The Complete Idiot's Guide to Werewolves

by Brown Robert

  Soon enough, Fleete started to feel the effects of the holy man’s curse. He was overcome by strange and powerful urges. He had an uncontrollable craving for raw meat. At times, he found himself walking in his garden on all fours and howling into the night sky. When Fleete sought out a medical diagnosis, the doctor told him that he was suffering from rabies. Fleete, however, believed that he had been cursed.

  The Savage Truth

  The “Mark of the Beast” that Kipling refers to in this story’s title is not a part of the Hindu mythology of India. In fact, the concept comes from western lore. It would appear that, in this story, Kipling attempted to fuse western werewolf lore with an eastern setting.

  Fleete and another man eventually tracked down the leprous Hindu sage who initially gave him the bite that was causing Fleete’s strange behavior. They then tortured the ailing holy man until he agreed to remove Fleete’s lycanthropic curse, the “Mark of the Beast.” The holy man lifted the curse, and Fleete was able to return to his normal human self.

  The Werewolf of Paris (1933)

  The Werewolf of Paris was written by New York author Samuel Guy Endore (also known as Guy Endore) and was published in 1933. The story was inspired when Endore learned of the details surrounding the case of Francois Bertrand, a corpse-obsessed maniac who was dubbed by some as the “Werewolf of Paris.”

  The Werewolf of Paris tells the story of Bertrand Caillet, who was born on the most auspicious day of Christmas Eve. His mother was a servant girl who was raped by a rogue priest. As a result of the scandal surrounding the child’s conception, his mother brought him to the home of his step-uncle, Aymar Gaillez, in order to raise him.

  From a very young age, Bertrand experienced unusual desires. These desires, many of which were somewhat sexually sadistic, remained only in his dreams for much of his life. However, Bertrand later discovered that many of these disturbing nocturnal visions were not dreams at all but memories of his experiences as a werewolf.

  Soon enough, his uncle Aymar discovered that Bertrand was a werewolf. After Bertrand committed a number of crimes—attacking a prostitute, murdering a local villager, and raping his own mother—he had no choice but to leave the village. Bertrand went to start a new life in Paris, where again he resumed his savagely sadistic crimes of rape and murder.

  Uncle Aymar, however, went to Paris, attempting to track down his werewolf nephew. He began to look into the details of the most heinous violent crimes in Paris and by doing so determined that Bertrand was responsible for a great many of them. While in Paris, Bertrand had raped and killed prostitutes, murdered a number of other people, and desecrated freshly buried corpses.

  Bertrand soon realized that he must earn a living somehow and so joined the Parisian Guard to serve in the Franco-Prussian War. However, he did very little time in actual combat. One day, Bertrand fell head over heels in love with a local barmaid named Sophie. He truly cared for the girl and did not wish to harm her. Sophie tried to suppress her lover’s werewolf transformations by cutting open her own flesh so that Bertrand could suck out some of her blood. For a brief time, this satiated Bertrand’s werewolf tendencies. However, with each occurrence, Bertrand became more aware that Sophie’s blood would not do the trick forever. Of course, Uncle Aymar was still on the trail of Bertrand and soon located him. However, when Aymar saw how Bertrand was so gentle with Sophie, he decided not to kill his nephew. At first glance, Aymar was convinced that his nephew’s lycanthropy had somehow been cured by the power of his love for Sophie.

  Bertrand felt the change coming upon him once more and knew that Sophie’s blood would not stop it this time. Not wanting to bring any harm to his beloved Sophie, Bertrand ran out into the city and assumed his werewolf state. He soon found a worthy enough victim, whom he immediately attacked with the intent of devouring the man. This time, however, Bertrand was caught in the act (and in the state of transforming into wolf form) and was thrown in jail. Uncle Aymar heard of this and cursed himself a fool for believing that Bertrand had changed.

  Aymar went to the court and implored the judges to burn his nephew at the stake and bring an end to his foul curse. The courts, however, did not believe that Bertrand was a werewolf. They decided that Bertrand must suffer from a type of madness and therefore sentenced him to treatment in an insane asylum.

  In the asylum, Bertrand was kept constantly sedated. He was kept in a cell that was so cramped that he couldn’t stand or stretch in it. One day, Bertrand saw an opportunity to flee and got loose from his cell. Not knowing where to run, and being disoriented form the drugs, he ended up on the roof of the building gripping the wrist of a girl he thought was Sophie. Bertrand rushed over the edge of the roof, dragging the poor girl with him. Both were killed. Unbeknownst to Bertrand, months before Sophie had been overwhelmed by her heartache from losing her beloved. He killed himself without knowing that the real Sophie had already taken her own life.

  The Werewolf Stories of Jack Williamson

  Today, Jack Williamson is considered one of the greatest pulp fiction writers of all time. He published a multitude of short stories in such classic pulp magazines as Weird Tales, Astounding Stories, Thrilling Mystery, and Amazing Stories. The stories about him almost read like folklore themselves. It is said that Williamson primarily educated himself, using nothing but his local public library.

