The Epic History of Werewolves

Werewolf stories have existed for thousands of years. But silver bullets, the full moon, wolfsbane and the incurable curse of lycanthropy have more to do with Hollywood than with history.

In werewolf literature and folklore, there are all kinds of ways to become a werewolf, and the process isn't always involuntary or even permanent. In spite of these differences, most werewolves in movies and old stories have something in common: They are dangerous, cunning and even evil, so they inspire fear and dread.

So what is it about the idea of turning into a wild animal that's so intriguing and alarming? Why do these stories exist in so many cultures around the world? Do werewolf stories have any foundation in medical or scientific fact, or are they simply the product of imagination?

Bane of the Wolf

Characters in "The Wolf Man" break off wolfsbane stems and attach the flowers to their clothing. This isn't a very good idea. Wolfsbane is extremely poisonous — the word "wolfsbane" probably comes from people using it to poison wolves. Horticulturalists recommend wearing gloves while working with the plant and thoroughly washing your hands afterward.

It's hard to pin down where the werewolf legend originated. One of the oldest known written works on the planet, "The Epic of Gilgamesh," is a likely candidate. In it, Gilgamesh refuses to become the lover of the goddess Ishtar because of her cruel treatment of her previous suitors. Ishtar turned one man, a shepherd, into a wolf, making him the enemy of his friends, his sheep and even his own dogs [source: History].

Ishtar isn't the only ancient god to change a mortal into a wolf. In Ovid's "The Metamorphoses," a traveler visits the home of King Lycaon of Acadia. Lycaon suspects that the visitor is immortal, so he devises a test.

He serves human flesh to his guest, who unfortunately turns out to be the god Jupiter. Jupiter immediately recognizes the meat's origin, and he transforms Lycaon into a wolf. Lycaon's name and the word lycanthropy both come from the same root: the Greek word lykos, meaning wolf.

Both of these works are ancient, and they suggest that the idea of men turning into wolves has existed for about as long as human civilization has. On top of being old, the idea is widespread. For the most part, if wolves live or have lived in a particular region, that region's folktales include werewolves.

In regions where there are no wolves, stories describe people turning into other carnivorous animals. Stories from parts of Africa describe people turning into hyenas or crocodiles. In Chinese folktales, people become tigers, and in Japanese stories, they become foxes. Some Russian stories describe people who turn into bears.

In all of these stories, shape-shifters tend to inspire fear, which comes from three basic sources:

Being bitten isn't the only way to become a werewolf, though. Next, we'll take a look at other methods used to transform from a human being into a wolf.

A Lycanthropic Note

The word "lycanthropy" originally referred to a mental illness — a delusion of being a werewolf. Today, many people use "lycanthropy" to mean "the ability to transform into a wolf" and "lycanthrope" to mean "werewolf."

The earliest werewolf literature shows gods using lycanthropy as punishment. The idea of werewolves as punished men is also part of a number of folktales, although gods aren't always part of the story.

Frisky Werewolves

Sometimes, someone simply becomes a werewolf as a result of bad behavior — or someone whose behavior is bad turns out to be a werewolf. The transgression often has something to do with sexual excess, and the culprit is usually male.

In one tale, a woman suspects that her husband is a werewolf. One day, while he's at work in the fields, a wolf comes into her kitchen and attacks her. It bites her skirt or apron, which is usually red, and runs away. When the husband returns, his wife sees part of her skirt caught in his teeth. The double entendres abound.

Transformation as Punishment

When lycanthropy is a punishment, the transformation is sometimes permanent. The offender remains in werewolf form or transforms into a wolf at various times throughout his life. In other stories, the man becomes a wolf for a number of years, usually seven or nine. Then, he gets better.

But in some werewolf lore, becoming a werewolf isn't a punishment — it's a gift and a source of power. Stories describe articles of clothing like belts or straps that allow the wearer to become a wolf [source: Historic Mysteries].

Intentional Transformation

This has a number of perks, including a pantry perpetually stocked with chickens and wild game. In several German versions of this story, the belt comes from wolf skins. If someone destroys the belt, the ability to transform disappears, too.

In depictions like these, the transformation from human to wolf is voluntary — it doesn't depend on the phase of the moon. A man can change from human to wolf and back whenever he likes, as long as he has the right clothing.

Such stories are common in several northern European countries, including Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. In a 13th-century Icelandic work, the "Völsunga Saga," men wear wolf skins to fight as wolves. This may also tie into the Norse berserk warriors, whose name came from the bear skin they wore in battle.

In some folktales, becoming a werewolf requires removing clothes rather than putting them on. The werewolf can only regain his human form by getting back into his clothes — although the stories don't typically explain how he does this without human hands or thumbs.

In one tale, a man and his companions travel into the woods. The man removes his clothes, urinates in a circle around them — causing them to turn into stone — and runs off into the forest. Since his clothes are stone, no one can move them. The wolf has guaranteed that he can return to the human world.

Another fictional werewolf isn't so lucky. In a Breton lai called "Bisclavret," a werewolf's adulterous wife steals his clothes, keeping him from becoming human. The next time the werewolf sees her, he bites off her nose.

Many works of literature don't spend a lot of time describing what happens when a person becomes a wolf. One minute, a man is human. The next minute, he isn't. Even in movies like "The Wolf Man," the transformation process happens largely off-screen — the man himself, rather than his process of transformation, is the primary focus of the film.

At the same time, the werewolf transformation in "The Wolf Man" is convincing, particularly considering when the film came out. First, hair begins to grow from Larry Talbot's skin, and eventually, he becomes a creature that resembles a very hairy man with claws and fangs.

In more recent films, though, the process of becoming a wolf is often the highlight of the show. It appears in great detail, and it's often a painful experience.

