The Origin And Spread Of The Legend Of Werewolf

The dark dog-like figure is known as a werewolf, and has lived in the mythical shadows terrorizing people for centuries. But we still have not figured out the origins of this mythical creature and how the legend of the werewolf has spread throughout the world. Werewolves have been a part of Western culture over the past several hundred years. Werewolves have been a discussion of many books and stories and have even been apparent in blockbuster movies. Werewolves are wicked and dominant creatures that frighten people on numerous levels. While some say that werewolves are the most vicious and cruel creatures that horror has to offer, there is something about them that we can identify with. Not only can we identify with the characters stricken with the curse, but there is also a belief that the werewolf is a monster and an evil force or perhaps a serial killer in disguise. The legend of the werewolf is thought to be the metaphor which reflects evil within us all. Investigating the different evils that werewolves symbolize can be done by reviewing the history of the werewolf as seen through the years, literature and films such as Twilight, Werewolf of London, and Vampire Diaries, and examining the attitudes of noted scholars on how the myth of a serial killer has evolved and been romanticized into modern day culture.

The origin of the myth of the werewolf can be traced back to thirteenth century in the Saga of the Volsungs. It was commonly believed not only that werewolves could exist but did exist. The history of the word lycanthropy is a Greek word meaning wolf-man and is interchangeable and was used to describe the werewolf. The description of how werewolves transformed physically changes from culture to culture. In The Saga of the Volsungs Sigmundr and Sinfjotli find magical wolf pelts that transform them into wolves and the pelts could only be removed after ten days. But these stories chronicled in literature are simply used to mask the murderous ways of some outcast in society. In modern times people are most familiar with a person being bitten which changed them into a werewolf every night or on a full moon. An example of this transformation can be seen in The Werewolf on London when Dr. Glendon is bitten by a werewolf while hiking in Tibet. Authors try to disguise the evil person’s soul by believing they were possessed by a werewolf, but in reality the tale of the werewolf was used to disguise the killing of innocent people. People needed to believe that no one in their right mind would have the vampent soul, and be able to murder other humans, thus the myth of the werewolf was born. Society could understand if someone was possessed by an evil mythical spirit when conducting the killings but they could not comprehend a serial killer among them. The hatred for the murderous killings was then passed down through storytelling which then led to the hatred of the actual wolf animal.

The history of hating wolves came with the folklores that the English settlers heard from the Scottish Highlands. The English settlers also had never encountered wolves before because wolves had become extinct since the early 1500s in England. The stories were gruesome tales depicting wolves would “exhume dead human corpses” (Fogelman 64). These folklores shaped the English colonists into hating the wolves because most of them had never encountered an actual wolf. Only a couple countries in Europe had wolves actively living during these times. Thus, when the English colonists settled in the United States they had a hard time adjusting to these creatures and became frightened of them due to their stalking nature. The first reason they had a hard time was because they settled in many areas where the wolves lived and roamed in packs. Becoming close in contact to these foreign beasts was a hard transition for the settlers because the settlers had never encountered them before. The second reason the settlers hated wolves was due to bringing easy prey for the wolves to eat. The colonist’s brought sheep and cattle which became an easy target for the wolves to attack. This drew packs of wolves closer to the settler’s encampments. Clearly, the hatred and fear of wolves started very early on in history. The early English colonists hated and feared the wolves because the colonist had to fight with the wolves for their meat supply. Bitterness that the colonists felt toward the wolves discontinued the interaction between the colonists and beasts. This led to fuel the support of the extermination campaigns against wolves. As the interactions with the wolves faded, colonists created “folklore and myths rather than reality”. The story telling of the myth of the werewolf became more and more exaggerated as the fear of the animal expanded. Writers depicted wolves as ravenous and relentless beasts that fervently “stalked and killed people”. These stories were passed down generation to generation. Even people who never encountered wolves would pass down these horrific myths and folklores.

Fear of survival was not the only reason that the colonists hated the wolves. Many of the English colonists that settled in the United States were Christian (Fogelman 66). The colonists felt threatened by the wolves because they believed that the wolves threatened their “spiritual well being” (Fogelman 66). The colonists thought that the wolves were capable of “murdering a human’s soul”. Fogelman points out that the New Testament depicts how Christ sent his followers “forth as lambs among wolves”. This led to the followers, the colonists, envisioning themselves as sheep in this wilderness and being hunted by wolves. Fogelman points out that the threat that the wolves had on the colonists “spiritual and physical well beings” led to the first campaign to exterminate the wolves. When we do not fully understand something we naturally fear it, therefore when we assumed wolves could kill the soul our imagination took control and we set out on this quest to exterminate them all. This also goes to show that when we fear something, we exaggerate it.

