Werewolves

Background Information: As popularly known, a werewolf is a person who is transformed, voluntarily or involuntarily, into a wolf under the influence of full moon. The word werewolf is a contraction of the old-Saxon word wer (which means "man") and wolf--werwolf, manwolf. Another term lycanthrope, often used to describe werewolves, however, refers to someone who suffers from a mental disease of fantasizing being a wolf. This particular mental disorder is termed lycanthropy.

So, what is werewolf or lycanthropy? Is it a fact based on concrete evidences? Is it a myth? Is it a exaggeration of some other things? How can we answer so many questions? Will the answers always be conclusive? Nevertheless, there are many ways to answer all these questions. Fair amount or relation and contradiction, however, exist between them. Can werewolf phenomenon be judged as some inexplicable happenings of the past. Apparently, there are some incidents that are beyond our knowledge and comprehension and we cannot explain them with conventional knowledge. These inexplicable happenings have haunted mankind throughout time and many still survive through the ages as folklore or myth. Is the werewolf phenomenon such a myth?

Nonetheless, the werewolf phenomenon has not perished yet; recent werewolf sightings still occur. There are as many bizarre stories of werewolves as there are cases when lycanthropes have recovered after thorough treatment. Can werewolf be explained on scientific basis? May be or may be not; the answer depends on how you decipher your accumulated information on werewolves. Though not conclusive, this web site tries to explain werewolf phenomenon from scientific viewpoints. Firstly, the origin of the werewolf legend is discussed from both mythological and anthropological viewpoint. Secondly, a portrait and the transformation process and a typical ritual of werewolves are described. Then some recorded French werewolf trials are mention.

Origin of the Werewolf Legend: Werewolf legend originated from the countryside around German town Colongne and Bedburg in 1591. At that time Europe was under the dark shadow of ignorance and superstitions. Towns were underdeveloped and people lived near woods. The fear of wolves was like a nightmare. Their attacks were so frequent that people even feared to travel from one place to another. Every morning, countryside people would find half-eaten human limbs on their fields. They tried their best to kill those bloodthirsty creatures. But one day the inhabitants of the German town Colongne and Bedburg made a horrible discovery that altered the history of wolf killing...

I have investigated a veritable plethora of strange phenomena in my time as a researcher of the paranormal, but certainly one of the weirdest things to cross my path was the British werewolf. From the darkest corners of jolly old England, Scotland, and Wales come numerous reports of encounters with large, wolf-like man-beasts that prowl the countryside by both day and night.The British researcher and author Andy Roberts uncovered details of a strange creature that was seen in the vicinity of Flixton in the north of England in a.d. 940. The beast, said Roberts, appeared to have been a combination of a large black dog, a phantom felid, and a werewolf.It was popularly described by the terrifiedvillage folk as possessing abnormally large eyes that glowed in the dark, a long tail, and a terrible stench.

The creature also attacked and mutilated livestock, dogs, and even people. Not only that; rumors circulated that the beast was under the control of a local magician, who was manipulating it for distinctly evil purposes. The fog of time, however, has effectively ensured that the full facts pertaining to the Flixton werewolf will remain a mystery. Equally strange is an account from writer Tom Slemen that concerns a werewolf legend that centered on the North Wales town of Denbigh. Supposedly, in the latter part of the 18th century, such a creature stalked the area, killing both man and beast over a period of several years. Interestingly, the town of Denbigh owes its name to another strange creature: a fire-breathing dragon.This beast, according to legend, haunted the vicinity and scared away the entire populace, until it was slain by the 12-fingered “Sir John of the Thumbs” of the Salisbury family who “hewed off its head.” All the people thereupon cried “Dim Bych,” or “no more dragon,” which happens to be the derivation of the name of the town.

