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This article is about the supernatural creature of legend. For the German terrorist organization "The Werewolves" in The Man With the Iron Heart, see German Freedom Front.

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Werewolves, also known as lycanthropes, are mythological or folkloric people with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or wolflike creature, either purposely, by using magic, or after being placed under a curse. The medieval English chronicler Gervase of Tilbury associated the transformation with the appearance of the full moon (which is the most common "trigger" in modern werewolf lore); however, there is evidence that the association existed in Ancient Greece, appearing in the writings of Petronius, a Roman chronicler.

There were several anti-werewolf panics in Europe during the Middles Ages, often running concurrently with anti-witch hysteria, which lead to the conviction and execution of a number of people for mass murder and other crimes committed while in the form of a wolf. Modern scholarship has posited that werewolves were used as an explanation for serial killers, or that confessed werewolves suffered from mental problems. Others have suggested werewolves as cover for political and religious persecutions.

Despite this rich history of lore, the popular image of werewolves is based primarily on cinema, e.g., The Wolf Man (1941). Among other things, the 1941 film codified that werewolves can only be killed by silver, preferably in the form of a bullet. This "Achilles heel" had been applied in 18th-century European folklore to vampires, witches, and succubi, but the 1941 film has caused it to be associated with werewolves specifically.

Werewolf in The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump[]

Lycanthropy was a common ailment in people affected by toxic spell pollution. In 1993, the Devonshire dump was suspected of being the source of this, among other ills, in nearby communities.

Werewolf in Clever Rolf Stories[]

The evil wizard Mebodes had imprisoned the fair maiden Viviane in his fortress in the Great Wood along with a treasure. He used werewolves as guards. Clever Rolf, a bookkeeper, was dragooned into a quest to rescue Viviane by the boastful Sir Ogier.[1] As Rolf made his way through the Great Wood, he encountered a werewolf. Clever Rolf threw his silver ket at the werewolf as it charged. While the werewolf had experience with silver weapons, this sort of bombardment was new, and it fled. Clever Rolf gathered up his ket and continued on. He soon heard Sir Ogier's last anguished screams as he fell victim to other werewolves.[2]

Werewolf in Elabon[]

Werewolves were one of many types of werebeast known in the Elabonian Empire.

Werewolf in Every Inch a King[]

Werewolves were well known in the Nekemte Peninsula. Silver was known to be their bane.

Otto of Schlepsig, the self-styled King of Shqiperi, suspected that the Vlachian ambassador Vuk Nedic was a werewolf. When the ambassador steadfastly refused to touch silver coins without gloves, Otto took this as confirmation.

A werewolf attack touched off the War of the Kingdoms.

Werewolf in The House of Daniel[]

Werewolves were a common problem in the western United States in the years after the Big Bubble burst. They appeared during the full moon. However, they were vulnerable to silver.

In May 1934, the House of Daniel were out and about in Artesia, New Mexico during the full moon when a werewolf charged them. One of their pitchers, Fidgety Frank Carlisle, knew about the silver weakness from a pulp story he had read, and hit the werewolf in the nose with a silver half-dollar, driving it off.[3]

Werewolf in "The Man who Came Late"[]

Werewolves were occasionally sighted in the region where Theodo and Alianora lived. Theodo made silver charms to defend against the creatures.

Werewolf in "Not All Wolves"[]

Werewolvism was an involuntary condition brought on by the full moon. At dawn, the individual would revert to human form. While a wolf, the individual retained human intelligence and memory and could refrain from bloody attack on others. If injured, the wound would heal with remarkable speed.

The condition would begin expressing itself on the onset of puberty. An adolescent named Dieter, who lived in Cologne, began transforming in early 1176. While he took precautions to isolate himself from others while in wolf-form, one night, he transformed in public, and was pursued by the townsfolk, until he was given shelter in the town's Jewish quarter by a man named Avram.

Werewolf in "The Thing in the Woods"[]

Tim briefly believed that the thing in the woods behind Geoffrey's house was a werewolf. Ultimately, they never figured out what the creature was.

Werewolf in Three Men and...Stories[]

A werewolf named Warren Z. Wolfe briefly hunted in the East End of London in the late 19th century. He killed at least one old woman the first night of the harvest moon.[4] However, he was confronted and killed in his wolf form the following night while he hunted in Limehouse. His killer, a man named Harris, stabbed Wolfe to death with the silver ferrule of his umbrella.[5]

See also[]

  • Chupacabra, another mythological beast often portrayed with canine qualities.
  • Werejaguar, another mythical phenomenon where a human is transformed into a large Carnivoran.
  • Selkie, a mythological phenomenon where a seal is transformed into a human.
  • Wolf (Riding Hood's foe), a character from German folk stories, sometimes identified with werewolves.

References[]

  1. Amazing Stories, vol 57, no. 3, September 1983, pgs. 119-120.
  2. Ibid., pg. 120-123.
  3. The House of Daniel, loc. loc. 2398-2409.
  4. Some Time Later: Fantastic Voyages Through Alternate Worlds, pgs. 169, TPB.
  5. Ibid., pgs. 175-176.
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