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If you want to become a werewolf, you might be surprised to discover that simply being bit is one of the rarer ways one is transformed. Historically, people became werewolves quite differently such as through wearing wolf skin and magical rituals.
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Werewolf Tips
- Some medical conditions can cause a person to grow hair, but does not make them a werewolf.
- At least two saints were believed to have transformed sinners into wolves.
- Wearing the skin of a wolf is a popular method of transforming.
- Sleeping outside during a full moon is believed to cause a person to become a werewolf.
- In the Middle Ages, witches and werewolves were connected to the Devil.
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Werewolf Tips
- Some medical conditions can cause a person to grow hair, but does not make them a werewolf.
- At least two saints were believed to have transformed sinners into wolves.
- Wearing the skin of a wolf is a popular method of transforming.
- Sleeping outside during a full moon is believed to cause a person to become a werewolf.
- In the Middle Ages, witches and werewolves were connected to the Devil.
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Introduction
- Everyone familiar with werewolf legends probably thinks that the way to become a werewolf is simple: if you get bitten by a werewolf, you will become a werewolf. However, historically speaking, this method was rarely believed to cause a person to transform. Many other methods were believed to cause the transformation, some accidentally, some purposefully. In order to understand how to become a werewolf you must travel the globe and investigate the folklore of numerous cultures.
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Important Safety Warning
- Please note that although this page is written in the same format as other Mahalo How To pages, keep in mind that much of the information on this page consists of historical practices and beliefs that are strictly illegal and/or dangerous to carry out today! Everything in this guide is intended solely for entertainment purposes.
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What is Not a Werewolf
- Before talking about what can make one a werewolf, one must first dispel certain misconceptions about conditions that will not make one a werewolf: hypertrichosis and porphyria.
- Porphyria is a rare skin disease that causes multiple symptoms including an increase of hair on a person's body.Health Matrix: The Werewolf Legend and its Medical Background
- Hypertrichosis is a genetic condition that causes hair to grow over a person's entire body in places it normally wouldn't.Health Matrix: The Werewolf Legend and its Medical Background
- Because of their appearance, people with this condition are often mistakenly believed do be werewolves.
- An acrobat with this condition, Fajardo Aceves Jesus Manuel, bills himself as "Wolfman" as a means of profiting on this misconceptionAbout.com: On the Trail of the Werewolf
- Slightly more common than either hypertrichosis and porphyria is a condition now termed "clinical lycanthropy." This occurs when a person believes that they either are or can become a wild animal.Primitivism: A Case of Lycanthropy However, in a recent study of these cases, only a few have dog or wolf themes.Kuro5hin.org: Howling at the Moon: Modern-day Lycanthropy
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Divine Intervention
- The concept that transforming into a wolf is a curse from the gods is one of the oldest beliefs on how to become a werewolf. The curse need not come directly from God, however. According to Saint Thomas Aquinas, "All angels, good and bad have the power of transmutating our bodies" and did so on at least two occasions.Skeptic World: Cryptozoology - Werewolf
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Jupiter and King Lyacon
- One of the most important myths is told by Ovid in Metamorphoses in 8 A.D. In the poem, King Lycaon is entertaining the god Jupiter. Lyacon doubted Jupiter's powers and decided to test him. To this end, Lyacon killed and served the flesh of his son. Jupiter became enraged and cursed Lyacon. According to Ovid, Lyacon became "a wolf" but still "retains yet large trace of his ancient expression."The Book of Were-Wolves: Chapter II. Lycanthropy Among the Ancients. This myth is important because the word "lycanthropy," another word for werewolf, is believed to derive from the name Lycaon.Allen Varney: History of Werewolves
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Saints
- However, it was not only gods who could create werewolves. On at least two occasions Christian saints were believed to have cursed individuals and made them werewolves.
