Werewolves
"Don't drink, Ivanushka, will you become a kid from a goat's hoof?" From a fairytale. In folklore, a rare fairy tale does without such a character as a werewolf. Let us remember how brother Ivanushka, having drunk water from a goat's hoof, became a kid. Or the cannibal from another fairy tale "Puss in Boots" willingly turned into one or another animal, until, finally, he was devoured. Without a werewolf, any fairy tale is not a fairy tale, therefore this mysterious character is almost invariably present in it, and sometimes very insidious, ready to turn into anyone at any moment. (Almost like in life, when some people, depending on everyday circumstances, are ready at any moment to change one's disguise to a more suitable one, which is what the great poet had in mind when he said: "The tale is a lie, but there is a hint in it").
The encyclopedia says about a werewolf that this is a person who has the ability to turn into a beast, as well as into inanimate objects, for example, into a bush or a stone.
In a word, the werewolf, it turns out, exists not only in fairy tales, but also in real life.
This is confirmed by historical documents. The story that will be discussed happened a long time ago, back in the 16th century in France, in its mountainous region of Auvergne. In those days, it was densely overgrown with forests, in which there were many different animals, and it was not safe to wander in these forests even with a gun. Especially local residents were worried about wolves, which often attacked livestock and carried dogs into the forest. But these were the usual misfortunes, as in all forest areas. However, for some time there have been persistent rumors that some special wolf has wound up in the forests of Auvergne, which rushes at people. There have been several such cases, and they all ended tragically. The wolf tracked down and carried even children into the forest. In those days, a very wealthy gentleman named Sanrosh lived in Auvergne. He was rich and famous. He lived in grand style, loved society, was known as a hospitable host, kept many servants. Sanrosh had a wife, a beauty, whom he loved very much and was happily married to her. The Sanroche estate was located on a mountain, from where there was a beautiful view of the green slopes, magnificent forests and distant mountains. One day in early autumn at noon in 1580, Sanroche was sitting at the window and admiring the autumn landscape, when a servant came in and reported that Monsieur Ferol had come ... He went in to invite his friend Sanroche to hunt, but he, with great regret, was forced to refuse this occupation, which he himself passionately loved, for the reason that he was waiting for his lawyer, who was about to come to him on urgent business. Ferol went hunting alone to those places where he and Sanrosh usually hunted together. In the meantime, the lawyer came as agreed, and for more than an hour Sanrosh dealt with him on matters connected with the estate. After seeing off the lawyer, he dined alone and suddenly remembered Ferol's invitation. Sanrosh had no urgent business, his wife was also not at home, and in order not to be bored alone, he decided to go to the places where his friend hunted. He quickly went down the familiar path leading to the valley, and after a while noticed the familiar figure of Ferol on the opposite slope. He hastened to him. But the closer he approached, the more he was seized by some kind of anxiety. When they met, Sanrosh realized that his anxiety was not in vain - all Ferol's clothes were covered in dirt and blood, and he, barely breathing, was unable to utter a word. Sanrosh took a musket and a bag for game from a friend, and they quietly walked home from the forest. At first they walked in silence, Sanrosh did not question his companion about anything, giving him time to calm down and recover. Finally, Ferol began to tell his friend about the amazing experience he had experienced in the forest. When he entered the forest, he immediately saw a group of deer not far away. He couldn't get close enough to take a shot. After pursuing them for a long time, he finally entered a dense thicket and realized that it would take a long time to get out of it. Turning home, he suddenly heard an eerie growl coming from a damp, fern-covered ravine. Slowly backing away and not taking his eyes off the place where the growl came from, the hunter slowly, step by step, covered about fifty meters, when suddenly a huge wolf jumped out of the ravine and rushed straight at him. Ferol fired, but missed, as he stumbled backwards. The wolf, with a furious roar, jumped at him, aiming his teeth at his throat. But Ferol, having a quick reaction of an experienced hunter, got ahead of the beast, hitting him with the butt of his musket, and he stretched out on the ground. Almost immediately, the wolf jumped up and immediately rushed at Ferol, but he managed to grab his hunting knife ... They met in a deadly fight. The terrible mouth of the wild beast was very close, and the skinny Ferol, instantly realizing what he should do, put his cloak, which had previously hung on his arm, into it. While the enraged beast was trying to free itself or the cloak, Ferol struck him blow after blow with a heavy dagger ... In a fierce duel, man and beast fell to the ground and rolled. At some point, they ended up at a fallen tree and the paw of the beast caught on its clumsy trunk, ending up on top of it. Ferol instantly cut with his heavy dagger on this paw. The wolf let out a long, longing howl, and, escaping from the deadly embrace of the hunter, with bloodshot eyes, jumped away from him and disappeared instantly into the forest. Ferol, all spattered with the blood of a wild beast, sat exhausted for some time on the ground, not even having the strength to get up. After a short rest, he examined himself, but there were no serious wounds on his body, and only superficial scratches remained. It began to get dark, and the hunter had to hurry home so as not to stay in the forest. On his way back, he met a friend. Now they were alone, and the danger was over. So they wandered slowly until they entered the garden of the Sanroche estate. Ferol, pointing to his bag for game and noticing that it was almost empty, said among other things: "I took the paw of the beast with me, so that you can be sure of the veracity of my story." He leaned over the bag and let out a strangled cry, dropping something on the grass. When he turned to Sanroche, he was struck by the expression on his face. “I don’t understand anything,” Ferol whispered, “it was a wolf’s paw, after all. .." Sanrosh bent down, looking at the trophy, and he was seized with horror: a freshly chopped brush lay on the grass female hand. He was even more horrified and dumbfounded when he noticed several rings on the dead graceful fingers, one of which, skillfully made in the form of a spiral and adorned with blue topaz, he had once presented to his wife. She never took off this ring. Somehow getting rid of the completely bewildered Fero-l, who constantly explains to him that he cut off the paw of the wolf, Sanrosh wrapped his hand in a handkerchief and, stumbling, trudged home. His wife has already returned. The servant reported that she was resting and asked her not to be disturbed. Pushing him aside, Sanrosh entered his wife's bedroom. She lay on the bed in a semi-conscious state. On the face - deathly pallor, on the sheets - bloodstains. A doctor was called, who skillfully treated the wound, but the wife did not have a hand on her hand. Before talking to her about what had happened, Sanrosh spent several agonizing weeks. In the end, this conversation took place, and the wife confessed to Sanroche that she was a werewolf and nothing could be changed. Some time passed before Sanrosh turned to the authorities and told about everything. Litigation was started, the documents of which preserved this story. After being tortured, the woman confessed not only to this, but also to other crimes. Soon she was burned at the stake (a common execution in the Middle Ages). There were no more similar cases of wolf attacks on people in Auvergne.
