Scary Monster Lore ~ Werewolves

Werewolves

• It’s unclear exactly when and where the werewolf legend originated.
• Some scholars believe the werewolf made its debut in The Epic of Gilgamesh, the oldest known Western prose, when Gilgamesh jilted a potential lover because she had turned her previous mate into a wolf.
• Werewolves made another early appearance in Greek mythology with the Legend of Lycaon.
• According to the legend, Lycaon, the son of Pelasgus, angered the god Zeus when he served him a meal made from the remains of a sacrificed boy.
• As punishment, the enraged Zeus turned Lycaon and his sons into wolves.
• Werewolves also emerged in early Nordic folklore. T
• he Saga of the Volsungs tells the story of a father and son who discovered wolf pelts that had the power to turn people into wolves for ten days.
• The father-son duo donned the pelts, transformed into wolves and went on a killing rampage in the forest.
• Their rampage ended when the father attacked his son, causing a lethal wound.
• The son only survived because a kind raven gave the father a leaf with healing powers.
• Many so-called werewolves from centuries ago were in fact serial killers, and France had its fair share.
• In 1521, Frenchmen Pierre Burgot and Michel Verdun allegedly swore allegiance to the devil and claimed to have an ointment that turned them into wolves.
• After confessing to brutally murdering several children, they were both burned to death at the stake. (Burning was thought to be one of the few ways to kill a werewolf.)