The history of the ways to become a werewolf has evolved. During the 1300s through the 1500s the way a person was thought to transform into a werewolf was to put on a wolf pelt on or sleep outside naked during a full moon. Now modern films and books portray a person turning into a werewolf either by being bitten by one or the werewolf gene being passed down from generation to generation. Turning into a werewolf was just a metaphor for a person to emerge and transform into a murderer. Also, the way to kill a werewolf has evolved through history. During the colonist’s time, a way to kill a werewolf was to either hit it on the head with a knife or to shout the person’s name (Kunstler 198). By yelling at someone this was a way to jar humanity back into a person who had a murderous desire. Now, people portray the way to kill a werewolf is to shoot it with a silver bullet. According to the myth of the way to kill a werewolf, a silver bullet is the only way to cure the person of the blood virus by shooting the silver into their system ultimately killing them and the virus.

Now modern people have evolved from hating werewolves to romanticizing them. These once horrific beasts are now played by shirtless hunks in major blockbuster movies. We create characters that play werewolves who have relatable traits or struggles and you end up with a main character that has an enduring personality which the audience falls in love with. We forget that these Hollywood hunks who portray werewolves are still playing characters that are murdering people. We have a creature that in its origin, transformed into a savage man slayer in the night that now in modern times is shown as a strong, likeable character. People are using these once ferocious monsters and morphing them into attractive creatures who have appealing personalities.

An example of a folklore that the English settlers heard where the stories told in The Saga of the Volsungs. The Saga of the Volsungs was a legendary tale from the thirteenth century. There are five times that people are transformed into wolves in this saga. In the first chapter Sigi “figuratively becomes a werewolf”. In the fifth chapter of the Saga of the Volsungs the mother of King Siggeir transforms into a wolf and eats the nine sons of King Volsungr. The most famous story in the Saga of the Volsungs is the tale of the father and son, Sigmundr and Sinfjotli. The story describes how the father and son find magical wolf pelts in a hut located in a forest. However, the pelts could only be removed on the tenth day. The father and son put on the pelts and are transformed into wolves. They become brutal and fight many men. In one story the son killed eleven people at one time, and the father became mad at the son’s egotism giving a deadly bite to his son. This is another example of a serial killer being portrayed as a werewolf. The story goes on to describe how the god Odin gave a leaf that helped healed the son, and after the tenth day passed the son and father removed their pelts and burned them in a fire so they could shed the negative persona of the werewolf. The final reference of a werewolf is when Sigmund takes Sinfjotli out into the forest to train him to become a great warrior by finding his spiritual animal. The development of Sinfjotli is a huge part of the sacred rites of these people. Odin’s spiritual animal is a wolf which symbolizes Odin as a “god of war”. The wolf also symbolizes the power that it brings victory in battles according old Germanic and Nordic belief. This story is believed to be a way for the Nordic people to get closer to Odin.

In 1935, The Werewolf of London debuted and became the beginning of the genre of movies of people transforming into werewolves and became popular with the general public. The movie depicted the main character Dr. Glendon being bitten by a werewolf while he was hiking in Tibet to find the flower that reportedly has the cure for werewolfism. Dr. Glendon returns home to England and meets a botanist by the name of Dr. Yogami. Dr. Yogami asks Dr. Glendon about the flower, and Dr. Glendon becomes weary of Dr. Yogami because he suspects that Dr. Yogami may be a werewolf. Dr. Glendon learns that the botanist, Dr. Yogami, was the one who bit him while in Tibet. Dr. Glendon transforms into a werewolf three times and every time he kills someone.This metaphor about a man being bitten is really just a mans evil desire to kill. Dr. Yogami steals the flowers, from Dr. Glendon, with the antidote that cures werewolfism and uses the last flower in England for himself. Dr. Glendon transforms to a werewolf, for the last time, which leads him to killing people and ultimately Dr. Glendon is shot dead by the police. Again this is another example of a movie romatancising werewolves but really the man portrayed as a werewolf is a serial killer in disguise.

