A werewolf man in wolfskin passages and curiosities

 Werewolves are unfortunate creatures that occur in almost all cultures in the world. We can hear about them, among others, in Slavic mythology. The fact that our ancestors struggled with people imprisoned in the body of the beast is told by many legends and folk tales.

Formerly a werewolf, a man in the skin of a wolf, was called a wicked man. The word literally meant a man in wolf's clothing and referred not only to the cruel beast of legends but also to evil, false and untrustworthy people. In Slavic mythology, the werewolf was also known as oborot. It was a man changing into an animal, and not necessarily a wolf. There are reports that selected people had the ability to take the form of a bear, a big cat, or a deer.

In some parts of Europe, the werewolf was identified with the figure of the lord of the forest, a demon whose task was to care for the backwoods and old forests. When Christianity replaced the old beliefs, the role of the patron saint of forests was taken over by saints, which differ depending on the region.

The Slavs believed that a cursed person could become a werewolf, punished by a strong spell. In Eastern Europe, there was a belief that a betrayed or despised woman had the power to cast a werewolf curse on an unfortunate lover. In other parts of the continent, there were other sins for which you could be cursed into a wolf. In the south of the Czech Republic and Hungary, it was believed that a wolf could become someone who messed with the priests of the old faith.

In Western countries, a belief persisted that a werewolf was an inborn curse that manifested itself in the seventh son of a family whose ancestor had sinned so badly that the gods would punish future generations for his guilt. In Anglo-Saxon countries, the werewolf was like an infectious disease. The curse spread from werewolf to human as the former bit the other.

Although the belief in werewolves and stables was very strong among the Slavs and other peoples of Europe, these beasts appeared much earlier, already in the legends of the ancient world.

The first mentions of people turning into bloodthirsty, animal-like demons appeared as early as the fifth century BC. The historian and philosopher Herodotus of Halicarnassus, called the father of history and geography, wrote about a mysterious tribe from the East, whose members were able to turn into wolves at will. When they no longer needed the wolf form, they returned to human form and continued on to the great ordinary life, until the next transformation. Herodotus gave the name to this ability that still functions - Lycanthropy, which is a combination of the words Lycos and Anthropos (wolf and man).

The ancient Egyptians also had their werewolves. In the local legends, there is a myth about a mysterious man who was banished from Egypt for practicing black magic and contact with demons. For the help that these people gave to the inhabitants of the world of the dead, they were to receive the ability to transform their bodies into a wolf. From the moment of their exile, the entire tribe wandered through the deserts of Africa, staying nowhere for long. In ancient records, one can find information that it was possible to hire these travelers for murder and other heinous acts.

The Romans worshiped wolves and considered them sacred. The god Mars himself chose a wolf as his companion, and a lonely she-wolf fed Romulus and Remus, who gave birth to Rome. For these and many other reasons, the wolf symbol was an extremely popular sign on the banners of the Roman legions.

The above information may give the impression that werewolves were believed centuries ago, and the fear of them disappeared with the advent of modernity. Nothing could be more wrong. Until recently, in the eastern and southern parts of Europe, the myth of the werewolf attacking wanderers was still alive. Apparently, today you can meet people who, to protect against the demon, keep rifle bullets cast of silver in their homes, because they believe that only this metal can hurt the beast.

In the press from the beginning of the twentieth century, horrific reports appeared about the attacks of mysterious monsters on unsuspecting people. An example would be a story from the Bavarian city of Ingolstadt. In 1904, articles about a cruel beast prowling in the nearby forests appeared in the local press. Apparently, the huge animal attacked people, tearing them to shreds. This tragedy would not be anything extraordinary, were it not for the fact that the attacks always took place during the full moon, and the traces of a huge wolf and a man were found at the crime scene.

According to the press information, a special group was established, consisting of hunters and scientists, as well as a priest. Their task was to find or what was responsible for the brutal attacks. The matter was never cleared up and the attacks stopped after a few months.

