Wolfgang Allred

Erin Rogers

December 2nd, 2017

Writing 1010 - 202

Werewolves

Werewolves may seem fairly mundane as far as mythical creatures go. There are plenty

of werewolves to go around in movies, books and tv shows, and they’re one of the few

mythological creatures that nearly everyone can identify. It’s commonly that werewolves are

people who take upon the characteristics of a wolf at the full moon, that they are immune to

physical harm unless it involves silver, that they can be cured of their affliction with wolfsbane

and that people who sustain a werewolf bite eventually turn into one. This idea that everyone has

of werewolves now is kind of an amalgamation of many different myths and superstitions from

European culture. In fact, there are so many werewolf myths that the only consistency between

them is that they feature people who turn into wolves. This is a large part of what makes

werewolves so fascinating, as there are werewolves in mythologies and superstitions the world

over. Cultures that were completely isolated developed very similar myths about people turning

into savage animals simultaneously. This is because werewolves embodied an idea that is

consistent across many cultures: that there are some people who appear to be human but are

really animalistic inside. How this manifests depends on the culture, however. The Norse, for

example, had a set of beliefs about warriors who embodied wolves, while the greeks believed

that people who do horrible things, like murder and cannibalism, are more animal than man on

the inside. In the middle ages, many werewolf myths were generated in response to the
Christianization of Europe1, as pagan beliefs that featured animals, such as wolves, were often

demonized by missionaries. Later on werewolves were associated with witches and the Devil. In

more modern times werewolves have come to be less bound by cliche, and can thematically

mean whatever the writer pleases. The old role that werewolves filled, however, has been taken

by another type of monster, that being the psychopath.

Many, if not all of the pre-Christian religions in Europe featured wolves and other

animals in their mythologies. Usually, they were feared as predators, and this reflected in their

mythology. For example, the three aforementioned wolves in Norse mythology are an excellent

example of wolves with a negative connotation. The myth of Lycaon reflects the negative

association that people have with wolves in Greek mythology. There are multiple associations in

Roman tradition. Wolves are both associated with Romulus and Remus, and Mars (the god of

war). Romulus and Remus, the mythological progenitors of Rome, were said to have been raised

by a wolf. This, of course, isn’t a negative association and is an exception to the usual

connotations around wolves. There are countless more examples, but these are familiar stories

for people in modern society. Most of these prejudices against wolves stem from them hunting

and killing humans, and so the usual connotations were that of hunger, greed, and aggression.

For the sake of brevity, I will detail the Norse and Greek myths mainly.

The earliest recorded mention of werewolves goes back to ancient greek mythology, and

the story of Lycaon2. The most popular version of this story is told by Ovid in the book

Metamorphosis, but there are many variations of this myth. Lycaon was a king who had fifty

sons and many wives. They were carefree and malicious. Zeus decided to test them one day, so

he appeared to them in the form of a mortal who boasted divine power. Lycaon doubted the man

1
For this paper, I intend to mostly focus on European myths, as the vast majority of werewolf information is
based on European tradition.
2
The origin for the world Lycanthrope.
and invited him in for dinner. To test him, Lycaon killed one of his sons and slipped his flesh

into the meal prepared for that evening. Upon finding the human flesh in his food, Zeus turned

Lycaon into a wolf as punishment. Lycaon’s son, Nyctimus, was then resurrected and he

ascended to the throne. The rationale behind Lycaon’s punishment is that if he is so hungry for

human flesh, then he should at least take on the characteristics of an animal who shares his

appetite. This is where the word ‘lycanthropy’ comes from. The myth is a clear example of a

common aspect of werewolf myths: werewolves are men who are more like animals on the

inside.

There were many Germanic beliefs that involve wolves and men, but one of the most

well documented traditions was that of the Úlfhéðnar. The Úlfhéðnar were berserkers who wore

the skins of wolves, as Úlfhéðnar translates to “wolf skinned warrior”. According to the Prose

Edda They were said to take on the aspects of wolves and would go into a trancelike state of fury

as they went into battle. The Úlfhéðnar would enter a frenzy and would do things to act like

wolves. They’d howl, foam at the mouth, bite their shields, and sharpen their teeth. During this

frenzy, they’d charge into battle, and would slay as many men as they were able. According to

accounts, they felt no pain and couldn’t be harmed by steel or fire. In The Volsunga Saga, a story

that details the adventures of the Volsung clan in 13th century Scandinavia, Sigmund and

Sinfljoti don cloaks made of wolf skin and transform into wolves and slay many men. It’s my

analysis that they do this to to indulge in the animalistic desire to murder and eat prey, as both

characters previously exhibited psychopathic tendencies, like the routine murder of children. The

idea of people who are more like beasts than men is very present in this depiction of werewolves,

as it also was in the story of Lycaon. I will go into more depth about this later. The idea of

clothing made of wolfskin being used to transform into wolves was also commonplace for
medieval Europe, and it is featured in many other tales. There are three other prominent wolves

in the Norse mythos: Fenrisúlfr (sometimes referred to as Fenrir), Sköll, and Hati. Fenrisúlfr is

