Werewolf legends

Werewolf Legends

According to an ancient superstition a werewolf is a man who is transformed, or who transforms himself, into a wolf in nature and appearance. The werewolf, sometimes transformed under the influence of a full moon, roams about at night, devouring infants or corpses. Stories of such transformations are given in the works of several classical writers and the superstition was common throughout Europe in late medieval times, many men were accused and convicted of being werewolves. The term lycanthropy refers to the delusion that one has become a wolf.

There are many traditional beliefs and legends about the werewolf one of the most famous , and one of the first stories of were wolf is "The Story of Lycaon". The story of Lycaon, which originated in Greek mythology, has been viewed as one of the first werewolf stories ever. According to legend, Lycaon was a cruel leader of a cult. Rumors of the atrocities committed by Lycaon and his cult made their way back to the God Jupiter, who decided to investigate. He found these rumors to be fact, and decided to reveal his identity to the cult. The members immediately paid homage to Jupiter, however, Lycaon didn't believe that he was a real God and prepared a feast for him consisting of human flesh. If Jupiter truly was a God, he would recognize the meal and decline to eat it, since cannibalism was a great sin. Jupiter immediately noticed what the feast consisted of. To avoid Jupiter's wrath, Lycaon fled to the countryside. Once there he found out what Jupiter had in store for him slowly he began to transform into a man-wolf. The term "lycanthropy" was derived from Lycaon's name. Another story is the one of "The Beserkers". In the Folk Tales of the Norseman, there are legends of warriors called "Beserkers". When engage in battle , these warriors would go into a frenzy, fearing no one, feeling no pain, having superhuman strength and never surrendering. Before a battle the warriors would dress with a shirt made of bear or wolf skin.(The term Beserker translates to "men in bearskin coats" and the warriors who donned the wolf skins were known as "ulfheobar", but today both groups are both described as Beserkers.) The feeling was that once dressed with the skins of an animal, the warrior would take on the characteristics of that animal. A Byzantine emperor described the Beserkers in battle as being possessed by a ferocity and madness seen only in wild beasts. The term "berserk" was derived from the Beserker Another story is "The Beauty is a Beast". In the mountains of Auvergne, a story was told of a royal female werewolf. In the story, a nobleman was gazing out of his window and noticed a hunter he knew. He asked him to check back with details of the hunt. While in the forest, the hunter encountered a wolf, and in the ensuing struggle, he severed one of the wolf's paws. He placed the paw in his knapsack, and returned to the castle with his prize. When he opened the knapsack to show the nobleman evidence of his encounter, they discovered that there was no paw at all. In fact, the knapsack contained a woman's hand wearing a gold ring. Recognizing the ring as that of his wife's the nobleman decided to question her about her daily activities. When he went into her room, he found her concealing her arm. Once uncovered, the lack of a hand revealed her true identity. Upon further questioning she admitted to being the wolf with whom the hunter encountered, and by her confession, she marked herself for certain execution.

There are many legends about werewolves all around the world. In Argentina Lobis'n is the word that stands for Werewolf in north Argentina. The Lobis'n is usually the seventh son in a family (whereas the seventh daughter is doomed to be a witch). When they turn into a hairy creature that resembles both a man and a wolf, the Lobis'n (a legend greatly influenced by the Brazilian traditions), wanders in the hills and mountains, feeding mostly upon carrion. However, If they get to meet with a human being, they will instantly attack. The survivors (men and women) will then turn into Lobisones themselves, but it is quite rare, because most people die in the claws and teeth of these ferocious creatures. It is also said that if a Lobison's saliva sprinkles over a man or a woman, he or she will eventually turn into a Lobis'n. In the early 1900s the legend of the 7th son (it had to be 7 boys in a row, no girls in between) transforming himself into a werewolf was so widespread and believed that it was causing a lot of children to be abandoned or given away for adoption and it is said that in some cases the parents killed their own son. Because of this, the president passed a law in the 1920s by which the 7th son of a family automatically receives the godfathership of the president of Argentina! Through this, the state gives him a gold medal on the day of his baptism (when the president officially becomes his godfather) and a scholarship for all of his studies until his 21st birthday. Supposedly, this ended the phenomenon of people condemning their children for fear of the werewolf. The law is still in effect, and it is popularly known, and the presidents have always attended at least some of the baptisms, especially during election season.

There is also a legend about were wolf in Brazil. In Brazil, A humam only will become a "lobisomem" if he was the 7th children (male) from the same father and mother. He changes into a "lobisomem", for the first time when he is 13 years old. Just for two hours: from Midnight to 2:00 am. Always on Friday during Lent. In some places of Brazil (Portuguese colonization is responsible for the legend in that Country), the damned man changes in a crossroad, Friday night (usually the 13th), after midnight when the moon is full.

In Finland they have also legends. The Finnish werewolves are rather melancholy creatures In our stories/legends/myths a person usually turns into a wolf without really wanting it, accidentally (by doing something that'll turn him into a wolf without knowing this might happen) or because some witch has put a spell on him (according to Finns, these witches would naturally be Sami, although the Swedes thought we were pretty good at magic ourselves). The werewolf (who's usually bound to be a wolf for nights and days until something releases him from the spell) then lurks around houses, sometimes eating cattle but rarely people and waits for somebody to recognize him. When somebody does (e.g the wolf's mother), she/he can break the spell by calling the werewolf by his Christian name or giving him some bread to eat. Sometimes after the werewolf had regained his human form, he would still have his tail till the day he died. Some houses actually exhibit sauna benches (or whatever they are called; 'lauteet' in Finnish) that have a hole in them, presumably cut for the ex-werewolf's tail. Finland's southern neighbor, Estonia is also known for its werewolf legends. Estonia is sometimes called 'Viro' in Finnish, and at one time werewolves were called 'vironsusi' ('Estonian wolf') in Finland. It should be mentioned, though, that 'vironsusi' is originally the same word as 'werewolf', meaning 'man-wolf' and connecting it with Estonia is a false etymology due to Estonia's reputation as a werewolf country.

The werewolf is basically a universal myth. In Mexico, the most widely spread version of the werewolf is the one called "nahual", which comes from the Nahuatl (the ancient language of the Aztecs, becoming thus, the universal language in the pre-Hispanic world)word "Nuahualli", meaning warlock. Since the Spaniards did not bring much on werewolves after colonizing Mexico, the ancient local legends on the subject became predominant. The nahual was a warlock who had the capability to shape-shift at will into an animal, preferably a black or dark coyote. It was believed in the pre-Hispanic times, that people were constantly threatened by these evil beings. Even if the Spaniards who came to Mexican lands in the mid 1500...

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