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Throughout history I wonder if any Werewolves were killed that did not magically turn back into a human or St. Bernard?
I suspect that people were killed because some believed that they would turn into a werewolf come the full moon. Of course, if I am right, they never had that chance. Regardless it is hard to imagine all the consequences from times where humans were ruled by superstition.
I doubt it has ever been possible. Lycanthropy is a very, very old myth that dates back to original shamanic shape-shifting but the shamans weren't acutally shape-shifting in the sense that the myths claim. The shamans were doing something like dressing symbolically to represent an animal in their ceremonies and in some cases they were casting their own spirits out of their bodies to inhabit and control the bodies of other living things. But even in the cases of body possession there was no actual physical transformation happening.
Humans aren't intelligent enough or strong enough yet to have the kind of knowledge of physics and the mastery of mind over matter that would be required for lycanthropic transformation. Not even the most sorcerous and most powerful of shamans have ever had the ability of true transformation. It is enough of a huge accomplishment that some very few humans have had the intelligence, knowledge and strength to cast their own spirits out of their bodies and into other living things that they control for awhile and then be able to return their spirits back to their own bodies again. The other living things that were possessed become extremely sick during and after the possession and in some cases the experience may kill them.
Clinical lycanthropy is a rare psychiatric illness with the delusional belief that one is a werewolf, but it's just a belief, it isn't real. Were-beings are just sick people who think they are animals, they want to believe it, and so they act like animals.
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I never said that I believed it was true either. My speculation was that it might have been used to remove those that others were envious about; like the Salem witches. When superstitions ruled I would imagine that people suffering from 'clinical lycanthropy' did not fair well.
Throughout history I wonder if any Werewolves were killed that did not magically turn back into a human or St. Bernard?
I suspect that people were killed because some believed that they would turn into a werewolf come the full moon. Of course, if I am right, they never had that chance. Regardless it is hard to imagine all the consequences from times where humans were ruled by superstition.
How do you explain the explorers that wrote of seeing 'dog men', walking upright like a man, even having a language, and commerce?
My speculation was that it might have been used to remove those that others were envious about; like the Salem witches. When superstitions ruled I would imagine that people suffering from 'clinical lycanthropy' did not fair well.
It's a lot more complicated than that. For whatever reasons, people actually did once believe in werewolves --- and not all that long ago. The reasons for it are complex and vary from region to region. There's a really great book on it if you're interested:
THE BEAST WITHIN: MAN, MYTHS, AND WEREWOLVES, by Adam Douglas. I think it might be out of print, but if you can find a copy, it is by far the best scholarly work on werewolves in existence. It covers everything --- mythology, folklore, psychology, disease, witch hunts, and the even the movies.
It's a lot more complicated than that. For whatever reasons, people actually did once believe in werewolves --- and not all that long ago. The reasons for it are complex and vary from region to region. There's a really great book on it if you're interested:
THE BEAST WITHIN: MAN, MYTHS, AND WEREWOLVES, by Adam Douglas. I think it might be out of print, but if you can find a copy, it is by far the best scholarly work on werewolves in existence. It covers everything --- mythology, folklore, psychology, disease, witch hunts, and the even the movies.
Speaking about the movies; today we are more skeptical than we were fifty or a hundred years ago. Seeing an old Boris Karloff film, even with terrible special effects, was very scary if you go back 60, 70, or more years ago. It could give many nightmares for years to come. The Exorcist scared the heck out of my late wife when she was young and I thought that many of the scenes were poorly done. Today it is all about special effects and we critique what we see by what are the most visually appealing. I don't think that the movies have the same 'scare' factor today. Of course many times they are simply remaking old stories and have very little new content; which might be a factor?
That said, the farther back in history one goes; the easier it was for people to let their fears rule the day. There was no internet to check the authenticity of the stories. Many were spread only by word of mouth and could never be confirmed or denied. It is one reason that so many of us have similar but different last names. Usually a man would ride his horse around to find out who lived where and not write down the information until he got back to his home or office. Of course some of them could not spell besides having terrible memories. The same thing happened with many of these old superstitions.
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Solly says — Be nice!
