Werewolves

by Tom Crawford

Michael put his arm around his girlfriend as he slowly pulled his car to a stop in the dark, secluded forest. Soon after parking, Michael's girlfriend began talking. But he was too nervous to pay attention. He knew he had to tell her. "I'm not like the other guys," he began to explain. But he was too late.

As the moonlight escaped from the thick, sluggish clouds, he began to convulse. He covered his face. Startled, his girlfriend asked what was wrong. He looked at her with deep, yellow eyes and ivory fangs, and screamed, "GO!" Terrified, his girlfriend realized the horrid truth.

Those of you who are familiar with the 1980s will quickly recognize this as the opening sequence from Michael Jackson's "Thriller." And, yes, while Michael is famous for transforming into strange beings, on this particular night he became a creature that has been the subject of hundreds of Hollywood movies and countless childhood nightmares. On this night, Michael became a werewolf.

But what exactly is a werewolf? They have been portrayed in Hollywood films for more than 50 years, but do we really know the true story behind the werewolf? Sure, a werewolf is a man or woman that has turned into a wolf and, yes, they often come out during the full moon and, of course, they usually fall victim to the silver bullet. But that is just one aspect of a larger collection of rich werewolf legends.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the werewolf legend is that it exists in almost every culture. That is, the idea of a man turning into a feared beast is common throughout the world. The beast is not always a wolf though. Instead, it is usually whatever animals are feared in that particular region. For example, there are legends in India that involve men who turn into tigers and in Africa the legends tell of men transforming into ferocious hyenas. In Europe, where wolves are the predominantly feared animals, the legends are of men transforming into wolves. This European belief eventually made its way to our American culture, which is largely dominated by European influence.

While there are hundreds of variations to the European legends of men turning into wolves, all of these legends share some common elements. Among the most prominent, is the belief that a werewolf is a servant of the Devil. In Medieval Europe, it was believed that a man became a werewolf by making an unholy pact with Satan himself. The Devil would grant a man the power to transform into a wolf in exchange for doing the Devil's bidding and terrorizing churchgoing villagers. Additional powers would be granted if he recruited others to become werewolves.

Because of the werewolf's believed association with the Devil, the Medieval Catholic Church condemned these creatures. Anyone suspected of being a werewolf was promptly burnt at the stake. This belief led to the unfortunate deaths of countless innocents who, much like in the Salem witch trials, were executed for being something they were not.

Another common element of the traditional legends that differ a bit from our modern understanding is the physical appearance of the werewolf. In modern folklore, a werewolf generally transforms into a half-man, half-wolf beast during a full moon. This creature is usually extremely monstrous looking and is very distinguishable from a common wolf. But, in traditional legends, werewolves looked like other wolves. The only physical trait that separated them was their human eyes.

The transformation of a man into a wolf is probably one of the most interesting aspects of the legends. Those of you who have seen popular movies such as "An American Werewolf in London" or "Silver Bullet" will immediately recognize the full moon as a key factor in this change. That's no surprise since there are very few Hollywood movies today that don't portray the full moon as the trigger for a man's metamorphosis into a wolf.

Surprisingly though, the full moon is rarely mentioned in traditional tales. Certainly, some of the ancient stories do depict the werewolf transforming during a full moon, but most legends offer different means for changing into a wolf. In the majority of legends, to turn into a werewolf a man had to strip naked and put on a belt made of human skin given to him by the Devil. Next, he would rub wolf bane and deadly nightshade all over his body. Finally, the man would stand in a magic circle and chant a spell. This series of events would result in one mean and vicious werewolf.

Equally as important as transforming into a werewolf is the ability to change back into to a man. For example, let's say you're walking back home late one night and a werewolf comes across your path. What do you do? In most movies, a silver bullet would do the trick. However, many of the legends predate guns, thus resulting in a variety of solutions. The easiest would be for the werewolf to break the buckle on his belt. Doing so would immediately change him back. Chances are, though, you won't be that lucky.

Fortunately, the legends have some additional recommendations for stopping a werewolf. First, you should make a crucifix. Because the werewolf is a servant to the Devil, the sight of the crucifix should immediately transform him back into a man. If that doesn't work and you know who the werewolf is, saying his baptismal name three times might also cause him to transform. If that fails, another option would be to wound the werewolf. Usually, this causes him to return to his human form. If, after trying all of these methods, the werewolf still has not transformed, run for your life!

Now that we have taken a look at some of the more predominant elements of the traditional werewolf legends, we can compare them to today's idea of a werewolf. In doing so, it is easy to deduce that our modern werewolf myth is a unique and distinct blending of the vast regional stories and folklore surrounding these beasts. In a way, it is a symbolic mixture that seems to embody the popular metaphor of America as a melting pot.

Although many of these legends greatly vary and sometimes seem to contradict one another, something that they all have in common is their unique influence on a fascinating and frightening folklore. They are an interesting blend of stories, legends, and tradition that have existed for hundreds of years and will continue to exist for hundreds more. While werewolves, in a physical sense, may not exist, their tales are likely to exist for as long as man does.

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