by Brown Robert
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Introduction
Part 1 - Werewolf Origins
Chapter 1 - Werewolf Evolution
Chapter 2 - An American Werewolf in … America
Chapter 3 - Werewolves in the Old Country
Chapter 4 - Therianthropes of the East
Chapter 5 - Relatives of the Werewolf
Part 2 - A History of Werewolves
Chapter 6 - Werewolves on Trial
Chapter 7 - Werewolves, Wolves, and Religion
Chapter 8 - Werewolf Hysteria in Medieval France
Chapter 9 - Werewolf Chronicles
Part 3 - The Modern Werewolf
Chapter 10 - Werewolves in Literature
Chapter 11 - Werewolves in Film
Chapter 12 - Werewolves in Art and Comics
Chapter 13 - Werewolves in Gaming
Chapter 14 - Werewolves and Urban Legends
Part 4 - Of Wolf and Man
Chapter 15 - Once Bitten ... Then What?
Chapter 16 - How to Kill a Werewolf
Chapter 17 - Explanations for Werewolf Phenomenon
Chapter 18 - Werewolves and the Psyche
Appendix A - Glossary
Appendix B - Further Reading
Index
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Copyright © 2009 by Nathan Robert Brown
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This book is dedicated to a very special person, who for so long acted as my
anonymous pen-pal guardian. I don’t know if you will ever get to see this.
Nevertheless, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for never
abandoning me when I needed you the most … even when I behaved like the
stubborn and foolish boy I for so long was.
Introduction
Many of us remember the bedtime stories of childhood, especially the ones about walking, talking, human-eating wolves. We remember the terror of hearing how Little Red Riding Hood was devoured by the Big Bad Wolf. We remember our relief (as well as horror) when the woods-man chopped open the Big Bad Wolf’s stomach to free the girl. And what about the Three Little Pigs and their well-known encounter with a Big Bad Wolf?
From a very young age, those of us in western society are introduced to the negative portrayals of wolves and werewolves. We are taught to fear them, to avoid them, and to cheer on their destruction. However, these hairy creatures of legend never die … living forever in the immortality of myth.
For some of us, the werewolf represents the dark and savage urges within us, urges that we pretend don’t exist. For others, the werewolf represents nature’s dualistic potential for both creation and destruction. A select few of us, however, accept the dark side of our natures and view the werewolf as a dark sibling that should be embraced instead of feared.
In ancient times, the wolf was often revered, and ancient humans dreamed of achieving a union with the wolf’s power. In medieval times, the werewolf came to be seen as the epitome of evil. Many humans were burned after being found guilty of lycanthropy. Today, the werewolf has been embraced by nearly every medium of pop culture—sometimes as a cursed human, other times as a wild antihero. For thousands of years, the werewolf has been a part of human myths, legends, and folklore. And it would seem that this rebel among rebels will not soon be forgotten because the werewolf lives within each of us.
How to Use This Book
Your appetite for werewolf lore is no doubt insatiable. So to make it as easy as possible to find exactly what you’re looking for, this book has been separated into four main parts and further broken down into chapters by focus subject and type, as follows.
Where do werewolves come from? Well, you see, when a mommy werewolf and a daddy werewolf love each other very much, they sniff each other and then … just kidding. The true theories as to when, how, and why werewolves first entered the realms of the human psyche and ancient folklore will be discussed in Part 1, “Werewolf Origins.” This part of the text will offer in-depth explanations of the different types of werewolves, various mythological origins of werewolves from across the globe, and the werewolf’s various shapeshifting relatives.
Part 2, “A History of Werewolves,” picks up where the previous chapters left off. First, the text will offer summarizations of the many infamous “werewolf trials” that took place during and just following the medieval period of human history. This part will also deal with the relationship between wolves, werewolves, and organized religion, as well as providing a comprehensive treatment of various historical accounts of human encounters with werewolves.
Considering the turbulent history between humans and werewolves, how did they survive as figures in pop culture? In Part 3, “The Modern Werewolf,” this question will be thoroughly addressed. From literature to movies to comic books, this part will discuss the various artistic and cultural influences that have ultimately led to the popular modern perceptions of werewolves.
