Legend of Werewolf time by time
Although it sounds like a story in a Hollywood movie, however, stories about humans who can turn into wolves can be found in many countries around the world.
In fact, stories about this creature commonly known as the Werewolf or Lycan can be found in ancient Greek records.
Werewolves in Ancient Literature
Herodotus, in his book entitled Histories, once wrote about the Neuri, a tribe living in northeastern Scythia (near Ukraine) whose inhabitants turn into wolves every nine years.
In ancient Greek mythology, the king of Arcadia named Lycaon is said to have been turned into a wolf by the god Zeus as a result of sacrificing and eating the flesh of his own son. The name Lycaon then derived the word Lycanthropy that we know today.
The Roman scholar, Pliny the Elder, also once told of a man who turned into a wolf after eating the entrails of a child.
Then, in 60 AD, Gaius Petronius wrote in his book about Niceros who witnessed his friend turning into a wolf. Niceros says:
"When I was looking for my friend, I found him taking all his clothes off and putting them on the side of the road...then, he was urinating in a circle with his urine around the clothes that were lying around. Suddenly, he turned into a wolf. After that, he started to howl and ran into the woods."
Although more commonly found in Europe, stories about werewolves can also be found in areas outside Europe.
Among the American Indian tribes, a similar creature is known as the Skin Walker. In Turkey it is called Turkadam, while in Central America it is known as Nagual.
Werewolf Characteristics
According to legend, during a full moon, a human being, under certain conditions, will turn into a wolf. His body will be tall and strong. Its eyes shone bright like an animal in general and its bushy eyebrows would meet in the middle. His mouth always looks dry, like someone who is thirsty.
The skin is rough and overgrown with dense fur. His ears turned pointed like a dog's with a tuft hanging from his neck. The difference with wolves, werewolves do not have tails.
One method of identifying a werewolf in his human appearance is to injure his body. If he is a werewolf, then the injured part of the body will show fur like a wolf.
Another way, according to Russian legend, is that a werewolf can be identified by the hairs under his tongue.
Although it is stated in the Hollywood films that werewolves can be killed with a silver bullet, this characteristic cannot be found in the legends.
How to turn into a Werewolf
In Italy, France and Germany, it is said that a person can turn into a werewolf by sleeping outside the house during the spring full moon which falls on a certain Wednesday or Friday.
Then, there are also those who believe that a person can turn into a werewolf because he is bitten by another werewolf. This makes it the same as the Vampire legend. There are others who believe that a person can turn into a werewolf because he is cursed.
However, most legends believe that the transfiguration of a human into a werewolf is mainly due to activities related to satanic or witchcraft activities.
This view was widespread in medieval Europe, accompanied by a werewolf, vampire, and witch hunts. In France alone, between 1520 and 1630, around 30,000 people were arrested for being considered werewolves. Most of these suspects then underwent cruel torture and interrogation until they died.
Although often regarded as satanic activity, there is a story that is quite confusing.
In 1692, an 80-year-old man named Thiess from Livonia testified under oath that he and several other friends were werewolves whom he called "God's Hounds".
He claims that they are warriors sent by God to hunt down devil worshipers and witches. Thiess also said that werewolf groups like him also exist in Russia and Germany.
Thiess' testimony was deemed blasphemy against God and he was sentenced to 10 lashes for it.
Werewolves and Vampires
What is the relationship between werewolves and vampires? We see them as enemies in the movie Underworld, is it really like that?
Does not seem. In the Middle Ages, in Europe the belief developed that the bodies of those who were killed because they were considered werewolves should be cremated. If not, then the body will rise from the grave as a Vampire.
This indicates that the people at that time believed werewolves and vampires were one person.
In Serbia, Bulgaria and Slovakia, Vampire, and Werewolf are also considered as the same creature known as Vulkodlak.
Significant Sightings
One of the reasons why stories about werewolves have survived for thousands of years is due to the many reports of sightings that have occurred during that time.
For example, the year 1790. Two travelers were in North Wales when a large animal attacked their horse. One horse was killed. This event occurs when the full moon is visible in the sky. Many believe that the creature that attacked them was a werewolf.
More than 200 years after the incident, in 1992 to be precise, also in Wales, local newspapers reported about a strange creature the size of a bear that was seen roaming the place. A farmer had seen the creature during the full moon and he found two of his sheep dead. Some people also believe that the creature is a werewolf.
The legend of the Beast of Gevaudan which terrorized France in the 1760s is also often considered a classic case of the Werewolf.
Eyewitnesses who saw the creature described it as being similar to a dog or a wolf.
The Beast of Gevaudan was recorded to have committed 11 attacks where most of the victims were women and children. The victims who died were found mutilated and showing signs of being preyed upon.
