Werewolves in fiction

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Werewolves in fiction have changed through time. At first werewolves were the subject of folklore. In these early stories werewolves were manifestations of evil spirits and part of an army of darkness, inimical to the human race. In medieval romances, such as Bisclavret, the werewolf could take on more innocent traits, appearing as the victim of evil magic and aiding knights errant. The folkloric werewolves continued simultaneously, and appeared as a theme of Gothic fiction. Later stories describe lycanthropy as a disease or curse, others treat werewolves as separate race or species (either science fictional or magical) or as persons using magic in order to deliberately transform into wolves at will.

Modern werewolf fiction is dominated by portrayals of men cursed to become wolves or wolfmen during the full moon (see werewolf) with a minority literary and cinematic tradition which depicts female werewolves. The process of transmogrification is portrayed in many films and works of literature to be painful. The resulting wolf is typically cunning but merciless, and prone to killing and eating people without compunction regardless of the moral character of the person when human. The form a werewolf takes is not always an ordinary wolf, but is often anthropomorphic or may be otherwise larger and more powerful than an ordinary wolf. Many modern werewolves are also supposedly immune to damage caused by ordinary weapons, being vulnerable only to silver objects (usually a bullet or blade). This negative reaction to silver is sometimes so strong that the mere touch of the metal on a werewolf's skin will cause burns. Current-day werewolf fiction almost exclusively involve lycanthropy being either a hereditary condition or being transmitted like a disease by the bite of another werewolf.

Werewolves have been used in many movies, short stories, and novels, with varying degrees of success. The first feature film to use an anthropomorphic werewolf was Werewolf of London in 1935, not to be confused with the 1981 film of a similar title, establishing the canon that the werewolf always kills what he loves most. The main werewolf of this film was a dapper London scientist who retained some of his style and most of his human features after his transformation. The genre was also popularized by the classic Universal Studios movie The Wolf Man (1941), starring Lon Chaney Jr. as the werewolf Larry Talbot. This movie contained the now-famous rhyme: "Even a man who is pure in heart / And says his prayers each night / May become a wolf when the wolf-bane blooms / And the moon is full and bright." This movie is often credited with originating several aspects of the legend which differ from traditional folklore (including invulnerability to non-silver weapons, contagiousness, and association with the moon).

More recently, the portrayal of werewolves has taken a more sympathetic turn in some circles. With the rise of environmentalism and other back-to-nature ideals, the werewolf has come to be seen as a representation of humanity allied more closely with nature. A prime example of this outlook can be seen in the role-playing game Werewolf: The Apocalypse in which players roleplay various werewolf characters who work on behalf of Gaia against the destructive supernatural spirit named Wyrm, who represents the forces of destructive industrialization and pollution. Author Whitley Strieber previously explored these themes in his novels The Wild (in which the werewolf is portrayed as a medium through which to bring human intelligence and spirit back into nature) and The Wolfen (in which werewolves are shown to act as predators of humanity, acting as a "natural" control on their population now that it has been removed from the traditional limits of nature).

Unsympathetic portrayals of Werewolves as monsters also continue to be common in popular culture.

[edit] Werewolves in Popular Culture

[edit] The Wolf Man

The classic Universal Studios movie from 1941, starring Lon Chaney Jr. as the werewolf Larry Talbot, is often credited with originating several aspects of the legend which differ from traditional folklore, including invulnerability to non-silver weapons, contagiousness, and association with the moon. This movie contained the now-famous rhyme: "Even a man who is pure in heart / And says his prayers at night / May become a wolf when the wolf-bane blooms / And the autumn moon is bright."

[edit] Middle-earth

J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium also features werewolves. Werewolves in Middle-earth are not shapeshifters, but evil spirits in wolf form.

[edit] The Talisman (1983)

In this novel (co-written by Stephen King and Peter Straub) werewolves are herdsmen for the queen of the Territories (a fantasy world parallel to our world).

