Werewolf A Myth

Werewolf A Myth

 

 

 

We've been able to trace the history of the werewolf back to early Native American legends, yet the werewolf appears in legends all over the world. In the last century, several werewolf sightings have been recorded. Many of them have taken place in Wisconsin, where the origins of werewolves are believed to have begun.

As myth's greatest monsters are able to do, the werewolf legend has spread across borders, even across seas and oceans. Vicious animal attacks have been reported for centuries, yet during the day no one can find a trace of the creatures responsible. Those who study mythology have long known that few creatures have the power, speed, and mindless slaughtering propensity the way that werewolves do.

 

Werewolf myths have been around perhaps even longer than those associated with vampires and zombies. Ancient Greek mythology tells of Lycaon, a man transformed into a wolf after eating human flesh. The word werewolf is thought to be derived from the Old English "wer," meaning man. While the specific attributes of werewolves vary across different cultures, the beast itself is generally the same: a part-man, part-wolf creature of the night who preys on humans. But just as with vampires and zombies, most of the myths surrounding werewolves do not hold up to scrutiny.

You must use a silver bullet to kill a werewolf

Source: Silver is identified with the moon and therefore is ideal to slay a creature transformed under the light of the full moon.
Fact: To kill a werewolf, you must use bullets or cartridges with serious stopping power, but they need not be made of silver.

Werewolves only appear during a full moon

     Source: Long-running superstitions about the full moon's effects on animals and people.
    Fact: Werewolves can appear at any time.

A werewolf will revert back to its human form by sunrise

    Source: Numerous Hollywood movies.
    Fact: A werewolf will remain a werewolf until the day it dies.

You can become a werewolf by performing a magic ritual

    Source: Association of werewolves with black magic, Satanism and the occult. 
    Fact: You can only become a werewolf by being bitten by a werewolf.

If you are unarmed and attacked by a werewolf, your only chance for survival is to climb an ash tree or run into a field of rye.

 

 

 

 

 

  Source:   The ash tree myth probably stems from Greek mythology, as it was an ash tree that a man of Anthus' family hung his clothes on before swimming across a lake in Arcadia and          being transformed into a werewolf. The rye superstition may have come from the fact that a certain rye fungus can cause convulsions and death if ingested.

 

Fact: Werewolves are poor tree-climbers, but they are not bothered by rye.