Reports of werewolves are very ancient.
Werewolves and their bloody deeds were known even at the time of the founding of Rome according to written sources that have come down to us, they were also feared in ancient greece . A werewolf is not a "degenerate". He is a purely earthly phenomenon, quite real, which people at all times were afraid of in panic. Maybe that's why in the Middle Ages a wild fear of this incomprehensible phenomenon forced to deal with it cruelly. Any person who "looks" like a wolf, has sharp teeth, a thin, elongated face and other suspicious signs, could become a victim of the most cruel massacre, always ending with his execution. For this reason, many suffered, mostly, of course, not at all guilty of werewolves. Most of all, people were afraid of the full moon, since it was believed that it was at this time that a person becomes a werewolf. The science of werewolves cannot say anything, therefore, in order to have at least some idea about them, they resort to ancient treatises that say that you can meet a werewolf at any time of the day, but a person is especially at risk in the moonlight. According to these treatises, any person can turn into a werewolf, moreover, suddenly, without wanting it and without suspecting what phenomenon he is exposed to. This transformation occurs like an attack, the beginning of which is accompanied by a slight chill, turning into a fever, then a headache and intense thirst. Sweating begins, it becomes difficult to breathe, shoes get in the way, which is why they are thrown off, the toes are bent and become tenacious. Simultaneously with these changes, a person also changes externally. The mind of the victim of werewolf, the treatise narrates, also changes. It becomes crowded in the house, and she seeks to break out. This is followed by nausea and spasms, and the mind becomes completely clouded. The tongue refuses to obey, instead of human speech, this creature makes guttural sounds, then it generally takes off its clothes, gets on all fours, its body is instantly covered with thick hair, and it becomes an animal. With the loss of human form, this creature is seized by a thirst for blood, and it runs into the night, howling at the moon, and kills everyone who gets in its way. Having satisfied his bloodthirstiness, the werewolf fell to the ground and fell asleep, and by morning he again became a man, horrified by what he had done, tormented by the torments of the mind. Werewolf is a phenomenon that has its own name - lycanthropy. It is considered a human disease. Those suffering from this misfortune, knowing about the beginning of the next attack of lycanthropy, were preparing for changes in their appearance. They hid in secret places or ran away into the forest in advance. The werewolf (lycanthrope) himself could not be healed. For him, everything was predetermined in advance: either a stronger beast would tear him apart, or a man would kill him. He was not given a third.
In addition to werewolves-victims, there were werewolves at will
who took pleasure in being cruel and merciless to people. To become such a werewolf, an outlandish brew was used, which they drank, and special ointments were also prepared for rubbing. Such a werewolf at will was a certain Jean Grenier in France in the 16th century, whose "feats" became known thanks to the sensational trial in the town of Bordeaux (in France) in 1574, whose interrogation protocols are still read like a detective novel, whose history is as follows. In the French forest in Lavdy (nowadays a favorite place for tourists, but in those days it was a remote, sparsely populated area), at one time, mysteriously unfolded. new and terrible events: a huge wolf began to pounce on the people of the village of Saint-Sever. Meetings of this kind usually ended in the death of a person. This began to happen so often that the villagers were afraid to stick their nose out, but this did not help either. The wolf found its victims everywhere. Finally he was caught. But it was not a wolf, but a man-wolf. The case was simply unique. This guy was not even fifteen years old, he worked as a shepherd for a wealthy landowner near the village of Saint-Sever. He told the judges interrogated by him that once in the forest he met a demon who introduced himself to him as the owner of the forest and took an oath from him to serve him, giving in return the ability to turn into a wolf. Having concluded an agreement with the devil, the young man turned not just into a wolf, but into a cannibal wolf, cracking down on victims with special diabolical cruelty, killing everyone in a row, sparing neither women nor children. Youth did not save Jean Grenier. He was convicted and publicly executed. After this, the attacks on the wolf people in the vicinity of Saint-Sever ceased.
Another stunning case of lycanthropy (optional) is documented in France in the middle of the last century.
Two judges, members of the magistrate, hunted from the forests of the Gironde. They got lost in the forest and by nightfall decided to spend the night in a clearing, which they stumbled upon by chance. But as soon as they began to build a shelter for themselves, they suddenly heard a rustle - someone was sneaking through the forest. They hid, and a minute later an old peasant appeared from behind the trees, heading towards them. They recognized him. He was known as a person with a bad reputation... This man stopped and began to make some signs in the air with his hands. It looked like the old man was engaged in black magic, and, looking at him, the hunters remembered the engravings from old books about sorcerers. Having finished the preparatory passes, the old man suddenly lifted his head and let out a long, despondent howl. He was very reminiscent of an animal and led the amazed and frightened observers into wild horror. But this was only the beginning of some diabolical ritual. The old man howled for several minutes, and then an answering howl was heard from somewhere far away ... The nerves of two people behind the bushes were strained to the limit, and when a distinct rustle of leaves was suddenly heard nearby, one of them lost his head from horror and almost rushed away, but the other decisively kept him from death. The eerie spectacle continued. From the darkness of the forest emerged the silhouette of a huge shaggy wolf. In the light of the moon, not only he was clearly visible, but also other rolls emerging from the thicket. Soon the whole clearing was filled with them. Saliva flowed from their mouths, their red eyes glowed, and they let out a wild roar. The old man stood calmly in the center of the clearing and waited for the animals heading towards him. Suddenly, the largest wolf of the pack, apparently its leader, rushed ... to his feet and, like a huge dog, began to seek affection from the owner. He caressed the beast, scratching behind his ears. Other wolves surrounded the man and their leader and howled loudly. This terrible chorus was unbearable, and two involuntary listeners covered their ears with their hands and buried their faces in the ground. When they came to their senses a little and again looked out of their hiding place, instead of one huge wolf in the pack, they saw two, and the other suddenly came from nowhere, it was whitish-gray, lighter than the leader, and the old man was nowhere to be found. A few more moments passed, and the clearing was empty, the wolves disappeared into the forest. Their howl became quieter and finally stopped. When the hunters were convinced that the danger had passed, they got out of their hiding place, kindled a fire and sat huddled together, having survived the mortal danger and not believing in their salvation. When morning came, they set off. Soon they came across a path that led them to people. They told them about the nightmare and then documented the incident. They were firmly convinced that the second whitish-gray wolf was the peasant who was gathering the wolf pack. Werewolves can take on not only the appearance of a wolf, but any animal, bird, fish, reptile. Such a conclusion can be drawn from the numerous stories with werewolves that have come down to us.
