If the legends are to be believed, lycanthropy has been with us since King Lycaon was transformed into a wolf, in retribution for serving human flesh to Zeus during a dinner party in ancient Greece. Ever since, the werewolf has followed the human race through whispered tales and popular myth, stalking towns and villages from the Caucasus to Colorado. The popularity and seeming irrationality of these stories has been a traditional target for debunkers of the supernatural. Rationalisations of the werewolf myth have stretched from theories of rabies infection to ergot poisoning. More difficult to dispel has been the delusional convictions ofpeople with clinical lycanthropy.
Often submerged in intense psychosis, affected individuals report the feeling of transformation into various forms of animal, some experienced as so unusual, the animal has yet to be identified. The werewolf, despite having lost some of its potency through its appearance in the unintentionally camp horror movies of the seventies and eighties, seems to retain much of its menace which has been the bane of rural communities for generations. The mythical affliction supposedly at the root of the human-animal transformation is lycanthropy, a supernatural condition variously attributed to bites from a werewolf encounter, drinking water from one of its footprints or perhaps any number of localised and idiosyncratic cultural transgressions. As amedical syndrome, it remains much less of a legend than its cultural counterpart. Although a million miles from the 'silver-bullet and wolfsbane' clichés of the movies, it remains focused on the human-to-animal transformation experience. Unsurprisingly it is linked to the altered states of mind that accompany psychosis (the reality-bending mental state that typically involves delusions and hallucinations) with the transformation only seeming to happen in the mind and behaviour of the affected person.
Anthony North: A werewolf is said to be a person who, at times, turns into a wolf-like beast. Often occurring during the full moon, the term "lunacy" is closely associated with the state. But is there a reality to the werewolf? We actually know a great deal about them. This is because there have been many trials of werewolves in the past, usually executed for attacks on young children or lonely travelers in the forests. Misidentification is an obvious possibility here.: Wolves used to roam our forests, and it would be easy, in superstitious times, to come to the conclusion that real wolf attacks were carried out by some person, particularly if he was socially excluded. There is also acultural inheritance to the werewolf.
From prehistoric cave art we know of the chimera -a half man, half beast image. The shaman was thought to go on quests in the spirit world as an animal-form, and various hunting cults are thought to have dressed as the animal they hunted. The witch"s familiar is an obvious extension of this. But there are other possibilities. : I find it interesting that most executed "werewolves" were loners, poor, and on the fringes of society. Indeed, their psychology is very similar to what we would call a serial killer today. Another important theme of werewolfery is the inclusion of a salve or potion taken, usually given to the "werewolf" by a strange black horseman. If we take away the "culture" of such episodes, do we see signs of a drug user and his pusher? Thewerewolf suggests, to me, crime.: Are we simply dealing with criminal mentalities that are obvious today, but possibly having a deep influence in our historical past? But if so, why invent such "supernatural" tales around them? Perhaps the answer is that in a predominantly Christian society it was not believed that the human soul could be evil and depraved. The authorities simply could not accept such behaviour from a human being. Hence, it had to be the beast that did such things. Of course, this isn"t the whole story.
It's not easy being a preteen "wolf boy" — but scientists at Columbia University are confident they've finally found the silver bullet that can cure one. Pruthviraj Patil, 11, suffers from a rare genetic disorder known as hypertrichosis— or "werewolf syndrome" — which causes a thick coat of hair to grow over every inch of his body except his palms and feet.An episode of the TLC series "My Shocking Story" chronicled the efforts of a group of Columbia scientists, including dermatologist Angela Christiano, to develop a cure for Pruthviraj's disorder, which is estimated to afflict fewer than 50 people on the planet.Christiano and her colleagues at Columbia are using injections of testosterone to stem the growth of hair.
Ironically,
the breakthrough stems from Christiano's research intobaldness.
A
dermatologist and geneticist, she's a pioneer in the field who actually
discovered a gene associated with hair loss.Pruthviraj
has just started the promising treatment, and it's too early to tell
its long-term effects, but the doctors are hopeful it will do the trick.
In a recent report from Brazil a woman claims to have been attacked by a 'werewolf' which scratched her arms and face. This is one of a number of such reports in recent years involving 'werewolf'-like creatures in the region."[Translated]According to the victim’s account, the creature looked like a big dog.
Police is looking for a suspect that may have used a costume to attack the girl. The inhabitants of São Sepé, Rio Grande do Sul, [Brazil] have one more reason to fear Friday the 13th. Besides the bad luck and the strange happenings during the day, a ‘werewolf’ is supposedly at large. One of the possible victims, a 20-year-old, recorded hercomplaint in the police."
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If the legends are to be believed, lycanthropy has been with us since King Lycaon was transformed into a wolf, in retribution for serving human flesh to Zeus during a dinner party in ancient Greece. Ever since, the werewolf has followed the human race through whispered tales and popular myth, stalking towns and villages from the Caucasus to Colorado. The popularity and seeming irrationality of these stories has been a traditional target for debunkers of the supernatural. Rationalisations of the werewolf myth have stretched from theories of rabies infection to ergot poisoning. More difficult to dispel has been the delusional convictions ofpeople with clinical lycanthropy. 
View: Full Article | Source: kuro5hin.org 
Anthony North: A werewolf is said to be a person who, at times, turns into a wolf-like beast. Often occurring during the full moon, the term "lunacy" is closely associated with the state. But is there a reality to the werewolf? We actually know a great deal about them. This is because there have been many trials of werewolves in the past, usually executed for attacks on young children or lonely travelers in the forests. Misidentification is an obvious possibility here.: Wolves used to roam our forests, and it would be easy, in superstitious times, to come to the conclusion that real wolf attacks were carried out by some person, particularly if he was socially excluded. There is also acultural inheritance to the werewolf. 
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