Transcript Werewolves - Forest Nichols

WEREWOLVES
By Forest
Nichols
The werewolf has become a very well-known monster due to
interesting human involvement. Humans have continually built upon
others ideas of monsters, therefore creating the scariest and most
interesting of monsters in the end. The werewolf is very influential
and well known. I find the werewolf especially interesting because it
has the ability to associate many different animals together and
represent their changing forms.
MYTHOLOGY OF THE
WEREWOLF
• The term ‘were’ is old English for ‘man’,
therefore werewolf means man wolf. The
werewolf has taken many forms throughout
history but the most common is the wolf.
• Werewolf stories have been written as far
back as 1 A.D. Beginning with cave paintings!
Y E S, P E OP L E B E L I E V E T H E Y A RE
WEREWOLVES
• It is common that pubescent adolescents believe they are
changing to a wolf due to hair growth.
• Certain hereditary diseases can cause extreme hair growth
and lead people to the common misconception of
becoming wolf like, despite the many other characteristics
that make a werewolf a werewolf.
WEREWOLF
CHARACTERISTICS
• Werewolves are virtually immortal but there are ways to
destroy them, decapitation being the most effective.
• Werewolves can communicate through telepathy.
• Werewolves hate salt, much like slugs. Salt supposedly
prevents many things supernatural.
• Christianity will offend werewolves and cannot stop them
• A werewolf is portrayed (especially in mythology) as being
huge, larger than life.
REPRESENTATION OF THE
WEREWOLF
 What werewolves represented varied between cultures and religions.
• European historians believed werewolf legends were conceived to
explain the activity of serial killers. . At the time, the wolf was the
most feared European predator.
• Natives held a belief that cannibals were considered wild beasts and
this makes the werewolf associated with cannibalism. It was believed
that werewolves had a craving for human flesh.
HOW TO BECOME A
WEREWOLF
 There are different theories about how people became werewolves.
• One was that when people got ill and hallucinated they acted like
animals leading to the belief they were werewolves.
• People thought they were possessed by an evil spirit.
• Others thought they were turned into werewolves because they had
sinned.
• Some simple theories were dressing up in animal skin, rubbing the
body with magic lotion and drinking water from the footprint of wild
beasts.
HOW TO BECOME A
WEREWOLF(CONTINUED)
• It was believed that people became werewolves both voluntarily
and involuntarily. Others could turn an innocent person into a
werewolf with evil spells.
• To cure a person from being a werewolf, the person could kneel
for 100 years in one spot, have the cross sign made on their body, or
be struck three times on their forehead with a knife.
WEREWOLF
MISCONCEPTIONS
 Today, filmmaking has created some common misconceptions
about the werewolf.
• In Greek mythology, the werewolf was never associated with the
full moon like it is in modern times.
• werewolves change shape involuntarily but the mythological
werewolf would change shape by his own will.
WEREWOLF
MISCONCEPTIONS
• Another common misconception is that a silver bullet kills a
werewolf which is not true but tied to Greek mythology when they
used mercury to kill werewolves.
• One way filmmaking has portrayed werewolves correctly is that in
a werewolf ’s transformation the werewolf is in a lot of pain.
WEREWOLVES!
Since the wolf was a feared predator and is thought
of as a scavenger and dark creature it represented
people’s greatest fears and werewolves explained
strange behavior. The werewolf is a monster that
has lasted through the ages and is still very
influential today.