April 27, 2017
Posted by in Creatures and Monsters, Mythology and Mysteries, Paranormal | 4.06am
Commonly associated with the full moon and silver bullets, lycanthropes or werewolves are said to be humans with a mysterious ability to morph into actual wolves or wolf-like creatures during the full moon. Whilst the former is easy to envisage, there is no conclusive consensus on the appearance of the latter, a mutated wolf in partial humanoid form. Nonetheless, it is widely believed that common features of the werewolf include:
- Both eyebrows meeting at the bridge of the nose
- Curved fingernails
- Large and sharp teeth
- Low set ears
- Frightening howls
- Super-human strength and senses
With such frightening features, it is not hard to understand why werewolves are viewed as monstrous adversaries and why many remain fearful of them.
Types of Werewolves
According to lycanthropy experts and enthusiasts, some werewolves survive as loners while others move in packs. This is dependent on the circumstances in which one ‘becomes’ a werewolf. Regardless of this however, all werewolves will fall into one of the following categories.
Alpha Wolves
Alpha wolves are warriors and acknowledged to be an elite breed. The most important and powerful type of werewolf there is, Alpha wolves are said to have full control over their shape-changing abilities, possess supernatural strength and even psychic abilities. In a pack, the Alpha Wolf is the strongest and fittest and would be the pack leader or first in command.
The leading theory on how one becomes an Alpha Wolf is that one has to be born into it. This is only discovered at the time of puberty. There are also historical notations on the existence of a special ointment or charm which when applied, enables one to be transformed into an Alpha Wolf. One example of this can be found in German folklore, which tells of a group of people who could transform into werewolves by wearing special enchanted belts made of wolf skin. They gained superpowers and roamed around at night as wolves, attacking their enemies or their enemies’ cattle.
Another way to become an Alpha Wolf is to make a pact with the devil. This extreme method is usually only used by those seeking revenge for the unjust death of their loved ones. Naturally, there is a heavy price attached to making such a pact.
Beta Wolves
While the Beta Wolf of the pack is the Alpha’s second-in-command, most Betas are turned into werewolves involuntarily – through a curse or a bite from an Alpha Wolf. Of course, some have sought out an Alpha in order to be transformed but such cases are rare considering it is much more attractive to opt for the Alpha Wolf route.
According to legend, it is possible to reverse the effects of an Alpha Wolf bite if the victim can successfully resist the maddening and almost uncontrollable urge to taste human blood and instead, kill the Alpha Wolf who bit him in the first place. However, all bets are off should the victim succumb to the need to taste blood.
Beta wolves are not in control of their shape-shifting abilities and the form they take is dictated by the phases of the moon. Held in high regard by the pack, the Beta is expected to step up should anything happen to the Alpha Wolf that renders him unfit to lead.
Others
In addition to Alphas and Betas, there are also Deltas, Elders, Den Mothers, Pups and Omegas in a werewolf pack.
- Delta wolves are ranked third in the pack’s hierarchy of command and serve as second in command to the Betas.
- Elders are the source of wisdom for the pack. Although these older werewolves are usually not much help in the physical sense, they are highly respected and their counsel is sought for various matters including advice on being a werewolf, changing others into werewolves, and warfare related concerns.
- The Den Mother is responsible for the Pups and primarily stays in the den to attend to the needs of the younglings.
- Pups are werewolves that are just starting to grow up. They are too young to have any real role or rank within the pack.
- Omegas are the weakest of the pack and are usually picked on by other pack members. Thus, Omegas tend not to be highly involved in the pack and often keep to themselves. Some even opt to live at the fringes but not too far away as they need to avail themselves of the protection of the pack.
Origins
One of the earliest records of lycanthropy is found in the Epic of Gilgamesh. In this account, the first werewolf was actually a suitor for the Goddess Ishtar. Having angered the Goddess, the suitor who was a shepherd was turned into a wolf by the Goddess, thus making him an enemy of his flock of sheep and turning his dogs against him. Thus, in a perverse twist of fate, he was torn into pieces by his own dogs.