Loki’s eldest child. Odin, the Allfather, attempted to tame Fenrisúlfr as a pup, but as he grew he

only became wilder and more dangerous. Eventually, to be rid of him, the Æsir tricked Fenrisúlfr

into being bound by unbreakable bonds. Later, during Ragnarok, Fenrisúlfr would break free and

he will have grown so large that his maw would reach to touch the sky, and would eventually kill

Odin in battle. Sköll and Hati are wolves who chase the Sun and Moon respectively, across the

sky. During Ragnarok, they finally catch their prey and devour them.

It just so happened that Christianity was fairly similar to pagan traditions in that regard.

Wolves usually are a metaphor for greedy and evil men in christianity. Thus, when Christianity

spread across Europe, most wolf myths gradually turned into Christian superstitions, and were

only told about in folktales and stories. It wasn’t until the 14th century that Christian people

began to believe that werewolves as we recognize them today existed. Perceived werewolves

were subsequently persecuted. Commented [1]: If possible you should find a source

The 14th century marked the beginning of the werewolf-witch panic that would grip

Europe until the 18th century. At this time, werewolves and witches became associated with one

another; many people who were accused of one were often accused of the other. It was believed

that the Devil granted certain people lycanthropy. Werewolf and witch trials went from as early

as the 14th century to as late as the 18th century. The most famous trial is that of a relatively

wealthy German farmer, Peter Stumpf. The story goes that in the village of Epprath, which was

near the country-town of Bedburg, livestock would go missing, later found to be mutilated and

devoured in the woods. Occasionally, children, and more rarely adults, would also go missing

and would be later found in a similar state. Eventually, the townsfolk spotted a beast who was
dragging someone into the woods and they gave chase. The story goes that they fought and

wounded a large wolf by cutting off it’s left front paw. Before they could kill it, it escaped. Only

a little while later, Peter Stumpf, a wealthy farmer who lived at the edge of town, was found to

have his left hand missing, an injury he didn’t previously have. After being tortured, he

confessed to killing livestock, practicing black magic, dealing with the Devil and murdering,

raping and eating two pregnant women and fourteen children, including his own son. He was

also found guilty of having an incenstuous relationship with his own daughter. Stumpf said that

the Devil gave him a belt of wolfskin that allowed him to turn into a wolf so that he could

indulge in all his heart’s darkest desires. He, his daughter, and his mistress were all put to death

after being tortured. Here, the idea of a magic piece of wolfskin clothing is used again, but more

importantly, it is seen that lycanthropy is used as an explanation for serial killers and rapists.

Later on, historians have determined that the crimes of Peter Stumpf could have been fabricated.

The events occur during the Thirty Year War between Protestants and Catholics. Stumpf was

probably Protestant and Bedburg was a Catholic region. It is highly likely that the trial of Peter

Stumpf was a political stunt to scare Protestants into moving away. This doesn’t mean that the

accusations of murder were fabricated however, as those probably did occur. Lycanthropy

became not only an explanation for horrible actions, but also as a means of persecution against

certain groups of people. Nearly everyone is familiar with the witch trials of Salem in the 17th

century, an instance where people were executed for being witches, when in fact some of them

were just people from a different culture. Werewolfism was similarly used in European culture

during this time.

By the 19th century, werewolf superstitions diminished into fairy tales, and became

prominent in the blossoming gothic horror genre, which is where a lot of our current cultural
werewolf cliches come from. In Bram Stoker’s “Dracula’s Guest” Dracula appears as a huge

wolf, and it is stated that the only way to kill Dracula is to use a so called sacred bullet. This is

part of what popularized the idea that werewolves may only come to harm by using silver or

sacred bullets. Alexandre Dumas wrote a story based on a folktale he heard in his childhood

called The Wolf Leader. It follows a man named Thibault, who makes an agreement with a giant

wolf that walks on its hind legs. The wolf agrees to give Thibault the ability to wish harm on

anyone else in exchange for a single hair. Thibault accepts and also gains the ability to command

wolves, but every time he wishes, a hair of his turns into a wolf hair. Eventually, he is run out of

town into the woods for being a werewolf. Werewolves still had their place in fairy tales and

folklore at this time, and many beliefs about werewolves are now commonplace ideas. In

German folklore of the time, it was said that werewolves may only be harmed by silver

weaponry. This is part of what gives rise to the famous cliche about werewolves being harmed

by silver. Even later still, in the early 20th century, films about werewolves had a huge impact

upon the public consciousness, such as The Wolf Man. Films only reinforced the legends and

myths from the previous century.

