In Mythology werewolves are entites that are human but shape shift into animal form during certain lunar aspects which affect their DNA.
(In folklore and superstition) a human being that has changed or been changed into a wolf, or is capable of assuming the form of a wolf, while retaining human intelligence.
Lycanthropy:
Lycanthropy from Greek lykoi, "wolf" anthropos, "man" - a delusion that one has become a wolf. The assumption of the form and characteristics of a wolf held to be possible by witchcraft or magic
At the Center of Biomedical Research in Guadalajara, Mexico geneticist Dr. Luis Figuera is studying a Mexican family with a rare genetic mutation that causes fur like hair to grow all over their bodies. This werewolf disorder has mysterious resurfaced for the first time since the middle ages. The gene that causes the mutation lay dormant for centuries. It can be passed through either parent in the "X" chromosone. This is known as the "Werewolf Disorder".
In the Aceves family...32 members...all have this disease. They live in a mountain town named Zacatecas in Mexico. The hair covers much of their body...even in females. Some members of the family have more hair than others. One of them performs as a wolfman in a traveling circus. They are discriminated against by the local people.
Dr. Figuera may not be able to cure their affliction but he is hoping to isolate the gene and help others. He is also hoping to help others with hair loss.
There are two categories of werewolf cases; 'false' or Lycanthropic Disorder cases and genuine werewolf cases.
LYCANTHROPIC DISORDER :
Lycanthropic Disorder - is a mental condition in which the subject (called a Lycanthrope) believes that he or she is a werewolf. The subject does not actually change shape, but is nevertheless capable of being as dangerous as an actual werewolf. Most cases of supposed werewolfry are really the works of Lycanthropic Disorder victims.
MAN TO BEAST:
In real werewolves a physical change to wolf form does occur. The change can be voluntary (at will), or can be forced by certain cycles of the moon and certain sounds (such as howling).
WEREWOLVES & IMMORTALITY:
Werewolves are immune from aging and from most physical diseases due to the constant regeneration of their physical tissue. They can, therefore, be virtually immortal. However, they can be killed by any wound that destroys the heart or the brain, or any form of death that causes brain or heart damage (such as hanging or other oxygen-deprivation methods).
THE MIND OF A WEREWOLF :
Though primarily a true wolf while in wolf form, there is some proof that the werewolf retains enough knowledge to assist his killing; recognition of victims, evation of traps, and human cunning have all been seen on werewolf cases.
BECOMING A WEREWOLF:
There are several ways to become a werewolf. They include being givin the power of shape shifting through sorcery, being cursed by someone who you have wronged in some way (called Lycaeonia curse), being bitten by a werewolf, and being born to a werewolf. In each case, the blood becomes tainted or cursed.
DAMNATION:
A person who becomes a werewolf against his will (birth, curse, or bite) is not completely damned until he tastes of human blood. Once he does, his soul is eternally damned and nothing may redeem him. Even without tasting of human blood, however, as long as the taint lays upon the immortal soul, it cannot enter Heaven, and will remain chained to the mortal plane upon death.
WEREWOLF PACKS:
Like real wolves, werewolves can live alone for many years, yet the instinct for a pack often leads them away from their secretive lifestyle, into revealing their nature to a priest or close associate, or converting another to werewolfry for companionship. This is when the otherwise cagey werewolf opens himself to dection! Werewolf packs cause immense destruction. A pack consists of one werewolf who became a werewolf through sorcery, birth, or curse - in other words, his is the original tainted blood. This werewolf is called the Alpha werewolf. The remaining werewolves in the pack are called Beta werewolves because they became werewolves through the bite of the Alpha and carry the Alpha's tainted blood.
ALPHA & BETA WEREWOLVES:
The relationship between Alpha and Beta werewolves is a complex one. Once a subject is bitten by a werewolf, his or her life and death are doomed to the werewolf curse. The victim does, however, have some hope - as long as they themselves do not taste of human blood, the curse is reversible. If the Alpha werewolf is killed - through some action of the Beta - the Beta's curse is broken. It is important to note that whether the Beta werewolf was bitten by the Alpha werewolf himself or by another Beta, it is the Alpha who must be destroyed - the source of the original tainted blood. It is also an interesting note that since Betas and Alphas share common blood, an Alpha cannot physically harm a Beta of his own bloodline by his own hans without inflicting the same injury upon himself. However, if a Beta is harmed or killed by another, it does not affect the Alpha.
SYMPTOMS OF WEREWOLFRY:
When hunting for a werewolf it is important to remember that your biggest clues will come through your suspects personalities. Becoming a werewolf is not transparent, no matter how the victim tries to hide it. The tainted, sub-human blood appearence. Therefore, look for symptoms in your human suspects that include increasing violence, increasing aggression, unprovoked rages, insomnia, restlessness, and other bizarre behavior. Unfortunately, over time these symptoms can be brought under control, so do not rely on them exclusively.