Here are some of them.
The English captain Schott, who hunted in the north of Nigeria at the beginning of our century, somehow, together with other hunters, went on hyenas, which greatly annoyed the locals. They followed the tracks of these predators, but suddenly the tracks disappeared, and instead of them there were traces of human feet. The pursuit had to be stopped. The secondary forced hunt for hyenas again ended with the same result, but this time the hunters decided to continue the pursuit, so that, having met one mysterious person, learn from him something about a pack of hyenas. They did not meet a man, but wounded one large animal in the pack, shooting off his jaw. The trail of blood led them to a neighboring village. And the next day, one of the inhabitants there died from the same wound that was inflicted on the beast. Another episode refers to the 60s of our century. A European, the owner of a small zoo, was in the mountains near the Burmese-Thai border, hoping to replenish the number of inhabitants of his zoo. Local residents warned him to be careful because a weretiger appeared in those parts. Once a European spent the night in one of the villages. Suddenly, in the middle of the night, he was awakened by screams. Running into the house at these cries, he saw a huge tiger that was tormenting a woman by the throat. With a shot, the hunter wounded the beast in the side, but he jumped into the night, leaving only a bloody trail. The next morning, the zoo owner, along with other hunters, followed a trail of blood that led them to a nearby village, and then to a hut, where they found a man with a fresh bullet wound in his side.
The ethnographers of Siberia recorded one episode connected with werewolves.
The entry is as follows: "... We grazed cattle. And then a bird flies ... How it screams! How it whistles! And all the cattle fled. And you can’t collect it in any way ... But my father caught this witchcraft. In the second - that day they drove me to graze. I say: "Tatya, now this bird is flying, the cattle will disperse ..." And tya already loaded the gun ... He shot and ... wounded, but we could not find her in the grass "What a failure! That same evening they found a woman who was suspected of being a werewolf. She was lying wounded at home. You won't drive cattle anymore," they told her. She didn't do it again..."
There are cases of lycanthropy, when a person becomes a werewolf as a result of some special technique.
peculiar only to him, as only one key fits the lock and no other. In the village of Luchasy, Smolensk province, there once lived a man who knew how to become a werewolf. It will go to the floor and disappear. Once they found a knife stuck in the ground behind a barn and took it out. Since then, this man has disappeared and has been missing for three years. One healer advised the relatives of the missing person to stick a knife in the same place where he stuck out before .. So they did. Soon after that, the missing peasant came to his hut, but all overgrown with wolf hair. They heated the hot bath, put the werewolf on the shelves and began to soar with a broom; the wolf hair is all gone. The werewolf told how he turned: as soon as he "spread" through the knife, he turned into a wolf. When they took out a knife for a barn, he ran into the field like a wolf. He ran, but there was no knife. And so he would run in this form, if they had not guessed to stick a knife in the old place. Although this man turned into a wolf, his thoughts and feelings were human. He could not even eat unclean food, such as carrion. When he approached the water, it reflected not a wolf, but a human image.
There are also cases when transformations into a beast are made unintentionally, but independently of a person, unexpectedly for him.
Here is one of these stories: "... Not far from his uncle's bakery, a thief lived. Well, just a robber! He just got out of prison, he was imprisoned for murder. he was terrible, well, just like a wolf, and it sparkles from under his eyebrows! As soon as I saw him, I was so scared! I’m coming from the pasture. But his house is nearby. I’m standing, and his look is unkind. And then I had to throw coal into the stove. like a wolf. My legs gave out like that. She grinned, growled and ran away .., "
A small Tibetan people, the Tamans, live in Burma.
According to the stories of ethnographers, neighboring tribes claim that tamans often experience sudden spontaneous transformations into animals. Half-jokingly, half-seriously, they say: the taman asks if anyone has seen his wife and son, and when they answer him that they only noticed a tigress with a tiger cub, he exclaims: “Why, they really are!” and hurries in the direction where they saw the animals. According to the testimony of the tamans themselves, such reincarnations are an involuntary act, which is preceded by a state of tension, deep nervousness, and anxiety. In addition, a person finds himself in the grip of an irresistible desire to behave, for example, in a titrino way, lie in the reeds, run away into the jungle, etc.
When a person enters the body of a tiger or other animal, the human "I" still dominates in such a combined creature,
those. a person feels himself a person in any state, so the atrocities and cruelty that he commits are unforgivable to him? hiding under a different guise. While there was talk about werewolves, when reincarnation is reversible, that is, a person, having been in the skin of an animal, after a certain time becomes a person again. But there is also an irreversible reincarnation, when people who have taken the form of a beast never become people and never return to them. Here is a rare thing even for countries where such phenomena are practiced - the transformation of a person into a leopard, leaving for the jungle forever.
This happened in our time in one of the tribes living in Africa - Dahomey.