  Williamson was one of the most prolific story writers of his time. Out of his plethora of work, however, a dozen have been preserved as his greatest masterpieces. At least two of the most renowned of Williamson’s stories consist of werewolf themes—Wolves of Darkness (published in 1936) and Darker Than You Think (published in 1938). While the academic world has never acknowledged the value of Williamson’s stories, it cannot be denied that they were among the best-selling and most widely read works in the year of their publication.

  Beastly Words

  The term pulp fiction refers to inexpensive magazines or novels written for a mass market audience. Such works often contained violent or sexual material. The moods of such stories were generally melodramatic in dialogue and sensational in tone.

  Williamson’s Wolves of Darkness

  Wolves of Darkness is the story of a man named Clovis McLaurin, who received an urgent and odd letter from his father. Clovis’s father was a scientist named Dr. Ford McLaurin, and in the letter he begged his son to return to the family ranch as soon as possible, as strange things were afoot. Despite it being the middle of winter, Clovis made the harsh journey to his father’s ranch estate.

  When Clovis arrived at the nearby town, he discovered that the people had long been under siege by a pack of man-eating wolves. Their situation was growing increasingly desperate. For some months, he learned, not a single day had passed without someone being killed by the murderous beasts. Knowing the nature of his father’s experiments, Clovis knew that he needed to hurry home.

  Clovis continued on to his father’s ranch and on the way was attacked by a group of wolves. He managed to escape, but from the attack he discovered a terrible truth. Running with the wolf pack was a young woman whom Clovis recognized as Stella Jetton, the daughter of his father’s lab assistant. He saw her running through the icy snow alongside the wolves, wearing nothing more than a skimpy silk slip. Her mouth was stained with the blood of their kills. Even though he escaped the attack, the experience jarred him considerably. Long ago, Clovis had been deeply in love with Stella.

  When he reached the ranch, Clovis learned that his father’s experiments had unlocked the secrets behind the unimaginable powers of wolves. Stella, he discovered, was no longer the girl he once loved. Her eyes were those of a wolf. If Clovis wished to save Stella from her fate, he would have no choice but to confront the frightening power that she now wielded. In the end, he found a way to reverse the process and rescue the girl he loved.

  It’s Darker Than You Think

  The opening pages of Williamson’s novel, Darker Than You Think, offer the reader an announcement from a fictional ethnologi
cal expedition to Mongolia. The announcement claims that human beings have recently been discovered who possess the ability to shapeshift into animals. The reader then joins the expedition, whose leader has recently been killed.

  One member of the expedition was Will Barbee, a journalist and friend of the dead expedition leader. He suspected foul play and believed that another anthropologist on the expedition, the beautiful and intelligent April Bell, was responsible for his friend’s death.

  As Barbee continued on the expedition, still suspicious of April, the two discovered a terrifying lost truth. Barbee uncovered ancient artifacts that told of an ancient war between humans and werewolves. In the end, humans had won the war. The few werewolves that survived learned to live in secret among their human enemies. However, they did not plan to stay that way.

  The artifacts also told of a werewolf prophecy of the coming of the Son of Night. This apocalyptic figure, once arisen, would lead the werewolves in a war against the humans once more. The prophecy also said that, this time, the humans would lose. Barbee must stop this werewolf apocalypse as well as solve the mystery of his friend’s murder … all without being killed.

  The Twilight Wolf Pack

  In recent years, the werewolf characters of Stephenie Meyer’s best-selling Twilight series have spawned a renewed interest in werewolf lore. Her werewolves deviate from the traditional depiction in literature of cursed beings that kill mercilessly and cannot control their shapeshifting abilities. In fact, Meyer’s depiction of werewolves is quite the opposite of those from the western tradition.

  Compared with the popular werewolves of modern cinema and literature, which are commonly depicted as giant, furry, bipedal monsters, Meyer’s werewolves are certainly in a league of their own. Her werewolf characters are members of the Quileute tribe, which is a real Native American tribe of the Pacific Northwest (see Chapter 2). Meyer’s werewolves are not monsters, but men who, through secret tribal rites of lycanthropy, have gained the ability to transform themselves into actual wolves. They also appear to retain a great amount of mental control, even in their wolf forms. In comparison to most modern fictional werewolves, Meyer’s characters are unique.

  The main werewolf character in Meyer’s series is named Jacob Black, a male teenager and member of the Quileute tribe. He is part of a love triangle that exists between him, Isabella “Bella” Swan (a human girl Jacob has known since childhood), and Edward Cullen (a vampire who has sworn off feeding on humans).

  The Savage Truth

  Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series has recently been adapted into a series of full-length motion pictures. The first film, Twilight, was a huge box office success, grossing over $382 million in worldwide theater sales. The DVD release of the first film has grossed over $146 million in sales. The box office release of the film adaptation of the second book, New Moon, is expected to fair just as well.

