Editing Werewolf (section)

== History ==
=== Indo-European comparative mythology ===
[[File:Lekythos Dolon Louvre CA1802.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Dolon (mythology)|Dolon]] wearing a wolfskin. Attic red-figure vase, {{Circa|460 BC}}.]]
The European motif of the devilish werewolf devouring human flesh harks back to a common development during the [[Middle Ages]] in the context of [[Christianity]], although stories of humans turning into wolves take their roots in earlier pre-Christian beliefs.{{sfn|Otten|1986|pp=5–8}}{{sfn|de Blécourt|2015|pp=82–83}}

Their underlying common origin can be traced back to [[Proto-Indo-European mythology]], wherein ''lycanthropy'' is reconstructed as an aspect of the initiation of the ''[[kóryos]]'' warrior class, which may have included a cult focused on dogs and wolves identified with an age grade of young, unmarried warriors.{{sfn|Koch|2020|p=96}} The standard comparative overview of this aspect of Indo-European mythology is McCone's 1987 work.<ref>Kim R. McCone, "Hund, Wolf, und Krieger bei den Indogermanen" in W. Meid (ed.), Studien zum indogermanischen Wortschatz, Innsbruck, 1987, 101–154</ref>

=== Classical antiquity ===
A few references to men changing into wolves are found in [[Ancient Greek literature]] and [[Greek mythology]]. [[Herodotus]], in his ''[[Histories (Herodotus)|Histories]]'',<ref>{{cite book| author=Herodotus| title=Histories| chapter-url= https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Herodotus/4E*.html#105 | chapter=IV.105}}</ref> wrote that according to what the [[Scythians]] and the Greeks settled in Scythia told him, the [[Neuri]], a tribe to the northeast of [[Scythia]], were all transformed into wolves once every year for several days and then changed back to their human shape. He added that he was unconvinced by the story, but the locals swore to its truth.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126%3Abook%3D4%3Achapter%3D105 Herodotus, The Histories, 4.105]</ref> The tale was also mentioned by [[Pomponius Mela]].<ref>{{cite book |author1=Pomponius Mela |title=Description of the world |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015042048507&view=1up&seq=84 |chapter=2.14|series=De chorographia.English |year=1998 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |isbn=978-0472107735 }}</ref>[[File:Lycaon Transformed into a Wolf LACMA M.71.76.9.jpg|thumb|[[Zeus]] turning [[Lycaon (king of Arcadia)|Lycaon]] into a [[wolf]], engraving by [[Hendrik Goltzius]].]]

In the second century BC, the Greek geographer [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] related the story of King [[Lycaon (king of Arcadia)|Lycaon]] of Arcadia, who was transformed into a wolf because he had sacrificed a child on the altar of [[Zeus Lycaeus]].<ref name="pausanias-8.2">{{cite book |author1=Pausanias |author-link1=Pausanias (geographer)|title=Description of Greece |chapter=8.2|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+8.2.6&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160}}</ref> In the version of the legend told by [[Ovid]] in his ''[[Metamorphoses]]'',<ref>{{cite book |author1=Ovid |author-link1=Ovid |title=Metamorphoses |url=https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Latin/Metamorph.php#anchor_Toc64105461 |chapter=I 219–239}}</ref> when [[Zeus]] visits Lycaon disguised as a commoner, Lycaon wants to test if he is really a god. To that end, he kills a [[Molossians|Molossian]] hostage and serves his entrails to Zeus. Disgusted, the god turns Lycaon into a wolf. However, in other accounts of the legend, like that of [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Pseudo-Apollodorus's ''Bibliotheca'']],<ref name="apollod-3.8">{{cite book |author1=Apollodorus |author-link1=Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus) |title=Bibliotheca |url=https://www.theoi.com/Text/Apollodorus3.html#8|chapter=3.8.1}}</ref> Zeus blasts him and his sons with thunderbolts as punishment.