An eyewitness said: “...Finally, the drums began to beat quieter and slower, and three priests stepped into the middle, holding chickens and a goat in their hands (ritual sacrifices that replaced the previously obligatory human ones). The blood of animals fell to the ground ... It was the same ancient a ritual I've heard so much about... Ngambe (the priest) leaned over and whispered something incomprehensible. Aho (guide) whispered to me that if the beast appears from behind the bushes, I should in no case touch it. You should also not try to run away. Both of them are a gross violation of the ritual and can cause the wrath of leopards ... And so ... the chief priest began to sing even louder... the drum began to beat loudly and quickly again... And suddenly it seemed to me that my eyes would now pop out on my forehead: right behind the girl (it was she who was subjected to the ritual of reincarnation) at the border of the flickering light I saw the shadow of an animal; before I even had time to express my surprise, a strong adult leopard appeared in front of me ... Two more leopards appeared behind the girl ... They passed majestically across the platform, and all three disappeared into the shade of the trees. I was most struck by the fact that I quite clearly saw a chicken in the teeth of one of them ... These leopards went into the jungle forever.
Even entire families can turn into werewolves.
In 1598, in the district of Conde in France, the population was frightened by several terrible murders in a row. They were so cruel that it was clear that wolves appeared in this area. Passions reached the limit when they dragged a little girl from the village, who was then found by hunters in the forest, and three wolves were seen near her body. An alarm was immediately raised, and a group of peasants immediately went to the forest to bring the corpse of a child, but they saw only one wolf there, who immediately disappeared in the bushes, and after a while the peasants found in the bushes a tattered man with a tangled beard, long disheveled hair and crazy eyes. He was seized and taken to the magistrate, where he confessed that he was a werewolf. He further said that the other two wolves that the hunters saw at the corpse of the child were his brother and sister, who could turn into rolls with the help of a magic ointment. The crazy old man was sent to life imprisonment.
What are these magical ointments that can turn people into werewolves?
When another accused of lycanthropy, Jean Perel, in 1518, at the trial, told how he made such ointments, several people in the courthouse fainted from disgust. Despite such a confession, the accused was sentenced to be burned, and his ashes were scattered to the wind. Thousands and thousands of people fell victim to werewolves in the Middle Ages, but in our times, although such cases are quite rare, people also become their victims.
It has been established that since 1990 alone, 46 people have become their victims in the following countries:
Brazil, Spain and Great Britain, and according to the United States in their country there are about a thousand people suffering from this rare and terrible genetic scourge, in which quite normal men and women turn into monsters. But this data is from abroad. As for Russia, apparently no such records are kept, and only occasionally does the press notify readers of incidents of this kind, which, no, no, and do happen, as, for example, in Bashkiria, about which R. Latypova. Here is what she said: “One summer at the end of the 60s (I was then 18 years old), my friend and I were returning from the cinema. The club in our village was old and stood on the outskirts, right behind the stable. It was about one in the morning. We got to the river, we look: a guy and a girl are standing on the bridge. She is in white clothes, and he is in black, as if from a wedding. As soon as we approached, they went to the side, past the stables in front of us. It was surprising that in everyone in the village knows each other, and we saw this couple for the first time. They walked ahead of us, but neither conversation nor the sound of heels was heard. What miracles! They reached the gate of the stable - and there, only the door hinges creaked. And we laugh : what can you do at one in the morning in a smelly stable? Literally a few minutes later the gates of the stable flung open and two dogs ran out - white and black. We stood dumbfounded for a few seconds, and then rushed towards the village ... We ran to the middle of the village, stopped We laughed at the same time, looking at each other: a friend lost her heel on the way, her high hair fell on her left side. Let's go and discuss what it could be. We got to the house where a friend lives, began to say goodbye. Suddenly the gate of her house opens of its own accord and out of there ... the same dogs, black and white, and soundlessly approach us. A frightened friend kicked one of the dogs with her left foot, but she did not even bark ... That night my friend spent the night with me, she was afraid to go home. And in the morning we told our mother and our neighbors about everything. They explained to us that the stable was an enchanted place and one should not go there at night. The next day, my friend was paralyzed, exactly left side. She lay in bed motionless for about a year. The truth is, it's cured..."
It is curious that legends and legends about werewolves, people who can turn into animals of their own free will, can be found literally in every corner of our planet. Scientists are still arguing about what could serve as a real basis for the emergence of popular beliefs about such a fantastic creature.
Medieval Horrors
The blood-splattered, filthy beggar snarled, bared his teeth ferociously, and ran on all fours around the corpse of the teenager he had torn to pieces. Such a terrible picture appeared before the eyes of passers-by, who looked into a rare bush on the outskirts of the forest, hearing a suspicious noise. The detained beggar called himself Jacques Roulet and claimed to have torn the boy to pieces when he turned into a wolf with the help of a magic ointment. This real story, which happened at the end of the 16th century in France, was by no means the only one when people seriously claimed that they managed to turn into a ferocious predatory animal in one way or another.
In the same France, already in the 18th century, a woman appeared before the court, whom the peasants accused of turning into a wolf and attacking people and livestock. The accused promised the court to demonstrate some kind of witchcraft process with which you can turn into a wolf. The woman, under escort, went to her hut and brought out a bowl of foul-smelling ointment, rubbed herself with it and fell into a coma for several hours ... Of course, her fangs did not grow and hair did not appear, nevertheless, when she woke up, she declared that she had been a wolf and even managed to kill a cow and a sheep on the outskirts of her native village. Great was the surprise of the judges when the peasants specially sent to the place indicated by the woman actually found dead animals ...
In the Middle Ages, the vast majority of the population of Europe did not doubt the reality of the existence of werewolves. They were regularly caught and, like witches, burned at the stake. It was enough for some wolf to bite a child or a cow, and angry peasants usually always found the culprit in werewolves. Most often it was a person who, by some external data or by his behavior, stood out in the peasant environment. Only in France for 100 years, almost 30 thousand people were convicted and executed, who were considered werewolves.
