Howl Under the Silver Moonlight

There are so many stories and back and froths on which truths are the true facts about werewolves. I think that my topic is one I have never really stopped to consider. The idea that humans domestic dogs and some breeds are very close to the wolf bloodline. Meaning that when it comes to the dogs being animals that we can control, there is no need to stress because we know that if there are issues then the situations can be handled. However, as soon as we think about a person transitioning from being a human to being part wolf the standards of acceptance suddenly change. The fears must come from the lack of control we now have over how to handle situations. This then made me dig in deeper into the historical moments I previously researched about in the 1500’s. In one of the articles I found, they stated that dogs were suspected of being involved with witchcraft and that is the reasoning behind their abilities to “understand” humans and their commands.  For example, the men I brought up

W e can’t control the urge to turn, soon the moon will shine full E very bit closer to a full transition, memories become dull R emembering the rights and wrong go out the door E ven a stake and flame no longer bring fear, poor judgement is near W e will do what needs to be done, and blame the magic skin O ne may think they can run and hide but think of your next of kin L eaving no flesh behind is what’s in mind, not a trace of what we are V anishing into the night, to begin again the next cycle E ventually our kind will rule mankind S tep aside, for the end is near (I have set this timeline in the time of the 1500's)

Please be advised, visual gory information below - read at your own discretion.  4 - Frenchmen Pierre & 5 - Michel Verdan Frenchmen Pierre Burgot and Michel Verdan - Both of these men are some of the more well-known reallife cases of werewolves in the 1500's. They both  swore that they had an ointment that could turn them into werewolves. Under the impression that their impression was true, they tried to used these statements to justify there many murders of young children. After admitting to their wrongdoings they were both burned at the stake because that is how they assumed you'd kill werewolves in the 1500's.  3 - Giles Garnier Giles Garnier was known as one of the most vicious 'real' werewolves due to the fact that he was not only a serial killer, but also an cannibal. He was convicted of being a werewolf in France during the 16th century when he was caught at the scene of his murder while trying to claw at the children. The wounds made it near impossible t

The Folklore/Original Werewolf The European Folklore version of the werewolf was heavily influenced by the Catholic church.  The church played a much bigger role back in the 17 and 1800s when the werewolf first started taking off.  You can see the religious connections in how  Werewolfs were created.  The main way someone became a werewolf was when they made a pact with the devil, or if they performed a satanic ritual where they drank water out of the paw print of a wolf.  Another main point of the classic werewolf was in how it transformed. In Traditional Folklore, the werewolf chooses when it wants to transform from man to wolf.  This follows the religious creation themes that the werewolf has chosen this life.  That the Werewolf has chosen to be a harm to society.  Another major difference is that the werewolf is usually just depicted as a large wolf not a hybrid cross between man and wolf.   Also, the main way to cure someone from being  a werewolf is through an exorcism Societal m

The werewolf has had many different forms throughout history. This semester I watched: The wolf of Snow Hollow, Red riding hood, Ginger Snaps, and Werewolf: The Beast Among Us. There are so many werewolf films in today’s cinematic world. The werewolf is usually either a lower class citizen or a female. The werewolf was created during the middle ages. Werewolves can be killed by a silver bullet. The silver bullet is significant because it is how you can stop the werewolf. Werewolves take the form of the beast during the full moon. They are driven by an insatiable thirst for blood. They are similar to zombies in this way: they can also transform non werewolves into beasts through a bite. The wolf is a symbol that stands for repression. The change from man to beast signifies a denigration into a more animalistic phase of evolution. Wolves were seen as threats to the natural order. Like witchcraft, werewolf accusations were levied against the lowest members of society: the poor, the homel

 By Alexis Saucedo Werewolf Keywords and Vocabulary Below is presented a list of vocabulary or keywords our group encountered throughout our research that we thought would be supplemental to the readers as well as ourselves.  Lycanthropy: Name for the transformation from human form to wolf form.  Lycanthropy also refers to the altered behavior that comes with being a werewolf. Lykos: Greek word for wolf Anthropos: Greek word for man or human being Werewolf: human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf either purposefully or while under a curse or outside influence occurring in conjunction with a full moon. Transformation : the act of changing from human to werewolf form Silver Bullet: A well known method for injuring or even killing werewolves. The silver sulfide in these bullets would travel through the bloodstream blocking off blood vessels and poisoning cells Wolfsbane : an herb known as the common cure against werewolves Genetic Lycanthropy : A child born from two parents wh

Capstone Post  by Alexis Saucedo What it means to be a lycanthrope In order to understand the werewolf and to delve deeper into its origins, we must first understand its components and what it really means to be a werewolf. The term Lycanthropy derives from two greek words, lykos which means wolf and anthropos which means man. Werewolf Attack woodcut. By Lucas Cranach (1512) The "Laws" of a Werewolf A werewolf is an individual (a living person) who turns into a massive wolf, typically during the nighttime, and devours anything from animals, people, and even corpses. These werewolves will turn back into their human form once sunlight begins to arise. There are also different variations of werewolves; some can turn into their animal form at will and some are forced to turn during a full moon. We can see these variations of transformation in countless pop-culture pieces. We then ask: Well, how does one become a werewolf? There are two most common methods.  Method #1: Hereditar

  The idea of the werewolf is inherently queer, it’s inherently related to many different LGBTQ+ identities. The normal, socially acceptable human form of the werewolf? The closeted, everyday persona of a queer individual. The monstrous desires, portrayed as nothing but wrong and harmful? A view of view of queer love that has only recently begun to stop being the norm and only in certain parts of the world at that. There are still plenty of places where being outed as gay will get you killed as quickly as a werewolf found standing above a dead body.   And finally, the hiding of who, of what someone truly is, often out of fear of hatred or harm coming to them if they were revealed? So many queer people have periods of their lives where they have to hide their true selves for the exact same reasons. Media and media analysis regarding werewolves shows this and I want to focus and expand on the three previously mentioned aspects of queerness and lycanthropy that the two states of being sha

  The theatrical release poster of The Wolfman                   Since this movie made it to the number 1 spot on this blog’s list of Top 10 Werewolf Movies, it didn’t feel right to not have an in-depth look at the film included among the posts as well. So welcome to an in depth look at the werewolf characters of 1941’s The Wolfman and enjoy as we take a look at cinema’s first hit film revolving around a monster that is so well known today. And be warned readers, as the title says this will be spoiling parts of the movie and its ending.                   As the title of this post says, the werewolf characters in The Wolfman are surprisingly tragic. I was actually rather surprised by how tragic the werewolves in this movie were when I first watched it. Since this was the first big, successful werewolf movie, I initially expected it to portray it’s werewolves as simply very savage and beastlike. And while that is certainly how the wolf aspect of the werewolves is portrayed, the human a