The Complete Idiot's Guide to Werewolves (3 page)

 

In other situations, the clan commits some form of blasphemous sin against a god or some religious order. For example, a warrior of the clan might have killed a priest or perhaps made a pact with the devil in order to secure the love of a certain woman or victory in battle. As a result, a god (pagan or Christian) smote the man’s entire bloodline with the cursed form of lycanthropy.

 

As with the bite form of cursed lycanthropy, there is only one known cure for the familial curse—quite simply, the entire bloodline has to be wiped out of existence. Usually this happens in one of two ways. Some of these werewolf clans are said to have forbidden their members from having children and then allowed nature to run its course. Others (more frequently) are said to have been hunted down and killed off by humans, who are usually more than willing to give nature a hand in such affairs.

The spirit werewolf is very much the polar opposite of the cursed were wolf in that he or she is a voluntary participant. The transformation of a spiritual werewolf is almost exclusively ritualistic in nature. The spirit werewolf invokes the spirit of the wolf, or perhaps the spirit of some type of wolf deity, and by doing so undergoes a kind of possession that leads to his or her transformation. Unlike other forms of lycanthropy, however, this transformation does not always need to be a physical one. Often the spirit werewolf primarily undergoes a spiritual or psychological transformation. At times it is said that this can lead to physical transformations in extreme cases.

For the most part, the primary legends of spirit lycanthropy come from two distinct cultures—the Native Americans (see Chapter 2) and the Norse (see Chapter 3).

Enchanted lycanthropes fall somewhere between cursed lycanthropy and spirit lycanthropy. These individuals—through the use of enchantment, sorcery, magic, and so on—have the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or werewolf. As with the spirit werewolf, some form of complex spell or ritual is frequently necessary. Sometimes, however, such spells can be condensed into a charm, talisman, or some type of worn garment (usually made of a wolf’s skin) that allows the user to change shape at will.

 

Enchanted werewolves are said to retain a certain level of control once they have transformed. They don’t immediately go on killing sprees once they have assumed this new form. However, most of the lore surrounding enchanted lycanthropy warns that there is a danger of losing control. Basically, if enchanted werewolves remain in the wolf-state for too long, they begin to lose touch with their human side. At some point, the animal nature of the wolf will overtake the human side completely, and they can lose themselves forever. Once this happens, enchanted werewolves will forget that they were ever human, causing them to permanently remain in the wolf-state. The good news is they don’t even know anything has happened to them.

Viral lycanthropy bears a number of similarities to cursed lycanthropy. For the most part, the difference between the two is the explanation for its transmission through the bite. When science began to explain the nature of viral infections, it didn’t take long for people to notice that lycanthropy behaved a lot like a virus. First, it is transmitted through bodily fluids, usually from a bite. Second, it seems to undergo a gestation period before becoming active—basically, one lunar cycle. Third, it behaves like a blood-borne virus or a sexually transmitted disease (such as HIV). This is a relatively new part of werewolf lore, the idea that lycanthropy can also be spread through sexual intercourse or other means of blood or fluid exchange. Unlike most viruses, and similar to some of the more extreme sexually transmitted diseases, however, there is no known treatment, cure, vaccine, or inoculation for viral lycanthropy. (Unless we are counting death as a cure … in which case, there is one.)

 

As werewolf lore evolved into its modern form, it came to be seen in what are today considered more reasonable, or at least relatively believable, terms. As a result, the potential ways in which one could become infected with viral lycanthropy are more diverse. The accepted potential avenues of infection are as follows:

In recent years, the pop culture lore surrounding viral lycanthropy claims that a werewolf’s ability to control his or her actions or abilities is directly related to the length of time he or she has been infected. Basically, the idea is that the longer a person has had lycanthropy, the better he or she has learned to deal with it. Another point of contention in viral werewolf lore is on the subject of immortality. Some believe that lycanthropy also grants immortality, while others believe it only grants enhanced regeneration and an extended life span. A small percentage of lore insists that viral lycanthropy offers infected individuals neither immortality nor regenerative abilities, and that it only grants them the ability to transform into a wolf or werewolf.

