Did Rabies Inspire the Legend of the Werewolf? (And Vampires and Zombies, To Boot?)

Rabies is of the world’s most interesting zoonotic diseases, the one that “has always shaded into something more supernatural: into bestial metamorphoses, into monstrous hybridities.” Rabies inspired all our legends of werewolves? And vampires and zombies, to boot? To be honest, I don’t buy it. At first glance rabies is a perfect suspect, conforming to…