The French military has mobilized troops to hunt down the creature. However, it didn't work.
Of all the modern werewolf sightings, perhaps the most extraordinary sighting is that of Mrs. Delbert Gregg from Texas.
One night in 1958, Mrs. Gregg was alone in her room when she heard something like scratching at her window. At a glance, he could see that there was a large, furry, wolf-like creature staring at him with shining eyes. Mrs. Gregg could also see his white canines.
Realizing its presence had been noticed, the creature then immediately ran into the bushes.
Mrs. Gregg said:
"After a while, I saw a figure coming out of the bushes. However, I didn't see any shaggy wolves. The figure that came out was a very tall man who then walked in a hurry until he disappeared into the night."
Mrs. Gregg's appearance closely matches the description of the werewolf version of Hollywood.
If so, is it true that there are werewolves like those depicted in Hollywood films?
Alternative Explanation
It seems difficult to ignore the existence of this creature. If the werewolf is just folklore, fairy tale or Hollywood fiction, why has the story of the appearance of this creature spread throughout the world thousands of years ago?
If werewolf stories only appeared in the last few decades, perhaps we could argue that television and the media have disseminated them. However, it seems that every region of the world has its own werewolf story.
So do creatures called werewolves really exist?
Before getting into it, maybe it's a good idea to look at some alternative theories that try to explain this creature.
This alternative theory is based on the premise that no human can turn into a wolf. What is there is a misinterpretation or a hyperbolic story told from generation to generation.
These are some of them:
Man in wolf clothes
There was a terrible incident that occurred in the city of Bedburg, Germany, in 1591. One day, a group of residents managed to surround a wolf that entered the village. Then they started attacking the wolf with sticks. Surprisingly, the wolf didn't try to run or fight.
Suddenly, the residents saw the animal standing up and the creature that was thought to be a wolf turned out to be a middle-aged man wearing a wolf skin. They recognized him as Peter Stubbe, also a resident of Bedburg.
The villagers then took him to the village and began to interrogate him. Stubbe admitted that he had killed 16 people, including 2 pregnant women and 13 children.
Then, he began to tell the story further.
At 12 years old, Stubbe became interested in magic and began to study it. Years later, he became more and more serious about studying it, and he even started a pact with the devil. It didn't take long for Stubbe to be filled with dreams of killing. When targeting its prey, it will hide in the forest while disguising itself as a wolf.
The murder committed by Stubbe is quite sadistic. It used to rip open the throats of its victims and suck their blood. Gradually, his craving for blood became so unbearable that he continued to kill to satisfy it. On many occasions, Stubbe even ate the flesh of his victims.
The most terrible of Stubbe's crimes is the one he committed against his own son.
One day, he took his young son into the forest, cracked his skull, and ate his brain.
Peter Stubbe is listed as one of the most sadistic serial killers in world history. The crime he committed was so terrible that the court decided to sentence him to death in an equally sadistic way. His body was tied to a wheel, and then, his flesh was torn to pieces with a hot iron. His legs and arms were then broken, and finally he was beheaded. The rest of his corpse was then burned to ashes.
The murder of Peter Stubbe occurred in the Middle Ages, when superstition was rampant in Europe. It is possible that this story was widespread and gave rise to rumors about the existence of a werewolf named Werewolf.
Hallucinations
The first author to link werewolves with disease was Marcellus Sidetes (2nd century AD), a Greek who lived in Turkey and wrote books on medicine.
He mentioned that there were cases where a person experienced feelings that led him to believe that he was a wolf, which then made the person wander around the cemetery.
Sidetes' argument was later confirmed by modern science, which supports this possibility. One of them is ergot poisoning (a group of mushrooms from the genus Claviceps). Those who are poisoned by this type of mushroom can experience quite severe hallucinations and can think of themselves as animals, or feel they are being attacked by animals.
One of the worst cases of ergot poisoning occurred in 1951 in the town of Pont St.Espri in France. About 135 people were admitted to the hospital, and six of them died. This case occurred due to residents eating bread that had been infected with ergot. This mushroom has made them experience hallucinations that make them believe that tigers and snakes are attacking them.
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| Ergot poisoning (a group of mushrooms from the genus Claviceps) |
Of course, this theory cannot explain why werewolves have been reported in places where ergot has never been found. Therefore, we enter into a theory that is more popular. This theory believes that werewolves are actually humans affected by a disorder called hypertrichosis, or werewolf syndrome. Hypertrichosis (werewolf syndrome).
Hypertrichosis (werewolf syndrome)
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| Stephan Bibrowski (1890–1932), better known as Lionel the Lion-faced Man |
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