Werewolf Legends

When Darkness Reigns and the Full Moon Glows, Terror Emerges to Stalk the Unsuspecting… From lycanthropic creatures found on television and film such as Teen Wolf, Twilight, and True Blood to the earliest folklore of shape-shifting creatures, The Werewolf Book: The Encyclopedia of Shapeshifting Beings is an eye-opening, blood-pounding tour through the ages of monsters with the most amazing camouflage capabilities—they hide among us! Along the way, you’ll land at the doorstep of creatures like hirsute mass-murderer Albert Fish, and Fritz Haarman, who slaughtered and ate his victims—selling the leftovers as steaks and roasts in his butcher shop—as well as visits to mythical shamans, sirens, and skin walkers. Covering 140,000 years of legend, mythology, and fact, The Werewolf Book provides hair-raising evidence of strange and obsessional behavior through the centuries. Learn the basics of becoming a werewolf and the intricacies of slaying the beast. A true homage to werewolves and other full moon beasts, it includes topics such as … • Bear, tiger, coyote, and other shape-shifting people • Classic and modern werewolf movies • Gargoyles, totem poles, and Internet depictions • Serial killers and sadistic rulers • Sorcery, spells, and talismans • Television shows, songs, and computer games

Originally published: The werewolf. London: K. Paul, Trench, Trubner, 1933.

This book brings together contributions from anthropologists and folklorists on werewolf legends from all over Europe. Ranging from broad overviews to specific case studies, their chapters highlight the similarities and differences between werewolf narratives in different areas and attempt to explain them. The result of interaction between elite and popular culture, local and external influences, and nature and culture that lasted several centuries or even more, nineteenth- to twenty-first-century werewolf legends represent a kaleidoscope of the darker sides of human life.

Beware the Full Moon! Take a hair-raising tour of werewolf legends. Meet shape-shifters, dogmen, and all variety of human and lupine mixes in this blood curling story collection from two distinguished paranormal researchers! From today's lycanthropic creatures found in pop culture such as Dracula, Twilight and An American Werewolf in London to the earliest mentions in folklore of the shape-shifting legend, Werewolf Stories: Shape-Shifters, Lycanthropes, and Man-Beasts is an eye-opening tour through the ages of all things werewolf. Along the way, readers land at the doorstep of creatures like serial killer Fritz Haarmann, tiger people and their thirst for human blood, Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of Rome, shapeshifters of all kinds and sizes, and even a spell to repel werewolves. This fascinating tome provides 140,000 years of blood-pounding evidence of strange and obsessional behavior. It tells of stories of becoming a werewolf and the intricacies of slaying the beast. A true homage to the creature, it includes full moon of topics such as … Fenrir, the wolf child of the giantess Angrboda and the god Loki, from the Old Norse myth of Ragnarok Notorious serial killers, including Peter Stumpp and Michael Lupo, who thought themselves to be—and modeled their crimes on—werewolves Coyote people, tricksters, and were-animals of Navajo legend The Basque butchers of Louisiana and the loup-garou Diana, the goddess of the wilderness and the hunt, and her pack of hunting dogs, who once ruled all the dark forests of Europe Leopard creature-men and the deadly cult whose members expressed their were-leopard lust for human blood and flesh that has been in existence in West Africa for several hundred years The “werewolf of the Dordogne,” Francis Leroy, and his uncontrollable bloodlust during the full moon The secret terrorist group Organization Werewolf, established in 1923, and its possible allegiance to Adolf Hitler Ghouls from Arabic folklore, the demonic Djinns that hover near burial grounds and sustain themselves on human flesh stolen from graves Tasmania’s thylacine and sightings of the “probably extinct” creature and its remarkable—and frightening—jaw capacity Alaska’s Kushtaka and other stories of the Bigfoot man-beast Puerto Rico’s chupacabra and its powerful goat-like legs, three-clawed feet, and penchant for sucking blood The Doñas de Fuera of Sicily, small fairies who looked human, aside from their paw-like feet, and were cruel and dangerous when crossed Enkidu, perhaps our earliest written record of a man-beast that appears on a Babylonian fragment circa 2000 BCE and tells the story of King Gilgamesh and his werewolf-like friend in The Epic of Gilgamesh And many more stories and histories of werewolves, night-stalkers, lycanthropes, and man-beasts Noted cryptozoologists and paranormal researchers Nick Redfern and Brad Steiger share personal stories and encounters with werewolves in Werewolf Stories. They take a deep dive into the legends, the history, the pop-culture take on the man-beast. It's a wild and weird road-trip into the mystery-filled domain of the disturbingly real world of shape-shifters and werewolves!

"Describes the legends of werewolves, including how they started and what the legend says about the monster"--Provided by publisher.

Are ferocious, shapeshifting werewolves real, or just a myth? You decide with this new book in the nonfiction series, Behind the Legend! Behind the Legend looks at creatures and monsters throughout history and analyzes them through a scientific, myth-busting lens, debating whether or not the sightings and evidence provided are adequate proof of their existence. In Werewolves, readers learn about all the sightings and "proof" of them, from stories in history of wolves that terrorized towns, such as the Beast of Gévaudan, as well as people (even children!) who were believed to transform into wolves, and other evidence. It also discusses additional history about the monster, such as how werewolves became major figures in popular culture, more recent supposed sightings, and theories on werewolf transformations. Complete with engaging anecdotes, interesting sidebars, and fantastic illustrations, kids won't want to put this book down!

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1978.

The werewolf, or lycanthrope, is a human that can take an animal form or an animal that can take human form. Shape-shifters are prevalent in the legends of world cultures, including the Greek minotaur, Celtic selkies, Navajo skin-walkers, and more, dating back to the oldest myths from around the globe. Cave paintings from 25,000 years ago depict images of half-human half-animal figures. This thrilling volume is full of grisly tales as well as surprising scientific explanations for some werewolf anecdotes. Remarkable artwork, coupled with spooky fact boxes, aid in producing a truly eerie reading experience.