Spook Guide - Werewolves
The werewolf appears in Old English, but only once. In about the year
1000, according to the laws of King Canute, the ‘madly ravenous
werewolf’ could savagely tear or devour certain people.
The
‘were’ in werewolf means ‘man.’ Hence the
werewolf is a ‘man-wolf’, a being capable of changing
from human form into a wolf at night or just under a full moon depending
on which story you believe.
The
word may also come from ‘vargulf.’ This is a Norse word
that means the type of wolf who kills a whole flock but only eats
a bit.
The
werewolf, once transformed, devours people, animals or corpses before
returning to human form in the light of day. Some werewolves are believed
to be able to change shape at will. Others, who have been bitten by
a werewolf themselves, are thought to change involuntarily under the
influence of a full moon.
Humans
who believe that they are wolves suffer from a rare disorder called
lycanthropy. Werewolves are thought to be extremely powerful, and
yet vulnerable to the shot of a silver bullet, or by the complete
destruction of their heart or brain. According to some stories, the
werewolf will become a vampire upon its death.
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