Since medieval times, the concept or idea of the werewolf - said to be a person with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf / human hybrid, after being placed under a curse or being bitten by another werewolf - has terrified and intrigued generations of people all over the world.
Transformation
Zeus turning Lycaon into a wolf. In a Greek mythological story, Arcadian King Lycaon wanted to see if the supreme god Zeus was all-knowing, so he murdered a small child and served the roasted, dismembered pieces on a dish to the Olympian ruler. A furious Zeus, upon discovering the ruse, turned Lycaon into a wolf and killed his fifty sons with lightning bolts, restoring the slaughtered child to life. This story is said to be an origin tale of a now worldly-known mythological creature, one that has permeated through the legends and fairy tales of many cultures, especially European folklore.
Since medieval times the concept or idea of the Werewolf - said to be a man with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf-man hybrid after being placed under a curse or being bitten by another werewolf - has terrified generations of people all over the world. From movies in the 20th century such as 'Werewolf of London', 'The Howling' and its numerous sequels and 'An American Werewolf in London', the creature has been depicted as being of a malevolent nature, needing to satisfy a thirst for human blood. In more recent times, the creature has been depicted in more heroic or romantic roles, such as characters from the television series 'True Blood', and 'Twilight' and the 'Underworld' series of films, who are all able to be more "in control" of their wolf selves and instincts.
However, do werewolves exist, or have they existed at one point?
And what is the reality of such creatures, away from the stories attributed to it in pop culture?
In some ways, the werewolf perhaps did exist. For example, in the Scandinavian Viking Age, the first king of Norway, Harald I, was said to have had an army of men who wore wolf coats. They were called the Úlfhednar, and were said to be vicious in their killings - some attributing their victories due to the possibility they were "channelling" the spirits of wolves in order to enhance their effectiveness in battle.
Since medieval times the concept or idea of the Werewolf - said to be a man with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf-man hybrid after being placed under a curse or being bitten by another werewolf - has terrified generations of people all over the world. From movies in the 20th century such as 'Werewolf of London', 'The Howling' and its numerous sequels and 'An American Werewolf in London', the creature has been depicted as being of a malevolent nature, needing to satisfy a thirst for human blood. In more recent times, the creature has been depicted in more heroic or romantic roles, such as characters from the television series 'True Blood', and 'Twilight' and the 'Underworld' series of films, who are all able to be more "in control" of their wolf selves and instincts.
However, do werewolves exist, or have they existed at one point?
And what is the reality of such creatures, away from the stories attributed to it in pop culture?
In some ways, the werewolf perhaps did exist. For example, in the Scandinavian Viking Age, the first king of Norway, Harald I, was said to have had an army of men who wore wolf coats. They were called the Úlfhednar, and were said to be vicious in their killings - some attributing their victories due to the possibility they were "channelling" the spirits of wolves in order to enhance their effectiveness in battle.
Woodcut of a werewolf attack in 1512. During the 14th and 15th Centuries, accusations of werewolvery became just as common as accusations of witchcraft, and the two have become entwined together since then, as it was believed the two (witches and werewolves) were agents of Satan. On October 31st, 1859, a German farmer was executed after a trial lasting many months, which was one of the most famous werewolf trials in European history. His name was Peter Stumpp (or something similar), and he was a well respected, wealthy farmer in his local community. However, he had hidden a dark secret, one that came out after hours of relentless torture inflicted upon being caught.
Stumpp is said to have confessed that, when he was 12, he began practicing black magic, and one day apparently successfully managed to summon the Devil himself. He further claimed the Dark One gave him a "magic belt" that allowed him to change into "the likeness of a greedy, devouring wolf, strong and mighty, with eyes great and large, which in the night sparkled like fire, a mouth great and wide, with most sharp and cruel teeth, a huge body, and mighty paws."
Since that fateful day it was said that over the next two decades Stumpp became known as the "Werewolf of Bedburg", and was responsible for the gorging of flesh of a number of animals, including humans. He finally confessed to the murders of 14 children and 2 pregnant women and their fetuses. He also killed his own young son.
He was charged with murder, incest and cannibalism,and along with his teenage daughter (who had also been his lover), was sentenced to death. He was put on a Breaking wheel (a torture device used for capital punishment during the Middle Ages) and flesh was torn from his body. Several limbs were broken with the blunt side of an axehead and then he was decapitated. He was not the first so-called Werewolf to be executed during the next few years, and perhaps was one of the first to be labelled with the condition called Lycanthropy.
Stumpp is said to have confessed that, when he was 12, he began practicing black magic, and one day apparently successfully managed to summon the Devil himself. He further claimed the Dark One gave him a "magic belt" that allowed him to change into "the likeness of a greedy, devouring wolf, strong and mighty, with eyes great and large, which in the night sparkled like fire, a mouth great and wide, with most sharp and cruel teeth, a huge body, and mighty paws."
Since that fateful day it was said that over the next two decades Stumpp became known as the "Werewolf of Bedburg", and was responsible for the gorging of flesh of a number of animals, including humans. He finally confessed to the murders of 14 children and 2 pregnant women and their fetuses. He also killed his own young son.
He was charged with murder, incest and cannibalism,and along with his teenage daughter (who had also been his lover), was sentenced to death. He was put on a Breaking wheel (a torture device used for capital punishment during the Middle Ages) and flesh was torn from his body. Several limbs were broken with the blunt side of an axehead and then he was decapitated. He was not the first so-called Werewolf to be executed during the next few years, and perhaps was one of the first to be labelled with the condition called Lycanthropy.
The wolf from Ginger Snaps (one of my favorites). Lycanthropy is the name given to the mythical condition of supernatural origin where a man can physically transform, or shapeshift, into a wolf. Clinical Lycanthropy, however, is a psychiatric disorder that involves delusions that the sufferer has, or will, or is, a non-human animal. It is very rare, and the disorder is believed to be a "cultural manifestation" of Schizophrenia, as many of the symptoms, including delusions and hallucinations, fit the DSM-IV Criteria for schizophrenic behaviour. Strangely, the condition is not only limited to delusions of being a canine-like animal, such as a wolf or dog. In some instances sufferers are transforming into cats, hyenas, foxes, horses, birds and insects. On rare occasions, reports have been made of patients claiming to be multiple animals at different times, and sometimes reports of an "unspecified"animal are made.
This, however, has not stopped many accounts, especially over the last century or so, of people having encounters with real-life wolf-men or werewolves. Many of these reports are made in North America, but can these accounts be just the result of the observation of possibly an abnormally sized wolf or canine, or are some men really able to transform and shapeshift into giant bi-pedal wolves, with a bloodthirsty appetite?
(Interested in more,? - look up ergot and lycanthropy)
This, however, has not stopped many accounts, especially over the last century or so, of people having encounters with real-life wolf-men or werewolves. Many of these reports are made in North America, but can these accounts be just the result of the observation of possibly an abnormally sized wolf or canine, or are some men really able to transform and shapeshift into giant bi-pedal wolves, with a bloodthirsty appetite?
(Interested in more,? - look up ergot and lycanthropy)
By Matty Sweeney 2014
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