Werewolves are mythical creatures that can transform from a person to a wolf, often preying on humans. The legend spans across Europe with many variations on how one can become a werewolf. Some believe there are cures, while others say death by silver bullet is the only solution. Clinical lycanthropy is a medical condition where the sufferer believes they are a werewolf.
A werewolf is a mythological creature that is sometimes a person and sometimes a wolf, usually believed to prey on people. In several versions of folklore, the werewolf is either a wizard or the object of a curse. In much modern literature and films, the werewolf is said to change shape under the influence of the full moon and is only vulnerable to a silver bullet. The word werewolf comes from the Old English wer-wulf, meaning “wolf-man.”
Tales of werewolves abound in cultures across Europe, from Russia to England and from Norway to Italy. Werewolves appear in some of the earliest publications from these regions. Because the legend spans such a large geographical and cultural area, there are many variations.
A person can become a werewolf in many different ways, depending on different cultures. The curse can be carried out by engaging in cannibalism or Satanism. Alternatively, stripping and wearing items made of wolf skin, drinking water from a wolf’s footprint, or being bitten by a werewolf can cause the change. A superstition arose in Portugal and later in Brazil that the seventh child, or the seventh child of a seventh child, would be born a werewolf. To this day, the president of Brazil is officially the godfather of all seventh children, a practice stemming from the past tendency of parents to abandon such children.
Some versions of the werewolf tale claim there are cures for the condition, while others argue that death by silver bullet is the only solution. One such cure is to remove the wolf’s skin, if wearing it has caused the condition. Other remedies include religious methods, such as scolding the werewolf or making the sign of the cross. Magical cures include drawing three drops of blood and stabbing the creature with a knife three times on the head. Oddly enough, while most people no longer believe in werewolves, there is a medical condition known as clinical lycanthropy where the sufferer believes they are a werewolf.
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