“The Curse Of The Katipo”

​When a village in the Far North (a people or iwi now lost to memory) had purposely deceived a powerful Taniwha, the angry magician cast a dark and terrible curse on its people and deformed them all into a mutated half-spider. The cursed people fled the village and withdrew deep into the darkened forest of the nearby ranges. Here, they slowly lost their humanity, and their thirst for blood grew.

​A terrible legend began, as they hunted anything and everything in order to survive. Not many warriors attempted to hunt them down, opting to placing tapu (restrictions) on the forest where these sad creatures resided. Eventually, their numbers dwindled, but a few remained long after the Taniwha had passed.

​Now, there is only one elderly Katipo that dwells in the hills, struggling with her inflicted curse, whom preys on unsuspecting passers-by.