Modern films and television series that portray werewolves are films like The Vampire Diaries and the Twilight series. In the show The Vampire Diaries Michael Trevino plays the character Tyler Lockwood who triggers the werewolf curse that turns him to a werewolf. The transformation was triggered because Tyler Lockwood kills a person which triggers the family curse of converting into a werewolf. This is why werewolves are seen in some negative connotations because just like the first European who sacrificed and ate someone to become a werewolf, Tyler had to become a killer in order to transform into a werewolf. He then morphs into a wolf every full moon. In one of the scenes of the show, he transforms into a wolf for a first time. The painful process of transforming into a werewolf seems like it takes hours but only lasts a few minutes. It shows the gruesome transition as his bones crack and hair sprouts out of his body as he becomes a wolf like creature. He is given great strength and speed but loses his true human form, and turns into a vicious beast every full moon. He locks himself away and chains himself up before he transforms so he does not have the ability to kill people.

The Twilight series not only romanticizes werewolves but vampires as well. The series goes through the life struggles of a girl named Bella who has to choose between two men who she is romantically attracted to. The two main love interests are depicted as a mythical vampire and the other as a werewolf. Taylor Lautner plays the character named Jacob Black who is symbolically portrayed as a werewolf. Jacob Black transforms into a werewolf at the age of sixteen and lives with his dad who is bound to a wheelchair because of diabetes. He is an alpha from an ancient tribe called Quileute. He grows a strong connection with Bella and begins to fall in love with her. However, Bella chooses to date the vampire, Edward Cullen, over him. In the second movie New Moon, Edward Cullen and his family have to leave. While Edward Cullen is away Bella and Jacob Black grow closer together romantically. When the Edward Cullen moves back Jacob is forced to stay away from Bella. This is because werewolves are short tempered, highly violent, and likely to explode into a wolf with killer tendencies when angered. The love story in the Twilight series depicts Hollywood movies stars who play werewolves as the ultimate sex symbols that all young girls lust over. This evolution of literature in movies shows how the status of the werewolf myth is now romanticized in modern day movies.

The transformation of werewolves has had different perspective throughout the centuries. In the Werewolf of London movie, we see how Dr. Glendon does not fully morphe physically unlike Tyler Lockwood in the Vampire Diaries. Tyler Lockwood breaks his bones and morphs his body into a wolf while Dr. Glendon just grows more hair and grows more and sharper teeth. Both movies are examples of the myth of the werewolf disguising murderous behaviors. The movies try to romanticise the myth with handsome young actors playing the part of the werewolf. Modern movies have evolved the character of the werewolf from a creepy dog-like figure to a current recognized Hollywood movie star that every teenage girl dreams about. This is a way to romanticize the myth of the werewolf, and it has transformed our modern day attitude. Scholars have also had an impact on the folklore of the werewolf. Even though we see how folklore could have been created out of fear and hatred of wolves, the people of Europe could have been fascinated with the idea of shape-shifting; another word for transforming. Aðalheiður Guðmundsdóttir looks into the folklore of North Icelandic literature. In northern Icelandic folklore people would transform into two animals either a bear or a wolf, however transforming into a wolf was a more popular folklore. In medieval Icelandic sources, there are many references to men and gods changing into their hamr of a certain animal. The word hamr in icelandic terms could either mean pelt/ skin and a shape.

The next specialist is Barton Kunstler who looked at the the rituals people undertook to become a werewolf. Kunstler explained that werewolves are a “secret association of elite warriors”. Kunstler further explains that people do not act like wolves but rather they are “man-wolves”. Meaning that they do not transform into a wolf but rather take certain traits of a wolf and use these qualities to kill enemies. These warriors incorporate or conceptualize qualities of a wolf, like super strength and exquisite hunting skills at critical times. The werewolf rites were performed by a group of men that would go out into the forest and sacrifice someone. The werewolf transformation would then begin and the person would then be given animal pelts to wear. The desire of this outcome was for the person to become a skilled warrior by becoming a werewolf who would be successful in battles. They must become wolf-like so then they can transform mentally into warriors who need to have the strength and mental will power to be able to kill their enemies.

