In the past werewolves were blamed for some killings that people just couldn’t figure out. The Werewolf-idea probably has its origins from the prehistoric hunters who use to wrap themselves in hides, made by the skin of a wolf. In mythology, a werewolf is believed to be human with the ability to shape shift into hybrid wolf-like creature, and there is usually a curse involved. There is much we don't know to be completely true, especially because the legends have evolved over time. They're several legends dictating the origin and creation of werewolves, but only a few can tell the truth behind these lycanthropes. The first trace of the concept werewolves came from the wars that were happening in Europe. Soldiers would dress with werewolf’s skin …show more content…
In Christianity, being a werewolf was associated with witches and Lucifer. With legends evolving over time, “werewolves were inherently evil and they had a predilection for human flesh” (Padden). The theory that it is easiest to comprehend is that soldiers dressed with wolf skin were mistaken for werewolves. There is myth about Zeus turning a King, by the name Lycaeon, into a werewolf because of his animalistic behavior. A popular case in history having to with a werewolf execution is Peter Stump. Apparently, "Peter was supposedly caught by his neighbors in his wolf form. They witnessed him taking off his “wolf girdle”, when they closed in on him. At which time, he re-assumed his human form. Peter confessed to murder, rape and cannibalism". (Padden) So is it safe to say that people were associating animalistic behavior with wolfs? People could not except that a normal human could be capable of such horrific acts. Shelly Barclay on "The History of the Werewolf Legend" goes on to say, One possible cause for the werewolf myth aligns very well with historical werewolf hunts and that is that people were trying to explain serial killers. …show more content…
We can’t conclusively prove if werewolves existed, but we can rely on historical records to inform us more of these monsters. We only contain some of the history of werewolves that was written, but anything spoken lives on as legends that have been transformed into movies and books. In the eyes of the people, werewolves will always be driven by darkness, and considered to be inhumane in every way. Lycanthropes continue to be popular today, with many movies, and books being written about them. The legend of the werewolf lives on to this day, in less intimidating forms. Without conclusive evidence, we cannot know for sure, if werewolves are real or not. Without actual sightings of werewolves in the modern era, we are less likely to find the answer. We must be careful with ourselves, and not let the inner beast consume us because of guilt, jealousy, or
The history behind the extirpation of the grey wolf in the United States dates back to the very first European settlers that colonized eastern North America in the late 16th century. The killing of gray wolves was done primarily out of fear in an attempt to protect livestock, and, in some cases, to protect human life within the colonies. As more settlers expanded West, the practice of killing wolves was considerably increased to protect livestock that included cows, pigs, and chickens. As waves of European settlers expanded westward, they began to deplete the deer, moose, and elk populations. The gray wolves food source continual depletion gave rise to wolf populations actively targeting the settler’s livestock, causing great financial loss. The fiscal loss of livestock became such an issue to wealthy ranchers and settlers that they began to offer cash rewards for wolf pelts. This practice gave birth to a lucrative cottage industry of professional hunters and trappers. As the wolves began to move further West, and into Wyoming, they began to diminish the elk and moose population. To respond to this threat, Congress approved funding in 1914, to eliminate the native gray wolves from
There are many stories, both positive and negative, regarding the Bigfoot in Native American culture. How the Bigfoot were viewed varies greatly with each tribe, from a “devil” to a “keeper of the forest.” What is clear though, before the Europeans began to settle the North American continent in mass, the Bigfoot were not reclusive. They interacted with the indigenous tribes and were a known tribe or society.
Early settlers, all the way back in the 1700s, tried to rid these marvelous creatures from the North American continent, which almost lead to their extinction. They poisoned, trapped, furred, shot and killed all the wolves that posed a threat to their lands and livestock. The settlers seemed to be getting their way in the beginning of the 1700s because as human population increased in America, unfortunately, the wolf population plummeted. They pushed the wolves out of their original habitats and the settlers made their habitats their home. The wolf population could have plummeted for many reasons, but the main reason was the fear the humans had of the wolves. Occasionally, the wolves would hunt in the fields where the settler’s livestock would graze and at the right time, the wolves would ambush the livestock for food. The wolves hunted the cattle because the horses were to much work to kill: the horses had strong hind legs that were a threat to the wolves. Farmers and Settlers also saw these wolves a...
...y white fur for fur that cost a lot of money. Some people like to sell their teeth for money or make jewelry. Mostly just for the thrill of it. Also to sell the whole wolf for money or cut off pieces of the wolf like head, ears, paws, and tail as a award for that they killed one. So because of all the stuff that people are doing to kill these wolves are making all them all disappear. There are less ad less. There are not in all 50 states as they use to be, they are reduced down to 7 states and Canada, that is how serious there case is now a day.
