Our Werewolves:
~Types of Shifting
1) Physical Shifting
*Bilocation Shifting - This is a rare form of P-Shifting. In it, the human body becomes completely rigid, and a wolf materializes by it. The wolf contains the essence of that human.
*Classical Shifting - It is a painful process during, and sometimes before, the Shift as the human slowly morphs into wolf shape.
*Molecular Shifting - This is an almost instantaneous Shift. The actual event is painless, though the werewolf may feel some discomfort leading up to it.
2) Mental Shifting
In my opinion, an M-Shifter can't properly be called a werewolf, so I don't advise making on of these.
*Astral Shifting - The Shifter becomes a wolf during a kind of daydream.
*Aura Shifting - A common form of M-Shifting, this is when a human being takes on a wolfish mood.
*Non-Shifting - A human feels a deep connection to wolves but has never experienced any other kind of Shift. Of course, he may later on.
*Persona Shifting - Think Dissociative Identity Disorder. Yeah, it's kind of like that. The person has a human personality and a wolfish one.
*Sense Shifting - The person has at least one wolfish sense, such as hearing, eyesight, etc.
~When Shifting Can Occur
Depending on the person, he can transform at a variety of times. He may do it:
* At night.
* At will.
* During the full moon.
* When the he is extremely emotional or stressed.
~Differences Between Wolves and Werewolves
1) Physical Differences - Variable. Often they can look exactly like wolves. Sometimes, they appear more monster-like. Other times, they appear to be a cross between a wolf and a human being.
2) Behavioral Differences - Werewolves are generally more aggressive than wolves and prefer attacking humans to animals.
Becoming A Wolf:
~Black magic and witchcraft
Olaus Magnus says that the Livonian werewolves were initiated by draining a cup of specially prepared beer and repeating a set formula.
Ralston in his Songs of the Russian People gives the form of incantation still familiar in Russia.
Livonians said witches routinely transformed themselves into wolves by passing through a certain magic pool, another instance of baptismal rebirth in animal form.
In South America it is believed that certain sorcerers and witches know how to transform themselves into animal guise such as serpents, leopards, panthers, jackals, bears, coyotes, owls, foxes and other feared creatures. They will do this to do evil to or kill theirs enemy usually by drinking their the blood.
~Pact with the devil
In other cases the transformation was supposed to be accomplished by Satanic agency voluntarily submitted to, and that for the most loathsome ends, in particular for the gratification of a craving for human flesh.
"The werwolves," writes Richard Verstegan (Restitution of Decayed Intelligence, 1628), "are certayne sorcerers, who having annoynted their bodies with an oyntment which they make by the instinct of the devil, and putting on a certayne inchaunted girdle, doe not onely unto the view of others seeme as wolves, but to their owne thinking have both the shape and nature of wolves, so long as they weare the said girdle. And they do dispose themselves as very wolves, in wourrying and killing, and most of humane creatures."
Such were the views about lycanthropy current throughout the continent of Europe when Verstegan wrote. The ointments and salves in question may have contained hallucinogenic agents.
It is said that humans who enter into a pact with the Devil himself do so out of desperation and often, in an effort to seek revenge for the death of a loved one. In popular European superstition, the Devil is said to appear in the form of a coachman whose carriage is drawn by black steeds. The Devil offers a potion that provides the strength needed to carry out the revenge, in exchange for the person's soul. The potion is often in the form of a vial, the contents of which are applied to the human skin under the light of a full moon. The transformation into a werewolf will then begin immediately and the human has been completely turned into a werewolf forever.
~Bites
Becoming a werewolf simply by being bitten by another werewolf as a form of contagion is common in modern fiction, but rare in legend, in which werewolf attacks seldom left the victim alive to transform.
It is not always clear in films whether the bite of the werewolf infects the victim with some disease, or whether the person bitten must first be under some sort of curse. The source of this confusion is easy to understand. Some even state that the consumption of food prepared by a lycanthrope is enough to carry the infection.
To the old folk tale of a god's curse, the modern disease of rabies was added. A person bitten by a mad dog or other animal over time becomes mad, and begins to behave like a beast. Traditionally, all madness falls under the domain of the moon. In movies, the bite of a werewolf acts in a very similar way to the bite of a mad dog.
Injuring/Killing a Werewolf:
~Silver
On the periodic table, silver has the atomic number 47, and it is a transtion metal with the symbol Ag. It has been used from ancient times for a variety of purposes. No one knows how or when silver was discovered, but our word from it comes from the Old English "seolfor." These days, it is used for photographic film, electronics, batteries, and of course, jewelry.
How it typically affects a werewolf:
* Silver itself does not kill a werewolf.
* Large amounts of silver do, however, or any silver that is mixed in with the blood (i.e. a silver bullet or stake).
* If the amount is too small, it will temporarily injure the werewolf, and it may leave a permanent scar.
~Wolfsbane
Wolfsbane, also commonly known as Monkshood, is more properly called Aconitum, a perennial flower that prefers cool, moist soil. All parts of Aconitum are poisonous to humans, especially the roots.
How it typically affects a werewolf:
* It gives off an irritable smell.
* If a werewolf comes in contact with Wolfsbane, he can develop a rash.
* If he swallows it, he will be quite sick for the next couple of days.
* Sometimes, however, a potion derived primarily from Wolfsbane can present a cure for lycanthropy.
To be continued...
