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Around the world, cultures share stories of shape-shifting beings. In Asia, tales of were-tigers and were-foxes abound, while Africa is home to legends of were-hippos, were-crocodiles, and were-hyenas. South America speaks of were-jaguars, and Native American traditions feature skin-walkers. It appears that no matter where you travel, the dominant predator is often transformed into a mythical entity.
The European werewolf, or lycanthrope, is a staple of contemporary popular culture. Its roots trace back to ancient eras, predating written history, and its significance has evolved over time. Initially seen as a punishment, lycanthropy later became viewed as a gift, only to be reinterpreted as a curse.
10. The Legendary Warrior Class
The Proto-Indo-European culture is theorized to have been an ancient civilization that might have thrived in early Europe. If it existed, it would serve as the foundation for all European cultures, though no tangible evidence has been found. The only traces are linguistic similarities—shared words across various languages. Historians have worked diligently to reconstruct the enigmatic origins of this society.
Linguist Kim McCone suggests that the Proto-Indo-Europeans included a warrior class composed of young men who roamed in groups of two to twelve, surviving off the land. These groups were often compared to wolves and referred to as wolf packs. They wore wolf pelts and decorated themselves with symbols representing wolves.
Some theories propose that these early warriors passed down their wolf-like characteristics to future generations. The Celts and Gauls had comparable warrior traditions. The Greeks also had young fighters who adopted wolf-like lifestyles in the wilderness. Certain Arcadians opted for wolf (or bear) pelts over traditional shields. The wolf cult endured longest in Scandinavian lore, where the ulfhednar were the wolf-clad equivalents of the bear-clad berserkers.
9. Divine Retribution
The earliest literary depiction of lycanthropy appears in ancient myths. The oldest example of a man transforming into a wolf is found in the Epic of Gilgamesh. In this tale, the goddess Ishtar transforms one of her admirers, a shepherd, into a wolf, turning him against his own flock. His dogs eventually tore him apart.
The Arcadian king Lycaon was transformed into a wolf as punishment by Zeus. In fact, Lycaon is the namesake for lycanthropy. As recounted in Ovid’s The Metamorphoses, Zeus decided to test humanity by wandering Arcadia in mortal disguise. His aim was to determine if anyone could discern his divine nature. Those who failed to recognize him would face dire consequences. Most commoners identified him and worshipped him, but Lycaon was doubtful and devised a test of his own.
King Lycaon, skeptical of Zeus, orchestrated a test of divinity. He slaughtered a prisoner, cooked his flesh, and served it to Zeus as a meal. Lycaon believed that if this were truly Zeus, he would see through the deception. Zeus did. Enraged, he overturned the table with a lightning bolt, and Lycaon fled. In the wilderness, Lycaon descended into madness, reveling in the slaughter of sheep. His garments turned to fur, his arms to legs, and he became a wolf.
8. Magical Belts
Transforming into a werewolf wasn’t always seen as a curse. In German folklore, some individuals willingly became werewolves to gain extraordinary abilities. This transformation was achieved by donning enchanted belts crafted from wolf pelts. As wolves, they prowled at night, targeting their foes or their enemies’ livestock.
Farmers had a method to counter these troublesome werewolves. Tossing a piece of polished steel at the wolf would temporarily disable the belt’s magic, forcing the creature to revert to human form. One farmer tried this and was shocked to discover his neighbor, a well-regarded woman in the village, standing naked before him. She pleaded for mercy and begged him to keep her secret. Although he agreed, the truth eventually spread.
7. ‘Bisclavret’
In the 12th-century romantic poem “Bisclavret” by Marie de France, a baron transforms into a werewolf and can only regain his human form by wearing his regular clothes. When Baron Bisclavret’s wife discovers his secret, she hides his garments, ensuring he remains a wolf forever, and then elopes with a knight.
Bisclavret survives in the forest for a year until he encounters the king’s hunting party. The wolf approaches the king and kisses his boot, displaying such noble behavior that the king halts the hunt and adopts the wolf as a companion. Later, at the castle, the knight who married Bisclavret’s wife attends a gathering. Bisclavret attacks the knight, but the king intervenes, restraining and reprimanding the wolf.
Some time later, the king travels through Bisclavret’s homeland. The baroness, Bisclavret’s former wife, brings gifts for the king, but when Bisclavret sees her, he bites off her nose. The king deduces that the knight and his wife must have wronged the wolf, leading to their arrest. Under torture, the baroness confesses and reveals the location of Bisclavret’s clothes. Finally, Bisclavret regains his human form, reclaims his lands, and maintains a strong friendship with the king.
Tales like Bisclavret’s portray werewolves in a favorable or neutral manner. However, such interpretations faded with the rise of Christian reform across Europe.
6. Vilified by the Church
During the medieval era, the werewolf underwent significant transformation. Christian scholars reimagined the pagan werewolf as a symbol of malevolence. Lycanthropy was deemed a vile curse, inflicted through demonic influence or witchcraft. Priests could condemn sinners to lycanthropy as divine retribution. Additionally, those born on Christmas Eve were believed to become werewolves, as their birth was seen as an affront to the celebration of Jesus’ nativity.
