Before I write this article, I feel I need to clarify that werewolves are not real. I do not believe in mythical creatures. (Also, sorry to my mythology-loving people out there if any of the information in this article is false.)
Imagine a dog. Now imagine a big dog with large abs that can stand on two legs. That’s a werewolf. And I’m not exaggerating; if you look up “werewolf,” you’ll get some results, and the images that will appear are:
- A muscular male werewolf
- An ugly werewolf (probably the most realistic)
- Some art depicting a werewolf transformation
- Female werewolves
- Super duper special werewolves with highly exaggerated features (perhaps not super school-appropriate)
Almost all of the images look AI-generated, but that’s a story for another time.
Anyways, I did some research on werewolves, and the first thing you should know is that they’re also called “lycanthropes,” which, according to Merriam-Webster, comes from the Greek terms lykos and anthrōpos, meaning “wolf” and “human”,” respectively.
A werewolf is a person that can transform into a big wolf, if you didn’t know. When it’s a full moon, they act a little cuckoo-bananas and go on a rampage, killing animals and such. They are typically found in nerdy stuff, like Dungeon and Dragons, the Harry Potter franchise, and fantasy video games (That was a joke. Mostly).
Turns out, like all living things, werewolves have weaknesses. Like getting decapitated or thrown into a pit of acid. And if you don’t happen to have a guillotine or a pit of acid, no worries! They also don’t like silver. In literature and movies and stuff, people would get silver bullets and kill the werewolf (which is actually where the term “silver bullet” came from, as it also means “a solution to a complication”).
Another thing of note is a particular wolf-like plant, Aconitum, otherwise known as “wolfsbane”. This purple plant slightly resembles snapdragons, except it is highly toxic and its poison can be absorbed through the skin (so if you happen to come across it, don’t eat it and only touch it if you’re wearing gloves). It’s typically found in North America, Europe, and Asia if you were wondering.
Like most fictional creatures, the origins of werewolves are a bit fragmented, so I’ll start with Greek mythology. Here’s the rundown: in Greek mythology, there was this dude named Lycaon who was the king of a region known as Arcadia in Greece. One day, he tried to trick Zeus into eating his kid Nyctimus (the youngest of Lycaon’s fifty sons) to see if Zeus was actually a god. But then Zeus was like, “Dude, that’s really weird and you shouldn’t do that.” So he turned Lycaon into a wolf and revived Nyctimus. The end.
Others believe the first werewolf-ish case was in The Epic of Gilgamesh. I say “werewolf-ish” because it wasn’t like the werewolf we know today, but rather a person turning into a wolf. (Please note that I didn’t actually read The Epic of Gilgamesh because one – I don’t know where to find it and two – it’s really long. Just know that somewhere in it someone’s ex gets turned into a wolf.)
Long story short, werewolves have been around for a long time, and until humans die out, they’ll probably stay for a while. If you do encouter one, I hope you’re prepared with the information I’ve given you today. Maybe start carrying around silver. (Unless, of course, you’re in Forks. I don’t think silver works on the Twilight werewolves.)
