throughout time people across the world told each other tales of how they came to be of heroes and monsters romance and tragedy death and rebirth mythology helped shape the ancient world explaining the unexplainable picture if you will the sun sets at the end of a day night falls and a full moon rises dousing the dark earth with silver light a cry of pain echoes throughout the night a poor soul is changing into something terrible their bones break and reshape coarse fur grows and covers their flesh razor-sharp claws sprout from the fingertips their teeth sharpen to
points their face turns beastly once the horrific transformation is complete the creature emits a howl unlike any other that makes the blood run cold this is the werewolf a staple of horror and dark fantasy stories the werewolf is an impressive monster great size overwhelming strength and speed boundless stamina sharp senses even sharper claws and teeth an appetite for man and beast alike and immunity to most physical attacks make for a truly fearsome threat there are a number of ways to become a werewolf such as being cursed by a sorcerer or shaman wearing enchanted pelts or
clothing drinking a potion or rubbing a magic ointment on the skin drinking water from a wolf's paw print sleeping under a full moon having werewolf parents and most commonly being bitten by one and surviving once a werewolf the mortal is forever cursed to wander the world immune to age and disease and committing acts of brutality on all that they encounter a person's only salvation from the wrath of the beast is the wolfsbane plant toward it away and a silver bullet to end the monster's life upon its death the werewolf will revert back to its human
form werewolves are among the most popular monsters of legend but where did the myths of werewolves begin since perhaps the late stone age tales of human beings transforming into animals have been found all over the world from europe and asia to africa and the americas in the northern hemisphere wolves are among the top predators of their ecosystems naturally gifted with great strength endurance and senses as well as cultural associations with gluttony greed malice and brutality wolves invoked a sense of awe and fear among ancient peoples if a person were to shape-shift into a wolf or
a man-wolf hybrid it could make them an excellent hunter and combatant but the idea of animal strength and savagery crossing with the calculation and emotion of a human being was especially terrifying to become an animal namely one as powerful and feared as a wolf was seen as an exit from civilization and entering a primal state of chaos unchecked morality and unbridled cruelty would be strengthened by a wolf's natural power their enemies would be torn asunder the earliest stories of werewolves reflect this deep-rooted fear of regression of civilization into animal savagery the oldest recorded tale of
a person changing into a wolf comes from mesopotamian mythology in the epic of gilgamesh here instead of a voluntary shift from man to wolf a woman cursed an ex-lover transforming him forever into a wolf in greek mythology a corrupt king named lychaean attempted to trick zeus into eating the flesh of a slaughtered child outraged by this barbarism zeus transformed lycaen and all of his kin into wolves from the story of like hayan comes the word lycanthropy which defines the supernatural power or psychological condition of belief to transform into a wolf-like monster in addition lockheed's story
contains all the elements of a modern werewolf tale immoral behavior murder and cannibalism in 425 bce greek historian herodotus described the nurians a nomadic tribe of magical men who changed into wolf form for several days of the year roman satirist petronius wrote of a soldier who witnessed his companion shift into a wolf under the light of a full moon before running off into the darkness in norse mythology the volsunga sagas tel of a father and son sigmund and sinviotli who use magic pelts to transform themselves into large wolves over the course of ten days for
the duration of these ten days they proceeded to embark on a bloody rampage killing all in their path until the father viciously maimed his own son during a disagreement the story ends with sinfieldly being healed by a raven and on the tenth day the father and son shed their pelts and burned them reading themselves of the curse the cautionary tale of little red riding hood is often interpreted as a werewolf story as the wolf who preys on the titular character is cunning and capable of disguising himself as a human in order to devour the young
girl a blackfoot legend tells of a man who was left for dead by his wives but rescued by a pack of wolves the pax alpha bestowed upon him a wolf-like appearance and together with the wolves this wolf man sought revenge against his wives by raiding the settlement and stealing from food storage from cajun folklore of louisiana come tales of the ruguru or lugaru a person who becomes a werewolf after being bewitched or failing to observe lent for seven years in a row and transforms into the murderous beast every night for 101 days before the curse
is passed to another by way of biting or clawing many of these stories as well as the many other stories of werewolves and wolf men share common themes transformation of man to beast acts of savagery cruelty rage evil murder and the consumption of human beings these stories are seen as fictional today but in the distant past stories of werewolves were seen as all too real superstitions of werewolves and other creatures and wicked beings would lead to mass hysteria during the high middle ages and into the 16th century amidst the witch trials and religious persecution of
europe thousands of people were accused tried tortured and executed for allegedly being werewolves these so-called werewolf trials lend a historic glimpse at rampant human belief in werewolves telltale signs of a werewolf in human form included eyebrows that connected rough or hairy palms red hair or being a societal outcast some of the accused were arrested because villagers and peasants needed scapegoats for dead livestock or other societal ills but others were accused because of actions far more sinister in the 1500s frenchman pierre bergo and mikhail verdun allegedly swore allegiance to the devil and claimed to have an
ointment that turned them into wolves after confessing to brutally murdering several children they were both burned to death at the stake another frenchman of the same era was jill garnier a dubbed the werewolf of dole who also claimed to transform via an ointment after which he killed an eight children in the form of a wolf as with burgo and vardoon garnier was burned at the stake whether burgo verdun or garnier were mentally ill acted under the influence of hallucinogens or were simply cold-blooded killers is up for debate but it likely did not matter to superstitions
of europeans at the time for in their minds such heinous crimes could only be committed by a horrific beast such as a werewolf much of what is common in werewolf mythology today comes from the realm of hollywood movies particularly 1941's the wolfman starring lon chaney jr the concept of changing form under the light of the full moon is rooted in folklore but was cemented thanks to this film becoming a werewolf after being bitten by one comes directly from hollywood for in folklore one became a werewolf by other mystical means and a werewolf simply mauled and
devoured its victims the power of silver weapons namely silver bullets being lethal to the monster became a staple of werewolf beliefs and from the wolfman comes the chilling poem forever associated with werewolf lore even a man who is pure in heart and says his prayers by night may become a wolf when the wolf spain blooms and the autumn moon is bright as the horror movie industry progressed more films about the werewolf came about such as 1981's an american werewolf in london which focused on the psychological aspect of being a werewolf and the howling which explored
the raw sexuality of a savage beast other films such as van helsing or the underworld series put them in antagonistic roles against keen monster hunters or in opposition against covens of vampires in recent decades werewolves have appeared in countless works of fiction such as books films and even comics as a result werewolves have become increasingly popular among horror fans this may be perhaps because unlike other monsters the werewolf is only a monster for a short while and is a normal human being at all other points furthermore unlike ghosts vampires or zombies who still maintain a
human-like appearance the werewolf turns into something much more beastly in appearance adding an additional sense of intrigue and terror for as long as recorded stories have existed stories of werewolves have haunted the nightmares of people around the world the sheer image of a person painfully shape-shifting into a ravenous wolf and prowling in the shadows of the moonlit night strikes deep within the hearts of millions from ancient mythology to medieval superstition to hollywood cinema the werewolf has cemented itself as among the most terrifying and most enduring monsters of mythology