Beast in the Window From noted author Graham McEwan comes the highly intriguing and decades-old account of Andrew Warren, the grandson of an elder Kirk from the Hebrides Islands, Scotland. According to McEwan, Warren’s grandfather came home one morning in a very excited state and told the boy to come and look at some curious remains he had found in a dried-up tarn. It looked to be a human skeleton with a wolf-like head, andth......

The following is a statement and early analysis by Linda Godfrey, researcher and author of ‘Weird Michigan’: Over the 15+ years I’ve been investigating unknown upright canids, I’ve seen too many obviously faked photos and unverifiable blob-dogs to count. There is a new film on the block, however, that is the best and most frightening I’ve seen so far. It is still in the investigative stages and could still be proven a hoax, but if so it’s an extremely sophisticated and well done hoax. It was shown to Steve Cook, Michigan deejay who has popularized Michigan’s upright canid known as the Michigan Dogman, several months ago. He obtained the rights to the film which was taken with an old 8 mm camera and was allegedly found in an estate sale in the lower Peninsula. Steve has been busy consulting with film and imaging experts, but has posted it now on his Web site. I was fortunate enough to have had a sneak preview at the stills of the film, and while I thought the stills would probably disprove it, I found them more convincing and scary than the film itself.

The film is grainy, blurry, shows a lot of nondescript landscape and begins with some ordinary shots of a lady chopping a log. It appears that the filmmaker saw the creature while riding in a truck, jumped out of the truck to shoot it, then was surprised by a side ambush and ended up with a view of the creature’s fangs and gaping maw — perhaps after the camera was tossed to the ground in haste as the filmer hustled back into the truck. (I think the mouth shots are the least convincing part of the film.) But the first stills that show the creature clearly indicate a canine-headed animal moving through knee-high undergrowth. It has pointed ears on top of its head and shoulders, which ordinary dogs (or bears or other quadrupeds) do not have. It turns and moves to one side, charging through the brush in a way that would be very difficult for a human to do. At one point it appears there is a long tail. There is sure to be a lot of argument on this, and I commend Steve for taking the trouble to acquire it, bring it forward, and to warn everyone that it is still under investigation. It’s always better to err on the side of caution with these things, and it may turn out to be some known creature or even a different unknown creature than the Dogman. (It reminds me of the smaller animal known as the Devil Monkey as well)...

"Clap for the Wolfman," was a song some people might remember from the '70s. It was sort of a self-promotion for the famous bearded deejay, "Wolfman Jack." But people around parts of rural Elkhorn are clapping for what they say looks like a real wolfman-one that doesn't play records.The rumors floated around town for two years or so before I heard them. A wolfish-looking creature that ran on two legs and had been seen around the Bray Road area, stealing chickens, eating roadkills and scaring the daylights out of locals who (sometimes literally) ran into it.Although the stories seemed like grist for the National Enquirer's mill, theywere consistent enough to be intriguing.

A certain number of people, good honest working folk, had seen something-something unusual. Something scary. Something hairy that relished pavement patty dinners! The logical place to start was the county humane officer, Jon Fredrickson. It turned out Fredrickson has a manila folder in his files marked "Werewolf," filled with note cards detailing six or seven such "sightings." One referred to unusual tracks, another to a hairy pointy-eared creature seen chasing down a deer on two legs. Another described a Burger King employee who saw a man-like creature running in mid-November. The employee allegedly said he could not believe what a fast and powerful runner the thing was. Fredrickson's best guess is that the mysterious beast is actually a coyoteor even a wolf, both of which have been unofficially reported in the area. There are at least two people, however who would disagree with Fredrickson. I found out about them through the grapevine, and both agreed to tell me their versions of what they saw. I'll call them Barbara and Pat, since both were reluctant to go public with their real names for understandable reasons. (It seems society is less than kind to people who claim to have seen werewolves.) The two women are unrelated, but both saw the creature on different parts of Bray Road in the evening hours. Barbara is a working mother, age 26, and Pat is a high school student. And both are entirely serious about what they saw. Here are their stories in their own words:

Barbara: I was drivinghome ......