Another story touted as the genesis of werewolves is that of the Arcadian King Lycaon who was turned into a wolf by Zeus, the King of the Greek Gods. According to Ovid’s The Metamorphoses, King Lycaon was punished for being audacious enough to not acknowledge Zeus, even going so far as to test Zeus’ divinity. Instead of recognising Zeus for who he was and worshipping him like most common folk, King Lycaon cut the throat of a prisoner, boiled and roasted his limbs, then served them to Zeus disguised as a regular meal. King Lycaon reasoned that if the person truly was Zeus, he would recognise the ruse right away. Unfortunately for King Lycaon, it was Zeus and an angry Zeus at that. Thus, King Lycaon was transformed into a wolf, went berserk and frenziedly delighted in slaughtering sheep in his new form.
Nature
Following the spread of Christianity in the medieval ages, werewolves were no longer viewed as helpless victims of pagan Gods but rather, were associated with evil and even thought to be the devil incarnate. Werewolves were thought to be cursed either through witchcraft or demonic influence including possession.
During that period, to say that fear of werewolves had reached hysterical heights would be an understatement. To illustrate the gravity of the situation, parents of babies born on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day had to prove that their new-borns were not cursed werewolves. Records show that the survival of the babies depended on it. It was thought that babies born on those days were blasphemous because they detracted from the nativity of Christ. In those days, if your actions opposed those of Jesus, you were automatically deemed to be in cahoots with Satan.
It was also not uncommon for villagers to devise their own litmus test to identify werewolves in their human form. Some of the more popular tests included cutting into the flesh of the person accused as a werewolf to reveal hair, examining and when necessary cutting the tongue to check for special bristles, piercing certain body parts with silver to see if the wounds would reveal burn marks and many other torturous and painful methods.
The widespread belief in werewolf curses can be attributed to its unfortunate link to witchcraft. This resulted in werewolves being persecuted with as much fervour as witches. Thus, quite a number of people suspected of being werewolves were put on trial just like witches and often tortured into confessing. The following recorded cases offer a glimpse into the notoriety of such trials.
The Werewolf Trials of Valais
The Valais witch and werewolf trials, which took place between 1428 and 1447 in what is now the Swiss canton of Valais, are widely believed to be the first major witch hunt in European history. According to records, it all started with a petition to the Duke of Savoy from delegates representing seven districts in Valais who advocated for anyone accused of witchcraft by at least three people to be officially tried in court.
The horrific highlight of these trials was the mass burning of approximately 100 suspected witches and lycanthropes. At the time, the French and Swiss courts made no distinction between werewolves and witches since both were believed to be the result of heresy and black magic. That, coupled with the very liberal application of torture by the courts contributed to high conviction rates and harsh death sentences including the infamous massacre by mass burning.
The Werewolf of Defiance, Ohio
Defiance, a small town on the western edge of Ohio, saw an influx of werewolf sightings in 1972. More notably, between July and August of that year, railroad workers and other citizens began reporting sightings of a “wolfman” on the Norfolk and Western tracks, not far from the town’s Fifth Street. Eyewitnesses consistently claimed that the huge monster would, between the hours of 1:30 AM and 4:30 AM, come out from its lair deep in the woods to attack people with a two-by-four plank.
The press had a field day with the idea of a werewolf clocking in at a certain time with a piece of lumber. They capitalised on the situation and stoked anxiety with sensational headlines. Despite ridicule, reports of werewolf sightings continued until the panic subsided later that year and Defiance went back to normal.
Austrian Werewolf Panic
Heavily influenced by the werewolf trials in Switzerland and France, similar trials also took place in southern Germany and Austria. However, these stretched on for far longer. In fact, the Austrians took things a step further by targeting and prosecuting “Wolfssegen” – wolf-charmers said to use black magic to manipulate wolves into becoming hunting animals or weapons.