The signs of a werewolf from medieval treatises are very curious. If a person had pointed ears, some oddities with his teeth, too hairy hands, thick eyebrows fused on the bridge of his nose or crooked legs, then he could well be mistaken for a werewolf ... It is enough now to look around in any crowded place to understand: to catch a "werewolf "In the Middle Ages, there were no problems ... Well, if a person did not meet these signs, he could be accused of drinking water from a source chosen by wolves: this was considered sufficient for him to turn into a werewolf.
The unfortunate accused of being a werewolf was often tortured, especially if he persisted in his innocence. Unbearable torment forced the victim to confess the most unimaginable sins. There was an opinion that a werewolf, turning into a wolf, simply turns his skin inside out ... Therefore, especially biased werewolf hunters tried to find wolf hair under the skin of the unfortunate ... Few people could survive after such savage "research".
Where are the origins of "fairy tales" about werewolves?
Why was the belief in the existence of werewolves so strong in ancient times? Many scientists have dealt with this issue. They found that beliefs about werewolves existed and sometimes still exist in almost all nations. The difference was only in the predatory beast into which a person could reincarnate. In Europe it was a wolf, in South America it was a jaguar, in Africa it was a lion, a leopard or a crocodile, in India it was a tiger, in North America it was a bear. In ancient times, people often deified predators, which posed the greatest danger to them. In Africa, until recently, there was a cult of leopard people who wore the skins of these predators and performed human sacrifices. At one time, the Vikings put on the skins of wolves during raids, believing that they would bring them the ferocity and dexterity inherent in this predator in battle. Undoubtedly, such attire had a certain psychological effect on the enemies. Some researchers believe that it was these people dressed in animal skins that became a certain prototype for the legends about werewolves.
An essential factor for the emergence of legends about werewolves was literally the dominance of wolves in medieval Europe. These ferocious predators attacked not only cattle, children, lonely travelers and even horsemen often became their victims. Wolves became especially arrogant and dangerous in winter, when hunger drove them closer to people. Sometimes real monsters appeared in the vastness of Europe, like the cannibal wolf from Zhevodan, whose victims were at least 60 people, most of whom were children and women. The resourcefulness and elusiveness of the monster from Zhevaudan suggested to many that this is not a simple wolf, but a real werewolf.
Researchers were surprised by the fact that in the Middle Ages, many accused of werewolves sincerely believed in their ability to turn into a wolf ... Scientists see the explanation for such facts in the effects of various hallucinogens. In some cases (various magical rituals) they were clearly used purposefully, in others, entire segments of the population could hallucinate in reality due to poisoning with ergot, a fungus that affects cereal crops. Peasants very often, in order not to die of hunger, had to bake bread from grain affected by ergot. Under the influence of various hallucinogens, a sensation of body transformation could appear.
Undoubtedly, maniacs, mentally ill people, who were enough in those days, had a certain influence in maintaining the belief in werewolves. In 1754, the Garniers were burned alive as werewolves. The study of this case by historians has shown that the main accused, Gilles Garnier, was most likely a mentally ill cannibal.
It is possible that people with a rare genetic disease, porphyria, could also be mistaken for werewolves. It is characterized by severe skin lesions, nervous disorders, intolerance to light, and a strong change in appearance. Patients with porphyria are forced to walk only at dusk or at night. According to some scientists, these symptoms could well be taken for signs of a werewolf.
To identify a werewolf, according to an ancient recipe, it was necessary to wound him in the paw when he was in a wolf's skin. If later the corresponding arm or leg of the suspect in werewolf turned out to be wounded, then the medieval “Sherlock Holmes” immediately became clear ... On the topic of just such a detection of a werewolf, perhaps the largest number of all sorts of fairy tales appeared. Let us recall at least a paw cut off from a wolf, which then turns into the hand of a countess with a ring on her finger that is noticeable to everyone ... The count recognizes his wife's hand from his hunter friend, goes to her and ... Well, then everything is clear. Such stories fed and still feed many novelists, and now filmmakers.
Are they still being met?
With the advent of firearms and the gradual extermination of wolves, terrible stories about werewolves also began to disappear. If it were not for movies and books on this subject, perhaps, werewolves would now be almost forgotten.
Surprisingly, eyewitnesses still manage to report meetings with werewolves. True, none of them saw the process of turning a man into a wolf. In 1960, in one of the foreign magazines, Mrs. Delbart Cregg from Texas described a mysterious incident that happened to her in 1958. One of the nights in a metal mesh open window someone began to scratch. The woman began to look closely and, when lightning flashed, she saw a terrible wolf face. When she jumped up for a flashlight, the monster ran into the bushes, and soon a man came out of the bushes instead of him, who quickly disappeared in the direction of the road.
There are many phenomena and creatures in folklore, the reality of which scientists today strongly doubt. One of them are werewolves. This concept is familiar to almost all peoples on all continents, usually people who are able to take the form of an animal are understood as werewolves. For Europe, the second hypostasis was usually a wolf, but in Japan they often talked about foxes, in America - about coyotes and crows, etc. We will cite several such interesting stories from the annals of Medieval Europe.
1. Dol werewolf
In the vicinity of the French Dole, attacks on people began to occur in the 16th century. The first was a child, to whose cry the peasants ran and managed to repel the baby from an incomprehensible kind of monster. Then a ten-year-old boy disappeared... People were in a panic and, finally, a bounty was announced for the werewolf. The locals identified the creature as their neighbor Gilles Garnier. And after another attack, Gilles was seized, interrogated, after which he confessed to all crimes, and executed at the stake.
2. Werewolves from Greifswald
This story is recorded in the annals of the German Greifswald. There werewolves showed amazing activity in 1640, when people with the onset of twilight locked themselves in their homes and stronger. The local students decided to put an end to the problem. One day, the studiouses collected all the silver available in the city, melted it down into bullets, and went hunting in the evening. Blog Rybalych never doubted the effectiveness of the former cups, coins and buttons. And it is not surprising that literally from the next day all the problems of the townspeople from the werewolves disappeared.
3. Ansbach Werewolf
In Bavaria, in 1685, the city of Ansbach suffered from a huge wolf. Frightened residents saw the beast as a werewolf and even recognized it as the recently deceased mayor. Finally, the animal was killed, after which the corpse was dressed in things similar to the clothes of the mayor, exhibited in the central square of the city, and later transferred to the local museum.
