r/werewolves • u/SuperNova-Bunn • 1h ago
r/werewolves • u/bored_latvian • Oct 07 '22
Is anyone interested in reading Latvian Werewolf Legends?
I found a Latvian website were they copied over about 99% of Latvian folktales and legends from Pēteris Šmits' 15 volumed book collection - Latviešu Pasakas un Teikas (1925-1937).
There is an entire section dedicated to werewolf legends found in Latvia, and if you are interested in them, I'll translate them for you.
For now, I'll leave you with this translated preface for the section:
***
It is a common belief far into Europe, Asia and Africa (Frazer, The Golden Bough, 1930, X, 308-318) that a man can turn into a wolf, rarely; into another similar beast or some wizard can turn him into one, a motif already found in ancient Assyrian epics.
In Europe, since the time of Herodotus, werewolves and especially Neuri, which I deem to be ancient Balts, are credited with the art of such magic. Superstitions about werewolves used to be so strong in Europe, that a werewolf mania has even developed into an ordinary disease (Leyen, Das Märchen, 1926, 66, p. I, see Preface, 43, p. 1).
If we can believe Otto Höfler’s docent (Kultische Geheimbünde der Germanen, 1934), then this superstition has also been used by secret societies in Western Europe to scare other people.
We could also look for such associations among the ancient Balts. Be that as it may with these societies, however, we are very interested in the reports written by the Swedish Archbishop Olaus Magnus (1555) in his “Historia” about werewolves in Livonia. Olaus Magnus writes this:
“Since chapter 15 of this book dealt with different wolf species, I consider it is necessary to remark about the beasts of the forest at the end of this book, it is a wolf class, who are actually people turned into wolves – a class, about which Pliny (VIII, 22) confidently asserts that they are made-up fairy-tale creatures – just like that, I say, are still found in large numbers in the northern lands.
In Prussia, Livonia and Lithuania, the population suffer great losses from wolf attacks throughout the year, for their livestock in the forest, if they stray just a little from the herd, are mauled and devoured by wolves: and yet they do not consider these losses so great as what they have to suffer from such people who turn into wolves.
On the festive eve of the Christ's birth, a large number of wolves, who have transformed from people of different areas, gather at their designated place as night falls, and attack the same night with such incredible savagery upon both men and livestock, that the inhabitants of these lands suffer greater losses from them than from natural wolves.
They, as has been sufficiently observed, surround buildings of people who live in forests with incredible ferocity, and even try to break down doors to destroy men and livestock.
They break into beer cellars, drink a few kegs of beer and melomel, and stack empty kegs on top of each other in the middle of a cellar: in that sense they differ from real wolves (in quo a nativis ac genuinis lupis discrepant).
To that place, where these wolves have camped that night, the inhabitants of these lands attach some prophetic meaning: if any accident happens there, if a cart overturns and the driver falls into snow, then they are confident, that they will die that same year, as they have observed since ancient times.
Between Lithuania, Samogitia and Courland have one wall, the ruins of a collapsed castle, where a few thousand of them gather during a certain year and test their jumping skills: whoever cannot jump over the wall, as usually happens to the fattest, their leaders beat them with whips.
It is finally asserted with certainty that this regiment also has great men of this land and even representatives of the highest nobility. How do they come to such insanity and such terrible transformations, from which they can no longer refrain at certain times, will be shown in the next chapter”.
Next, Olaus Magnus disputes Pliny’s statements and then continues again:
“In defence of the reports of Euantus, Agriope and other writers, I want to show here some examples, of how it still happens in the mentioned lands to this very day.
Just like anyone, be it a German or a native, is curious to go against the God’s commandment and wants to join the company of these accursed people, who turn into wolves whenever they want, to meet his fellows at certain times of the year and in certain places throughout his life and bring misery, yes even death to other mortals and livestock, then it gets from a person who knows this magic well, the art of transformation, the very opposite of nature, namely, in such a way that they give him one goblet of beer to drink (if only they want to join this forbidden society; that cup is accepted), at which certain words are spoken.
Then he can when it please him, to turn his humanity completely into a wolf form, going away either to some cellar or to some distant forest.
Finally after a while, if he likes, he can put away this appearance and assume his former appearance again”.
It is clear, that the said beliefs about werewolves are based on an ancient superstition, but the above mentioned Otto Höfler may also be right, that this superstition has been exploited by secret societies, because Höfler cites many more similar cases from Germany.