Pausanias also relates the story of an Arcadian man called [[Damarchus]] of [[Parrhasia (Arcadia)|Parrhasia]], who was turned into a wolf after tasting the entrails of a human child sacrificed to Zeus Lycaeus. He was restored to human form 10 years later and became an Olympic champion.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+6.8.2 Pausanias 6.8.2]</ref> This tale is also recounted by [[Pliny the Elder]], who calls the man Demaenetus, quoting [[Agriopas]].<ref>[[Pliny the Elder]], ''Natural History'', [http://attalus.org/translate/pliny_hn8a.html#82 viii.82].</ref> According to Pausanias, this was not a one-off event, for men have been transformed into wolves during sacrifices to Zeus Lycaeus since the time of Lycaon. If they abstain from tasting human flesh while wolves, they will be restored to human form nine years later; if they do not abstain, they will remain wolves forever.<ref name="pausanias-8.2" />

Lykos (Λύκος) of Athens was a wolf-shaped herο whose shrine stood by the jury court, and the first jurors{{what|date=May 2025}} were named after him.<ref>[https://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/sol/sol-entries/eta/271 Suda, eta, 271]</ref>

Pliny the Elder likewise recounts another tale of lycanthropy. Quoting Euanthes,<ref>[[Pliny the Elder]], ''Natural History'', [http://attalus.org/translate/pliny_hn8a.html#81 viii.81].</ref> he mentions that in [[Arcadia (ancient region)|Arcadia]], once a year, a man was chosen by lot from the [[Anthus (mythology)|Anthus]]'s clan. The chosen man was escorted to a marsh in the area, where he hung his clothes on an [[oak]] tree, swam across the marsh, and transformed into a wolf, joining a [[Pack (canine)|pack]] for nine years. If during these nine years, he refrained from tasting human flesh, he returned to the same marsh, swam back, and recovered his previous human form, with nine years added to his appearance.<ref>The tale probably relates to a rite of passage for Arcadian youths.{{cite book |last1=Ogden |first1=Daniel |title=Magic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts in the Greek and Roman Worlds: A Sourcebook |date=2002 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-513575-X |page=178}}</ref> Ovid also relates stories of men who roamed the woods of Arcadia in the form of wolves.<ref>{{cite book |author=Ovid |title=Metamorphoses |chapter=I|title-link=Metamorphoses (poem) }}</ref><ref name="menard">{{cite book|last=Ménard|first=Philippe|title=Symposium in honorem prof. M. de Riquer|year=1984|publisher=Barcelona UP|language=fr|pages=209–238|chapter=Les histoires de loup-garou au moyen-âge}}</ref>

[[Virgil]], in his poetic work ''[[Eclogues]]'', wrote of a man called Moeris who used herbs and poisons picked in his native [[Pontus (region)|Pontus]] to turn himself into a wolf.<ref>{{cite book |author=Virgil |title=Eclogues |chapter=viii |page=98|title-link=Eclogues }}</ref> In [[prose]], the ''[[Satyricon]]'', written circa AD 60 by [[Petronius]], one of the characters, Niceros, tells a story at a banquet about a friend who turned into a wolf (chapters 61–62). He describes the incident as follows, {{qi|When I look for my buddy I see he'd stripped and piled his clothes by the roadside... He pees in a circle round his clothes and then, just like that, turns into a wolf!... after he turned into a wolf he started howling and then ran off into the woods.}}<ref>{{cite book |author=Petronius |author-link= Petronius |title=Satyrica |year= 1996 |publisher= University of California |location= Berkeley |isbn= 0-520-20599-5 |page=56|others= R. Bracht Branham and Daniel Kinney}}</ref>

[[Early Christianity|Early Christian]] authors also mentioned werewolves. In ''[[The City of God]]'', [[Augustine of Hippo]] gives an account similar to that found in Pliny the Elder's ''Natural History''. Augustine explains that {{qi|It is very generally believed that by certain witches' spells men may be turned into wolves...}}<ref>Augustine of Hippo, ''The City of God'', [https://en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/Nicene_and_Post-Nicene_Fathers:_Series_I/Volume_II/City_of_God/Book_XVIII/Chapter_17 XVIII.17]</ref> Physical metamorphosis was also mentioned in the ''Capitulatum Episcopi'', attributed to the [[Synod of Ancyra]] in the 4th century, which became the early [[Christian Church]]'s doctrinal text in relation to magic, witches, and transformations such as those of werewolves.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~marc-carlson/witch/canon.html|title=Canon Episcopi|website=www.personal.utulsa.edu|access-date=27 March 2020|archive-date=6 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201206122850/http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~marc-carlson/witch/canon.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The ''Capitulatum Episcopi'' states that {{qi|Whoever believes that anything can be...transformed into another species or likeness, except by God Himself...is beyond doubt an infidel.}}<ref name=":0" />

