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By Kristi O’Toole

‘Jesse’s human screams silenced as his vocal cords ripped apart making way for a haunting howl. As his skin began to tear and bleed his body’s natural endorphins failed to curb any of his agony; howling out as his body began to spasm the last thing he would see as a human was the coarse dark hair emerging from his bleeding wounds.’ ~Winds of Change by Kristi O’Toole

A werewolf (from Old English: wer, “man”), man-wolf, or lycanthrope is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse or affliction (e.g. via a bite or scratch from another werewolf).

Among all the shape shifting mythological creatures, werewolf is perhaps the best known. Werewolf legends are predominantly found in folklore prevalent across Europe. Thanks to Vlad Tepes III, the myth of Dracula has a source point, though far from validated. But no one can say with certainty at what point in history the myth of the werewolf originated. Historians typically point out that Greek mythology is the source of this myth. But Montague Summers, in his 1928’s widely acclaimed book The Werewolf, mentioned that the Greeks might have adopted the idea of lycanthropy from the ancient Phoenician cult. The cult originated in 1200 BC and had existed until 539 BC. With Summer’s claim and the cult’s age, taken together, we find the origin of the werewolf myth traces back a few thousand years. Origins aside, what’s more unique is how every culture has its own take on the werewolf legend. This mythological creature truly is an international historical mystery.

No matter where the legend derives from there is no doubt that the belief in werewolves spans worldwide. I’ve perused the internet and found these interesting tales of lycanthropy. Please settle in and enjoy.

Norway and Iceland

Norse mythology is comprised of sagas. When it comes to werewolfism, the Volsunga Saga from the thirteenth century particularly stands apart. This is because werewolf related stories have a prominent presence in this saga.

The most famous werewolf story in the Volsunga Saga is the story of father and son, Sigmund and Sinfjotli. While wandering in the woods, Sigmund and Sinfjotli come upon a hut where they find two spellbound wolf pelts. If put on, either pelt will turn a man into a wolf and will possess the power, cunningness, and valor of wolves. But the pelt can only be taken off every tenth day. Having put on the pelts, Sigmund and Sinfjotli turn into wolves and begin wandering about the forest together. Before they split up, they agreed to howl to each other if either of them encounters seven men to fight at a time. Sinfjotli, the son, breaches the agreement and kills 11 men at one time. Angered, Sigmund fatally injures his son. But then a raven, the messenger of Odin, brings a healing leaf to place on Sinfjotli’s wound. After Sinfjotli is healed from his wound, he and his father take off the enchanted wolf pelts as the tenth day arrived. They burned the pelts to ashes, and freed themselves from the curse of lycanthropy.

South America

The Luison, or el lobizon, or lobizon, is the South American werewolf. Its description has already been covered in another article on Listverse. Before we begin digging into its origin, let’s talk a little more about the luison. The myth of the luison mainly prevails in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. It was believed that the seventh son of a family of all boys would turn into a lusion on the night of a full moon, especially if it fell on a Friday. The belief was especially strong in Argentina. So strong was this belief that the Argentine President, Juan Domingo Perón, decreed that all seventh sons of a family must be baptized.

The origin of the lusion legend is found in Guarani mythology. The Guarani are the indigenous people of Paraguay whose mythology stated there were seven monsters. Of the seven monsters, the last one, known as lusion, was horrendously deformed in appearance (but had no apparent resemblance with a wolf), and came to known as the God of Death.

When the Europeans colonized South America, luison’s association with death began to wane over time. The lusion myth eventually mixed with European werewolf legends. Now the luison is seen as a creature that is half man and half wolf.

Mexico

Werewolves in Mexico are known as the Nahual or Nagaul. Both are pronounced Na’wal. Even though Mexico was a colony of Spain for 300 years, the werewolf legend prevalent in the country did not commingle with the European werewolf legend. The legend remains in its original form to this day. That being said, the belief in Mexican werewolfism or nagualism varies from region to region. It is believed by some Mesoamerican Indians that the nahual is a guardian spirit that resides in an animal, such as deer, jaguar, eagle, bobcat, mountain lion, and so on. In other regions, and in a more ominous version of nagualism, it is believed that powerful men can transform themselves into an animal to cause harm. A relationship exists between the latter belief and the word ‘nahual’, which originated from the word ‘nahualli’, meaning “disguise”. This refers to the sorcery by which magicians change their physical forms into that of an animal.

