Werewolves

Werewolves and vampires are my favorite mythological monsters, so I'm going to do a two-part blog about them. This one is about werewolves, hence the title "Werewolves". The name 'werewolf', (also spelled 'werwolf') is thought to be derived from the Old English word 'wer', meaning man. Another common term is 'lycanthropy', which is from the Greek word 'lykánthropos', meaning 'wolf-human'. Stories of shapeshifters occur in most parts of the world. Ancient cultures often gave their most feared predator shapeshifting abilities in their stories. In South America, it was the jaguar; in Europe, the wolf; and in Korea, it was the fox. Today, it's usually werewolves that are featured in fiction, rather than their Asian or American counterparts.

Modern werewolf mythology varies widely from one author to another. However, of the stories I've seen or read (which, to be honest, are quite few), there are some common themes. Werewolves are immensely strong; they can shift at will with practice; they are most definitely not controlled by the moon; and children cannot shift. It varies whether werewolf blood is hereditary or contagious. In the bloodline myth, werewolf children develop the ability to shapeshift as they mature; the timeline varies from during puberty to well into adulthood. In the contagion myth, those bitten don't always survive, and the odds of survival are even less for children.

Finally, I will leave you with a picture of my favorite werewolf, Henry Foss from the sci-fi show Sanctuary. Henry is played by Ryan Robbins.



Who's your favorite werewolf? Leave a comment below.