4. Werewolf from Klein Krams
The German village of Klein-Krams is far famous for its dense and rich forests. There was a lot of game in them, and hunters liked to gather there and arrange dashing tournaments. But somehow a strange beast appeared in the forests. Hunters told interesting stories about him - that the wolf's bullet does not turn white, that he loves to play, letting the catchers come closer and suddenly dissolving in the air. Yes, and the prey could be dragged right from under the nose.
One day at that time an officer passed through the village. Before his eyes, children flew out of the house with loud cries. The officer was going to stop for the night anyway, and at the same time listened to local stories. The stories there, of course, turned out to be not as peculiar as, but even here a certain boy appeared who turned into a wolf. Literally the next day, the officer looked into the window of the same boy’s house and saw a huge wolf, in the place of which a child was in a moment.
5 Italian Werewolf
A certain farmer in 1541 began to attack people near Pavia. He pounced on the road or in the field with a growl at the passers-by, dug his teeth into their throats, tore the victims apart. many people suffered until they managed to catch the maniac. At the trial, he stated that he was a werewolf, only wolf attributes - wool and claws - are hidden inside him. The judge ordered that the offender's limbs be cut off in order to test his claim. The execution took place - the criminal bled to death.
6. Werewolf of Chalons
On December 14, 1598, the Demon Taylor was tried at Chalon. This werewolf was accused of luring both boys and girls into his shop, raping them, killing them, and then dismembering, boiling and eating them. And at night, in a wolf disguise, he attacked travelers in the forest. Barrels with bones of children and other evidence found in the basement of the shop were presented as evidence. The court sentenced the Shalonsky werewolf to be burned at the stake, all the documents in the case were destroyed because of the terrible details contained in them, and after the execution, the very name of the criminal was forgotten.
7. Claudia of Burgundy
In the Middle Ages, witch hunting was one of the most popular pastimes. One of the "specialists" in such a difficult matter was the famous Henry Boget, who accounted for several hundred "witches" and "sorcerers". Claudia Gaillard was seen by some witnesses, turning into a tailless wolf in the bushes. Under torture, the woman did not confess to anything, but was still recognized as a werewolf and sent to the stake.
In 1521, a wolf attacked a certain traveler in the vicinity of Poligny. The traveler managed to fight off the beast, injuring it. Moreover, the traveler not only drove the wolf away, but followed the bloody trail of the wounded animal. And he went exactly to the home of Michel Verdun, where he found the owner at the moment when his wife was washing his wounds.
The incident was reported to the authorities, and an inquisitor from Besancon took up the matter. Under torture, Verdun confessed to everything, and also named accomplices - Pierre Burgo and Philibert Monto. Interestingly, they also admitted to being werewolves, and killing, and worshiping the devil, and even cannibalism. Of course, everyone was executed.
9. Good werewolf
In 1692, at Benandanti in Livonia, old Tees broke his nose. An 80-year-old man told worried neighbors interesting story. According to Tees, he is a werewolf, and together with a group of brothers, he participates in battles with sorcerers three times a year. Sorcerers, even after death, can leave hell and send damage and other misfortunes to fields and gardens, cattle and people. And werewolves, "God's dogs", protect the earth from them.
The last battle ended with the victory of the werewolves, who fought traditionally with steel bars. And their opponents - with brooms decorated with ponytails. One of the sorcerers, Skestan, broke Tisu's nose with just such a broom.
The old man spoke very confidently, including about the presence of werewolf communities in neighboring lands - in Russia and Germany, that after death werewolves have a direct road to paradise, and that humanity lives only thanks to their protection. The judges could not award Tees anything but superstition and idolatry and sentenced him to only ten lashes.
10. Werewolf from Landa
In 1603, spring did not please the south-west of France. Horror settled there, children disappeared there in the most unexpected way. It was enough for the mother to leave for a few minutes, as it was possible not to find the baby in the cradle. Some thought it was the work of the wolves, but most blamed the werewolves.
Hysteria reached its apogee after the incident with Marguerite Poirier. A 13-year-old girl was tending her cow when a huge red beast flew at her from the bushes. Most of all, the creature resembled a large dog, it dug into the girl’s clothes and tried to drag her into the forest. But Margarita desperately fought back with a metal-bound stick, as a result, she managed to drive away the beast and run, scratched, to the village.
And after a while, in the company of friends, a 14-year-old boy boasted that he was turning into a wolf. Jean Grenier told how he attacked Marguerite, and how only a sharp, strong stick saved her.
But there are other relationships as well:
It is unlikely that today there is a person who has no idea who a werewolf is. Fantasy novels, hundreds of horror films and computer games are the main sources of information. In reality, werewolves are not seen so often, but those who happen to do it never forget it ... Although they would like to. Including such cases, there are enough in our country.
Classics of the genre
This incident occurred in the late 1980s in a missile unit near Irkutsk. In the middle of the night, the senior lieutenant was called to the scene. On guard was a soldier from his platoon, Private Metrov. Walking around the territory entrusted to him, he noticed a huge figure in the light of a lantern behind a wire fence. Outwardly, the intruder resembled a strange hybrid of a man and a wolf, only about two meters tall.
His body was covered with long gray hair, his eyes burned with an evil fire, and his long muzzle was twisted in a fanged grin. When the monster made an attempt to climb over the fence, a frightened but not bewildered sentry began to shoot from a machine gun. To his horror, the soldier realized that the bullets did not cause any harm to the beast, as if bouncing off the gray skin. Nevertheless, after the noise raised, the monster turned and disappeared into the forest.
Colleagues found Petrov in a state close to hysteria. The senior lieutenant who arrived at the scene could hardly make out his incoherent speech, but the picture of the incident was supplemented by strange finds at the place where, according to the private, the beast appeared. They really didn’t find any blood there, but there were traces of large animal paws, and it looked like the beast moved on two legs. In addition, much to the embarrassment of the head of the guard, a tuft of gray-black wool hung from the barrage wire.
