Werewolf Lore from Around the World

The subject of the werewolf is a widespread concept around the world, although, like many popular myths and legends, it gained particular traction in European folklore, particularly around the medieval and Middle Ages.

Werewolf lore eventually became popular in the gothic horror genre and is a well-known feature of horror and fantasy culture to this day.

In this guide, we’ll travel around the world looking at the different werewolf lore and its origins.

Love books with werewolves? Check out When The Dead Rise for a horror-fantasy read!

What is a Werewolf?

In traditional werewolf lore, the werewolf is a human who can transform into a wolf or wolf-like creature. This is usually during a full moon and as the result of a curse or affliction that is either placed upon the human or arising from a bite from another werewolf.

The curse of the werewolf is also known as lycanthropy. However, there are some people who genuinely suffer from lycanthropy — an affliction that causes the sufferer to think (through psychosis) that they are changing into werewolves and that they crave human flesh.

Werewolf Lore Origins

You might be wondering, where did werewolf lore originate? Since the word ‘lycanthropy’ comes from ancient Greek, it’s only fitting that we start with a Greek tale. The tale has several variations depending on the author.

One tells of the King of Arcadia, Lycaon, who was transformed into a wolf as a reward for sacrificing a child to Zeus on an altar.

In another version, Lycaon kills a hostage and serves his entrails to Zeus to test his Godliness. Appalled, Zeus turns him into a wolf as a punishment.

In yet another variation, it was a different Arcadian man who, upon tasting the entrails of a sacrificed child, was turned into a wolf. He reverted back a decade later and became an Olympic champion.

Several records state that men were transformed into wolves during sacrifices to Zeus. However, as long as they did not feast on the flesh of other men, they would turn back into their human form nine years later. Those who did taste human flesh would remain wolves forever.

In Roman folklore, it was also believed that men could be transformed into wolves by the spells of witches and were often given the name ‘versipellis’ or ‘turnskin’ in Roman writing

The Werewolf in History

There was widespread belief in werewolf lore throughout Europe during the Middle Ages, prevalent in Norse and Scandinavian mythology as well as in Euro-Christian mythology.

There are many werewolves in the works of authors of the Middle Ages, often written for royal audiences. The werewolf myth is possibly a little surprising in its popularity in the heavily religious Middle Ages as, for many, only God would have had the power to transform a man into another form, yet they are abundantly present.

The tales are largely similar to modern pop culture, revolving around men who are forced to transform into werewolves, only to revert back after a time. These were particularly abundant in France and Germany. This is perhaps unsurprising as much of Germanic pagan traditions had some basis in Scandinavian folklore, of which the Volsunga saga is the most well-known.

The Volsunga saga tells the tale of Sigmund and Sinfjotli, a father-and-son duo. The duo stumbles upon a hut deep in the woods with two enchanted wolf pelts hanging within. The enchantment allows the wearer to channel the power, cunningness, and valour of a wolf, but the pelt cannot be removed for ten days.

The pair don the pelts and agree that if either finds seven or more men to fight at once, they will howl to alert the other, but Sinfjotli encounters eleven and murders them all in a rampage. Angered, his father attacks and fatally wounds his son, who is only saved by Odin, who delivers a healing leaf via a raven.  

The son heals, and on the tenth day, the pair remove the pelts and burn them to ash, freeing themselves from the curse of lycanthropy.

Early Modern Werewolf Lore

Europe was a scene of constant werewolf speculation during the early modern period, particularly around France and Germany. The attacks coincided with the peak of the European witch trials, and as a result, a number of treaties on werewolves were written.

During this time, many famous cases of suspected werewolves existed in Western Europe. These were often attributed to serial killers who claimed to have sworn allegiance to the devil or suspected witches who could turn themselves into the shape of an animal.

The legend of the werewolf lore was used to help the people of the time come to terms with the monstrous crimes that some people had perpetrated, claiming that only a monster could carry them out. Many of the suspected werewolves of the time were burned at the stake in the same way as witches were dealt with at the time.

