Were They Just Weird Wolves?
The word ‘werewolf’ comes from the Old English ‘were’ for man and ‘wulf’ for wolf. This, in turn, comes from the Old Norse, ‘varulfur’. Lycanthropy, or the ability to change into a wolf, is a type of therianthropy, which is the general ability to shape shift, to an animal
The more modern ideal of the werewolf being a sort of Jekyll/Hyde monster: human most of the time, and monster for one night a month, is a relatively new concept. In old Ireland, werewolves could live normal, if isolated lives, as shapeshifters. They might sometimes help humans, but usually stayed away. They were often revered as much as misunderstood. Other werewolves functioned a little like people with anger issues, and could be turned back into humans by being called their name by a loved one, or a loved one giving them their human clothes. There is, of course, the modern werewolf that is a contagious irredeemable horror that lives to kill on the night of the full moon.
Behaviour depends on the type of werewolf. The more ancient versions of the werewolf simply behave like a rather intelligent wolf. They stay away from humans and simply hunt animals. These werewolves can choose to turn into wolves and often did so for the sake of convenience. However, the other kind are the ones that are cursed to turn into a rather vicious and strong form of wolf, that are prone to attack and hurt as many humans as they can. The cursed ones usually turn into a wolf on the night of the full moon, as the full moon is often associated with madness and witchcraft.
Werewolves were often mentioned at witch trials from the C15th to the C18th. These mentions, however, stopped with the end of the witch trials, in the early C18th, in Britain. The older form of werewolves could be as easily injured as you and I. Many legends refer to hunters hurting a wolf and then discovering a neighbour with a limp. The cursed Savage werewolves are a different story. They are considerably harder to kill, with tradition stating that only silver or another werewolf can hurt them. If you ever encounter one of those werewolves , unless you have a six shooter with silver bullets, and a suit of silver armour you are unlikely to have long to worry about your survival.
Our researcher was told an account, by an elderly grocer who knew of a young man who was discovered to be a werewolf. This young man had recently returned to London, from a holiday in Bavaria. The young man, called Oliver, was a cellist with the London Concertante orchestra and he had taken this holiday on his doctor’s recommendation, due to his having weak, consumptive lungs.
Oliver’s fiancé, Lisa, came to meet him at Dover, as his ferry arrived. “You don’t look very rested, my dear” she said. “Oh, I just overdid the mountain walking, a little. That’s all” said Oliver. On the train back to London, Lisa was disconcerted to discover that poor Oliver also had a bound hand, due, he said, to slipping with his fruit knife. That evening, at dinner, Lisa slipped a signet ring that she had had made for Oliver, onto the little finger of his left hand. It had an ‘O’ with an ‘L’ across it. Oliver kissed her for it.
Lisa resumed coming to meet Oliver from his late afternoon rehearsals, as usual, but she noted that he frequently seemed a little uninterested in her and somewhat anxious to be away. Oliver started making excuses for being unable to see Lisa, in the evenings and Lisa, began to be sad, thinking that perhaps Oliver was repenting his choice of her.
One evening, not seeing Oliver at the rehearsal finish, Lisa went along to his rooms, in the Albany. She tapped on the door as she opened it, but was confronted with a horrified Oliver who had blood all around his mouth, feathers on his waistcoat and a dead, torn pigeon on the table in front of him. Lisa, stared in horror, turned and fled, followed by Oliver’s urgent calls.
The following morning, over breakfast, Lisa read an article in The Globe which spoke of a wolf being accidentally killed by a handsome cab, in the Albany. The wolf had been found to be wearing a ring with ‘O’ and ‘L’ across it, on the little finger of its left paw. Lisa dashed across London to Oliver’s rooms. He wasn’t there. Oliver was never found. The Concertante had to find another cellist.