At that time, of course, the matter was hushed up, but this does not cancel the fact that a creature appeared in the taiga garrison, which, according to the description, fully corresponded to the ghoul. Moreover, meetings with similar or other creatures that can be attributed to the same category continue.
Shepherd
Many years after the incident, a resident of Ivanovo spoke about a similar meeting in the Kostroma region. At that time, Irina Govorkova was still a schoolgirl and spent her holidays with her grandmother in the village. In the same village there lived an old woman named Taisiya.
Strong for her advanced years, the exact number of which no one knew, she cheerfully drove her goats to the pasture and back, coped around the house in such a way that not everyone can do it in the village. Even Irina met her in the meadow. The girl was riding a bicycle, but on the wet grass she failed to slow down in time and almost crashed into Taisia.
Then the old woman began to behave rather strangely: making a circle around the girl, she bared her teeth strangely. Her face seemed to be covered with gray hair, stretched out, and fangs showed between her lips. This lasted for a very short time, but Irina managed to get scared. In a moment the face was the same. The old woman looked at Irina and told her to forget everything as soon as possible, no one would believe her anyway.
Indeed, Irina's grandmother attributed the whole story to a rich childish imagination. Although evil tongues claimed that they saw Taisiya go to the river in the evening, return in the guise of a black boar, and have been living for more than a hundred years. In a word, they considered her a witch, capable of changing her appearance. Of course, where can a hundred-year-old grandmother keep up with her goats, it’s another matter if she turns into a wolf or a dog ...
These images are most typical of both werewolves and witches. However, the latter can also take on other forms, such as horses.
Aunt Horse
For the first time, this strange horse was seen by residents of Ilyinka near Moscow. In the warm season, the younger generation sits out for a long time on the street, and it was precisely such belated passers-by who, after sunset, began to encounter a gigantic horse with burning eyes. Quickly realizing that these are tricks evil spirits, a group of activists began to figure out which of their fellow villagers is thrown into a horse and scares the people at night. Granny Marfa was suspected, after the incident with Nikolai Blinkov, these suspicions grew into confidence.
Nikolai was returning home late from work in his truck. At dusk, he noticed a horse standing on the road and tried to drive around on the side of the road, as the animal did not respond to signals. But the horse turned and, flashing devilish eyes at the driver, galloped beside him.
For quite a long time the race continued with varying success: on the pavement the car had an advantage, on the country road - on the contrary. And before entering the village, the horse ran into the body with acceleration, so that the car shuddered, and turning back, Nikolai saw through the rear window a wildly laughing naked grandmother Marfa. Fear gave him strength, but when he got out of the car, there was no one in the back.
The villagers decided not to leave such a case unpunished and sent a delegation to the witch, insistently asking her to stop the nightly outrages ... It was quiet in the village for a week, and then someone trampled Blinkov's entire garden and smashed the front door. Then a teenager was admitted to the hospital, who was frightened by a three-meter horse. From a strong shock, the guy began to mumble and stutter.
Now the local men have decided to take serious measures. In the evening, they hid at the house of a werewolf woman and saw how she went out onto the porch and turned into a monstrous mare. Several lassoes were thrown at the werewolf at once, but it was far from immediately possible to cope with the animal that was furiously resisting. The werehorse was brought to the horse yard, shod, as it should be in such cases, and released.
The next morning, all the men who participated in the capture of the witch were taken to the police at the request of Grandmother Martha, but then the whole village was indignant. The old woman was threatened that her house would be burned down, and that she herself, if caught in the guise of a horse, would be sent to a meat-packing plant. Grandma Martha had to withdraw her application and look for other entertainment.
Pig act
In addition to the fact that witches can turn into animals, they also love to bring damage. A resident of the Stavropol Territory had to face this in practice. Svetlana Titova's sister developed a tumor on her leg. Medicine in this case turned out to be powerless, so the sisters decided that this was the work of one of the local witches, most likely a neighbor who had long been infamous.
On the advice of the old people, who still remember the rituals, Svetlana prepared to settle accounts with the witch. On the night of St. George's Day, she set the milk to boil. When the milk boiled at midnight, she threw 12 new unused needles into it, one for each stroke of the clock. After that, she went out the gate, read a prayer and prepared, according to the rite, to throw out the liquid towards the house of the one whom she suspected of witchcraft.
After that, it was necessary, walking backwards, to return to the house and wait for the suspect to come the next day and ask for something to give her or, conversely, offer to take some object. You can neither take nor give anything, otherwise the removal of damage will not work.
And at the stage of splashing out milk, Svetlana noticed a large light animal not far from her and at first mistook him for a dog. But in the suddenly ensuing silence, hooves clattered on the asphalt - a pig stood in front of the woman and angrily bored her eyes. Svetlana began to back away towards the house, and the moment she touched her gate, the ominous pig vanished into thin air.
And the next day, the same neighbor whom Svetlana suspected came to her and offered to taste her pies, which in itself was strange. The woman, of course, refused, and a few days later the swelling on her sister's leg disappeared.
Since ancient times, mankind has been writing legends about people with supernatural abilities that are not available to other members of the race. The most popular of these are stories about the existence of werewolves. Werewolves are people who, under the influence of certain conditions, can turn into an animal, while retaining the human intellect and some physical traits. But whether werewolves exist in real life, or is it just a fiction of writers, it will soon become clear.
What are werewolves
Mythology does not have a clear idea of what a werewolf should be. Each nation has its own understanding of what kind of animal a person can turn into, and does it have mythical abilities:
- The lycanthrope is the most common werewolf. This creature has many names: wolf-dlak ( Slavic mythology), Vilktak (Lithuanian), Werewolf (German and Anglo-Saxon), Mardagail (Armenian), Bisclavert (Breton), Ulfhednar (Scandinavian).
- Berserker - a warrior with the strength of a bear and the rage of a wolf, originally from the Scandinavian epic.
- Kitsune is a werewolf fox from Japanese mythology. From there, stories began about Tanuki (were-raccoon), Anioto (leopard man) and Rugaru (human-pet hybrid).
- Shelks are werewolf seals from Celtic mythology.
