Werewolves
Even a man who is pure at
heart,
And says his prayers at
night,
May become a wolf when the wolfsbane
blooms,
And the autumn moon is bright
This poem is recited in the 1941 film The Wolfman and some
people believe it’s an authentic old folk verse when it was actually written by
screenwriter Curt Siodmak. When a human has an ability to transform into a wolf
either by magic, curse or charm they are known as werewolves.
Depending on who you talk to and where your research takes
you, there are different ways to become a werewolf, one is to climb into a wolf’s
skin and go hunting at night and during the day hide it, the best time to
become a werewolf is during a full moon. The main way to become a werewolf by
choice is to ingest magic potions, wearing an enchanted wolf skin, or drinking
from the puddle of a wolf’s footprint. The most common way of becoming a
werewolf is getting bitten by a werewolf, which is the most accepted cause as
it’s believed that there is a virus in the werewolf’s bite, of course if you
meet a werewolf you are more likely to be torn to shreds.
Werewolves can appear as a large wolf, others report that they
look like a human-wolf hybrid.
When in human form a werewolf can be identified by their
eyebrows meeting at the bridge of their nose, curved fingernails, low set ears,
swinging stride and if they’re cut, fur can be seen in the wound.
The Case of Peter
Stubbe
The villagers of Cologne and Bedburg in Germany were being
attacked by a huge wolf for many years, women, children and cattle were torn
apart and half eaten. Men hunted the creature for days and eventually found it,
the dogs chased the creature but when the dogs cornered it, they found Peter
Stubbe cowering before them. Stubbe was known to the villagers as a widower, a
farmer, with two teenage children, after being stretched on a rack he confessed
he had practised black magic from the age of 12 and the devil had given him a
magical belt which when put on made him turn into a wolf, and when he took it
off he returned to his human form. Not only Stubbe was sentenced to death for
being a werewolf, both he and his daughter were sentenced to death for having a
sexual relationship, he also had a sexual relationship with his sister who was
also sentenced to death, Stubbe also confessed that he had sex with a succubus
that was sent to him by the devil. Stubbe along with his daughter and mistress
were executed on 31st October 1589, he was put on a wheel and burnt
in ten places with a red hot poker, his limbs were broken and he was beheaded,
his body was then placed on a pyre and burnt. As a warning to others the wheel
on which Stubbe was tortured was put on a high pole from which had 16 yard-long
strips of wood, representing his 16 known victims. On top that was the framed likeness of a wolf,
and above on the sharpened point of the pole was Peter Stubbe's severed head.
The Wittlich
Werewolf Germany
A deserter from Napoleon’s army called Johannes Baptist
Schwytzer was fleeing home to France, with him was a group of Russians, who
were also deserters, whilst they were passing through the village of Wittlich,
they were tired and hungry and decided to take what they needed from a farm,
the farmer and sons interrupted them and the soldiers killed them, which was
seen by the farmer’s wife, who screamed at Schwytzer the ring leader ‘From now
on at each full moon you will change into a wolf’ Schwytzer’s response to this
was to kill her.
As time went on Schwytzer robbed, raped, and murdered without
any remorse, he left his gang and joined a bandits and highwaymen but they were
appalled by his behaviour and he went into the forest which was where the curse
took hold and there were reports that on every full moon a wolf who walked like
a man could be seen in the countryside, men and cattle were slaughtered during
these nights and on one evening it raped the daughter of a local farmer
Elizabeth Beirele. Days later Schwytzer was found by a group of villagers,
recognising the signs of a werewolf in a human form they chased him to the
outskirts of the village of Morbach and killed him, they buried him at a
crossing and built a shrine where a candle has to burn continually or else the
werewolf would return. Elizabeth gave birth to a son, but he never showed any
signs of being a werewolf, and the family live in Morbach even now and not show
they have the curse of their ancestor, however in 1988 a group of Air Force Personnel
were returning to their base at Morbach and noticed the candle in the shrine
was out, they had been told about the legend and joked that they may see the
werewolf.
That evening something activated the alarms on the perimeter fence,
the guard on duty saw a creature similar to a wolf standing on its hind legs
like a human, it looked at the guard then turned and ran, clearing the 3 metre
fence that was in its way. A police dog that was brought to track the creature
got to the place where it was seen and refused to go any further. The candle
was re-lit and till this day the creature has yet to be seen.
Weapons of pure silver can kill a werewolf and once they’re
dead their head must be cut off, burnt and the ashes scattered in the wind, A
pitchfork used to strike the vulnerable between the creature’s eyebrows allows
time to escape, wolfsbane keeps the creature at a distance.
Wolves live away from people and have been taught to fear
humans because of hunters and shepherds. The grey wolf is best known and has a
long history with people, despised and hunted by pastoral communities due to
attacks on livestock, and respected by hunter gather societies. The majority of
recorded wolf attacks on people are due to the animal being sick. When we look
at the wolf’s nature and then at the humans who should we really fear the wolf
in the human, or the human in the wolf?
Sources
The complete idiots guide to the paranormal Nathan
Robert, Alpha Books 2010.
A field guide to Demons, Vampires and Fallen Angels
Carol K Mack and Dinah Mack Profile Books 2010.