The majority of Austrian witch and werewolf trials were conducted at Moosham Castle, which was built in the 13th Century by the Prince Bishop of Salzburg. The convictions, punishments and subsequent executions that took place within the walls of Moosham Castle between 1670 and 1690 gave it such notoriety that it was dubbed the ‘Witches Castle’. Since then, it is believed to be a haunted building and remains a fixture of the ghost tour circuit today.
Infamous Real Life Werewolves
There are people in various parts of the world who have been forever branded as lycanthropes. The following are but a few who have gone down in history as real life werewolves.
Peter Stubbe, the Werewolf of Bedburg
Peter Stubbe’s list of crimes included a series of murders and cannibalism over a 25-year period, including that of his own son. When questioned, Stubbe revealed that he had made a pact with the devil and was given a belt that enabled him to turn into a werewolf at will. He also confessed to the murders and cannibalism as well as the rape of and incest with his daughter.
As a strong deterrent, Stubbe’s execution on 31 October 1589 in Bedburg, Germany was an exceptionally gruesome affair. He was first lashed to a wheel and the flesh was torn from his body with red-hot pincers. His arms and legs were then broken prior to his head being chopped off and thereafter, his body was burned. It did not end there and Stubbe’s head was then placed on a wolf’s body and displayed to the public, serving as a warning to anyone else contemplating lycanthropy.
Gilles Garnier, the Werewolf of Dole
The 16th Century townsfolk of Dole first suspected Gilles Garnier of being a werewolf when a hunting party witnessed an animal attack on a child. Someone in the group realised that the beast had features that resembled Garnier’s. However, it wasn’t until the disappearance of another child within Garnier’s compound that he was arrested.
After 50 witnesses testified against him, he was put on the rack where he confessed to being a werewolf and also cannibalism. Following this, Garnier was promptly burned at the stake. Many believed that he was guilty of cannibalism but had doubts about his lycanthropy.
Demon Tailor, the Werewolf of Chalons
The werewolf of Chalons or Demon Tailor takes the cake as one of the most gruesome werewolves to have existed. It is said that his murderous deeds were so appalling that the court ordered all records of the hearing to be destroyed. Thus, his real identity remains lost in history.
In essence, he is believed to have lured young, innocent children of both sexes into his shop only to torture them alive. He would then slit their throats when he was done abusing them. After that, he would bizarrely powder and dress their bodies before butchering them as a butcher would cut his meat.
He also roamed the woods at night in werewolf form, pouncing on stray passers-by and tearing their throats to shreds. Barrels of bleached bones were found concealed in his cellar as well as other foul and hideous things.
He was burnt to death for his heinous crimes but according to eyewitness accounts, he died unrepentant and blasphemous.
Claudia Gaillard, the Werewolf of Burgundy
One of the conquests of the witch-hunter Henry Boguet, Claudia Gaillard was brought to trial when she was caught in the act of transforming into a werewolf. It is said that she was tortured and upon extraction of her confession, was burned to death at the stake.
Hans the Werewolf
Based on 17th Century Estonian records, an 18-year-old boy by the name of Hans was convicted of both lycanthropy and witchcraft and was put to death. Despite denying making a pact with the devil, he conceded that he had been a werewolf for two years after he was bitten by a man dressed in black who was, of course, a werewolf himself. The court didn’t want to take any chances and found Hans guilty of making a Satanic deal, which made him guilty of witchcraft as well.
Conclusion
Over time, especially after the emergence of the Age of Enlightenment, people generally began growing out of their superstitions and gravitated towards logical and scientific methods to explain the unexplained. Hence, while mass hysteria relating to werewolves has subsided considerably, it has not been totally eradicated.
Regardless of whether supernatural or scientific methods are applied to the werewolf phenomenon, debates, contradictions and uncertainty are still aplenty when it comes to determining the existence of lycanthropes. Only one thing is for sure – the werewolf phenomenon is not one that is likely to go away and even today, a fascination with it persists as is evident from the many werewolf sightings that continue to be reported.