They usually appear mostly human, but during full moon they grow more animal-like and feral. During that time, their herds are locked away, while the werewolf feeds on what wild animals he can catch; a werewolf who kills an animal from the herd is damned. The transformation can also occur under great stress. These werewolves are not immune to normal weapons. They have at all times a very keen sense of smell, causing huge difficulties in our modern world (for example being unable to ride in a car, due to cigarette smoke, air freshener etc.).

One particular werewolf (named Wolf, no less) helps the young Jack Sawyer on his journey to locate an ancient article of power.

[edit] Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Main article: Werewolf (Buffyverse)

Joss Whedon's TV program featured a likeable young werewolf, Daniel "Oz" Osbourne, who often assisted Buffy in fighting evil while in human form, and had himself locked in a cage during the full moon.

During one of Oz's wolf phases, which takes place the night before, during and the night after the full moon, he copulated with a werewolf female. This werewolf was Veruca, a lead singer in a band called "Shy". Veruca was able to retain the memories of her experiences during her transformation and tried to convince Oz to embrace his werewolf persona rather than contain it. Veruca sought out Willow, intending to kill her, and would have if not for Oz, who (as a werewolf) fought and killed Veruca.

Oz later returned with the power to resist the werewolf transformation, except under extreme emotional stress. The spin-off, Angel, established that there are other breeds of werewolves, similar to dogs.

[edit] Discworld

See also Undead (Discworld)#Werewolves

Werewolves on the Discworld can be both born and infected by a bite. A true bimorph can change between human-like and wolf-like shape at will (but have to take care of their clothes, which are not included in the transformation), but have to change during full moon. The descriptions are not entirely consistent if they change to wolf-like shape only when exposed to the light of the full moon, or in nights in the week around full moon. While they can pass as human, wolves will recognize a werewolf, presumably through smell, although there has been mentioned that there is something about their eyes, occupation and method of walking that contain telltale signs that the person is a werewolf. They have at all times a superhumanly keen sense of smell. Especially while in lupine shape or a short time after returning from it, it is described as a form of synaesthesia in which they "see" smells as colours. Werewolves can only be killed with fire or silver. Silver burns them (similar to a bad sunburn) when they touch it. A werewolf in lupine shape does retain their intelligence, but when they stay changed for too long thinking becomes difficult, and instincts may take over. A silver collar is both painful and makes thinking difficult.

[edit] Harry Potter

Main article: Werewolf (Harry Potter)

In J.K. Rowling's series, werewolves are cursed to turn into vicious wolves in the light of the full moon, and are dangerous to humans, whom they will attack whenever possible. There is a potion available that will allow a person to keep their mind after the transformation, effectively making lycanthropy a magical chronic illness.

J.K. Rowling uses a werewolf named Remus Lupin as a metaphor for intolerance and people's reactions to illness and disability. Ironically, though distrusted in his world, Lupin is depicted as a kind person and as the only competent Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher throughout the series. As a complete contrast to the Lupin character, Rowling also introduced the character Fenrir Greyback who not only embraces his werewolf heritage, but revels in his animality even when in his human form.

[edit] Underworld

This film features werewolves, referred to as "Lycans" as an abbreviated form of the word lycanthrope, in a centuries-old feud with vampires. In the movie, Lycans were persecuted by the vampires for nearly 1000 years, under the pretext that they were dangerous and wild. Later in the film, it is revealed that the Lycans were subservient watchdogs for vampires during the daylight hours when the vampire's bodies were vulnerable to attack. A Lycan slave named Lucian eventually led a rebellion against the vampires in response to the murder of his wife, the daughter of the high-ranking vampire Viktor. She was killed because she was pregnant, and a Lycan/vampire hybrid was seen as an "abomination." In this world it has been explained that Lycans are immortal, just as vampires, often living hundreds of years. The first Lycans were savage creatures that, once transformed, could never revert back to human form. It is also explained that the older a Lycan becomes in age, the more control he can exert over his transformation, to the point that he can often change at will and with full mental control of his wolf-like form. To date no female of the species has been shown, indicating that the race is primarily male. As with typical werewolf lore, silver proves to be a poison to the Lycan race.

