I've also been REviewing a lot of notes and bits of REsearch, plus REreading many of my collected folktales and legends. That's when I came across a post I'd written in 2016 that shared some of my favorite werewolf mythology. So now I'm RE-sharing!
Ask anyone on the street how to become a werewolf, and the number one response (besides sidling away from you with one finger hovering over 911 on speed dial) is “get bitten by a werewolf”. Believe it or not, this method is a fairly modern invention. Ancient myths and legends show many different paths to werewolfery, and here are just a few of them:
1. Your parents were werewolves
This is an easy one. If Mom AND Dad were lycanthropes (that’s the ten-dollar word for werewolves), you would probably inherit the tendency. Apparently it’s a recessive gene, and having just one furry parent might not do the trick.
2. You’ve been cursed by a priest
From Russia to France, if you didn’t go to church, you could be officially cursed with lycanthropy by your local religious leader. This was also rumored to be the fate of those who failed to attend annual confession – if you did this 10 years in a row, you risked spontaneously becoming a werewolf. In 14th century Normandy, excommunicated persons were believed to turn into werewolves during the Christmas season. During this time, each sinner was either redeemed or doomed to belong to the devil and run as a wolf forever.
(PS - In Finland, if you were lucky enough to break the spell, you were still stuck with a wolf’s tail for the rest of your life!)
3. You’ve offended the Devil
Yup, in some stories, being TOO good would get you a lot of excess hair too. Apparently it was safest to be not too bad, not too good, but “just right”. It's unclear where the sweet spot is, however.
4. You’ve been captured by a witch
A Polish legend says that if a witch lays a belt of human skin across the threshold of a house in which a marriage is being celebrated, any member of the wedding party that steps over it is immediately transformed into a wolf. The wolves are forced to serve the witch for a year, then regain their human form and return to their lives.
5. You picked the wrong flowers
Legend says that a “lycanthropic flower” grows wild in the Balkan Peninsula, with a sickly death-like scent. If you pick these flowers, you become a wolf! Simply brushing against wolfsbane blossoms (aconitum or monkshood) was believed to cause you to shapeshift as well—but it’s NOT a myth that the flowers are dangerous. The plants contain neurotoxins that can be absorbed through the skin. An unfortunate man died in 2014 from multiple organ failure after contact with these poisonous purple perennials! (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/11213530/Gardener-died-after-brushing-past-poisonous-plant-in-millionaires-garden.html)
6. You were born on the wrong day
Seriously, what were you thinking? In Italy, it was bad luck to be born on the winter solstice, December 20-21, and a surefire way to become a shapeshifter. In many other European countries, it was believed that children born on December 24th, Christmas Eve, were destined to become werewolves when they grew up. Apparently it was a divine punishment for competing with the Christ child! In Romania, however, this legend went a step further. Children conceived on Christmas Eve were cursed to become werewolves because their parents were supposed to have abstained from sex at that time!
8. You drank the wrong water
In some European legends, especially in Scandinavian countries, accidentally drinking from a "lycanthropic" river or stream would cause you to become a werewolf. This water is said to possess a "lurid sparkle" and a faint smell that is like nothing else. Other legends say that drinking from any body of water where a wolf pack has recently satisfied their thirst will cause you to change. As for drinking the rainwater that collected in a wolf’s paw print? Honestly, becoming a werewolf might not be your only problem….
8. You looked a wolf in the eye
This is a bad idea on several levels, but in some old stories, locking eyes with a wild wolf could cause you to turn into a wolf yourself within a few days. Handy hint – Stay away from the zoo!
9. You slept outside during a full moon
In Germany, Italy, and France, it was said that both men and women could become shapeshifters by sleeping outside and allowing the full moon to shine on their faces for the entire night. This was especially effective on a Wednesday or a Friday. (There’s a reason why friends don’t let friends pass out on the front lawn after a party.)
10. You drank magic beer
Really? The warning about the water wasn’t enough? In 1555, bishop Olaus Magnus penned a collection of Nordic folklore and history. In it, he reported that you could become a werewolf by sharing a mug of specially crafted beer with a known shapeshifter while repeating the words of an ancient spell. According to Magnus, the werewolves of Livonia held a huge gathering every year in which they would drink a great deal of beer before going out to ravage the countryside.
"Werewolf" Novels by Dani Harper
As a paranormal fantasy and romance author, I have a passion for shapeshifters, and my very first series centers around the Macleod family. Long-lived and able to become wolves at will, they call themselves CHANGELINGS. Centuries ago, they were forced to flee the wolf exterminations in Scotland and start a new life in the wilderness of northern Canada.
The Changeling series centers around the Macleod family, four brothers and two sisters. Long-lived and able to become wolves at will, their kind call themselves Changelings. Centuries ago, they were forced to flee the wolf exterminations in Scotland and start a new life in the wilderness of northern Canada.
The Macleods seem to have the best of two worlds — yet there are still dangers lurking for their kind. And love, when it arrives, brings dangers and complications of its own. The two highest laws in the Changeling world are never harm a human and never turn a human against their will. The wolf within, however, has its own primal rules. If a Changeling’s life is in danger, the wolf will emerge to defend it. It will also rise to the surface, unbidden, to defend a mate at all costs. Because Changelings mate for life!
.......
LEGEND. LORE. LOVE. MAGIC.
From ghosts to faeries to shapeshifters,
you can check out all my stories at
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