The origin of the werewolf came about during the 1300s. This universal creature is still talked about today and people are still fascinated by this idea of transforming into this beast. People have evolved from hating the werewolf to now romanticizing about it. During the 1500s it was commonly believed that not only that werewolf could exist but actually did exist on Earth. The early colonists had never encountered wolves before coming to America. The wolves in England had become extinct during the 1500s and only a small population lived in the northern part of Europe. The only way the colonists heard of these creatures was through folktales passed down from the Scottish Highlands. These gruesome stories depicted wolves mauling humans and other prey to pieces at night. These folklores shaped the perceptions of wolves when landing into America where wolves had a higher population count. An example of the an early English folklore was the thirteenth century saga called the Saga of the Volsungs. In this saga it depicts four different times of a person transforming into a werewolf. The most horrifying story is when Sigmundr and Sinfjotli find magic wolf pelts and put them on to transform into wolves. Their humanity was gone once they turned into wolves because Sinfjotli attacks and kills eleven people at once. Sigmundr then attacks Sinfjotli for his arrogance and almost kills him but Odin saves Sinfjotli with a magical leaf that heals him. Both Sinfjotli and Sigmundr take off the pelts and burn them. This shows the killer beast the werewolf portrayed is in us all. Not only did these stories scare people about wolves but also wolves would prey on the sheep and cattle the colonists brought to America. The fear of survival began to rise because the colonists had to constantly fight with the wolves about the dead livestock. Hearing these types of stories and fighting for survival frightened the English colonists and this began the extermination campaigns against wolves. The fear that wolves had against people was tremendous. Colonies would set bounties on wolves to entice townsfolk to go out and kill a wolf to decrease their population.

Now people have evolved to romanticize werewolves. These once terrifying beasts are now shirtless guys running around in films and books. This still does not hide the fact that they still lock themselves away because of their in-human urges to kill people. An example of this is in the Vampire Diaries when Tyler Lockwood locks himself away when transforming because of the fear of hurting or even killing someone. Even in the 1935 movie the Werewolf of London Dr. Glendon locks himself away in barred room to try and not hurt anyone after he has transformed in a werewolf. The werewolf is still seen in a negative connotation but still is romanticized by the public. The way people become werewolves and how to kill werewolves has evolved. During the 1500s the way to a person would become a werewolf was to either sacrifice someone, sleep outside naked on a full moon, or even put a magical wolf pelt on their body. Now the way to become a werewolf is to be bitten by one, kill someone, or have the werewolf gene in your family. All three modern films show one of these ways to becoming a werewolf. In the Vampire Diaries Tyler Lockwood accidentally kills someone which triggers the family curse making him transform on a full moon into a werewolf. In the Twilight series Jacob Black becomes a werewolf by the gene being passed down in his family. Finally, in the Werewolf of London movie Dr. Glendon is bitten by a werewolf which then makes him transform into a werewolf. The ways to kill a werewolf has changed too. During the colonist’s time the ways, they thought, to kill a werewolf was either shouting the person’s name or hitting it on top of the head with a knife. In some stories, werewolves could only be killed if they were tracked down and killed while in human form. Now the way to kill a werewolf is to shoot it with a silver bullet. This just goes to show that we mold these creatures with our own thoughts, and our imagination is the only thing behind these creatures. This is what has allowed our perception of werewolves to change over time.

The reason people created folktales about these mythical, terrifying beasts could have been to explain the unexplainable. Back in the thirteen hundreds, some people could have been attacked by massive wild packs of wolves that only descended upon people at night. Therefore, survivors created tales of these massive beasts that killed men. The myth of the werewolf could have also been used to mask a serial killer whose actions could only be explained by creating a mythical figure to comprehend a demented person. Some people believe that werewolves are also representing the evil in people that they feel more comfortable revealing under the cover of a full moon and the shadows. When people could not find a way to practically explain a tragedy or natural phenomenon, they would create stories to fill the gap in their knowledge. Through history, literatures, and films the myth of the werewolf has transformed from a dreaded serial killer to Hollywood movie stars. Our interpretation of werewolves changed as our society developed. We now view these creatures as romantic heroes in movies instead of the once feared creatures of folklore. Now that we are smarter and understand our surroundings we have no need to make up tall tales of wolf-like beasts that prey on men, we need characters to entertain ourselves in stories and movies. This is why our view of werewolves has changed.

Works Cited

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8. Twilight. Directed by Bill Condon, David Slade, Chris Weitz, Catherine Hardwicke, Little, Brown Company, 5 October 2005.
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