Transformation methods
According to the legends, there were two ways to turn a person into a werewolf - this is on their own and against their will. Each werewolf had their own way of transformation.
That is, if he could become a beast whenever he wanted, then nothing could make him turn against his will. And this principle also applied to those who were forced to become a werewolf. Unfortunately, they could not control their reincarnations.
But who exactly could transform whenever he wanted, and which werewolf was influenced by the desires of his beast? This was available to certain types of mythical creature:
Why is the possibility of their existence more controversial than the reality of other werewolves? Just imagine. Werewolves who did not know how to control themselves, in moments of hunger attacks, attacked any living creature that was in the access zone. How many random attacks have there been? Accordingly, the number of new changelings would increase tenfold. And the more inexperienced newcomers, the more difficult it is to keep their very existence a secret. Therefore, the presence of werewolves in real life would have long been an indisputable fact, and not the usual interesting legend from the depths of mythology.
Man in the shape of a beast
The transformation process itself was quite painful. It all started with a slight chill that turned into a fever. Pain throbbed in my head, which gradually spread to my whole body. First, the arms and legs lengthened and increased, their muscle mass increased, the skin darkened and coarsened. At this stage, the person lost his mind, speech became slurred and more like a growl. Then the whole body increased in size, and the skin was covered with wool. Gradually, moving away from sensations, human intelligence and ingenuity returned to the werewolf.
It was an unusual creature, far superior to its fellow animals in physical parameters and endurance. Usually, werewolves walked on both four and two legs, had very high growth and great strength. The duration of their life depended on the number of transformations, that is, the more there are, the longer youth lasts. According to some reports, there were immortal werewolves.
These were the kings of the animal world. Any living being felt the presence of a werewolf and obeyed him. Very little information about werewolves possessed magical powers or not. But the fact that they are always associated with the phases of the moon (the so-called full moon) suggests that they felt the magnetic poles of the Earth, and could influence them.
Do werewolves really exist?
It is difficult to figure out, after all, werewolves are a myth or reality, because if you are guided by the amount of evidence about meetings with werewolves, then there is no doubt that they exist in real life. If you remember about common sense and the lack of solid evidence, then you immediately begin to doubt mental health those people who made up legends about them. But what could have so influenced many witnesses that they unanimously asserted the reality of meetings with a bloodthirsty killer beast?
First, we must remember the time in which the authors of these legends lived. The Middle Ages is a period when it was not the president with his ministers who reigned, but the Church and the Pope. The Church used the Bible for its own purposes, interpreting the sacred laws in its own way. Accordingly, everything that did not fit into the generally accepted framework was considered the intrigues of the devil, eager to grab another human soul.
Secondly, lycanthropy is a mental disorder during which a person considers himself an animal. The work of that part of the brain that is responsible for a person's perception of himself as a person is disrupted, and the patient seriously begins to perceive himself as a representative of the animal world and copy his behavior and habits.
During an attack, the body temperature rises very much, dehydration begins in the body, as a result of which the eyes dry and the tongue cracks. The strongest claustrophobia begins, and the patient by all means strives to be on the street. Anyone who dares to interfere with him, he perceives as an obstacle that must be removed. This explains all his attempts to scratch, bite or push.
This disease is incurable, but has a fickle character. She then appears, then disappears, however, a person remembers everything that he did at these moments. And he talks about it himself. This is similar to a split personality, the patient is firmly convinced that he has turned into an animal, and seeks to tell all his friends and acquaintances about it.
And now imagine people frightened by the church, who consider any manifestations of the weather to be whims of the gods, and too open neckline - a temptation from the devil ... Imagine? And so sick people come to such people and tell them about their nightly adventures. They want to help in their own way by going to the church for advice. Only now she has only two ways to cure a person: to a monastery or to a fire ...
And what if a person was “lucky” to meet a sick person at night in the forest, pale with crazy eyes, shreds of clothes on his body, which he tore in a fit of fever? He climbs on all fours, growling and trying to figure out where to find water, and the man has already imagined all the seven circles of hell. Here are the details of bloody encounters with a huge beast...
The facts of the existence of werewolves in Russia
No matter how strange it may sound, it also happens that a person meets a mythical creature personally, eye to eye. One fact of the meeting can be attributed to the fact that the person lied or confused him with some animal. The second case is attributed to the usual coincidence. But what to do when it happens for the third, fourth, fifth, sixth time? For example, we can recall those cases that occurred on the territory of Russia:
- Meeting in Irkutsk: This incident took place in the late eighties on military territory. In the middle of the night, the senior lieutenant is called to the service unit. When he arrived, he noticed among the soldiers his private, intelligent and reasonable man, in a state close to hysteria. In addition, what he said did not fit well into the framework of reason. Judging by his words, the incident occurred an hour ago, when he made another round of the facility entrusted to him. Behind the prickly fence, the man saw an incomprehensible creature that looked like a wolf, but about two meters tall. It also noticed the man, and tried to climb over the fence. The private did not lose his head and opened fire on him. To his dismay, the bullets bounced off the creature without hurting him. But the beast did not like the noise raised, and he went deep into the forest. To study all the details of the incident, the lieutenant, together with the head of the guard, went to the scene of the incident. To their dismay, there were indeed footprints of a very large animal walking on two legs. In addition, a large tuft of dark wool hung from the barbed wire.
- Kostroma region: Schoolgirl Ira spent her summer holidays with her grandmother in the village. One day, while cycling in the forest, she accidentally stumbled upon a local old woman, almost knocking her down on the path. Stopping in time, the girl wanted to apologize to the woman. But looking at her, she was scared to death. The old woman's face was long and covered with gray hair, and white fangs flashed between her lips. It only lasted a couple of seconds, and her face returned to normal. The woman looked at the girl and told her to forget about this meeting, turned around and left.
And there are many such cases. None of us know what a werewolf looks like in real life, and even more so cannot answer the question of whether werewolves exist in our time at all. But no one can dispute the fact that such strange encounters still occur in our time. What is it, a stormy human imagination, or a really real-life mythical creature? At the moment, no one knows.