Today, werewolves are monsters that serve as a staple monster in fiction, and have been

portrayed many different ways in books, movies, TV shows and games. Often, the rules from old

folklore apply to the modern depictions of werewolves, but since werewolf myths are so

inconsistent and contradictory it is to the writer’s discretion which myths they adhere to. For

example, Angua Von Überwald in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series and Remus Lupin in J.K.

Rowling’s Harry Potter series are very different werewolves. In the Discworld books Angua can

transform into a wolf at will, Lycanthropy is hereditary, and she is utterly in control of herself.

Remus, on the other hand, turns into more of a wolf-man hybrid at the full moon against his will.
He also contracted werewolfism, and cannot control himself while transformed. Werewolves are

also no longer constrained to being villains in all their stories, and now range anywhere from

sadistic to benevolent. Wolfgang Von Überwald, another werewolf in Discworld, is an

egotistical sadist who believes that werewolves are naturally superior to all other people. By

contrast, his sister Angua is a decorated police officer in the city of Ankh Morpork who has

saved many lives. The term werewolf has become so broad that to be a werewolf only means that

there is some kind of transformation into a wolf related form.

Werewolves haven’t disappeared from our culture, but the image that they once

represented is being fulfilled by something else now: psychopaths. Werewolves started out as an

explanation for those members of our society that do horrible things like murder and cannibalism

for their own benefit and enjoyment. In the modern era, we know that isn’t the case, but horrible

things still happen at the hands of people who live in our society. Today, the term psychopath is

used to describe someone who does abhorrent things, in much the same way that someone who

committed cannibalism back in the 15th century would have been called a werewolf. Similar to

werewolves, there is also a sort of mythos that surrounds psychopaths. Most people are

familiarized with the terms serial killer and psychopath by watching horror films or hearing

about grisly murders carried out by crazed lunatics who appear to be just like everyone else

while out in public. This has the effect of mythologizing these people. Whether or not they’re

real, most people have heard of the cruel and unusual acts committed by Joseph Mengele, Jack

the Ripper and Hannibal Lecter; psychopaths have their own mythology in a certain way.

Through much of European history, werewolves used to represent the same thing: a fear of

people who look like everyone else while the sun is shining, but are actually sadistic killers
behind closed doors. The stereotype of the psychopath, or serial killer, is what replaced the

superstitions about werewolves.

Nearly all European cultures that interacted with wolves incorporated them into their

mythology to represent primal desires and savage behavior, with a few exceptions. The Norse

had multiple examples of wolves who brought about destruction and mayhem, as did many other

cultures, such as the Greeks. After the Christianization of Europe, myths about wolves began to

shift to superstitions about werewolves to fit the Christian idea that those who turn into wolves

have dealt with the devil. Werewolf trials were conducted in between the 14th and 18th century,

and many of those accused were serial killers and rapists. It was at this point that werewolves

truly embodied the metaphorical wolves in sheep’s clothing in our society. Now, werewolves

appear everywhere in our books, movies shows and games, and they represent whatever the

writer wants them to. Some of the old associations are attached to werewolves still, but they

don’t always come into play in modern narrative. Finally, because werewolves no longer server

as a sufficient explanation for murder and cannibalism, something else had to fill that cultural

void. History and pop culture are full of psychopaths who fill exactly that role, because we will

always mythologize what terrifies us.

Citations

Ovid. “The Story of Lycaon.” Classical Mythology, Oxford University Press,

global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199997329/student/archives/ovid/. Web.

11/26/2017

Sturluson, Snorri. Prose Edda.

Weiser, Jason. “3B-Vikings: All that Hate’s Gonna Burn You Up” Audio blog post. Myths and

Legends Podcast. 6/15/2015. Web. 11/27/2017.

Bores, George. “The Damnable Life and Death of Stubb Peeter.” Werewolf Legends from

Germany, University of Pittsburgh, 1590,

www.pitt.edu/~dash/werewolf.html#temmezarnow. 11/27/2017

Wagner, Stephen. “The Werewolf of Bedburg” ThoughtCo. 6/9/2017.

https://www.thoughtco.com/the-werewolf-of-bedburg-2597445. Web. 11/27/2017

Stoker, Bram, and Kate Hebblethwaite. Dracula's Guest and Other Weird Tales: With the Lair of

the White Worm. London ; New York: Penguin Books, 2006.

Dumas, Alexandre. The Wolf Leader. Project Gutenberg,

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/51054/51054-h/51054-h.htm. 1/27/2016. Web.

11/25/2017. Translated by Alfred Allinson.

Pratchett, Terry. The Fifth Elephant. Doubleday, 1999.

Rowling, Joanne. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Scholastic 9/8/1999.