[edit] Werewolf: The Apocalypse

A role-playing game in which players roleplay various werewolf characters who work on behalf of Gaia against the destructive supernatural spirit named Wyrm, who represents the forces of destructive industrialization and pollution. Werewolves are born out of a union of werewolf and either human or wolf. They can change between 5 different shapes that range from human over monstrous-anthropomorphic states to lupine. In lupine shape they can be accepted by a wolf pack.

A successor to the game, Werewolf: The Forsaken has since been introduced. Some concepts are similar, but the plot is much different. Although the werewolves played by the players are still (usually) the heroes, they no longer face the encroach of the Wyrm and now act more as secret defenders of the mortal world from encroaching spirits, and are often besieged by entirely different werewolf tribes called The Pure. In most respects, there is no relation to the original game save for the fact that it was produced by the White Wolf game manufacturers. Even the name of the species is different in Forsaken, as is the mission of the werewolves.

[edit] Big Wolf on Campus

Big Wolf on Campus is a TV series about a teenager called Thomas "Tommy" P. Dawkins who was bitten during a camping trip by a werewolf. After subsequently turning into a werewolf himself, he regularly fights against an array of enemies in order to keep his neighbourhood safe.

[edit] Doctor Who

Main article: Werewolf (Doctor Who)

Werewolves have appeared twice on the British television series Doctor Who, in the serial The Greatest Show in the Galaxy and the episode Tooth and Claw. They have also appeared in the tie-in novels and audio plays based on the series.

[edit] Lists

[edit] Films

Depiction of a werewolf in the movie Werewolf vs The Vampire Women
Enlarge
Depiction of a werewolf in the movie Werewolf vs The Vampire Women

[edit] Music

[edit] Music Videos

  • In the first half of Michael Jackson's famous music video for his song Thriller he transforms into something that is often thought to be a werewolf, but is really a werecat, according to director John Landis.
  • The claymation music video for Flowers by Émilie Simon features an assortment of monsters, including a werewolf.

[edit] Television

[edit] Literature

This section includes novels and short stories.

