Synonymous with Halloween is a monster that has captured human imagination for centuries; this monster is none the less than the Werewolf. This legend dates all the way back to Grecian times where there was even a cult based around it. The meaning of Werewolf literally means man wolf, Were- meaning man in old English and Wolf is the infamous wild dog that inhabits the wilderness and many fairytales alike. To be a Werewolf a human has to have the ability to change into a wolf during the night and with this change carry out wolf like behaviors. If a person believes that they can perform these Werewolf abilities they are considered a Lycanthrope. Likewise Lycanthropy is the act of being a Werewolf.
A man by the name of Lycaeon was King of Arcadia (one of the Greek kingdoms in ancient times); his ultimate mistake was to sacrifice one of his children to Zeus. This act disgusted and angered Zeus so much that he chose to punish Lycaeon. This was also proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back, the Olympian gods came to the conclusion that man was evil and needed to be eliminated. Lycaeon was turned into a wolf as a punishment for his actions and to punish the human race the gods of Mount Olympus agreed to send the Great Flood to wipe out all of mankind. However, the legend of a wolf man did not die with the flood. Until the 1st century AD some Greeks practiced the Zeus Lycaeus, which was a highly secretive wolf-cult.
The Werewolf legend has since grown and evolved. In 16th century France the fear of Werewolves was so great that people were executed for Lyconthropy along with those that were being prosecuted for witchcraft.
A person cannot just decide to become a Werewolf. There are certain events that need to happen. To become a Werewolf one must be a victim of a curse or enchantment, have slept in the light of the full moon, eaten wolf meat, drunken in the same location as a wolf or has put on a wolf’s skin. Modern lore is where we find that if bitten by a Werewolf then the affliction is passed on to the victim. There are very few remedies on record to cure a Werewolf, however, what is on record is how to put a Werewolf out of it’s misery, this is done by shooting a Werewolf with a silver bullet or arrowhead.
It is no wonder that the legend of the Werewolf has been so popular. The idea that a person can change into an animal is something that has been in the imaginations of man since the dawn of time. Paintings in caves that date back to our earliest human history show a man wearing many animal skins taking on the persona of the animal skins he is wearing. The Werewolf legend just happens to be able to play to that curiosity and to the heart strings of our fears.
