Battle of the Weres

Lycanthropes are not exclusive to European culture. Far from it. In Europe, the werewolf is prevalent, as it is in America, which is largely the result of European influences, for both good and ill. In Europe the wolf was the most common alpha predator. Whether it was an accurate reflection or not—probably not—the animal people in Europe most feared being killed and eaten by was the wolf. But In Africa they have were-jaguars and were-crocodiles. In India they have were-tigers. In Russian folklore, people most often transform into bears. Our word for the condition of a human transforming into an animal, or believing they are transformed into an animal, Lycanthropy, favors the werewolf, as it derives from Lycanon or Lycaon, the figure in Greek mythology who was turned into a wolf by Zeus. (NOTE: In my online novel, THE CONFESSIONS OF SAINT CHRISTOPHER: WEREWOLF, I use Lycanon as the primary villain. Read it!)

If you were to throw all those various kinds of lycanthropes into a pit, though, and let them fight it out, which one would win? Would the werewolf, the most prevalent, also prove the toughest? Bears, leopards, and crocodiles are all bigger than wolves. In the animal world, any one of those three would kill a wolf in a fight. Does this carry over into the were-world? What do you think?

By The Evil Cheezman

WAYNE MILLER is the owner and creative director of EVIL CHEEZ PRODUCTIONS (www.evilcheezproductions.blogspot.com, www.facebook.com/evilcheezproductions), specializing in theatrical performances and haunted attractions. He has written, produced and directed (and occasionally acted in) over a dozen plays, most of them in the Horror and Crime genres. His first novel, THE CONFESSIONS OF SAINT CHRISTOPHER: WEREWOLF, is available for purchase at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/734763 MORTUI VELOCES SUNT!

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