  • The Satyricon by Petronius (approx. 61 CE)
  • "Bisclavret" from Lais by Marie de France (approx. 1175 CE).
  • Single line reference, Thomas Malory, Le Morte d'Arthur translated Death of Arthur (1469-1470), "Sir Marrok the good knyghte that was betrayed with his wyf for she made hym seven yere a werwolf."
  • The Phantom Ship by Frederick Marryat (1839) includes a chapter featuring a female werewolf who inhabits the Harz Mountains in Germany. This tale has been excerpted in horror anthologies under the title of The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains.
  • Wagner the Wehr-Wolf by G. W. M. Reynolds (1848)
  • "Gabriel-Ernest" by Saki (H. H. Munro) (1910)
  • The Werewolf of Ponkert by H. Warner Munn (1925, collected 1958)
  • Wolfshead by Robert E. Howard, a novelette first published in Weird Tales in April 1926.
  • The Werewolf of Paris by Guy Endore (1933)
  • Grey Shapes by Jack Mann (Evelyn Charles Vivian) (1937)
  • Darker than you Think, a werewolf classic by Jack Williamson (1940, expanded 1948)
  • The White Wolf by Franklin Gregory (1941)
  • The Compleat Werewolf by Anthony Boucher (1942)
  • "There Shall Be No Darkness" by James Blish (1950)
  • The Wolf-Leader (Fr: Le meneur de loups), Alexandre Dumas, père (1857)
  • Three Hearts And Three Lions by Poul Anderson (1961), an alternate history fantasy wherein a modern day engineer is translated to a universe where the Matter of France is history, includes an episode in which the hero must deduce which of four people in a family is the werewolf that plagued the area.
  • Operation Chaos by Poul Anderson (1971) and its sequel, Operation Luna, are first-person narration by the werewolf hero in a fantasy alternate history United States where magic and technology combine. Werewolfery is not only herditary, but a recessive gene, and the polarized component of moonlight has been isolated, so that the hero can use a Were-flash to transform without the full moon.
  • "The Hero as Werwolf" by Gene Wolfe (1975)
  • The Howling (1977) by Gary Brandner and its sequels
  • The Wolfen by Whitley Strieber (1978) portrays werewolves as predators of humanity, acting as a "natural" control on their population now that it has been removed from the traditional limits of nature. The concept was reused, with some changes, as a historic practice long since abandoned in the now classic White Wolf tabletop RPG, Werewolf: The Apocalypse.
  • The Nightwalker by Thomas Tessier, (1979)
  • The Company of Wolves in the book "The Bloody Chamber" (1979) by Angela Carter is a modern take on the story of Little Red Riding Hood in which the wolf is actually a werewolf.
  • "The Book of the Beast" trilogy: The Orphan (1980), The Captive (1981), The Beast by Robert Stallman (1982)
  • The Talisman, co-written by Stephen King and Peter Straub, features werewolves, known simply as Wolfs, who inhabit the far western parts of a world parallel to America called the Territories and serve as royal herdsman or bodyguards.
  • The Godforsaken by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro (1983)
  • The Wolf's Hour by Robert R. McCammon (1984)
  • Cycle of the Werewolf an illustrated novel by Stephen King (1985)
  • The Dark Cry of the Moon by Charles L. Grant (1986)
  • Werewolves by Jane Yolen, ed. (1988)
  • Howling Mad (1989) by Peter David features a wolf who has been bitten by a werewolf, becoming a "werehuman" as a result, providing a unique perspective on human civilization.
  • The Werewolves of London by Brian Stableford (1990)
  • Silverwolf by Roger Emerson (July 1990) Banned Books Publishings (gay erotica)
  • The Ultimate Werewolf by Byron Preiss, ed. (Dell, 1991)
  • The Wild (1991) by Whitley Strieber portrays the werewolf as a medium through which to bring human intelligence and spirit back into nature.
  • Vampire World 1: Blood Brothers by Brian Lumley (1992) Part of the Necroscope series features the Wamphyri werewolf Canker Canison.
  • Vampire World 2: The Last Aerie by Brian Lumley (1993) Part of the Necroscope series features the Wamphyri werewolf Canker Canison.
  • Vampire World 3: Bloodwars by Brian Lumley (1994) Part of the Necroscope series features the Wamphyri werewolf Canker Canison.
  • Women Who Run with the Werewolves by Pam Keesey (1995)
  • Necroscope: The Lost Years Volume 1 by Brian Lumley (1995) features the Wamphyri werewolf Radu Lykan
  • Necroscope: The Lost Years Volume 2 by Brian Lumley (1996) features the Wamphyri werewolf Radu Lykan
  • Nadya – The Wolf Chronicles by Pat Murphy (1996) A race of European werewolves immigrate to the United States in the nineteenth century.
  • The Werewolf Chronicles by Rodman Philbrick & Lynn Harnett (1996)
  • Werewolf Skin, book #60 in the Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine. (1997)
  • The Werewolf Book by Brad Steiger (1999)
  • Murcheston: The Wolf's Tale by David Holland (2000)*Fool Moon (2001) by Jim Butcher
  • The Essential Guide to Werewolf Literature by Brian Frost (2003)
  • (2003), The Crow Queen (2004), Dragon's Son (2004)
  • The Demonata (2005-6) by Darren Shan were lycanthropy is a curse on one family and they must battle Lord Loss to cure the werewolves.
  • River by Skyla Dawn Cameron provides a different approach to werewolves, revolving around wolves who have been changed into humans. (2006)
  • Benighted (2006) by Kit Whitfield
  • Warwolf: The Centurion Warrior Book 1: The Warriors released on March 15th 2006.
  • The Discworld series by Terry Pratchett features a number of werewolves in supporting roles, most notably Angua of the Ankh-Morpork Night Watch.
  • Lord of Wind and Fire Trilogy by Elaine Corvidae is a fantasy trilogy involving a shapeshifting, werewolf-like species called wolfkin. Wolfkin
  • Maximum Ride features genetically engineered werewolves called "Erasers" as antagonists.
  • Moon Dance by S.P. Somtow follows the immigration of a motley group of European werewolves to colonial America, where they confront disturbed human characters as well as Native American werewolves.
  • Shadow on the moon and Shadow of the Wolf by Carol Flynn
  • The Silver Wolf, Night of the Wolf, and The Wolf King by Alice Borchardt follow the lives of several werewolves in ancient Rome and Ireland
  • Animals by John Skipp & Craig Spector
  • The Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton features a number of werewolf characters and explores the concept of werewolf packs. Werewolfery is a disease, and a major character has contracted it from a faulty vaccine against it.
  • Bitten, Stolen and Broken by Kelley Armstrong
  • The Crimson City series by Liz Maverick, Marjorie Liu, Patti O'Shea, and Carolyn Jewel.
  • The series "Prowlers" by Christopher Golden. This portrays werewolves as a separate species, mostly ruthless monsters but occasionally decent individuals.

