The Complete Idiot's Guide to Werewolves (39 page)

It is important to note that this is not a traditional case of clinical lycanthropy. This case is altogether unique because of the fact that the patient’s delusions regarding transformations are not directed at himself, but at those around him. Some have begun to refer to this sort of case as “reverse clinical lycanthropy,” but further research will need to be done before an official label can be decided.

 

There are some in the psychiatric fields who reject the idea that this case is evidence of a new condition. These individuals point out that the case bears the elements of megalomania, a psychiatric disorder in which patients suffer from delusions of possessing great or superhuman powers. Megalomania can also manifest in delusions that one is in an important role which does not exist. One example of this form of megalomania would be a homeless man who suffers from delusions that he is in fact a secret agent.

 

However, there is one element of this case that differs from the condition of megalomania. Megalomaniacs often voice that they are in control of their powers, roles, or abilities. Megalomania is very much a condition of delusional grandeur, an element which this case would not seem to exhibit.

One of the most horrific crimes in recent years is considered by some to have been a case of clinical lycanthropy gone violently wrong. Some argue, however, that it is simply a case of a disturbed young man’s obsession with murder. In either case, the story is worthy of mention in regards to this study of clinical lycanthropy.

 

In April of 2006, in the quiet Canadian town of Medicine Hat, 23-year-old Jeremy Allan Steinke and his 12-year-old girlfriend murdered the young girl’s entire family.

 

According to the testimonies of several of the accused man’s acquaintances, many of which were released by the press, Steinke often insisted that he was actually a 300-year-old werewolf. He was said to have been fond of referring to himself as a “lycan,” a popular shortened version of the word “lycanthrope.”

 

Steinke was often described as the kind of guy who wore almost entirely black clothes. He is also said to have enjoyed putting safety pins through his flesh. He was known for always wearing a black bandana around his neck, and he would sometimes pull it up to cover his face. Steinke was commonly seen wearing dark eyeliner and spiked dog collars. He is also said to have worn a small vial around his neck, which he proudly boasted was filled with human blood. A one-time roommate of Steinke’s claimed that the disturbed young man once sliced his own hand open with a knife and began licking blood from the fresh wound.

 

Steinke’s behavior had grown increasingly bizarre following a breakup with his girlfriend. However, at an all-ages punk show, he met and began a romantic relationship with an underage girl. In court records, the girl is referred to only by the name “J. R.” Because of her status as a minor, the girl’s identity has never been released. On one social website, the girl used the handle of “Runaway Devil.” On the same website, Steinke used the name “Soul-Eater.” Their conversations on the vampire-themed site led many media outlets to wrongly report that the two had met on the site, which was later learned not to be the case.

 

In December of 2008, a jury in Calgary, Canada, deliberated for only 11 hours before returning with a guilty verdict. Steinke, now 25 years old, was unanimously convicted on three counts of first-degree murder. Mr. Steinke showed no reaction when the verdicts were read. He was later sentenced to life in prison, with a possibility for parole in 25 years.

 

Steinke’s underage girlfriend was later convicted of the same charges. However, she was also deemed mentally unfit to stand trial. She was placed in the care of a state mental health facility. All later court hear ings regarding her mental state have been the same, and she remains confined to a high-security mental health facility in Canada.

Technically, Sigmund Freud’s
Wolf Man
case study cannot be classified as true clinical lycanthropy as it is now defined. Freud, however, could be credited with identifying the sexual aspects that later came to be associated with the condition. Freud first published this case study in his 1918 collective work (originally in German) entitled
Aus der Geschichte Einer Infantilen Neurose,
or “From the History of an Infantile Neurosis.” Freud referred to his patient as the “Wolf Man” for the sake of anonymity. However, the man later identified himself as Russian aristocrat Sergei Pankejeff and even wrote a book about his experiences with Freud.

 

From Freud’s writing, it cannot be said for sure whether Pankejeff’s condition was delusional or simply a dream manifestation. The case was so-named because of a particular dream analysis. Pankejeff was suffering from extreme anxiety, manifesting in bouts of severe depression as well as physical symptoms that were harming the man’s health and well-being. For example, it was written that Pankejeff could not have bowel movements without the aid of a rectal enema.