In the works of the early Roman Christian writers, werewolves often received the name ''versipellis'' ("turnskin"). Augustine{{which|date=May 2025}} instead used the phrase "''in lupum fuisse mutatum''" (changed into the form of a wolf) to describe the metamorphosis of werewolves, which is similar to phrases used in the medieval period.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

=== Middle Ages ===
There is evidence of widespread belief in werewolves in medieval Europe, spanning across the [[European continent]] and [[British Isles]]. Werewolves were mentioned in medieval law codes, such as that of [[Cnut the Great]], whose ''Ecclesiastical Ordinances'' aimed to ensure that {{qi|...the madly audacious werewolf do[es] not too widely devastate, nor bite too many of the spiritual flock.}}{{sfn|Otten|1986|pp=5–6}} [[Liutprand of Cremona]] reports a rumor that Bajan,{{efn|Also spelled Baianum, there is no evidence discovered as of May 2025 that Simeon I of Bulgaria had a son named Bajan.}} a son of [[Simeon I of Bulgaria]], could use magic to turn himself into a wolf.<ref>[https://www.dmgh.de/mgh_ss_rer_germ_41/index.htm#page/88/mode/1up ''Antapodosis'' 3.29]</ref> The works of Augustine of Hippo had a large influence on the development of [[Western Christianity]], being read widely by [[Christian clergy]] of the medieval period. These clergymen occasionally discussed werewolves in their works, including in [[Gerald of Wales]]'s ''[[Werewolves of Ossory]]''—found in his ''Topographica Hibernica''—and [[Gervase of Tilbury]]'s ''[[Otia Imperialia]]''; both works were written for royal audiences.{{according to whom|date=May 2025}}

Gervase of Tilbury, in ''Otia Imperialia'', reveals to the reader that belief in such transformations—he also mentions women turning into cats and snakes—was widespread across Europe; he uses the phrase {{qi|i=y|{{lang|la|que ita dinoscuntur}}}} ('it is known') when discussing transformations. Writing in Germany, he also notifies the reader that the transformation of men into wolves cannot be easily dismissed, for {{qi|...in England we have often seen men change into wolves}} ({{qi|i=y|{{lang|la|Vidimus enim frequenter in Anglia per lunationes homines in lupos mutari...}}}}).<ref>Gervase of Tilbury, ''Otia Imperiala'', Book I, Chapter 15, translated and edited by S.E. Banks and J.W. Binns, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), 86–87.</ref>

Further evidence of the widespread belief in werewolves and other human-to-animal transformations can be seen in theological attacks made against such beliefs. [[Conrad of Hirsau]], writing in the 11th century, forbids reading stories in which a person's reasoning is obscured following such a transformation.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Georg Schepss|first=Conradus Hirsaugiensis|url=http://archive.org/details/conradihirsaugi00hirsgoog|title=Conradi Hirsaugiensis Dialogus super Auctores sive Didascalon: Eine Literaturgeschichte aus den XII|date=1889|publisher=A. Stuber|others=Harvard University|language=la}}</ref> Conrad specifically refers to the tales of Ovid in his tract. [[Pseudo-Augustine]], writing in the 12th century, follows Augustine of Hippo's argument that no physical transformation can be made by any but [[God]], stating that {{qi|...the body corporeally [cannot], be changed into the material limbs of any animal}} in his ''Liber de Spiritu et Anima''.<ref>Pseudo-Augustine, ''Liber de Spiritu et Anima'', Chapter 26, XVII</ref>