Werewolves have a very real relationship with humans. First and foremost, werewolves play an important role as an archetypal symbol in the unconscious of the human psyche. In Part 4, “Of Wolf and Man,” these man-werewolf relationships will be di
scussed in detail. First, there is a brief guide for what one should do (according to the available lore) if bitten by a werewolf. Also, you will be given a summary of the various methods provided by werewolf lore for how to do battle with them. Last but not least, the text offers a discussion of the potential rational explanations for the historic werewolf phenomenon.
Extras
There is a lot to be said about werewolves, and as a result some elements can easily be confused. In order to help you along the way, a number of sidebars are provided throughout the text. Here are detailed descriptions of these sidebars, which will offer you readily available explanations to the key ideas, concepts, facts, and terms related to werewolves.
Beastly Words
These sidebars offer definitions, meanings, and explanations for the various terms, words, objects, and/or names that you will encounter throughout the reading of this text.
The Savage Truth
These sidebars offer facts related to the content of the text. Some of these will simply offer interesting but extraneous side notes, while others will be directly related to the subject matter.
The Curse
These sidebars offer clarification for easily confused concepts, events, and/or words related to werewolves due to common misperceptions and/or similarities in spellings, plots, purposes, and/or actions.
Bark vs. Bite
Sometimes, especially in a discussion of werewolves, the line between reality and fiction can get a little blurry. These sidebars will act as reality checks from time to time, offering rational explanations for the many spectacular but historical situations that you will encounter throughout the reading of this text.
Acknowledgments
I would like to extend my most sincere thanks to one of my most favorite editors in the world, Randy Ladenheim-Gil. I would also like to thank Megan Douglass for being the best DE a writer could ask for. To my agent, Jacky Sach, I will always be grateful for your confidence in me. Last but not least, I extend my thanks to everyone at Alpha Books who had a part in making this project possible.
Trademarks
All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be or are suspected of being trademarks or service marks have been appropriately capitalized. Alpha Books and Penguin Group (USA) Inc. cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark.
Part 1
Werewolf Origins
Werewolves have existed in the lore of numerous civilizations, even when separated from one another by oceans. To Native Americans, the wolf was a wise guardian of tribal structures. Wolf rites remain sacred to the Quileute of the Pacific Northwest. European werewolves were victims of dark magic or damned by demonic pacts. The Japanese once worshipped a wolf-deity and viewed wolves as divine messengers of powerful deities. In countries where wolves are not indigenous, there are similar creatures, were-hyenas and assorted types of were-cats.
Chapter 1
Werewolf Evolution
In This Chapter
• A discussion of lycanthropy
• The different potential causes of the werewolf condition
• An examination of the modern viral werewolf
• The common threads of the werewolf phenomenon
An odd howl reaches your ears from somewhere in the dark. “It’s probably just some dog, howling at the moon,” you tell yourself, but your words don’t seem to comfort you as well as you’d like. Suddenly, something is growling just beyond sight, somewhere in the trees. Before you know it, something is behind you, breathing heavily, a savage beast ready to tear you apart without a second thought. Fear that you will soon be dead (or worse, cursed for eternity) grips your heart.
Welcome to the nightmare that is the werewolf—a frightening regression to the animal state, an often involuntary surrender to the savagery that lies within us all.
Lycanthropy and Werewolves
The state of being a werewolf is called lycanthropy. Stories of werewolves span the globe. However, each civilization’s werewolf myth has its own unique characteristics. For example, the appearance of a werewolf’s final state of transformation differs from one culture’s legend/myth to another’s.
Beastly Words
Lycanthropy is the technical term for the state of being a werewolf. In other words, it roughly means “werewolf-ism.” It comes from the Greek root words lykoi (wolf) and anthropos (man/human), so it literally means “wolf-man” or “wolf-human.” A person who is inflicted with or practices lycanthropy is called a lycanthrope.
According to some stories, a werewolf has the ability to turn from a human into a full-blown wolf, changing in both size and shape. In other stories, which have earned the most popularity in the books and films of recent times, a werewolf turns from a human into a large, wolflike creature, as a sort of human-wolf hybrid.
