werewolf lore | Werewolves

The Chindi

Many have claimed to have seen a werewolf before, but was it really a werewolf, or some other kind of shapeshifter – like the Chindi. The chindi is a Navajo shapeshifter that acts as a kind of avenging angel to those people that disrespect any of the Earth Mother’s creatures. According to Navajo artist David…

Fenrir

He may not be a werewolf, but no werewolf site can leave out the biggest and baddest of all wolves – Fenrir! One of the most famous of all the deities in Norse mythology is Fenrir (also known as Fenris), son of trickster god Loki and the giantess Angroboda. Fenris was an absolutely massive wolf;…

St. Francis and the God-Fearing Wolf

Today’s tale is one of those that will piss off most wolf-lovers. Wolves are ferocious, deadly and they sure don’t bow to anyone – but this story says otherwise. One of the most famous stories of St. Francis is when he tamed the wolf that was terrorizing the people of Gubbio. While St. Francis was…

The Annoying Böxenwolf

Werewolf folklore time! Woooo! So, in Germany in the region between the Diester River and the Weser River they tell a tale about the odd böxenwolf, a werewolf that’s more of a pain in the ass than a deadly fearful monster. The böxenwolf liked to spend its nights preying upon weary travelers, but he didn’t…

The Harz Mountain Werewolf

Today dear readers, I bring you yet another old werewolf folktale. Like most werewolf legends, this one contains grisly deaths, gore and an unhappy ending. Once upon a time, Count van Breber and his beloved countess Hilda were vacationing in the Harz Mountains in Germany. One evening they stopped at an inn, and, while chatting…

The Werewolves of Wales

Records of a giant wolf-like creature in North Wales date back to 1790, when a stagecoach traveling between Denbigh and Wrexham was attacked and overturned by a big black beast that was said to be as long as the coach horses. This werewolf pounced on and savagely ripped apart one of the horses, the other…

Werewolf Lore: The Varulv

Werewolves in Sweden and Norway are called the ‘Varulv’. Eastern Europe is particularly rich with werewolf folklore, unlike England, where wolves were hunted almost to extinction. The Varulv almost has its own mythology, though in many ways it is similar to the traditional werewolf lore we’re so used to hearing about. He’s half man, half…

The Lycanthropous Stream

There’s a folktale that tells the story of a peasant that desperately wished to become a werewolf. To do this he simply waited for a night when the moon was full, knelt by the side of a lycanthropous stream at midnight and recited these words: “Tis night! Tis night! and the moon shines white over…

Michigan’s Dogman

Living in Michigan and being a huge fan of werewolf folktales I was pleasantly surprised to hear that Michigan has it’s very own werewolf myth, the dogman. The Michigan Dogman is a beastie that has been spotted all throughout Michigan and gained fame in 1987 when radio DJ Steve Cook produced a song about a…

The Royal Werewolf

Today dear readers, I bring you an old folktale once told in the mountains of Auvergne, a tale of royal werewolf and her unfortunate end. According to the legend, a nobleman was gazing out of his castle window when he saw a hunter he knew. He decided to have a chat with the old hunter…

The Tale of Werewolf Rock

According to local legends, outside of the village of Eggerstedt, Germany lived a mysterious figure known simply as “the Old Man.” This man would appear from the Brandsleber Forest and offer to perform tasks for the villagers, such as watching over their flocks of sheep. One day the Old Man herded sheep for a shepherd…

The Werewolf’s Cousin: The Werefox

Today we’re going to mix it up a bit and take a look at a different kind of shapeshifter. After one of our readers asked about werefoxes I figured, why the hell not? They may not be werewolves but they fall into the same shapeshifting furry family. So today we’ll take a tiny break from…

The Devil’s Promise

Gather ‘round boys and gals, I have a story for you. It was once believed that to become a werewolf you needed something known as a wolf-strap. Anyone that fastened this wolf-strap around their waist would instantly turn into a wolf. But if someone were to call out the name of the person that had…

The Wolfstone

Long ago in the Fichtel Mountains of Germany a shepherd had gotten fed up with the local wolves carrying off his sheep. One day a particularly large wolf came to snatch up some of his livestock – this is when he acquired the services of the best hunter in town. This huntsman was known to…

Ancient Norse Werewolves

There is an ancient tale that tells of two Icelandic men, a tale that was told throughout the Middle Ages. This story of course involves some fearsome werewolves – because really, are there any stories better than those? This tale tells of two men, Sigmund and Sinfjotli. One day these two are wandering through a…

The Vilkacis

Time again for another wonderful werewolf myth. Woo! This time we’re traveling to a land of rich history, beautiful lakes and dark forests – Lithuania. The vilkacis, which literally means “wolf eyes” is a werewolf that comes from Lithuanian mythology. The vilkacis is a regular human that has the ability to shapeshift into a wolf,…

St. Patrick’s Werewolves

Before I tell you the tale of St. Patrick and the werewolves of Ireland I need you to clear your mind of St. Patrick’s Day parties, clovers, green glitter and beer. Good, now we can begin. According to legend, St. Patrick once punished the Welsh king Vereticus by transforming him into a wolf. While St….

A Kind-Hearted Werewolf

Most of the werewolves in folklore, film and books are usually these monstrous and ferocious beasts that turn anyone unlucky enough to cross them into nothing but a pile of bloody pulp. But among the chaos and gore is one old folk tale of a sweet and kind werewolf. The unique werewolves I am speaking…

The Werewolf of Death

Time again for a mythological werewolf, one of my favorite kinds. This time we’ll jump head first into the world of Guaraní mythology and tell the tale of Tau and Kerana and their werewolf son. One day Tau, the spirit of evil, saw the incredibly beautiful Guaraní woman, Kerana and had to have her. So…

Holy Werewolf!

There’s an old folktale about a priest and his encounter with a werewolf. In Ragusa, Italy there was once a church called Santa Maria della Scala (St. Mary of the Stars) and it was supposedly at this church were the battle of the wolf and priest took place. The holy man was crossing the piazza…

The False Wolf

Time again for another old wolf folktale, but today’s is a little different from past stories. This old tale is one of greed and deception, showing us just how afraid people were of wolves back in the day. Once upon a time there was a wicked little thief that rented a room at an inn…

Study Says Full Moon Brings Out Our Inner Beast

A recent study done this past year at the Calvary Mater Newcastle Hospital in Sydney, Australia says that 91 of the emergency patients admitted with very violent and dangerous disturbances were similar to werewolf behavior. And a quarter of these happened on the night of a full moon, which is double the number for the…

Ancient Blood Festival

Close your eyes, clear your mind and imagine blood dripping down your face, growling and hungry wolves and ancient fearsome hunters. Good, now you have a pretty good picture of the Lupercali Festival embedded into your mind. In the ancient times the Romans held the Lupercali Festival every year and it honored young novice hunters…

An Ancient Tribe of Werewolves

Hey readers, today we’re going to take a small dip into the very vast and expansive world of Roman mythology to discover a tribe of werewolves. But before we get to the werewolves we first need to touch on Romulus and Remus, who, as you may or may not know are the founders of Rome….

As The Flame Blows Out

Hey there readers, it’s time again for another real werewolf tale. If you are a long time reader then you know the deal, if you’re new here then let me explain real quick. There have been countless cases of lycanthropy reported all throughout history; some of these stories are super old, while others surprisingly recent….