During this period, belief in werewolves grew alongside the fear of witches. Both were viewed as remnants of pagan superstition that needed eradication. Amid the panic, werewolf sightings became frequent, leading to numerous accusations and executions, including notorious figures like Peter Stumpp. Villagers devised their own methods to uncover werewolves in human guise, such as identifying traits like a unibrow, hairy hands, or an unusually long index finger.
5. Werewolves as Revenants
Werewolves became closely associated with revenants and vampires during the Middle Ages. The Greeks believed that slain werewolves would return as vampires, haunting battlefields and suffocating dying soldiers. They were also thought to invade homes and snatch infants from their cribs. Unlike other European werewolves, Greek werewolves didn’t physically transform; instead, their souls left their bodies to inhabit wandering wolves.
The Serbs merged werewolves and vampires into a single entity known as a vlkoslak. These hybrid creatures emerged during the harshest winter cold. They gathered in forests, shedding their wolf skins and hanging them on trees. If someone managed to steal and burn one of these skins, the vlkoslak would be freed from its curse.
4. The Legend of the Silver Bullet
Following Christian reform, werewolves had no specific weaknesses and could be killed like witches or vampires—by dismemberment and burning the remains.
Between 1764 and 1767, a massive wolf or wolf pack terrorized Gevaudan, France, during a peak in werewolf fears. Locals believed it was a single demonic werewolf, responsible for 60 to 113 deaths. The situation escalated to the point where King Louis XV dispatched royal hunters to eliminate the threat. They killed a large wolf, but the attacks persisted.
A group of local hunters then pursued the beast. Jean Chastel, a local innkeeper, finally shot the enormous wolf using bullets crafted from a silver chalice blessed by a priest. Chastel believed the bullets were lethal because the chalice had held the blood of Christ during communion. The silver composition likely held no significance for him, but this tale may have inspired the modern werewolf’s vulnerability to silver bullets.
3. The Wolf Man
Universal Pictures’ The Werewolf of London marked Hollywood’s first major werewolf film. In the story, botanist Wilfred Glendon journeys to Tibet in search of a rare plant but is attacked and bitten by a mysterious creature. Returning to London, he unknowingly becomes one of two werewolves terrorizing the city, refusing to accept his own transformation.
The Werewolf of London introduced the concept of lycanthropy as a contagious disease transmitted through bites. Despite this innovation, the film was unsuccessful. The Glendon werewolf’s minimal makeup and costume made him resemble Mr. Hyde more than a wolf-human hybrid.
Lon Chaney Jr. became the first actor to endure the intense makeup process to portray a convincing werewolf in the 1941 film The Wolf Man. His iconic transformation scene captivated audiences, cementing werewolves in popular culture. The Wolf Man became a cornerstone of Universal Pictures’ horror franchise, with Chaney reprising his role multiple times. The film drew on 19th and 20th-century werewolf myths to establish enduring tropes, and the 1943 crossover Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man popularized the idea of werewolves transforming under the full Moon.
2. The Werewolf of Paris
In 1933, Guy Endore published The Werewolf of Paris, a novel often regarded as the werewolf equivalent of Dracula.
The story centers on Bertrand, a boy born on Christmas Eve to a teenage girl who was assaulted by a priest. As he grows, Bertrand develops disturbing sexual urges that manifest in his dreams, some of which are later revealed to be memories of his actions as a werewolf. After attacking a prostitute, killing a friend, and engaging in an incestuous relationship with his mother, Bertrand escapes to Paris.
Bertrand’s uncle, who raised him, pursues him to Paris, investigating local murders and mutilated bodies in search of his nephew. Unbeknownst to him, Bertrand has fallen in love with Sophie, a woman aware of his curse. She helps him manage it by allowing him to drink small amounts of her blood. However, the beast within is difficult to control, and Bertrand fears he will soon succumb to it.
The Werewolf of Paris marks the emergence of the modern werewolf archetype. Bertrand experiences his transformations as dreams and struggles with self-control when faced with temptation. He is a fundamentally good man burdened by a horrific curse that changes his actions. The novel also introduces the werewolf’s vulnerability to silver, a trait that becomes a staple in later werewolf fiction.
1. Gothic Horror
As the Age of Enlightenment dawned, superstitions began to wane (relatively speaking), and werewolves transitioned into the realm of literature. Gothic horror tales featuring monsters gained popularity, including Sabine Baring-Gould’s The Book of Were-wolves (1865). Baring-Gould notes that werewolves transform under the full Moon, citing another author who shared this view. This is among the earliest references to lycanthropes changing under moonlight, a trait that, like the silver bullet vulnerability, wouldn’t become widely accepted until a century later.
Werewolves remained popular into the 20th century, featuring in comic books like “Weird Tales.” However, they lacked a definitive work akin to Dracula, Frankenstein, or Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