Vampire stories have universal themes that provide the backbone for every dark tale. The unholy essence that any vampire story provides sets the stage for the message that the Church is the way of life and will save you from creatures of evil. From in class readings, we can see all the major religious themes of the classic vampire story. The common religious theme is the abscess of light is the absence of holiness and is the path to eternal damnation. Darkness is the prime universal fear of humanity mostly because we, as a species, are not nocturnal creatures; therefore, we have developed a fear of the predator filled darkness of night. Using figurative descriptions of darkness as the enemy, the Church preaches the way of the light. The Church associates the side of good and evil with lightness and darkness appealing to the duality of man whether it is black and white, Ying and Yang or Good and Evil. The Church put a twist on this appeal when it started to manufacture works of fiction associated with creatures not of this world who oppose the message of the light, such as the Vampire. Vampire behaviors and tendencies counter-act the Church’s messages in every vampire story with themes of darkness, sensitivity to light, unholy lifestyles and an abundance of anti-Church related subjects. Vampire tales are a response to a changing societal view on religion practices and validity; the roots of vampire stories are strong indications of the Church’s attempt to tighten its firm grip of social control tied with universal human fears.
The first subject would be Werewolves. There are many misunderstandings and conspiracies involving werewolf legends and lore. With that being said there are many ideas on how werewolves came to be. "In Ancient Greece, it was believed that eating the meat of a wolf mixed with human blood could transform you and the condition would be irreversible.”
Bigfoot legends usually describe the human like creature roughly between 6 to 9 feet tall, covered in either black, brown, reddish, or grey hair, they’re very strong, barbaric, foul-smelling,
legends about those wild half-human beasts who haunt the edges of our forests and lurk in the
In 1996 the government brought back the wolf and there was a lot of controversy about the subject. Since people feared the wolf; they thought that there would be more wolf attacks, and livestock lost. The truth is: a person is more likely to get attacked by a buffalo or an elk than a wolf. Their food supply was plentiful at the time of reintroduction so attacks were never a problem.
In the days before serial killers were acknowledged phenomena murderers were often thought to be mythological creatures, because it was easier to blame inhuman creatures than to accept that humans could be evil enough to commit such crimes. Elizabeth Bathory was one such murderer, and was thought to be a vampire, while Albert Fish held the dubious honor of being called the Werewolf of Wysteria, and even the Boogeyman.
Wolves had live throughout parts of the world for thousands of years before humans just kept rising in population and minimizing the wolves’ population through the expansion of their territories for farm agriculture and industrialization. It is only in the United States where humans completely annihilated wolves; they did this by hunting the wolves down until the last wolf was killed in 1926. However, in 1995, 14 wolves were caught from Canada and release into Yellowstone National Park. This makes it almost 70 years since the wolves have been reintroduced back into Yellowstone National Park (17 July 2009)
Firstly, one must understand what the lycanthrope, Greek for wolf-man and interchangeable with werewolf, is. This is no easy task. What they are and how they come into being change from culture to culture and almost from person to person. We are most familiar with the werewolf who was a normal human being who, bit by a werewolf, is now tragically infected with the werewolf disease and metamorphoses into a beast every night or full moon. This werewolf is known as the “victimized werewolf” (Otten 165). A good natured member of society is forced, on a regular basis, to become a sinister beast that eradicates any previous resemblance, in personality and physical appearance, and replaces it with an indiscriminant urge to kill.
In “The Lay of the Werewolf,” by Marie de France, the main character Bisclavaret is betrayed by his wife. Bisclavaret had a secret that he never told anyone before, including his wife. He would go away for three days every week and would never say where he was going. This upset his wife; assuming the worse that Bisclavaret was cheating on her. She cried in his arms begging him to stop leaving her and her mourning convinced Bisclavaret to share his secret with her. The secret he spoke was that he had to leave for those three days because he turned into a werewolf. He left all civilization so while he was in the werewolf stage he would not hurt anyone. He also told her about the secret hallow stone near the chapel where he would leave his clothes. If his clothes were not there when his three days were over he would be unable to return back to his human form. After he revealed his secret he kissed her goodbye, hoping to see her after the three days. What Bisclavaret did not know was that his wife was cheating on him with a noble knight. Once Bisclavaret left; his wife told her new lover Bisclavaret’s secret and he stole the clothes from the stone; trapping Bisclavaret in his werewolf form. Bisclavaret mourned over the events that had happened, but soon was blessed with living with the king and serving as his protector. He served his king better than any other knight. He sought his revenge on his wife and her new lover when they arrived at the castle to visit the king. Bisclavaret attacked his wife, ripping off her nose, and her new husband. One of the wise counselors approached the king explaining why Bisclavaret would do these things to the King’s guests. The wife admitted to everything and they were banished from the land of Britt...
Nowadays, people are still enticed by fear, they have a curiosity for the supernatural, evil and frightening. Although modern day society is supposedly politically correct, we are still an immoral society and many of us would treat a creature like Frankenstein’s creation or a vampire like Dracula like a monster. In this way, the novels still have social significance.
We live in a world where creatures have abilities that can blow our minds, however we are ignorant of this. We live in a world where a constant power struggle is occurring between these secret species, a struggle that most human beings have no inclination to. We live in a world where people who know the truth are sworn to secrecy, and those who proclaim this truth are considered crazy and locked away; to be sane is to be ignorant. Well, that is what I would love to be true. In actuality, I am fascinated with the topic of monsters; I love them all: lycanthropes, Frankenstein’s monster, witches, fae, necromancers, zombies, demons, mummies, and my favorite: vampires.