Sources/References:
- http://www.werewolves.com/benandanti-werewolves/
- http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/werewolf.html#werewolfbelt
- http://www.werewolves.com/the-beta-werewolf/
- http://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780195397703/student/archives/ovid/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilles_Garnier
- http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/werewolf.html
- http://paranorm101.blogspot.my/2016/06/werewolf-of-defiance.html
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I love watching werewolf movies and many aspects of werewolves as stated in this article matches. Glad to have more in-depth information on them whether or not werewolves truly exist or not. Some mystical and paranormal stories may be myths and some may be true. The point is the universe is full of possibilities and we should keep an open mind. I think it’s more exciting to be living in a mystery world anyways.
I do believe in shapeshifters. I noticed that people usually use the words like folklore, mystical or mythical for paranormal phenomenon that cannot be proved easily. Just like UFOs and yetis. Just because we do not have solid proof that it exists, doesn’t mean they don’t. The thing about werewolves, being shapeshifters, it’s even harder to find proof as I think they might morph back into human form when they are dying.
An interesting read indeed. Thank you, Rinpoche.
Great research and article Cindy. Do not know much about the origins of werewolves and the background until I read this article. Before this I only know that it is a scary beings that attack and kill people, and appear when during full moon. I believe in werewolves existence but I think the nature of a cruel and scary being may have been exaggerated by some authority to create a stress situation for their own agenda.
Werewolf – A human that turns into a human-like wolf during a full moon, who stands on their two legs but looks and behaves as a wolf. The werewolf loses any remembrance of their human identity upon transformation, usually going on a deadly rampage.
Thanks for sharing this werewolf art with us!
I love Werewolves.
i really like to see a spell to be a werewolf
It’s very interesting.
A very informative article. Thank you
When I was a kid, I like to read the story of Werewolves , because it always help people during night time. When grown up, I found that most of the movie told you that Werewolf is evil. It ready confused me. I think the story those day I read, the author must be a person who love werewolves so much and have a kind heart. Anyway, if they did exist, I hope we can respect them as another being and not to kill them.
Thank you Cindy to contribute this werewolf article. Is interesting to reading their origin and get to know how they appear in this world epecially in south east asia countries we not even have wolf.
Whatever werewolf is half mankind and animal, their existing in this world are teling people they have right to stay among us. Do mankind except werewolf existing and not hunting them live at the same world?
Very interesting article. Usually we see werewolves from movies, and usually they make it werewolves exist together with vampires. We don’t really know werewolves and vampire exist or not, but doesn’t matter whether it exist or not, using cruel way in the trials is really a shocking method. They tortured and burned those suspected to be werewolves and witches. What if they killed innocent lives? Even if they really killed the real werewolves and witches, what did they do to deserve punishment like that?
It is indeed really sad to see, if there was really werewolves, are they considered in animal realm or human realm? And what karma brought them to this half human half animal realm?
Werewolf like other special beings on Earth such as Vampire, Bigfoot, Troll, spirit, and more. Not many of us can see them or contact with them physically, but this doesn’t mean that they are not exist.
Respect them are necessary and crucial, because we will never know who are we messing with and we will definitely want to deal with the consequences.
I don’t know werewolves exist or did exist but there must be a reason why there are such details about werewolves such as alpha and omega exist or the people mentioned in the article being lycanthropes.
It is indeed sad that there was such a hystery that parents had to “proof” that their babies born on a certain day, are not cursed Werewolves. I hope nobody has to suffer the fate of being such a scary and dangerous being.
My first hear about werewolf is from the movie when I was very young, at late 80’s or early 90’s, can’t remember exactly, during that time, movies like werewolf, jaws, Frankenstein, etc are very popular, and people do talk about it everywhere.
This article has been very well researched, a lot of details, with all these information, I asked myself, could werewolf be fake? Because if it is fake, there would not be so much information and details, but if it is real, are they still alive now?