North America

Perhaps no other country has played more of an influential role than the United States in creating and propagating the werewolf phenomena, especially in the 80’s, and among the horror aficionados. Back then the werewolf phenomenon was an element of the pop culture (and it’s still now). Thanks to makeup artist Rick Baker, who provided the most realistic werewolf transformations ever to be depicted on screen. Films like The Howling, An American Werewolf in London, and Michael Jackson’s Thriller are among his seminal works.
But when it comes to real world werewolf legends in America, they are mainly borrowed from the European settlers. When these pioneers began settling North America (known then as the New World), they noticed a considerable population of wolves – real wolves. When their legends mixed with those of Native American werewolf legends – already in existence before the European arrivals, America created the werewolf myth we see today.

Germany

In the Grimms’ Fairy Tales, it is not the Little Red Cap (also known as the Little Red Riding Hood) that includes werewolfism. Rather, it’s another tale.

Here’s the story:

A soldier stated this story happened to his own grandfather. His grandfather went into the forest to cut wood with a friend and a third man. There was something strange about the third man, but the grandfather couldn’t tell for sure what it was. After they had done their job and had become tired, the third man recommended they take a nap. Accordingly, the three men lay down on the ground and closed their eyes.

The grandfather pretended to fall asleep, but actually kept his eyes slightly open. He was keen to find the reason behind the third man’s strange behavior. The third man looked to see if the other two men were sleeping. When he was certain they were, he put on (or took off) a belt and became a wolf. But he didn’t resemble a natural wolf. He looked rather different. He quickly ran off to a nearby field where he ambushed a pregnant female horse and devoured it completely. The man came back, took off (or put on) his belt, and lay down again in human form near the others. While returning to town, the third man complained about having a stomach ache. As they entered the town gate, the grandfather whispered into the man’s ear, “When one devours a whole horse…” But before he could finish his sentence, the third man interrupted, “Had you said this to me in the forest, you would not be able to say this now.”

The story, published in the second half of the nineteenth century, is one of the oldest and most popular werewolf legends in Germany. If you are caught in the ‘put on/took off’ befuddlement, then let me tell you that the confusion arose because the story is a mixture of more than two different accounts. The presence of werewolfism in some stories from the Grimms’ Fairy Tales is not solely responsible for Germanic lycanthropy. Because fairy tales aside, a documented gruesome execution of a ‘real life werewolf’ in Germany has existed for 425 years.

Peter Stumpp (or Stubbe Peeter), also known as ‘The Werewolf of Bedburg’, was executed on October 31, 1589 (Halloween?), on the charge of witchery, rape, murder, cannibalism, incest, and livestock mutilation. After he had been apprehended, and fearing torturous execution, he confessed to all the crimes he had committed over a span of 25 years. He further confessed that Satan had given him a ‘girdle’ which could transform him into a wolf. When asked about the girdle, he said that he had hidden it in a valley before he was apprehended. When the magistrate sent people to retrieve it, they returned empty handed and reported that no girdle could be found.

The gruesome execution of Peter Stumpp is another story. You can read it at the cited link.

I’ve always had a fascination with the unknown and the what if’s. Why is what we see in front of our faces all there is to this life? I firmly believe that there is more out there, much more.

Next time I’ll discuss the Cow Man, don’t laugh… you won’t be when you learn about him.

Until then leave your night light burning.

When Kristi isn’t writing for NewzBreaker, she writes supernatural suspense novels having three currently published. If you would like to check out any of her books they can be found online and at other major retailers like Books a Million and Amazon. Never one to rest, she also paints/designs shoes and items for the home. Check out her eBay store, Watered Down Vodka and her FB page.

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