In Eastern Europe, where vampiric folklore was far more embedded in society, the werewolf and vampire were sometimes seen as one and the same, and they were simply monsters that preyed on the living.

Indeed, many vampire myths of the time claimed that the vampire could actually turn into a wolf if it so chose, and it is possibly out of Eastern Europe that the more modern werewolf mythology arose, splitting from its monstrous kin, the vampire.

Asian Werewolf Lore

There is little mention of werewolves in East Asian folklore, but there are mentions of werewolf-like creatures in Middle Eastern folklore, particularly around the Turkic mythology of the Ottoman Empire and its predecessors.

The Itbarak is one such creature — a dog-headed, dark-colored, manly creature. The Itbarak were known to prowl at night and feast on wayward travellers stuck out in the desert.

Another werewolf-like myth from the same region is the story of Asena. Asena is a she-wolf of Gokturk mythology who finds a young male battle survivor. She nurses him to health and is impregnated by the boy. Subsequently, she gives birth to ten half-wolf, half-human offspring who would go on to rule over the Turkic nomadic tribes.

Werewolf Folklore in the Americas

South America has werewolf lore tales of the Lobizon, a monstrous hybrid of indigenous mythology and colonial legend. This legend in South America, particularly Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, developed from the indigenous Guarani tribe, who believed that there were seven monsters, the last known as Luison or Lobizon, who had a horrendous appearance and was a God of Death.

This myth became coupled with the European legend that the seventh son of a family of all boys would turn into a werewolf on the night of the full moon. When the Europeans colonised South America, the two legends began to merge, and the Lobizon became less of a God of Death and began to take on wolf-like forms it had never previously.

Mexico also has a werewolf in the form of the Nagual. The word ‘Naghal’ is thought to have stemmed from the Mesoamerican word for ‘disguise’ and was used to describe the sorcery that magicians and witches used to hide their form, often to cause harm. Some Mesoamerican Indians, however, believe that the Nagual is a guardian spirit that resides in an animal such as a wolf.

Despite Mexico being colonised by the Spanish for over 300 years, the legends never mixed as they did in South America.

Perhaps the most common ‘werewolf’ lore from the Americas comes from the North American native tribes, who have many legends of Skinwalkers that can take the form of animals, especially wolves. According to tradition, Skinwalkers look distinct from other humans as their skin is harder than normal, and their eyes are large and glowing, even during the day.

Legend has it that a Skinwalker can absorb a person and steal their skin if they look directly into their eyes. The story changes from tribe to tribe, however, with some taking the form of animals and others being able to lure people into the woods using human-like cries.

African Werewolf Lore

African culture has its own spin on the werewolf myth — the werehyena is the African version of the werewolf. Common to many regions of the African continent and the Arabian Peninsula, much of the lore tells of humans transforming but also, interestingly, of Hyenas disguising themselves as humans.

In Somalia, it is believed that a man can turn himself into a Hyena by rubbing himself with a magical stick at nightfall and repeating the process to return to human form before dawn.

In Ethiopia, it is believed that blacksmiths are wizards or witches who possess the power to change into hyenas if they wish. They are viewed with suspicion by many of their countrymen, and this belief is prevalent in Sudan, Tanzania, and Morrocco.

In the Chad region, there is a belief that one or two of the villages in the region were populated entirely by were-hyenas.

In Sudan, werewolf lore has a human hybrid creature that turns cannibalistic at night and terrorizes people, particularly lovers. They are often portrayed as magically powerful healers, blacksmiths, or woodcutters in their human form but have hairy bodies, red eyes, and a nasal voice.

Werewolf Lore Around the World

While werewolf lore is not as popular or found in quite as many places as vampire lore, there are plenty of werewolf or shapeshifting creature tales that roughly match what we think of when we think of the werewolf today in almost every culture and continent from antiquity to the present day.

Next up, take a stroll through the terrifying stories of British vampires throughout history.