| Werewolf - An indepth look | |||||||||||||||||
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Lycanthropy means the transformation of a main into a wolf. A man with this power of metamorphossis is called a werewolf (from old English wer, man). Of all the supernatural monsters that haunt our ficition, folklore, and dreams, the werewolf dominates both in the ubiquity of its legend and in the terror that legend can produce. Werewolf stories abound in the folklore of practically every country in the world. Germany has its wer-wold, Spain its lob ombre, Portugal its lob omem, Italy its lupo manaro, and above all, France and French-speaking nations have more than their share of the loup-garou. And the werewolf has its cousins in countries where wolves have never been: India has tales of were-tigers, Africa of were-leopards, were-jackals, and were-hyenas. Even in places where there are or once were plenty of wolves, such as Russia or France, tales exist of were-dogs, bears, cats, foxes-even toads. The depth of terror the werewolf can inspire, and its hold on mens imaginsations, will become plain as you, the reader, progress through werewolf lore. But two factors underlying the fear are worth stressing from the start. First, wolves (the animals themselves) have been deadly enemies of men almost since each evolved-perhaps the deadliest enemy, at aleast in the northern hemisphere, where they have been hunted relentessly ina n attempt to exterminate them. (Other dangerous aniamls are hunted to be controlled:it seems where wolves are concerned men grow hysterical and seek to wipe them out completely.) Extermination has succeeded in many places. There are no longer, any wolves in Germany, Switzerland, britain, or the U.S.A. (except Alaska). It was thought that France (which suffered more than any country from wolves in the past) was also free of them; but a small pack was seen ther in 1963 and, indicating the widespread fearful fascination of the animals, made headlines internationally. Wolves have recently been seen in northern Italy, and in Canada (where a man was attacked in northern Ontario in 1963) as well as in Spain, Portugal, Poland, and Turkey. The 16th-century magician Paracelsus suggested that a man who lived a brutal or bestial life might return after death in beast form-usually as a wolf. (But no many tales concern ghostly werewolves; they are generally believed to be all-too-solid flesh and blood.) According to the modern french writer Claud Seignolle, old French lore contains stories of priests putting a curse on criminals to change them into werewolves for seven years. And other writers have mentioned unwilling or involuntary lycanthrope. At one time were-wolfism was believed to be hereditary; and many writers (including, in this century, Montague Summers) firmly asserted that werewolves were invariably cases of domonic possession. However, if a man or woman wanted to become a werewolf any of the magical methods mentioned could be employed-or, for absolute certainty, a special ritual could be used. This ritual is essentially a black magic ceremony, resembling those in which sorcerers conjure up demons, but it has special lycanthropic features. The aspirant of wolfhood goes to a lonely wood or hilltop on the night of a full moon (or, some say, a new moon). there, at midnight, he draws a magic circle: an outer circle seven feet in diameter and an inner one three feet in diameter. Within the circle he makes a fire and and boils up a couldron into which he puts ingredients like hemlock, opium, henbane, and parsley. He then speaks an incantation, including these lines: Wolves, vampires, satyrs, ghosts! Elect of all the devilish hosts! I pray you send hither, Send hither, send hither, The great grey shape that makes men shiver! After this he strips nakes, smears his/her body with anointment prepared previously, and puts on a belt made of wolf's skin. Then he kneels down and waits. if he was carried out the ritual correctly, a demon will appear (soemtimes said to be the Devil or one of his minons, sometimes just a non-satanic evil forest spirit) and will grant the aspirant the power of metamorphosis. Some folktales tell of men changing into werewolves merely by stripping under a full moon and rolling around in the dirt for a few moments. During the night itself, a wrewolf's activaties ar egenerally limited to the very wolfish practices of hunting, killing, and eating. Some tales of were-wolves have them limiting their ravaging to flocks and herds in the countryside; but most often lycanthropy means cannibalism-there werewolf hungers for human flesh. Though were were seldom particular, they were generally thought to prefer the flesh of young children and especially of young girls. However there have been stories, true or not, in which I person, male or femlae, can became one by the bite of a werewolf. This process goes on for a whole day after the experience in which the person hallucinates, and becomes more of a wolf, seeing and smelling more things than a normal person. The process of ending being a wolf is very simple. Either you must eat the heart of the wolf who bit you, be killed or kill your self. | ||||||||||||||||
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Back to the Beginning What is a vampire? The Undead & The Ways of the Vampire Vlad The Impaler & Elizabeth of Bathory Preventing Vampires, Gaurding the house/coffin from Vampires & Introduction of the Werewolf, European Werewolves & A French wolf-boy Werewolf in America, The Nootka wolf cults & The Navaho wolf-men Introducing Demons, Medieval Demons & Supernatural Guide | ||||||||||||||||
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