You may be wondering just how, exactly, one becomes a werewolf. Well, if you would like to become a werewolf—or would simply like to avoid becoming one (which would be a more advisable course of action)—it is really rather simple. Of course, the simplest method for becoming a werewolf is to get bitten by one. Unfortunately, it would appear that few people have ever survived a werewolf attack. If you ever find yourself under attack by a werewolf, don’t worry. It is far more likely that you will just be ripped to pieces and killed before the transformation ever takes place. This could be seen as good news or bad news, depending on how you look at it.
There are a number of schools of thought as to what causes a person to enter the state of lycanthropy, and these are often related closely to the beliefs of the time periods in which they were created. For example, “werewolf-ism,” as lycanthropy is sometimes called, was first believed to be the result of supernatural causes such as a curse or spell. Later, it was believed to be of spiritual origin—certain people could be tricked into believing they were werewolves by some illusion concocted by the devil. Eventually, as science evolved, the cause became more scientific in nature—a rare disease, a virus, or some sort of psychological phenomenon.
The most widely recognized causes of lycanthropy are as follows:
• A curse passed via the werewolf’s bite or through the spell of some form of dark sorcery
• The invocation of the wolf spirit
• Enchantment (usually self-induced)
• A virus passed by way of the werewolf’s bite
The Cursed Werewolf
We will begin with the cursed werewolf, as this is the type most familiar to people. The majority of werewolf enthusiasts are already very familiar with the idea of “The Curse of the Werewolf,” most likely because there is already a well-known cult classic film of the same name (see Chapter 11). Even if you have never heard of it before, you can probably figure out what it is without much trouble. In the early days of the werewolf phenomenon, it was considered a curse. The idea likely stemmed from the opinion that few people would volunteer to become savage, flesh-eating beasts on the night of every full moon. (Of course, not every werewolf myth claims that a full moon is necessary for the transformation to occur.)
The cursed werewolf is perhaps the most tragic type of all lycanthropes. It is said that they have absolutely no control over their shapeshifting abilities, and this includes their actions while in werewolf form. They recognize neither friend nor foe once the change has occurred and will attack any human who crosses their path. The human mind of the cursed werewolf is said to be completely overwhelmed, replaced by a savage and uncontrollable bloodlust. Needless to say, once a cursed werewolf begins to transform, it would behoove you to start running immediately. The last thing anyone would want to be, when dealing with a cursed werewolf that has just transformed, is the first human it sees.
The cursed form of lycanthropy commonly occurs in one of two primary ways. The first way, of course, is to be bitten by a werewolf.
The Curse of the Werewolf’s Bite
The “bite cur
se” form of lycanthropy has some interesting folklore behind it. The usual folklore claims that if a person is attacked/bitten by a werewolf and is lucky (or, some might say, unlucky) enough to survive, then the curse passes from the werewolf to the victim. (However, this does not mean the curse leaves the current werewolf.) Usually, one will be able to know if this has occurred by the sudden appearance of a mark on one’s palm, hand, or somewhere else on one’s body. This is called the Mark of the Beast. This mark is most frequently described as an inverted pentagram and is usually said to appear on the palm of the hand.
The Curse
The Mark of the Beast that is associated with lycanthropy should not be confused with the Mark of the Beast concept that is mentioned in the biblical Book of Revelations. Of course, the folklore associated with the werewolf’s Mark of the Beast may have been influenced by this part in the Bible, which might explain why it came to be described as an inverted pentagram, a symbol commonly associated with the demonic in Christianity.
Once the Mark of the Beast appears, the most common lore states that the victim will involuntarily undergo his or her first transformation when hit by the light of the next full moon (or just when the next full moon occurs, according to some). Sadly, the only known 100 percent effective cure for this sort of lycanthropy is death. Some folklore claims that the infected victim will remain mortal (and so can still be killed by normal means) until the first change occurs on the next full moon. Others claim that this isn’t exactly true, that the body of a werewolf victim (if killed after the Mark of the Beast first appears) will simply reanimate and transform anyway, if it was not disposed of properly (see Chapter 16 for instructions).