- Saint Patrick transformed the Welsh king Vereticus and his followers into wolves after they rejected the teachings of Christianity. It is unclear how long they remained wolves. Some myths say seven years, others say they transformed into wolves every seven years.WerewolfPage.com: St. Patrick
- Saint Natalis cursed an Irish family so that each member was forced to become a wolf for seven years.Skeptic World: Cryptozoology - Werewolf
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Birth or Conception
- Parents get the blame for a lot of things including, it seems, for making their children werewolves. Sometimes being a werewolf is part of a family curse, passed from generation to generation.Washington State University: Becoming a Werewolf and Metamorphosis Theories A modern example of this myth was seen in the movie Teen Wolf, in which Michael J. Fox inherits his ability to transform into a wolf from his father. Other movies that promoted this idea include Blood and Chocolate and The Curse of the Werewolf. However, there are other ways that a child can become a werewolf either through their conception or their birth.
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Conception
- In Sicily, Italy, a child who is conceived during a new moon is fated to become a werewolf.Google Books: Werewolf, p.163
- In Romania, if a child is conceived on Christmas Eve or Easter, they will become a werewolf as a curse because couples were supposed to refrain from sexual activities on those days.JSTOR: Folklore, Vol. 93, No. 2 (1982), p. 206
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Birth
- Even though parents have little choice over when their child is born, legends state that certain birth dates could destine a child to become a werewolf. A few examples:
- In Romania, a child born on Easter will become a werewolf.JSTOR: Folklore, Vol. 93, No. 2 (1982), p. 206
- In Russia, any child born on Christmas Eve will become a werewolf.True Ghost Tales: Do Werewolves Exist?
- In Italy, if you are born at midnight on Christmas Eve you will become a werewolf, but only on that day. If, however, you are born during a full moon, you are destined to transform into a werewolf once a month.Google Book: Italian-American Folklore, p.128
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Seventh Son
- In areas of Europe and South America, merely being born the seventh child was enough to transform someone into a werewolf. A few examples and derivations of this myth include:
- In Brazil, the seventh son will transform into a werewolf beginning on his 13th birthday for two hours starting at midnight. The change will also occur on Fridays during Lent.University of Milwaukee: International Myths
- In Argentina, the seventh consecutive son of a family would transform into a lobison, or werewolf.WerewolfPage.com: Global Legends of the Werewolf This belief was so strong that these children were often abandoned or even killed until, in the 1920s, a law was passed that includes making the president of Argentina the child's godfather and granting the child an educational scholarship.University of Milwaukee: International Myths
- Similar myths exist in Germany, Portugal and Galacia, Spain with some variations. Sometimes it was a seventh son after six girls other times it was the seventh son of a seventh son.Monstrous Werewolves: Seventh Sons
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Food and Drink
- Another common concept behind werewolf transformations is that it can be caused by eating or drinking certain items. This sometimes occurs on purpose or by accident. The Balkan Peninsula is home for two of the most popular tales. The Balkan Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeastern Europe that includes most of Croatia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Greece, Albania Macedonia and several other countries.Wikipedia: Balkans
- One belief is that a special lycanthropic flower grows in this region that, when eaten, will transform a person into a werewolf. Not much is known about the flower except that it is white and yellow, has a scent reminiscent of death and a sticky, white sap.Monstrous Werewolves: Lycanthropous Flowers
- Another belief is that if you drink rain water out of the footprint of a wolf, you will become a werewolf.Washington State University: Becoming a Werewolf and Metamorphosis Theories
- In the Harz Mountains of Germany it is believed that there is a cursed stream that, if you drink from it, will transform you into a werewolf.
- Countess Hilda van Breber learned this the hard way. While on vacation with her husband, she accidentally drank from the stream (despite warnings from an innkeeper not to).WerewolfPage.com: A Harz Mountain Werewolf Tale
- Shortly thereafter, her husband was tracking a beast whom had snatched the daughter of a local villager.