[edit] Children's Books

[edit] Comics

  • Werewolf, whose fur color changed from white to brown halfway through the series, is Monster in My Pocket #3. His human form is never shown, but he is among the good monsters in all incarnations. He was silent in the comics save for howls, but said to be very intelligent. When directed by a little girl named Teresa, who thought he was an anthropomorphic dog doll, to sit, he grabbed a chair. In the animated special, he became the Jamaican Wolf-Mon. Monster W14, Howlin' Prowlin' Werewolf, is shown in human form throughout one of the storybooks, depcited as a weakling "hume" (a term for the humanoid Monster Wrestlers) until the moon comes out as he enters the ring.
  • Hyper Police (MEE)/Tokyopop (Batanen and Tommy(Tomy) Fujioka are werewolves and brothers as bounty hunters in this series. Batanen always has wolf ears in place of human ears, and Tommy has a wolf like face on a constant basis, as well as both of them having tails. While the full moon does affect how they act, Batanen has been seen transforming whenever he sees a naked (half-naked) woman, or when he has fantasies about Natsuki Sassahara, who is a 1/2 Nekomata. They are not seen as unusual though, as many people in their timeline are either monsters, demons, or gods.)
  • Crescent Moon (manga) (Haruko Iida/Red Entertainment, 2000-present) (The character Akira Yamabuki is a happy-go-lucky werewolf who is also an excellent chef. Unlike the usual werewolves of modern lore, his transformational state is not induced by a full moon. He himself can choose when to induce the transformation.)
  • Fables (Vertigo, 2002-present) (The character Bigby Wolf, the Big Bad Wolf of fairy tales, is a wolf that can become human or anthropomorhic due to lycanthropy).
  • Werewolf by Night (Marvel Comics, 1971-4).
  • In the DC Comics Green Lantern title one of the supporting characters is named Arkkis Chummuck, who is an alien form of werewolf.
  • Marvel comics character John Jameson transforms into the werewolf-like Man-Wolf.
  • Link briefly turns into a werewolf like creature in the comic book adaptation of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past when he enters the Dark World (although this is only a silhouette). When his arm touches the world, it also becomes wolf-like.
  • Lycanthropes are frequently featured in Fred Perry's Manga Gold Digger. They vary in species, from were-wolves to were-cheetahs. As well as basic animal and human forms, they can also change at will to a third 'hybrid' form, in which they retain their animal colouring and strength, but also basic human shape.

