X-Files and Werewolves
On an episode of the X-files, it deals with what is apparently a werewolf. The history of werewolves dates back to the 15-16 century or more. But what is interesting is that sightings and reports have continued in our modern times. I want to post more about this but first, let's take a look at this upcoming episode of X-files
Here is the trailer.
Here is the trailer.
A werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope is the ability of a human to shapeshift into a wolf or a hybrid wolf-like creature. According to the legend of Werewolves, it is thought that a curse was put on someone that made them turn into a werewolf. It was also thought that if you were bitten or scratched by a werewolf, you would also be under the curse and change into a werewolf. Kind of like if you are bitten by a zombie you will become a zombie type of thing.
The term lycanthropy, referring both to the ability to transform oneself into a wolf and to the act of so doing, comes from Ancient Greek.
The concept of the werewolf in Western and Northern Europe is strongly influenced by the role of the wolf in Germanic paganism.
In the Latin work of prose, the Satyricon, written about 60 C.E. by Gaius Petronius Arbiter, one of the characters, Niceros, tells a story at a banquet about a friend who turned into a wolf (chs. 61-62). He describes the incident as follows, "When I look for my buddy I see he'd stripped and piled his clothes by the roadside... He pees in a circle round his clothes and then, just like that, turns into a wolf!... after he turned into a wolf he started howling and then ran off into the woods."
There have been numerous reports of werewolf attacks – and consequent court trials – in 16th-century France. In some of the cases, there was clear evidence against the accused of murder and cannibalism, but none of association with wolves; in other cases, people have been terrified by such creatures, such as that of Gilles Garnier in Dole in 1573, there was clear evidence against some wolf but none against the accused.
Until the 20th century, wolf attacks on humans were an occasional, but still widespread feature of life in Europe. Some scholars have suggested that it was inevitable that wolves, being the most feared predators in Europe, were projected into the folklore of evil shapeshifters.
Some modern researchers have tried to explain the reports of werewolf behavior with recognized medical conditions. Dr. Lee Illis of Guy's Hospital in London wrote a paper in 1963 entitled On Porphyria and the Aetiology of Werewolves, in which he argues that historical accounts of werewolves could have in fact been referring to victims of congenital porphyria, stating how the symptoms of photosensitivity, reddish teeth and psychosis could have been grounds for accusing a sufferer of being a werewolf.
This is however argued against by Woodward, who points out how mythological werewolves were almost invariably portrayed as resembling true wolves, and that their human forms were rarely physically conspicuous as porphyria victims. Others have pointed out the possibility of historical werewolves having been sufferers of hypertrichosis, a hereditary condition manifesting itself in excessive hair growth. However, Woodward dismissed the possibility, as the rarity of the disease ruled it out from happening on a large scale, as werewolf cases were in medieval Europe.
People suffering from Down syndrome have been suggested by some scholars to have been possible originators of werewolf myths. Woodward suggested rabies as the origin of werewolf beliefs, claiming remarkable similarities between the symptoms of that disease and some of the legends. Woodward focused on the idea that being bitten by a werewolf could result in the victim turning into one, which suggested the idea of a transmittable disease like rabies.
However, the idea that lycanthropy could be transmitted in this way is not part of the original myths and legends and only appears in relatively recent beliefs. Lycanthropy can also be met with as the main content of a delusion, for example, the case of a woman has been reported who during episodes of acute psychosis complained of becoming four different species of animals
Characteristics
The beliefs classed together under lycanthropy are far from uniform, and the term is somewhat capriciously applied. The transformation may be temporary or permanent; the were-animal may be the man himself metamorphosed; maybe his double whose activity leaves the real man to all appearance unchanged; maybe his soul, which goes forth seeking whom it may devour, leaving its body in a state of trance; or it may be no more than the messenger of the human being, a real animal or a familiar spirit, whose intimate connection with its owner is shown by the fact that any injury to it is believed, by a phenomenon known as a repercussion, to cause a corresponding injury to the human being.There were/are many ways that one may become a werewolf. How to achieve this varies depending on where you are at. One of the simplest is the removal of clothing and putting on a belt made of wolfskin. Drinking rainwater out of the footprint of the animal in question or from certain enchanted streams was also considered an effectual mode of accomplishing metamorphosis. In Italy, France, and Germany, it was said that a man or woman could turn into a werewolf if he or she, on a certain Wednesday or Friday, slept outside on a summer night with the full moon shining directly on his or her face. In other cases, the transformation was supposedly accomplished by Satanic allegiance for the most loathsome ends, often for the sake of sating a craving for human flesh.
So, as you see the idea and history of the werewolf is a long and varied legend. Now, in our day and age, we don't get very many reports of werewolves. But we do get a growing number of Dogman reports and it makes me wonder if these Dogmen are the Werewolves of days gone by. There is a common perception that dogman are more aggressive than bigfoot. This seems to fall in line with the history of werewolves. So, maybe there is a connection.
(source wikipedia )
Thanks
~Tom~
This post by Thomas Marcum, Thomas is the founder/leader of the cryptozoology and paranormal research organization known as The Crypto Crew. Over 20 years experience with research and investigation of unexplained activity, working with video and websites. A trained wild land firefighter and a published photographer, and poet.
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