 

Freud’s treatment of Pankejeff was concentrated heavily on a particular recurring dream the man had experienced during his childhood, most frequently during the winter season. In this dream, Pankejeff would be lying in bed with his feet pointed toward his bedroom window. Outside the window was a row of walnut trees. The window would open quite suddenly, as if on its own. Then Pankejeff would see seven white wolves sitting in the branches of the trees. Terrified that the wolves were going to eat him, Pankejeff (then a young boy) would wake up screaming. The young boy’s nanny would then spend hours coaxing him back to sleep. Pankejeff’s testimony about this dream was very clear on the point that it always felt just as real to him after he awoke.

 

Freud is known for his belief that all psychological disorders were caused by some sort of sexual issue, a point which caused many of his colleagues and students to break with him later. True to form, Freud concluded that Pankejeff’s dream was caused by him having witnessed his parents having sex when he was extremely young. Basically, Freud argued that the young boy’s mind would have perceived the act as “primal” in nature because his parents were probably having sex in the from-behind position (once again, the “doggy style” position). He claimed that this caused Pankejeff to associate sex with animals, a concept that his mind had displaced, in his dream at least, from his parents onto the white wolves.

Carl Jung began as a student of Freud but would later break with his mentor due to disagreements between them regarding the nature of human motivational drives. Freud believed that drives originated with sex. Jung disagreed, stating that sex was only one of many drives. Jung believed that these drives were often expressed in myths and dreams in the form of symbolic figures, which he called
archetypes.

Jung viewed the werewolf as one symbolic manifestation of a broader “death/rebirth” archetype. The werewolf represented, according to Freud, primarily the sexual transformation humans undergo in young adulthood, as well as a young female’s initial fears regarding sexual intercourse or a male’s fear that his own lustful urges may lead him to a terrible death or eternal damnation. In myth, the werewolf often has to be overcome by some magical or ritualistic device in order for a character to experience an “ideal” or “pure” form of love.

 

Jung first explained this concept of the werewolf archetypes in his work
Four Archetypes
by offering a myth about a beautiful princess whose lover has been transformed into a werewolf by some enchanter’s spell. The princess has to consult a wise old sage, who instructs her to build a fire and place above it a cauldron of tar. He then tells her that she must place within the tar her most beloved possession, a white lily flower (which symbolizes virginity). He then tells her that, when her lover passes by in his wolf form, she must pour the contents of the cauldron over his head. The princess does as the sage tells her. Once she has completed her task of pouring the “lily-blessed” tar over her lover’s head, he is freed from the spell and returns to human form. The two are then able to pursue their life together, the man having been “transformed” and the princess being “reborn” into her new life as part of a married couple (symbolized by the sacrifice of her treasured “virginity lily”).

 

Glossary

What follows is a list of useful terms used throughout the book. This glossary has been provided in order to allow for an at-a-glance, user friendly reference.

 

alpha
In the animal world, the alpha animal is the lead animal in charge of a particular social group (such as a lion pride or wolf pack).

 

Anasazi
An American Indian term with multiple translations, depending on a tribal group’s usage. It is commonly translated to mean “the ancient enemy.” However, it can also mean, “ancient ones,” or “enemy of the ancestors.” The Anasazi are thought to be almost extinct. However, it is believed that a small number of them remain.

 

anime
A Japanese term that means “animation” and generally refers to cartoon series that are most frequently adapted from previously well-received manga (comics/graphic novels).

 

anthropomorphism
A term that refers to figures that embody both human and nonhuman traits.

 

archetypes
Originally a part of Jungian psychology, archetypes are inherited symbols, concepts, or thought modes that stem from the collective experiences of the human race. Jung believed these were passed on in the unconscious of all human beings.

 

Aswang
A term in Tagalog, the common language of the Philippines
,
that refers to an evil supernatural being that feeds upon human flesh. One type of Aswang, the “fake beast,” is known to be an able shapeshifter.

 

bakemono
A Japanese term that roughly translates as “monster” or “demon.”

 

bastet
See
were-cat.

 

Benandanti
Originally an ancient religious order of northern Italy, primarily responsible for performing rites that ensured agricultural fertility. A number of accused werewolves claimed to be Benandanti members, and probably picked the name since they were claiming to protect farms from thefts by witches and demons.