I’m always interested in all these mysterious creatures, where do they live, how’s their lifestyles, what do they eat, do they talk? etc… Werewolf are always very wild and dangerous, but sometimes I do think that it will definitely be very excited if I could meet them 1 day…. erm… probably the tame ones.. Lol
Werewolf?….. Ermmmmm ….. If Werewolf existed, i think Vampire existed too, At my level i i don’t have abilities to see it ” both “, I’ll just watched it in movies only. – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlsZmzQR8OM
You’re right Eric. If werewolves exist, why not other supernatural beings like vampires and bigfoot? While most may not believe, as cliche as it sounds, we are not alone. Within the realm where we currently abide in now, there are many other dimensions that are not visible to most of the people. Therefore there are so many different celebrations and festivals held at various timings of the year, because some believe that it is during that particular hour or day, the portal opens up and these supernatural beings pass through. Pretty neat!
For me the existence of werewolves are almost comparable to the existence of dragon. When in most customs and cultures in this world, we do notice in some ways they have their own versions of dragons while werewolves to my best knowledge only exists in western cultured countries. The next thing is that, if dragons and werewolves do exists, then where are they now actually. To date there are no fossils or specimens to show they did exist but where did all the idea of dragons (and werewolf) came from?? Someone’s wildest imagination? Marco Polo popularized it? Only GOD knows. Interesting article anyways.
Interesting article. I never thought werewolves do have categories from alpha to omega, like from higher ranking the most profound powerful to the lowest. What caught much attention to spectators was the transformation of werewolves in movies. Whether the existing werewolves true or not, it’s on evidence and clear proof.
“When there is smoke, there is fire”. With such precise records, I do doubt that werewolves did exist in the middle ages.
The point to consider is where have they gone? Did modernisation make them extinct? As was the extinction of many species of our animal kingdom.
As we evolve with better education and knowledge, may be the reason why werewolves do not exist anymore as our belief system changed.
Whatever the reason, I feel blessed that till date, I have not met with one and hope that I never will. Scary!!!!!!!
Always wonder if it’s real or just a myth. Let say if it’s real, isn’t that is sad for one to be in such form even though you may have a great super power but to be in such form and need to kill to fulfill the thirst of blood….. going through such life is a suffering already. Whether one is in control of changing shape but it seems like changes one perspective of life already.
The stories of manwolf have been told, read and movies made from this legend. Movies like An American Werewolf in London, The Howling, Wolf, The Wolfman. It’s quite neat to see the transformation of man to beast in The Howling. Movies like Underworld and Twilight do have lycans even though they are stories based on vampirism.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this article about Werewolves. I’m not a fan of Werewolves though but it is interesting to know that there are so many types of Werewolves. Does it really exist in real life? It must be very scary to see it with our very own eyes when the Werewolf is transforming from human to Werewolf. Does it only exist in European countries? Are they only found in the deep forest?
With folded palms,
Vivian
I have always thought if werewolves are myth. That they exist only in books and movies. And now with this post, maybe they do, somewhere. And of course, not a sight I would like to encounter, as they are often depicted as violent and gruesome.
But the painful part to read is how the witches and them were tortured, forced to admit and killed brutally. The rules made by the church then was really sadistic. Instead of torturing them, why not just find a more humane way to find out whether they are what they were claimed to be. People are so afraid of what they cannot understand. Instead of finding out more of the situation and learning, they just eliminate. Everything revolved around pain infliction. So pitiful the read what they went through.
Do werewolves really exist? Their origin as contained in the 2 stories of how angry gods or goddesses turned men into werewolves,make them sound more mythical than real. Nonetheless,in all the cases of “infamous real live werewolves”, they were all brutally put to death, after they confessed they were werewolves. Of course, even their admissions do not confirm that they were really werewolves.
Nevertheless, they have been well-studied. Hence their being categorised according to their shape shifting abilities. Their appearance is frightening, and their supposed urge to taste human blood plus their bloodcurling howls make them more monsters to be feared than beings to be pitied .
Like in all cases of such beings, with the advent of Christianity, werewolves have been dismissed as evil and somehow linked with witchcraft. Hence the witch-hunt and mass burning of so called witches and werewolves.