There were many similar stories in different countries. It also happened that the attacks of ordinary, hungry animals were attributed to the powers of hell.

Thanks to science, it can be assumed today that the creation of myths about werewolves is associated with a very rare disease called the werewolf syndrome. It manifests itself in profuse body hair, including on the face, hands, and feet.

In 1995, scientists managed to discover a mutant gene that causes an extreme form of this disease. Hypertrichosis is so rare that only several dozen of its cases have been documented in the last few hundred years. Perhaps it was this disease that contributed to the creation of legends and myths about people turning into wolves.

People love fears, especially when they only appear in thrill stories. Therefore, the world of popular entertainment is full of spooks, demons and various beasts. In all this mass of monsters, the werewolf ranks high. We can watch people turning into wolves in cinemas and television, as well as in popular novels and computer games.

FILMS ABOUT WOLVES

• Wilk (Wolf) - A 1994 movie in which the werewolf was played by Jack Nicholson and he was really good at it. The movie itself is pretty good horror and light satire at the same time.
• Underworld - This is a series of movies about werewolves and vampires. They tell about the struggle of both species hiding in the darkness of the human world.
• Werewolves (Wolfen) - A movie from 1981, which tries to combine sensational cinema with horror. In my opinion, this attempt turned out to be quite successful.
• The Howling is - Cool comedy-drama from the director Gremilina rozrobać.
• The Company of Wolves - This film combines various fairy tales with a horror film. Therefore, you can see not only wolves on the screen but also, for example, Little Red Riding Hood.

BOOKS ABOUT WEREWOLVES

• Wolf trail - Patricia Briggs.
• The Wolf's Pact - Melissa de la Cruz.
• Wolf litter - S. Andrew Swann.
• The Girl in the Red Cloak by Sarah Blakley-Cartwright.
• Call of the Night - Keri Arthur.
• Werewolf - Steve Feasey.
• Indigo - Gale Camille.
• Shadow Falls - C.C. Hunter.
• Raging Hunger - Kresley Cole.
• Year of the Werewolf - Stephen King.
• Wilkozacy - Rafał Dębski.
• Chronicles of Wolf's Gift by Anne Rice.

COMPUTER GAMES WITH WOLVES

• The Witcher III
• Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood
• Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Heart of the Forest
• The Secret World
• Secret World Legends
• Blood of the Werewolf
• The Elder Scrolls Online: Wolfhunter

INFORMATION AND CURIOSITIES

• In Russian legends, the werewolf was called vovkulak, and in the old Czech Republic, it was called vlkodlak.
• Many legends say that you need a full moon to turn into a wolf. This is because wolves howl especially intensely during a full moon.
• It is believed that a werewolf cannot be injured with ordinary weapons.
• The only metal that can kill a werewolf is silver or mercury.
• Werewolves hate other supernatural creatures, especially vampires.
• In legends, a werewolf can infect humans and turn them into beasts.
• When there is more than one werewolf in an area, the same rights apply as in a wolf pack.
• Werewolves are very strong, fast, and extremely cunning.
• At the court of King Henry II of France employed a jester covered with black bristles from head to toe. He was presented as a werewolf, but today we know that the man suffered from hypertrichosis.
• The first patient suffering from hypertrichosis, described in scientific papers, was Petrus Gonzales, who lived from 1536 to 1618. Interestingly, Petrus happily married and had five children, passing on his condition to them.
• Animals also suffer from hypertrichosis, but in their world, it is even rarer than in the human world.
• Currently, there is only one representative of the domestic cat with observed hypertrichosis.
• In the years from 1500 to 1700, over 30,000 reports of meetings with werewolves were recorded.
• Werewolves were blamed for the emerging epidemics in Europe.
• Another disease that may have contributed to the werewolf myth was rabies.
• There are known cases of people beginning to believe that they turn into wolves. The culprit for this is a rare mental condition called lycanthropy.
• Personally, I believe that the combination of many diseases and mental disorders that have spread across Europe contributed to the fear of werewolves.