[edit] Games

  • L. Lee Cerny and Bradley K. McDevitt, Night Life (Stellar Games, 1990) has three editions to date, a few supplements.
  • Mark Rein-Hagen, Werewolf: The Apocalypse (White Wolf, Inc., 1992) has two editions, innumerable supplements, and a short story collection (When Will You Rage?, edited by Stewart Wieck).
  • Werewolf: The Forsaken is a new werewolf game created by White Wolf Studios as a successor to Werewolf: The Apocalypse.
  • Mike Tinney and Stewart Wieck, Rage (White Wolf, Inc., 1995). The card game inspired a couple of novels from White Wolf: Breathe Deeply by Don Bassingthwaite and The Silver Crown by Bill Bridges. Rage was based upon the tabletop RPG Werewolf: The Apocalypse.
  • 1995 Sierra On-Line game The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery is an adventure game which has the lead character, Gabriel Knight, investigating murders around Munich, Germany that are purported to be the work of a werewolf.
  • Werewolf: The Last Warrior (1990) by Data East was a side-scrolling NES game in which the main character is a werewolf with blades for arms.
  • Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness for the Nintendo 64 game system featured the werewolves Cornell and Ortega as central characters in 1999.
  • Killer Instinct, a Rare arcade fighting game, features a werewolf called Sabrewulf.
  • Darkstalkers features a werewolf called Jon Talbain (also known as Gallon).
  • The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall allows the player to become a werewolf or wereboar. Additional werecreatures are referred to within the game, but do not actually inhabit it. Lycanthropy was initially absent from Daggerfall's sequel, Morrowind, but was a central plot point of Morrowind's second expansion pack, Bloodmoon.
  • Discworld Noir features a protagonist who becomes a werewolf partway through the game.
  • In The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Link transforms into a wolf in some parts of the game, when he enters the mysterious Twilight Realm.
  • In the upcoming Nintendo DS game, Tales of the Tempest, a werewolf race, the Lycanth, named after the word "Lycanthropy" are apparently persecuted by a powerful theocracy.
  • Golden Sun: The Lost Age for the Game Boy Advance features a village of werewolves who are able to channel Wind Psynergy (Jupiter). The village is called Garoh. Also, across the world map are many enemies who resemble werewolves.
  • Yugo Ogami, one of the playable characters in the Bloody Roar fighting series is a werewolf. In fact, the entire cast of fighters have various beast forms.
  • Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen uses the concept of the werewolf as an interest fighting unit, who's power increases dramatically during a 'night phase'.
  • One of the main characters, Kevin is an unfortunate half-werewolf in Seiken Densetsu 3.
  • In the Xbox and personal computer game Fable, a Balverine is like a werewolf, with a weakness towards silver and turning others by bites.
  • In Konami's 2000 roleplaying game, Suikoden II, a recruitable NPC, Bob, has the ability to turn into a werewolf for three rounds.
  • In Dungeons And Dragons, lycanthropy is an acquired character template.

[edit] Further reading

  • Black, George Fraser. A List of Works Relating to Lycanthropy. New York: New York Public Library Publications, 1919. (earliest published list of werewolf fiction)
  • Du Coudray, Chantal Bourgault. The Curse of the Werewolf. London : I. B. Tauris, 2006. ISBN 1-84511-158-3 (upcoming book on literary symbolism of the werewolf)
  • Flores, Nona C. Animals in the Middle Ages: A Book of Essays. New York: Garland, 1996. ISBN 0-8153-1315-2 (contains learned commentary on William of Palerne)
  • Frost, Brian J. The Essential Guide to Werewolf Literature. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press 2003. ISBN 0-87972-860-4 (contains long lists of novels and short stories, especially pre-1970s ones, with excerpts)
  • Hall, Jamie. Half Human, Half Animal: Tales of Werewolves and Related Creatures. Bloomington, IN: Authorhouse, 2003. ISBN 1-4107-5809-5 (contains long lists of movies and novels)
  • Steiger, Brad. The Werewolf Book: The Encyclopedia of Shape-Shifting Beings. Visible Ink Press, 1999. ISBN 1-57859-078-7 (contains long list of movies, medium list of novels)

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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