Since Halloween is next week, we’re doing a spooky theme week this week on Monsters! We’re kicking things off with werewolves, also known as lycanthropes!
It’s not clear when or where the werewolf legend started. The earliest surviving example of a man transforming into a wolf is in a book from around 2100 B.C. The werewolf as we know it today first appeared in ancient Greece and Rome, and there is evidence of widespread belief in them in medieval Europe. While many cultures believed in werewolves, how they transformed varied. The Greeks believed lycanthropy was a curse from the gods, while the Norse believed a person could become a werewolf by wearing a wolfskin belt.
There were many reports of werewolf attacks and court trials in 16th century France. However, many so-called werewolves from that time were actually serial killers. Two of the most infamous cases were Michel Verdun and Pierre Burgot, who both claimed to be werewolves in 1521 and were consequently burned at the stake.
Until the 20th century, wolf attacks were an occasional but widespread occurrence in Europe. Some scholars have suggested that wolves, being the most feared predators in Europe, were projected into the folklore of evil shapeshifters. Werewolves may have been a convenient excuse to explain clusters of wolf attacks. People living in areas where there are no wolves may have done the same thing, as there are werehyenas in Africa, weretigers in India, and werejaguars in South America.
Several medical conditions mimic the appearance of a werewolf and may have contributed to the early belief in the creatures. Some researchers have suggested werewolves could have been people with hypertrichosis, a condition that manifests itself in excessive hair growth. Rabies has also been suggested as the origin of werewolf beliefs. Rabies is transmitted through biting, and late stages of the disease can cause aggression and dementia, making a person act like a wild animal.
Werewolves are often depicted as being vulnerable only to silver objects, like silver bullets. This was first shown in 1941’s The Wolf Man, starring Lon Chaney, Jr. This and transforming only under a full moon became part of the werewolf legend only in the 20th century. Learn more here.