[[Marie de France]]'s [[Song poetry|song poem]] ''[[Bisclavret]]'' ({{circa|1200}}), a [[Breton lai]], is another example: the eponymous nobleman Bisclavret, for reasons not described, had to transform into a wolf every week. When his treacherous wife stole his clothing needed to restore his human form, he escaped the king's wolf hunt by imploring the king for mercy, accompanying the king thereafter. His behavior at court was gentle until his wife and her new husband appeared one day—so much so that his hateful attack on the couple was deemed justly motivated, and the truth was revealed.<ref>Marie de France, "Bisclavret", translated by Glyn S. Burgess and Keith Busby, in ''The Lais of Marie de France'' (London: Penguin Books, 1999), 68.</ref>

The lai follows many themes found within other werewolf tales: the removal of clothing and attempted refrain from the consumption of human flesh can be found in Pliny the Elder,{{citation needed|date=May 2025}} as well as in Gervase of Tilbury's werewolf story about a werewolf named Chaucevaire. Marie de France also revealed the continued existence of werewolf-related beliefs in [[Brittany]] and [[Normandy]] in using the [[Norman language|Norman]] word ''garwulf'', which, she explains, are common in that part of France wherein {{qi|...many men turned into werewolves}}.<ref>Marie de France, "Bisclavret", translated by Glyn S. Burgess and Keith Busby, in ''The Lais of Marie de France'' (London: Penguin Books, 1999), 68.</ref> Gervase supports this terminology when relating that the French used the term ''gerulfi'' to describe what the English called "werewolves".<ref>Gervase of Tilbury, ''Otia Imperiala'', Book I, Chapter 15, translated and edited by S.E. Banks and J.W. Binns, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), 87.</ref> ''[[Melion]]'' and ''Biclarel'' are two anonymous lais that share the theme of a werewolf-knight being betrayed by his wife.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hopkins |first1=Amanda |title=Melion and Biclarel: Two Old French Werewolf Lays |date=2005 |publisher=The University of Liverpool |isbn=0-9533816-9-2 |url=https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/modern-languages-and-cultures/research/research-activities/liverpool-online-series/ |access-date=26 May 2020}}</ref>

The German word ''werwolf'' was recorded by [[Burchard von Worms]] in the 11th century and [[Bertold of Regensburg]] in the 13th century but was not used frequently in medieval German poetry or fiction. While Baring-Gould argues that references to werewolves were rare in England (presumably because whatever significance the "wolf-men" of [[Germanic paganism]] had carried), their associated beliefs and practices had been successfully [[Christianisation of the Germanic peoples|repressed by Christianization]]; if they persisted, he writes, they did so outside of the sphere of evidence available.<ref>Baring-Gould, p. 100.{{incomplete short citation|date=May 2025}}</ref> Other examples of werewolf mythology in [[Ireland]] and the British Isles can be found in the work of the 9th-century [[Welsh people|Welsh]] monk [[Nennius]].{{cn|date=May 2025}} Female werewolves appear in the Irish work ''[[Acallam na Senórach]]'' (Tales of the Elders) from the 12th century, and Welsh werewolves are noted in the 12th- to 13th-century work ''[[Mabinogion]]''.
[[File:Bronsplåt pressbleck Öland vendeltid.jpg|thumb|A [[Vendel period]] depiction of a warrior wearing a wolf skin (''[[Tierkrieger]]'').]]

Germanic pagan traditions associated with wolf-men persisted longest in the [[Scandinavia]]n [[Viking Age]]. [[Harald I of Norway]] is known to have had a body of an ''[[ulfhedinn]]'' ({{langx|non|ulfheðinn}}, {{literal translation|a warrior clothed in wolfskin}}; pl. {{lang|non|ulfheðnar}}), being mentioned in the [[Vatnsdæla saga]], [[Hrafnsmál]], and [[Völsunga saga]]. The {{lang|non|ulfheðnar}} were similar to the {{lang|non|berserkir}} ('berserkers') but dressed in [[Wolf hunting#Pelts|wolf]] rather than bear hides and were reputed to channel the spirits of the animals they wore to enhance effectiveness in battle.<ref name="Woodward" /> The {{lang|non|ulfheðnar}} were resistant to pain and vicious in battle, much like wild animals. The {{lang|non|ulfheðnar}} and {{lang|non|berserkir}} are closely associated with the [[Norse god]] [[Odin]].