PURPORTED WEREWOLF SIGHTINGS IN HISTORY 75,000 BC Earliest human altars, including evidence of prehistoric bear-cult. 10,000 BC Domestication of dog 6,000 BC Catal Huyuk cave-drawings depict leopard men hunting 2,000 BC Epic of Gilamesh written down (first literary evidence of werewolves) 850 BC Odyssey written down (includes many traces of werewolf beliefs) 500 BC Scythians recorded as believing the Neuri to be werewolves. 400 BC Damarchus, Arcadian werewolf, said to have won boxing medal at Olympics 100 - 75 BC Virgil's eighth ecologue (first voluntary transformation of werewolf) 55 AD Petronius, Satyricon 150 AD Apuleius, Metamorphosis composed 170 AD Pausanias visits Arcadia and hears of Lykanian werewolf rites 432 AD St. Patrick arrives in Ireland 600 AD Saint Albeus (Irish) said to have been suckled by wolves 617 AD Wolves said to have attacked heretical monks 650 AD Paulus Aegineta describes "melancholic lycanthropia" 900 AD Hrafnsmal mentions "wolf coats" among the Norwegian Army Canon Episcopi condems the belief in reality of witches as heretical 1020 First use of the word "werewulf" recorded in English 1101 Death of Prince Vseslav of Polock, alleged Ukrainian werewolf 1182 - 1183 Giraldus claims to have discovered Irish werewolf couple 1194 - 1197 Guillaume de Palerne composed 1198 Marie de France composes Bisclavret 1250 Lai de Melion composed 1275 - 1300 Volsungasaga, Germanic werewolf saga, written down 1344 Wolf child of Hesse discovered 1347 - 1351 First major outbreak of the Black Death 1407 Werewolves mentioned during witchcraft trial at Basel 1450 Else of Meerburg accused of riding a wolf 1486 Malleus Maleficarum published 1494 Swiss woman tried for riding a wolf 1495 Woman tried for riding a wolf at Lucerne 1521 Werewolves of Poligny burnt 1541 Paduan werewolf dies after having arms and legs cut off 1550 Witekind interviews self-confessed werewolf at Riga Johann Weyer takes up post of doctor at Cleve 1552 Modern French version of Guillaume published at Lyon 1555 Olaus Magnus records strange behavior of Baltic werewolves 1560 First publication of Della Porta, Magiae naturalis 1563 First publication of Weyer, De praestigus daemonum 1572 St. Bartholomew's Day of Massacre, intensification of French civil war 1573 Gilles Garnier burnt as werewolf 1575 Trials of the benandanti begin in the Friuili (and will continue for a century) 1580 Rebellion at Romans with cannibalistic overtones 1584 Reginald Scot's Discoverie of Witchcraft published 1588 Alleged date of Auvergne female werewolf (Boguet) 1589 Peter Stubb executed as werewolf at Cologne 1598 Roulet tried as werewolf, his sentence commuted "Werewolf of Chalons" executed at Paris Gandillon family burnt as werewolves in the Jura 1602 2nd edition of Bouget, Discours des sorciers 1603 Jean Grenier tried as werewolf and is sentenced to life imprisonment 1610 Two women condemned as werewolves at Liege Jean Grenier dies 1614 Webster's Duchess of Malfi published 1637 Famine in Franche-Comte: cannibalism reported 1652 Cromwellian law forbids export of Irish wolfhounds 1692 The Livonian werewolf Theiss interrogated 1697 Perrault's Contes includes "Little Red Riding Hood" 1701 De Tournefort sees vampire exhumation 1764 Bete de Gevaudon starts werewolf scare in Auvergne 1796 - 1799 Widespread fear of wolves reported in France 1797 Victor of Aveyron first seen 1806 French population falls below 2000 1812 Grimm Brothers publish their version of "Little Red Riding Hood" 1824 Antoine Leger tried for werewolf crimes and sentenced to lunatic asylum 1828 Death of Victor of Averyon 1830 Souix warriors reported hunting in wolfskins 1857 Accusation of being "wolf leader" ends in court in St. Gervais G. W. M. Reynolds, Wagner the Wehr-Wolf published 1880 Folklorist collects werewolf tale in Picardy 1885 Johann Weyer's book reprinted at Paris 1886 Robert Louis Stevenson, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde published 1906 Freud lists Weyer's book as among ten most significant ever published 1913 The Werewolf (film) using real wolf in transformation scene 1914 Freud publishes "wolf man" paper 1920 Kamala and Amala, the Orissa wolf children, discovered Right-wing terror group "Operation Werewolf" established in Germany 1932 Jekyll & Hyde (film) starring Frederic March 1935 Werewolf of London (film) 1941 Wolf Man (film) starring Lon Chaney Jr. 1943 - 1944 Childhood autism first described LSD discovered 1944 House of Frankenstein (film) includes mention of silver bullet 1951 Outbreak of ergotism at Pont-Saint-Esprit 1952 Ogburn & Bose, On the trail of the Wolf-Children published 1957 I Was a Teenage Werewolf (film) 1972 Shamdeo discovered living among wolves in India 1975 Surawicz & Banta publish first two modern cases of lycanthopy 1979 "An American Werewolf in London" (film) includes first four-footed werewolf 1985 "Death of Shamdeo" "Teen Wolf" (film) 1988 Monsieur X arrested "McLean Hospital" survey published 1990 "Werewolf rapist" jailed McLean Case 8 full report published 1991 "The Wolfman" escapes from BroadmoorCRYSTALINKS
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