Bones forcibly elongate and change their shape, sometimes moving so drastically that they rupture a person's skin. From beginning to end, the transformation can take several minutes, and the end result is a creature that is part human and part wolf, in varying proportions. Depending on the special effects available at the time of the film — and the techniques used to create them — these transformations can range from absurd to grotesque to truly convincing.

Whether a werewolf transforms when he dies varies from book to book and movie to movie. Sometimes, if a werewolf dies in wolf form, he remains a wolf forever. But in other depictions, he immediately reverts to his human form.

In these films, if you cut off a werewolf's paw, it can become a human hand before your eyes. In general, injuries sustained in wolf form appear on the werewolf's human body, making it much easier to determine which friend or neighbor is a lycanthrope.

In most modern portrayals, the only cure for lycanthropy is a silver bullet. But sometimes, potions, medicines or rituals can stop the transformation or at least keep it under control. In the "Harry Potter" books, Remus Lupin can sleep off his time as a werewolf if he drinks a wolfsbane potion. In the movie "Ginger Snaps," an injected infusion of monkshood can cure lycanthropy.

The Good Werewolves

In many depictions, these bloodthirsty beasts are evil — they kill animals and innocent people, sometimes for fun. But in some books and films, werewolves are good, or at least sympathetic. They stir the audience's compassion, largely because of their struggles to accept or control their lycanthropy.

This isn't entirely a recent invention. The story "Eena" by Manly Banister — published in 1947 — broke with tradition by portraying a werewolf who is both sympathetic and female. Other characters, like J.K. Rowling's Remus Lupin, seem to be entirely benevolent. One werewolf, the impenetrable Oz from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," learns to control his lycanthropic impulses so he can be a better person and win back the heart of his ex-girlfriend, Willow.

As with vampires, there's a sexual element to werewolves. While vampires tend to be smooth and sexually charged, the typical werewolf is hyper-masculine. He's exceptionally muscular, exceptionally hairy and exceptionally violent.

These traits come not just from a werewolf's appearance, but from the folkloric history behind werewolves. In many stories, a man becomes a werewolf because of some sort of excess. His behavior may be too rough, or he may, by the standards of the community, be sexually deviant, usually in terms of wanton relationships with women.

In the 16th century in Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands off the coast of France, teenagers who roamed around at night, broke curfews and socialized outside the bounds of polite society were known as werewolves. In some cases, young people disguised themselves as animals to travel from one community to another. A common belief at the time was that outlaws would eventually become werewolves.

Relatable Monsters

This connection to rough or coarse behavior also ties into modern psychology. In psychological terms, you might think of a person's struggle with lycanthropy as a struggle to come to terms with — or get rid of — his more primitive nature. When a man becomes a werewolf, his primal instincts, which aren't necessarily considered to be appropriate, take over.

There are natural parallels between lycanthropy and puberty. During puberty, the human body changes dramatically. These changes can seem foreign, and they're definitely beyond a young person's control. Similarly, in some depictions, lycanthropy is a metaphor for menstruation. A woman's body changes according to a regular monthly cycle.

In a lot of ways, these changes define who she is — menstruation is a hallmark of being a woman, and physical transformation is the hallmark of being a werewolf. Because of its typical transmission through biting and frequently fatal outcomes, lycanthropy can also be a metaphor for any contagious disease, particularly those that are transmitted sexually.

This is one of the reasons why people can identify with werewolves, in spite of their status as monsters. Teenagers and young adults can identify with the idea of sudden, seemingly inexplicable changes in their skin, hair and body. And just about everyone has experienced the struggle to keep control of emotions like anger and frustration.

At the same time, there are some medical conditions that can make lycanthropy seem very real. Read on to learn about some of these.

Fajardo Aceves Jesus Manuel, from Mexico, has congenital hypertrichosis.

Most people have heard of the witch hunts of the 16th century. Less well-known are the werewolf hunts that happened in the same time period. A common belief was that werewolves turned their skin inside out to return to human form, so one interrogation practice involved cutting and pulling back a person's skin to see if there was fur underneath.

There are several notable claims of lycanthropy that took place during these werewolf hunts. In 1573, one of the alleged werewolves, Gilles Garnier, was burned at the stake. In 1589, a man known as Stubbe Peter or Peter Stubbe, was executed near Cologne, Germany, for cannibalism and multiple murders. He claimed he had a belt that allowed him to become a werewolf.

In 1603, a young man named Jean Grenier­ claimed responsibility for a series of murders and disappearances, saying he had a skin that let him become a wolf. A court determined that Grenier was insane and confined him to a monastery.

In France, between 1520 and 1630, there were more than 30,000 recorded cases of people who claimed to be — or appeared to be — werewolves [source: Dunlop]. As with the witch trials, there were probably several simultaneous causes for the werewolf hunts:

The belief that werewolves are real isn't confined to the distant past, though. In the 1930s, researchers working in the part of Africa now known as Ghana reported a widespread belief that people could turn into hyenas. These shape-shifters were typically witches living in the grasslands.

As recently as the 1980s, an obscure practice in the Iberian Peninsula — the part of Europe that includes Spain and Portugal — claimed to, in part, prevent children from becoming werewolves. This practice involved older children acting as godparents for their younger siblings, beginning with the seventh or ninth child [source: da Silva].

According to folktales in this part of the world, werewolves recruit new members from excess children. Children who are born with a caul, or with part of their amniotic sac covering their face — might be more susceptible to becoming werewolves — or, conversely, healers.

In industrialized parts of the world, the idea of werewolves, or of wolves in general, can seem distant and archaic. Perhaps that's why many more recent depictions present lycanthropy as a manageable condition.