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Michael put his arm around his girlfriend as his car
pulled to stop in the forest. She began talking to him, but
he was too nervous to pay any 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 opaque clouds, he began to
convulse. He covered his face. Startled, his girlfriend asked
what was wrong. He glared at her with angry, yellow eyes and
protruding fangs, and screamed, "GO!" Terrified, Michael’s
girlfriend realized the horrid truth.
Those of you who are familiar with the 1980s will quickly remember
this as the opening sequence from Michael Jackson's "Thriller”.
While Michael Jackson is famous for his many physical transformations,
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.
Legends of Shapeshifting
What exactly is a werewolf? In modern film and literature, they
have been portrayed as creatures summoned by the moon and stoppable
only by the silver bullet. But that is just one aspect of a larger
collection of rich 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.
But the beast is not always a wolf. 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 predominant predatory
animal, the legends are of men transforming into wolves.
The Devil Made Me Do It
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.
My, What Big Teeth You Have
A 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. In fact, the only trait that distinguished
them from real wolves were their human eyes.
More Than Meets the Eye
The transformation of a man into a wolf is probably one of the
most interesting aspects of the legends. In films such as "An
American Werewolf in London" or "Silver Bullet",
the full moon is 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. 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. He would then rub wolf bane and deadly nightshade
all over his body and stand in a magic circle while chanting
a spell. This series of events would result in one mean and vicious
werewolf.
Man against Werewolf
Now, most of you are probably asking yourself, “What do
I do if I happen across one of these werewolves?” In most
movies, a silver bullet would do the trick. However, many of
the legends predate guns, thus resulting in a variety of solutions.
According to legend, the easiest way to stop a werewolf is to
break the buckle on their belt (if he is wearing one). Doing
so would immediately change him back. Chances are, though, you
won't be that lucky.
Fortunately, the legends have 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. A final option
would be to wound the werewolf; this usually causes him to return
to his human form.
If, after trying all of these methods, the werewolf still has
not transformed back into a man, your best bet is to run for
your life!
After looking closely at some of the more predominant elements
of the traditional werewolf legends, 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.
Although many of these legends vary and are seemingly contradictory,
one thing they all have in common is their unique influence on
a fascinating and frightening folklore. They compose an intriguing
collection 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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