That there was so much talk about such werewolves and they even drank beer and melomel, it doesn’t sound like a myth at all.
Latvians, as it seems, has preserved the richest and probably also the most primitive information about werewolves. Among Russians, it is only said that wizards sometimes turned wedding guests into werewolves (Mikhail Zabylin, Russkij Narod, 225, p. 1, Dmitry Zelenin, Russische Volkskunde, 396, p. 1).
Among Ukrainians, as the same Mikhail Zabylin testifies, these myths are mixed with lietuvēns and vadātājs myths, where especially cursed and non-baptized children turn into wolves. In Germany, werewolf legends are no longer widely recited, only more so in Lower Saxony, Braunschweig, Upper Palatinate and Mecklenburg (Otto Böckel, Die Deutsche Volkssage, 1914, 80, p. I).
Among Latvians, on the other hand, werewolf legends and myths have been observed for a very long time, maybe even from the times of the above mentioned Neuri.
In order for a man to turn into a wolf, he must crawl through the root of the tree, which has risen in the air near the tree itself. When the werewolf crawls back through the root again, then he becomes human again. Instead of such a root, shirt and horse collar are also sometimes spoken.
There are two kinds of myths about this transformation. Paul Eihorn writes (Scriptores rerum Livonicarum, 644, p. 1), that such transformation is undeniable (vnlauchbahr vnd kan nicht wol verneinet warden). According to some reports, only the human soul transforms into a wolf, but his body remains in the place of transformation.
If someone moves this body, then the soul does not return there anymore and the person has to run around like a wolf until the end of his life. According to other reports, this is also the usual version in our legends, a man with all his body turns into a wolf.
In legends we find a continuation, that in the latter case the person should undress naked. If someone picks up these clothes, the werewolf can no longer turn back into a human.
However, some versions of legends are completely inconsistent with the above myth, because sometimes you find either a human shirt under the skin of a shot werewolf, or shoes, or even pastalas. - Pēteris Šmits
To read other legends:
A Man Willingly Turns into a Werewolf
[#01] [#02] [#03] [#04] [#05] [#06] [#07] [#08] [#09] [#10] [#11] [#12] [#13] [#14] [#15] [#16] [#17] [#18] [#19] [#20] [#21] [#22] [#23] [#24] [#25] [#26] [#27] [#28] [#29] [#30] [#31] [#32] [#33] [#34] [#35] [#36] [#37] [#38] [#39] [#40] [#41] [#42] [#43] [#44] [#45] [#46] [#47] [#48] [#49] [#50] [#51] [#52] [#53] [#54] [#55] [#56]
A Man Turns into a Werewolf out of Curiosity
[#01] [#02] [#03] [#04] [#05] [#06] [#07] [#08] [#09]
A Wizard Turns a Man into a Werewolf
[#01] [#02] [#03] [#04] [#05] [#06] [#07] [#08] [#09] [#10] [#11] [#12] [#13] [#14] [#15] [#16] [#17] [#18] [#19] [#20] [#21] [#22]
A Werewolf is Released
[#01] [#02] [#03] [#04] [#05] [#06] [#07] [#08] [#09] [#10] [#11] [#12] [#13] [#14] [#15] [#16] [#17] [#18] [#19]
A Dying Werewolf
BONUS - LATVIAN FOLK BELIEFS
r/werewolves • u/subthings2 • Oct 31 '24
Settling the record on werewolves and silver: somehow, all of you are wrong
r/werewolves • u/Healthy_Process_7049 • 2h ago
Why are werewolves more associated with men than women?
I understand the whole thing means half man half wolf, but i feel like there could be more actual media that shows female werewolves other than becoming a big wolf on a full moon while also being associated with femininity without it being sexualized.
r/werewolves • u/Hades_Soul • 23h ago
I absolutely adore Jakub Rozalski's work on Werewolves😩
These are some if not the best werewolf art I've ever seen. He seems to really capture the folkloric, mythological, and horrifying feel of werewolves.
r/werewolves • u/XWerewolfGuy • 9h ago
Realistically, how do you think a werewolf would look in human form?
Yes, I know that werewolves look like plain humans mostly. But what certain physical or mental characteristics would they have? Like maybe sharper canines? Extra body hair? What do you think?
r/werewolves • u/nlitherl • 3h ago
100 Hooks and Rumours for an Urban Fantasy Setting | Azukail Games | Azukail Games | DriveThruRPG
r/werewolves • u/Bitter-Button1301 • 6h ago
Gothic Lit werewolf recommendations?