The Scandinavian story traditions of the Viking Age may have spread to [[Kievan Rus']], giving rise to the [[Slavs|Slavic]] werewolf tales. The 11th-century [[Belarus]]ian prince [[Vseslav of Polotsk]] was recounted in ''[[The Tale of Igor's Campaign]]'' to have been a werewolf capable of moving at superhuman speeds:
{{blockquote|
Vseslav the Prince judged men. As prince, he ruled towns, but at night he prowled in the guise of a wolf. From Kiev, prowling, he reached, before the cocks crew, [[Tmutarakan|Tmutorokan]]. The path of Great Sun, as a wolf, prowling, he crossed. For him in [[Polotsk]] they rang for [[matins]] early at [[Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv|St. Sophia]] the bells; but he heard the ringing in Kiev.
}}
The mythology described during the [[Middle Ages]] gave rise to two forms of werewolf folklore in [[early modern Europe]]. In one form, the Germanic werewolf became associated with [[European witchcraft]]; in the other, the Slavic werewolf ({{wikt-lang|sla-pro|vьlkolakъ}}) became associated with the [[revenant]] or [[vampire]]. The Eastern werewolf-vampire is found in the folklore of [[Central Europe|Central]] and [[Eastern Europe]], including Hungary, Romania, and the Balkans, while the Western werewolf-sorcerer is found in France, German-speaking Europe, and the Baltics.

[[File:Werwolf.png|thumb|[[Woodcut]] of a werewolf attack by [[Lucas Cranach der Ältere]], 1512]]
Being a werewolf was a common accusation in witch trials. It featured in the [[Valais witch trials]], one of the earliest such trials, in the first half of the 15th century.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Modestin |first=Georg |date=2005 |title=Von den hexen, so in Wallis verbrant wurdent» Eine wieder entdeckte Handschrift mit dem Bericht des Chronisten Hans Fründ über eine Hexenverfolgung im Wallis (1428) |url=https://doc.rero.ch/record/22050/files/I-N-268_2005_10_00.pdf |access-date=19 September 2022 |website=doc.rero.ch |pages=407–408}}</ref>

In 1539, [[Martin Luther]] used the form ''[[beerwolf]]'' to describe a hypothetical ruler worse than a tyrant who must be resisted.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Cynthia Grant Schonberger |date=January–March 1979 |title=Luther and the Justification of Resistance to Legitimate Authority |journal=[[Journal of the History of Ideas]] |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |volume=40 |issue=1 |pages=3–20 |doi=10.2307/2709257 |jstor=2709257 |s2cid=55409226}}; as specified in Luther's Collected Works, 39(ii) 41-42</ref>

In [[A Description of the Northern Peoples|''Historia de Gentibus Septentrionalibus'']] (1555), [[Olaus Magnus]] describes (Book 18, Chapter 45) an annual assembly of werewolves near the Lithuania–Courland border. The participants, including Lithuanian nobility and werewolves from the surrounding areas, gather to test their strength by attempting to jump over a castle wall's ruins. Those who succeed are regarded as strong, while weaker participants are punished with whippings.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Magnus |first=Olaus |date=1555 |title=Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus |url=https://runeberg.org/olmagnus/ |access-date=31 October 2023 |website=runeberg.org |language=la}}</ref>

=== Early modern history ===
{{Further|Werewolf witch trials|Wolfssegen}}
There were numerous reports of werewolf attacks – and consequent court trials – in 16th-century France. In some of the cases, there was clear evidence against the accused of murder and [[Human cannibalism|cannibalism]], but no association with wolves. In other cases, people have been terrified by such creatures, such as that of [[Gilles Garnier]] in [[Dole, Jura|Dole]] in 1573, who was convicted of being a werewolf.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rowlands |first1=Alison |title=Witchcraft and Masculinities in Early Modern Europe |pages=191–213 }}</ref>