So is the Wolverine an alpha? LOL. By the way, I really enjoyed the latest installment of the X-Men series, Logan. Here the werewolf is the hero not the dreaded monster.
Thank you Cindy for sharing this werewolf article. Usually we only watch it from TV or movies, this article explains more clearly about the types of werewolf, the clans, and even the trial that they need to go through in the 13th and 14th century. I think, it could be possible that werewolves do live among us now. But what they used for the trial in the 13th century is very cruel. Which will not be accepted in most of the democracy countries nowadays. In the modern society nowadays, it doesn’t matter whether it is werewolves or not, using such cruel testing methods on a living beings will surely get a lot disagreement.
Besides werewolves, are there stories of humans changing into other types of animals? In Malaysia, there are stories of the “harimau jadian” or weretiger. It would be interesting to compare werewolves and weretigers.
As with anything that is n the fringe of imagination, fear kicks in very hard. We fear what we do not know or do not understand properly. In all the movies of werewolves, it is always the one one who learns more and thoroughly to understand the nature of the werewolf that is able to finally bring it down.
Just as in our practice, we have to read to learn and understand, then only we cna have a clear grasp and stand firm. As the Buddha taught, there is only truth, universal truth and no right or wrong. It is our perspective that shifts and changes.
But, all said and one, it is interesting to learn of the ins and outs of lycanthropes.
A very interesting read. Fuel my previous passion of the unknown, unseen, and not-norm phenomenon.
Been very keen on vampires, ET and werewolves since young.
I am glad we are in a more sane world, with proper logics and discussions on such topics compared to the medieval times or the 15th century. The executions and persecutions are so brutal and without proof.
As with the Bigfoot, I believe the werewolves may be hiding amongst us for fear of being dissected. I do believe they may be non-killing werewolves out there, just like humans.. there are the good.. and the nasty.
Thank you.
Interesting info and article about werewolves. I never knew about its origins and the various wolves existence until I read this. I have thus far know about werewolves only from the movies and the famous twilight show. But one thing I noticed from the articles is the gruesome manner in killing the person (or suspected werewolves). Some were cursed to be a werewolves. There just so much anger, violence and killing in the whole process, which probably the reason why werewolves are known to kill and hurt human and other animals.
Anyway, whether we believe the existence of werewolf is true or not, I believe that there are other forms of beings in world. And we should not handle or deal with other beings with violence and anger.
Werewolf is often depicted as fearsome and evil entity, there are lots of tales and legend, and hollywood had made numerous movies based on the werewolf. Just like Bigfoot, mermaid, the dragons etc, these are mystical creatures. Perhaps all of these creatures possess supernatural power to protect themselves from the human sight and harm. There are other realms out there beside what human eyes can perceive, and i strongly believe in this
We are no strangers to the creatures called Werewolves. They are often depicted as the Jekyll-and-Hyde-like monsters in movies who are unable to control their animal instincts when they shift from human form to a wolf-like creature, usually during the full moon. Together with the Vampires who can transform into bats, are my childhood imagery villains, who triggered my curiosity on mythical creatures during younger days. They still do, lol.
It is gruesome to learn that real life werewolves are actually brutal even when they are in human forms. It is a far depict from the movies and fictions, where they are civil and level headed when in human form. I hope one day science or technology can provide more proves the existence of werewolves, and debunk the reason of this mystical shapeshifter.
Werewolves are known to be mythical creatures found in fiction instead of lurking in the dark woods,In various parts of the world there were few cases who have gone down in history as real life werewolves Interesting to read it from these post..How far it was true or just legends.,no one really know . Many myths and legends surrounding werewolves .To become a werewolf, it is necessary to be bitten by a werewolf in their form at the time of the full moon. Thats what all of us knew from the movies and from fiction told. Reports of werewolf sightings continued even till this century but mostly in between 1428 and 1447 .The most recent sighting of werewolf sightings in 1972. was in Ohio .but eventually subsided .
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing these interesting article which i do enjoyed reading it,