- The Count cornered and killed the beast, only to discover that it was his beloved countess.WerewolfPage.com: A Harz Mountain Werewolf Tale
- A similar stream, known as Fontana del Nobiet, is believed to exist near Cimapiasole.Google Books: Werewolf, p.162
- Other folklore suggests that anyone who drinks downstream from where a wolf or wolfpack has drunk is in danger of transforming into a werewolf.Monstrous Werewolves: Werewolves Superstitions
- Other, more ghoulish methods of transforming into a werewolf include eating the brains or flesh of a wild wolf or eating human flesh.Monstrous Werewolves: Werewolves Superstitions
- The idea that werewolves transform after eating human flesh was first suggested by the Ancient Greek writer Agriopas, whose story of Demaenetus of Parrhasia is told by Pliny the Elder.
- According to the tale, Damaenetus was transformed into a wolf for ten years before transforming back into human form and competing in the Olympics.Wikipedia: Agriopas
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Infection
- The idea that werewolves were infected by being bit by another werewolf is one is more common in Hollywood than in history. While a few tales exist that support the idea that werewolves suffer from some sort of communicable disease, historically speaking victims of "werewolf attacks" rarely survived.WerewolfPage.com: Global Legends of the Werewolf
- In Argentina, it was believed that one would become a lobison, or werewolf, if he or she survived an attack by one or if the saliva of the creature was sprinkled over him or her.WerewolfPage.com: Global Legends of the Werewolf
- Some stories state that consuming food prepared by a werewolf could make you a werewolf.Monstrous Werewolves: Infection
- Examples of popular films that have promoted the idea that werewolves are created by being bitten include:
- The Wolf Man (1941)
- An American Werewolf in London (1981)
- The Howling (1981)
- Wolf (1994)
- An American Werewolf in Paris (1997)
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What You Wear
- The idea that "clothing makes the man" is one that has existed in a variety of cultures for centuries. In the case of werewolves, a variety of different objects, when worn, could make a person transform into a wolf. The most popular tale is that a person needs to wear the skin of a wolf. In fact, some speculate that the term "werewolf" was derived from the Old English word "weri" which means "to wear." However, others believe the term may have originated from the word for man, "wer."Skeptic World: Cryptozoology - Werewolf
- Several Native American tribes including the Navajo, Hopi and Utes tell stories of skinwalkers. Skinwalkers are powerful witches who have the ability to transform themselves into a variety of different animals, including a wolf, usually by wearing the hide of the animal.Daily Grail: Skinwalkers: What Are They? (August 10, 2007)
- The first werewolf movie, a silent movie made in 1913 titled The Werewolf, featured a Navajo witch who teaches her daughter how to transform into a wolf.Wikipedia: The Werewolf (1913 film)
- In the German book Der Deutsche Volks und Aberglaube der Gegenwart by A. Wuttke, people could transform into wolves by wearing a belt made of wolf or human skin. In the case of the latter, the skin of a hanged man is preferred. The belt must have seven tongues on the buckle and be fastened in the ninth hole.Monstrous Werewolves: Wolf Strap
- According to Norse folktales, great warriors known as ulfheobar or berserkers would transform themselves into wolves or bears by wearing the skin of the animal. In fact, the term "berserk" comes from this legend because the warriors fought aggression similar to that of a wild animal.WerewolfPage.com: The Berserkers
- Wearing a wolf's skin was just one of several methods by which Mexican werewolves, or nahuales, would shapeshift.WerewolfPage.com: Global Legends of the Werewolf
- According to Norse mythology, a person could change into any animal by wearing its skin, usually in the form of a belt.WerewolfPage.com: Global Legends of the Werewolf University of Milwaukee: International Myths
- An Armenian legend tells the story of a condemned woman who is given the skin of a wolf by a spirit and told to wear it. The women then spends seven years transforming into a wolf each night devouring young children, including her own.Skeptic World: Cryptozoology - Werewolf
- In the eight book of The Saga of the Volsungs two characters steal the wolf-skins of werewolves in order to transform themselves.Washington State University: Becoming a Werewolf and Metamorphosis Theories
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Magic or Witchcraft
- Using magic or witchcraft is another popular method of transforming oneself into a werewolf. It can be done through the use of rituals, potions or incantations and spells.
