contributors: melinda warren, alice warren, briana bowen
etymology: werewolf, derived from the old english world ‘werwulf’, a compound of ‘were’, meaning ‘man’, and ‘wulf’, meaning ‘wolf’; also known in old high german as ‘weriuuolf’; lycanthrope, from the ancient greek ‘λυκάνθρωπος’ or ‘lukánthropos’, meaning ‘wolf human’
a commonly known class of therianthrope that are defined by their lupine appearance and their forced transformations into this form during the three nights of the full moon.
stories of men turning into wolves can be traced back as far as indo-european tribal mythologies, though the majority of these stories appear to depict men and women who willingly transformed into wolves and back rather than the more popularly known cursed individuals of today. in fact, stories of men and women cursed to become werewolves were not particularly known or widespread at any point before the 14th century as a whole.
reports of werewolves appeared in the 11th and 13th centuries within the confines of germanic provinces of europe, primarily being associated with the germanic paganism of the area and the witchcraft panic of the 1400s. however, these stories and folklore were suppressed after christianisation making the exact nature of these stories difficult to determine -- particularly regarding if they were about ‘true’ werewolves.
perhaps what may be the earliest known werewolf was actually reported outside of germany, within the slavic provinces of europe in the form of vseslav of polotsk -- also known as vseslav the sorcerer, and vseslav the seer. a belarusian prince, vseslav was reported to have possibly been a werewolf, and was recorded as being capable of moving at preternatural speeds in battle, hearing the bells of his cathedral in polotsk whilst far away in kiev, and prowling the night in the form of a wolf.
a french hermit and cannibalistic murderer, gilles garnier was also known as the hermit of st. bonnot and as the werewolf of dole. as suggested by his titles, garnier was a hermit living within the area of the town of dole, in the province of the franche-comté province. sometime after marrying, several children went missing and were later found dead, and eventually the cause was deemed to be a werewolf, though later garnier was found by a group of workers carrying the body of another child.
according to garnier’s confession, he was approached by a spectre promising to ease his troubles -- as he had found trouble feeding his new family -- and was granted the ability to transform into a wolf in order to make his hunts easier. garnier confessed to stalking and murdering four children, whom he consumed parts of and also gave to his family to eat.
garnier was found guilty of lycanthropy and witchcraft by local authorities, and burned at the stake on the 18th of january 1573.
many reports of werewolves began to spread across europe during the 1400s, particularly the area of what is now part of switzerland, with many accusations of werewolvery during the valais witch trials, and reports of child-eating werewolves in the vaud in 1448, and many treatises on lycanthropy being written in france during 1595 and 1615. more accounts of werewolves being captured continued as well, with werewolves being sighted in anjou during 1598, and a teenage werewolf being sentenced to life imprisonment in bordeaux during 1603, with many were also imprisoned in the vaud between 1602 and 1624.
during the late 16th and early 17th centuries these accusations reached a peak, though were also starting to be met with some degree of criticism and was beginning to be explained away as delusions and similar disorders of the brain, even by the likes of james i of england. after 1650, reports of werewolves had largely disappeared from french-speaking europe, being replaced by reports of wolf-beasts of similar activity but not the same nature as werewolves. one such beast was the beast of gévaudan, which killed up to eighty men, women and children during its streak through 1764 to 1767.
by the 20th century, all accounts that would have been called werewolf attacks were written off as the work of mundane wolves, and it would appear that the lupine therianthropes had receded into folklore.
characteristics of a lycanthrope
true to common beliefs, a werewolf becomes such due to the result of being bitten or scratched deeply enough by a pre-existing werewolf. the effects of the wound are not immediate, and oftentimes the afflicted will not realise whether their condition is truly that of a werewolf until the following full moon. furthermore, it appears that those who are wounded by a werewolf, though die as a result of these wounds, may still find themselves cursed with lycanthropy and saved from death as a result of their condition: rising from the grave on the next full moon and then continuing their life as normal from there as was a common occurrence within the slavic provinces.
although folklore varies widely on the exact nature and characteristics of the werewolf, there are in fact a number of characteristics that define the ‘true’ werewolf from other shapeshifters who transform of their own volition, people that were otherwise cursed into the forms of wolves or wolf-like beasts, or witches who had taken the form of similar creatures.
the werewolf, in its human form, is nearly indistinguishable from the ordinary human aside from a tendency to grow more body hair (often in regions they already grow it), and a generally tired and haggard appearances. the true identifier of a werewolf in human form can be found in the form of bristles under the tongue. werewolves are also predisposed to bouts of depression, often following the nights of their transformation, and can become particularly ravenous in order to restore energy lost from the exertions of transforming.
identifying a werewolf in its transformed state is a far more easier task, bearing the appearance of humanoid bipedal wolves with varying degrees of hair on their bodies (i.e one werewolf may have a body covered in hair, whereas another may have none, or only grow it on their backs and forearms. in this form, the werewolf’s height stretches at least one to two feet upwards from their original height, causing an elongated and emaciated appearance, as well as having elongated fingers with sharp claws. the ribcage may also expand into a rounder shape on occasion. a werewolf’s head is perhaps the most canine part of them, with a muzzle and elongated, pointed ears -- though they retain human eyes. werewolves also lack a tail, due to the human lack of the tail bones required to have one.
werewolves are barely more impressive than a human when not transformed, only possessing remarkable smell, hearing and sight that allows them to see better in the dark. it is when they’re transformed that werewolves become truly dangerous, possessing strength, speed and endurance that is far beyond that of any human.
there are a number of weaknesses that can be used to ward off and kill a werewolf.
carrying wolfsbane on one’s person will deter a werewolf from getting too close, though burning it in and around one’s person as incense will render the surrounding area the vapour pervades repulsive and poisonous for werewolves to breathe in.
normal weapons will do little to no damage against a werewolf, with even the strongest blows being recovered from quickly. however, weapons made of silver can inflict burning wounds that take far longer to heal, and fatal blows will kill a werewolf instantly.
many cures have been presented in order to prevent or remove lycanthropy and its transformations, with the ancient greeks and romans of antiquity believing that exhausting the werewolf during the day would prevent any activity during the night. in medieval europe it was even believed that exorcism or surgery could cure a werewolf of its condition. other methods included the sicilian practice of striking a werewolf on the head with a knife, and piercing the hands with hammer and nail. as expected, many of these ‘cures’ proved fatal to those being performed of.
however, there is no known cure for the lycanthropic condition other than death.
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