A Very Short Introduction |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pSo9QdyqPi4C&pg=PA44 |year=2012 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-958867-1}} *{{citation |last=Varner |first=Gary R. |title=Creatures in the Mist: Little People, Wild Men and Spirit Beings around the World: A Study in Comparative Mythology |year=2007 |publisher=Algora |isbn=978-0-87586-545-4}} {{refend}}
Category:Mythological horses Category:Nixies (folklore) Category:Indigenous Mesoamerican legendary creatures