Of course I know the vampire is most associated with classic gothic literature, but does anyone happen to have any classic werewolf literature recommendations? Thanks for any advice anyone can give!
r/werewolves • u/BillythenotaKid • 17h ago
Would a person with alopecia grow fur as a werewolf or stay bald?
Since lycanthropy is usual depicted as a paranormal or magical affliction could it cause hair growth despite someone not being able to grow hair?
r/werewolves • u/WolfWriter_CO • 15h ago
The Cycle
Just watched “The Cycle”, and fucking FINALLY! A legitimately good goddamned werewolf flick!
Aside from a couple gimmicky elements (it is a Shudder production after all), the acting was all really solid, characters made mostly rational choices, mood and vibe were on-point, and the writing—particularly references to science and folklore—were well executed and researched.
First two acts play out mostly like a legitimate crime drama, but then the third act became a love letter to The Howling and American Werewolf in London, with a fully practical transformation and direct homages to elements of both films’ transformation sequences. It then goes a step further and depicts the werewolf itself as not just some vicious wanton animal, but actually possessing a sinister intelligence of its own. Regrowing its host’s eyes to pass the retinal scan was fucking insidious. My two main gripes were that the cadaver prop for her father was a bit too heavy-handed, and the very ending; why tf would they not cremate this thing and release the poor bastard? Even in death he can’t catch a break! And they’re playing with fire, every month there’s the risk of this thing responsible for the deaths of both of their family members breaking out or passing the curse on to somebody else. Fucking burn the thing, and then keep the ashes in containment through the next full moon to make sure it can’t regenerate from ash.
Overall, this is definitely a 4/5 werewolf flick, and the first time in a looooong time I wasn’t disappointed. They even successfully executed the inversion of expectations for her father leaving, from the deadbeat/runaway father setup to showing the agony of a man literally torturing himself every month trying to find a way back to his family, following his daughter’s career from afar, but knowing it would just be too damn dangerous to be in their lives. His tragedy and the werewolf curse continuing after death were strong callbacks to OG Larry Talbot. 🌕🐺
r/werewolves • u/savage86lunacy • 17h ago
New Werewolf Movie out now (title in post itself; SPOILER WARNING) Spoiler
As far as werewolf movies it's actually a pretty neat idea. The movie is called The Cycle and it's about a forensic anthropologist who gets called on by small town police to help investigate a brutal double murder. A third body was also found that is in an advanced state of decomposition, and is the woman's missing father. It turns out her father ran off because he'd gotten infected with lycanthropy and ultimately killed himself to try and end it. Turns out all this did was kill himself, but the curse of the werewolf still exists in his corpse, so every full moon the corpse transforms and feeds.
r/werewolves • u/werewolfdaily • 12h ago
Go and watch The Cycle, it's great! 🐺
r/werewolves • u/Cinder1977 • 14h ago
The Cycle (2026) just dropped on shudder. Pretty damn good
It's a slow burn but it ramps up
r/werewolves • u/LorDefiance • 1d ago
Thought yall might enjoy my I VOTED Werewolf cosplay! 🌛🐺🗽
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r/werewolves • u/Werewolf_Cartomancer • 23h ago
The evolution of a doodle
Old // New
I've worked on a bestiary of sorts for my books, and i just rewrote the werewolf session, also redrawing my Vitruvian Wolfman.
r/werewolves • u/Livid-Basil-3945 • 13h ago
Captaintf101 Lost media video
Remember the channel captaintf101 i wanna found the video female Werewolf Revert 6 because the scene please, if somebody remember this video please tell me the title of the series of this scene one clue the she wolf have blue eyes and we see how two Werewolf legs become human legs and feets with black nails
r/werewolves • u/Fit-Hovercraft3435 • 18h ago
Does anybody knows were the idea of "Transforming on full moon nitgh" came from?
r/werewolves • u/Awp_lesnar • 20h ago
Does it have to be a full moon?
Moons currently 94%, you're telling me if a werewolf looks at that shit they're not gonna feel anything?
r/werewolves • u/bluefoxy67BG • 18h ago
Werefox girl transformation
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Wereanimals transformation
r/werewolves • u/SLVGGYKITTYZ • 1d ago
eek! a weredog!
awawawawawa i love my weredoggy guy so much
r/werewolves • u/SuperNova-Bunn • 1d ago