Though each type of lycanthropy is unique, there are some common threads between them. These commonalities are as follows:

You may be wondering which one of the aforementioned types of lycanthropy is the “real deal,” so to speak. Well, the answer to that really depends on your personal definition of “werewolf.” Since there aren’t exactly any werewolves available for scientific study, this is not a black-and-white issue. Some feel that the spiritual/psychological, change-of-spirit werewolves are just as real as the physical transformation of the more visually stunning werewolves of other lycanthropy types. Others believe that only those born of werewolf blood (for example, from a cursed and/or infected bloodline) are true werewolves. Still others believe that lycanthropy is an evil force or curse, a bane upon human existence, and that it would be better left to fade into the shadows of the past. Which of them is real? It would be best to decide for yourself.

 

Chapter 2

An American Werewolf in … America

The Native American perception of the wolf is a vivid example of just how extremely their view of nature differed from that of the Europeans who eventually pushed them from their own lands. Native Americans have always viewed nature as a divine entity, worthy of the greatest possible respect. Anything less would be blasphemous. The incoming Europeans viewed nature as something to be conquered and exploited. To become one with the wolf, a part of the divinity of the natural realm, would be something to embrace in the Native American view. They saw wolves as wise teachers to be treated with reverence. The Europeans, on the other hand, viewed the wolf as a dangerous adversary, a savage beast that needed to be hunted down and destroyed.

 

Sometimes, however, those with the power to shapeshift were viewed by Native Americans as dark and evil witches, as in the case of the skinwalkers. They are thought of by most Native Americans as an ancient enemy of which only a handful remain. Nevertheless, even one of them is thought to be formidable.

The face of the wolf can be found in the totem of nearly every Native American tribe of the Iroquois, Algonquin, Pueblo, and the Northwest coastal groups. This makes the wolf one of the most universal members of Native American totems. Native American tribes credited wolves with a number of impressive powers and miracles, from the origins of certain tribes to healing the sick. Every tribe tells the stories of the wolf spirit, and the stories of his great deeds are many.

 

Shamans of the Crow tribe claim that a wolf skin has the power to save a person who is at the brink of death. The Inuit tell a myth about an elderly woman left to die in the freezing cold. In order to survive, she transforms into a wolf. Some Great Plains tribes claim that a deity/ spirit named “Wolf-Man” created the Great Plains especially for them. A number of tribes in the Great Plains have myths telling of how “Wolf” taught them how to hunt, as well as the importance of familial unity.

The Wolf Spirit’s mythic counterpart, Coyote, is known for being frequently rash, foolish, mischievous, violent, and deceitful. However, Wolf is seen in quite an opposite way, representing the attributes of wisdom, strength, loyalty, and freedom. When Wolf speaks to a human being, Native Americans believe that he should be seen as a sacred, spiritual teacher. His words are divinely inspired and must be heeded with the utmost attention. Wolf, in some stories, has the ability to grant his powers to people.

A number of tribes from the Pacific Northwest are of the belief that they were originally wolves and later chose to assume the human form. This is why it should not be surprising that some of these tribes have preserved their traditions of ritualistic lycanthropy. These ancient practices would more than likely fall into the category of spirit lycanthropy. Of course, one would have to know the rituals to properly categorize them … and these tribes aren’t too big on sharing this particular part of their culture.

 

The First Tribes of the Northwest Coast—namely the Nootka, Quileute, and Kwakiutl—are known to still actively teach certain forms of traditional lycanthropic rituals to their young men as a rite of passage. Little to nothing is concretely known about these teachings, and to this day they remain a closely guarded secret. The subject is not supposed to be discussed with outsiders, especially not whites, except in very specific wordings and in only the rarest of possible situations.