- In 1591, Peter Stubbe confessed to having committed a number of brutal murders in the German towns of Cologne and Bedburg. According to Stubbe, he began practiced sorcery when he was 12 and eventually obtained a magical girdle that he used to transform into a werewolf.Moonlit Wolfsbane: Origin of The Werewolf Legend
- According to Swedish writer Olaus Magnus, Livonian werewolves were created by drinking a special beer and performing a special ritual.Monstrous Werewolves: Black Magic and Witchcraft
- Livonians also believed that werewolves were actually witches who would transform by wading through a magical pool.Monstrous Werewolves: Black Magic and Witchcraft
- One of the songs listed in Songs of the Russian People is an old Russian incantation that Russians believed would transform a person into a werewolf.Monstrous Werewolves: Black Magic and Witchcraft
- During the Middle Ages, when people were often accused of being werewolves, magical salves were frequently referred to one of the causes of the transformation.Monstrous Werewolves: Magic Salve
- In Louisiana, werewolves known as Rougarou (also spelled Roux-Ga-Roux, Rugaroo, and Rugaru) were believed to be a human under a spell for 101 days. Afterwards, the spell was passed on to another person when the Rougarou drank the new victim's blood.WerewolfPage.com: The Rougarou
- According to Finnish lore, people were often unwittingly turned into werewolves by witches. Although the spell could be broken, the person would retain a tail for the remainder of their lives. So strong was this belief that benches were often made with holes cut out for the tails of former werewolves.WerewolfPage.com: Global Legends of the Werewolf
- A number of other rituals exist that are believed capable of transforming a person into a werewolf. These rituals usually include saying an incantation at night using various other magical objects or locations.WerewolfPage.com: Rituals
- In Russia, a ritual that involved stabbing a copper knife into a tree and reciting incantations could be used to transform into a werewolf.University of Milwaukee: International Myths
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Special Rituals
- Some rituals have no magical connection and may be done either intentionally or unintentionally. For example, in the middle ages it was believed that taking off your clothes and rolling in the sand under the full moon would be enough to transform a person into a werewolf.About.com: On the Trail of the Werewolf, p.2
- Sleeping outside when the moon is another method of becoming a werewolf. Interestingly, it is not because you are in danger of being attacked by a werewolf, but because the simple act can transform you. The specifics of when vary.
- One legend says that you must sleep in a field on the ground on a Friday.Washington State University: Becoming a Werewolf and Metamorphosis Theories
- Another says that a man must sleep outside during the summer on certain Wednesdays or Fridays and allow the full moon to shine on his face.Google Books: Werewolf, p.163
- A similar legend exists in Brazil. However, in order to become a werewolf a man must be at a crossroad after midnight during a full moon on a Friday--possibly only on Friday the Thirteenth.WerewolfPage.com: Global Legends of the Werewolf
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Satanic Influence
- The idea that werewolves were created by the devil has been traced back to the Middle Ages and the increase of Christianity in Europe.Allen Varney: History of Werewolves At that time werewolves and witches were often connected, as both were believed to have Satanic ties.
- In some folktales, the devil offers a person a potion that, when applied under a full moon, transforms a person into a werewolf.Monstrous Werewolves: Pact with the Devil
- According to writer G.W.M. Reynolds book Wagner the Wehr-Wolf, the title character makes a deal with Satan. In exchange for eternal life, Wagner is willing to become a werewolf.Allen Varney: History of Werewolves
- In Russia, becoming a werewolf is not a gift but a curse from the Devil that occurs when a man has angered him.Skeptic World: Cryptozoology - Werewolf
- In Portugal, it was believed that the human form of werewolves, known as lobishomems, could be identified by finding the Devil's mark on the person's body.University of Milwaukee: International Myths
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