  The Native American werewolves of Meyer’s books are the natural and sworn enemies of all vampires. However, long ago the tribe made a pact with the Cullen family, a group of peaceful vampires to which Edward belongs. The Cullens agreed not to trespass on Quileute land, and in return the Quileute werewolves agreed to let them live in peace by not revealing what they were to the white human settlers.

  The relationship between Jacob, Bella, and Edward is a complicated one. Bella’s heart belongs to the vampire Edward. However, Edward views himself as a threat to Bella’s safety and often retreats from her. When he does, Jacob is often there to seize the opportunity. For a time, Bella entertains the notion of allowing herself to love Jacob. However, she cannot let go of her deep feeling for Edward.

  In the end, Bella must make a choice between her two immortal suitors. Will she pick the vampire or the werewolf? For the sake of not spoiling the story, the answer to this question will not be included here. If you want to find out, you will have to read Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series.

  The Curse of Remus Lupin

  The Harry Potter series of author J. K. Rowling is one of the most well-known works of literature in recent years. Rowling’s storyline follows the adventures, trials, and tragedies that occur in the life of a young man (Harry Potter) as he attends a magical boarding school, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Beginning in the third book of the series, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, readers are introduced to an interesting new character called Remus Lupin.

  Professor Lupin initially comes to Hogwarts as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor (throughout the series, a new professor is appointed to this position every year). As the story progresses, however, it becomes clear that there is more to the new professor than meets the eye. He is often gone for days at a time, returning with scratches and bite marks on his body. Eventually, Harry Potter and his friends learn the truth about the condition that is afflicting their beloved professor.

  Remus, once a close friend of Harry’s deceased parents, was infected with lycanthropy as a child. He was bitten by a werewolf named Fenrir Greyback as payback for insults by Remus’s father. Later, when admitted to attend Hogwarts, the school’s headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, had a shack built on the outskirts of the nearby town of Hogsmeade. The large shack was constructed without any passable external entrances. Every month, on the nights of his transformations, Remus would enter the shack through a tunnel that ran under a large enchanted tree (the Whomping Willow) on the edge of the Hogwarts grounds.

  The Savage Truth

  The character of Remus Lupin appears in four installments of the Harry Potter series. In addition to his first appearance in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Remus shows up again in the final three novels, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

  Without any humans to attack when in his violent werewolf state, however, Remus’s bloodlust would always overtake him. This caused the poor young man to bite and scratch himself, resulting in terribly painful wounds. Remus’s screams of pain and anguish were so loud that they reached the ears of nearby Hogsmeade residents, who soon came to the conclusion that the place was haunted by violent spirits. The shack was eventually dubbed the “Shrieking Shack,” and people kept their distance (which was probably a good thing, since the screams were coming from a blood-mad werewolf).

  Eventually, however, Remus’s close friends James Potter (Harry’s father), Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew discovered the truth about his condition. They could not stand the idea of their friend being alone during such a horrible ordeal. In order to join him, they learned to transform into animals (according to Rowling’s story, werewolves only bite humans). James could become a stag, Sirius a black dog, and Peter a rat. The four young men became the best of friends, and their bond helped Remus to cope with his difficult condition.

  The Least You Need to Know

  • Marie de France’s Bisclavret is considered the first werewolf-themed story in English literature.

  • The werewolf was long a favorite in popular literary genres of the past, such as pulp fiction and the penny dreadful.

  • The majority of literary werewolves are portrayed as cursed or tormented figures.

  • The most recent manifestation of werewolves in literature comes from the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer, whose werewolves are based on the secret lycanthropic practices of the Quileute tribe of the Pacific Northwest.

  • Professor Remus Lupin is the main werewolf character of J. K. Rowling’s popular Harry Potter series.

  Chapter 11

  Werewolves in Film

  In This Chapter

  • The roles of werewolves in the history of cinema

  • A discussion of the first werewolf movie, the 1925 silent film Wolf Blood

  • Werewolf films of the early twentieth century

  • Werewolves in the movies of the 1960s

  • The werewolf paradigm shift of the 1980s

  • New portrayals of cinematic werewolves over the last two deca
des

  The werewolf is undoubtedly one of the most popular monsters in the history of cinema. From the horror genre to comedy, werewolves have captivated filmmakers for decades. There exists a multitude of werewolf films. Some are classics … others successes … while a good many have also turned out to be total flops. To discuss every werewolf movie ever made would probably require a book itself. What follows is a sampling of the many portrayals of werewolves in cinema.

  Wolf Blood (1925)

  Released in December 1925, Wolf Blood was one of the first werewolf films in the history of cinema. Released as a silent film, it was written by Cliff Hill. The movie was directed by George Chesebro, who also starred in the tragic lead role of the lumberjack-turned-werewolf, Dick Bannister.

  The movie began at a Canadian logging camp being overseen by boss Dick Bannister. Bannister’s logging enterprise had recently entered into a small but violent conflict with a rival logging company. Things grew more complicated when Bannister’s chief investor, a wealthy woman, came to visit and inspect the camp with her soon-to-be husband, a young and rather brilliant practicing surgeon.