General Werewolf Lore

[double_fierce]

I failed to see a specific thread to general werewolf folklore, so I made this one. I have some general questions about werewolves. One particular question I have is about the general transformation of the werewolf. Any help will be appreciated... :D

[DarkWolf]

You created a thread, not a forum.

You obviously did not try hard enough. Just go to Search and look for werewolf transformation. For this forum alone there's 13 other topics, excluding this one.

[double_fierce]

....just ignoring that, is it true that the moon always triggers a transformation? Can emotions also trigger it?

[Vagabond Flow]

Depends which movie you watch. The 1941 classic The Wolf Man popularised the concept of moon-induced transformations, although it may have been a minor aspect of the legend before.

[double_fierce]

Depends which movie you watch. The 1941 classic The Wolf Man popularised the concept of moon-induced transformations, although it may have been a minor aspect of the legend before.


Are there any old texts or anything that implies that transformations are only moon induced? The texts that I have studied always described a type of ointment of skin that is worn....

[TheBlueWolfW.W.]

Not really.

[Vagabond Flow]

I can't really see medieval peasants being that frightened of werewolves that only appear once every 40 days. A creature which can transform at will is more frightening, and can be blamed for more things.

The full moon is good for cinema though. Very dramatic.

I don't know about old texts. Wikipedia says something about someone called 'Gervase of Tilbury', but that could be wrong.

[TheBlueWolfW.W.]

Moon didn't really show up until the movies and such,. It was never a part of lore. If you look in the dictionary, werewolf is defined as a person who changes into a wolf. No full moon.

[stinky_hyena]

I failed to see a specific thread to general werewolf folklore, so I made this one. I have some general questions about werewolves. One particular question I have is about the general transformation of the werewolf. Any help will be appreciated... :D

It depends on who you ask and what werewolf legend you reference. Generally in a majority of werewolf legends the moon was not a factor in transformation, but it did hold sway over transformation in some legends, and yes, it was totally popularized as the one and only transformation catalyst more or less by Hollywood's take on werewolves.
Personally, I think the moon gets a bit over spotlighted in regards to werewolves. I like the legends about lycanthropic enchanted streams, flowers and belts just as well, yet you don't see them in movies, what a waste of creative possibilities.
As for emotions, or other transformation catalysts they are to be found yes in legend and entertainment in many forms.

Emotions could trigger transformation in a werewolf. Also:
The smell of meat, or sight of blood.
Sunset.
Intimate relations, or desires.
A certain day, month, date, year, holiday etc.
Experiencing extreme physical pain.
Hearing the howling of natural wolves, or other werewolves.

... and so forth.

[double_fierce]

It depends on who you ask and what werewolf legend you reference. Generally in a majority of werewolf legends the moon was not a factor in transformation, but it did hold sway over transformation in some legends, and yes, it was totally popularized as the one and only transformation catalyst more or less by Hollywood's take on werewolves.
Personally, I think the moon gets a bit over spotlighted in regards to werewolves. I like the legends about lycanthropic enchanted streams, flowers and belts just as well, yet you don't see them in movies, what a waste of creative possibilities.
As for emotions, or other transformation catalysts they are to be found yes in legend and entertainment in many forms.

Emotions could trigger transformation in a werewolf. Also:
The smell of meat, or sight of blood.
Sunset.
Intimate relations, or desires.
A certain day, month, date, year, holiday etc.
Experiencing extreme physical pain.
Hearing the howling of natural wolves, or other werewolves.

... and so forth.

Thanx...about emotions being the catalyst for transformation...do you think that the emotions can be trained in order to control the transformations?

[Stalkstheurbans]

I've heard several of these as well as a few others. Fear being dominante thought. also the will of the werewolf could hold dsway over transformation.

[blueeyes]

If you're really interested in this subject, seek out Montague Summer's "The Werewolf". Excellent, excellent book, written by a true believer (which makes it a little creepy, in my opinion, but certainly explains why it is so well-researched). You can probably find a rerelease copy for less than 20 United States dollars. One warning : it's not a short read. I believe it references a few works involving the full moon, although I don't believe any of them are particularly convincing or popular.

[WareW-Believer]

If you want to know, or at least get and idea, of how modern werewolves adapt to society, I really recommend reading this. (http://www.werewolf.org.ua/index.php?page=libra ry&pid=0&id=66768728) If you cant read russian (as i can't) then you should download ImTranslator (http://imtranslator.net/plugin-tr.asp). It's a really good translation program that translates entire paragraphs and things.