[[File:Werewolf in Geneva (1580).png|thumb|In Geneva a man killed 16 children when he had changed himself into a wolf. He was executed on 15 October 1580. Coloured pen drawing, [[Johann Jakob Wick]], ''Sammlung von Nachrichten zur Zeitgeschichte aus den Jahren''. 1560–1587]]

Lycanthropy received peak attention in the late 16th to early 17th century as part of the [[Witch trials in the early modern period|European witch-hunts]].
A number of treatises on werewolves were written in France during 1595 and 1615. In 1598, werewolves were sighted in [[Duchy of Anjou|Anjou]]. In 1602, [[Henry Boguet]] wrote a lengthy chapter about werewolves. In 1603, a teenage werewolf was sentenced to life imprisonment in [[Bordeaux]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Demonologie |chapter=iii}}</ref>

In the Swiss Vaud region, werewolves were convicted in 1602 and 1624. A treatise by a Vaud pastor in 1653, however, argued that lycanthropy was purely an illusion. After this, the only further record from the Vaud dates to 1670. A boy claimed he and his mother could change into wolves, which was not taken seriously. At the beginning of the 17th century, [[witchcraft]] was prosecuted by [[James I of England]], who regarded "warwoolfes" as victims of delusion induced by "a natural superabundance of melancholic".<ref>{{cite book |title=Demonologie |chapter=iii}}</ref>

After 1650, belief in lycanthropy had mostly disappeared from French-speaking Europe, as evidenced in [[Diderot's Encyclopedia]], which attributed reports of lycanthropy to a "disorder of the brain".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hoyt|first1=Nelly S. |translator=Cassierer, Thomas |title=The Encyclopedia: Selections: Diderot, d'Alembert and a Society of Men of Letters|date=1965|publisher=Bobbs-Merrill|location=Indianapolis}}</ref> Although there were continuing reports of extraordinary wolflike beasts, they were not considered to be werewolves. One such report concerned the [[Beast of Gévaudan]], which terrorized the general area of the [[Provinces of France|former province]] of [[Gévaudan]], now called [[Lozère]], in south-central France. From 1764 to 1767, it killed upwards of 80 men, women, and children.{{sfn|Otten|1986|pp=161–167}}

The part of Europe which showed more vigorous interest in werewolves after 1650 was the [[Holy Roman Empire]]. At least nine works on lycanthropy were printed in Germany between 1649 and 1679. In the Austrian and Bavarian Alps, belief in werewolves persisted well into the 18th century.{{sfn|Otten|1986|pp=161–167}} As late as in 1853, in [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]], northwestern Spain, [[Manuel Blanco Romasanta]] was judged and condemned as the author of a number of murders, but he claimed to be not guilty because of his condition of ''lobishome'' (werewolf).

Until the 20th century, [[wolf attack]]s were an occasional, but still widespread, feature of life in Europe.<ref name="NO">{{cite web |url=http://www.lcie.org/Docs/Regions/Baltic/Linnell%20AZL%20Wolf%20attacks%20in%20Fennoscandia.pdf |title=Is the fear of wolves justified? A Fennoscandian perspective |publisher=Acta Zoologica Lituanica, 2003, Volumen 13, Numerus 1 |access-date=9 May 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307025815/http://www.lcie.org/Docs/Regions/Baltic/Linnell%20AZL%20Wolf%20attacks%20in%20Fennoscandia.pdf |archive-date=7 March 2008 }}</ref>
Some scholars have suggested that it was inevitable that wolves, being the most feared predators in Europe, were projected into the folklore of evil shapeshifters. This is said to be corroborated by the fact that areas devoid of wolves typically use different kinds of predator to fill the niche; ''[[werehyena]]s'' in Africa, ''[[weretiger]]s'' in India,<ref name="Woodward" /> as well as ''werepumas'' ("{{illm|Runa uturuncu|es|lt=''runa uturuncu''}}")<ref>[http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/servlet/SirveObras/p243/12479418822381506109435/p0000001.htm Facundo Quiroga, "The Tiger of the Argentine Prairies" and the Legend of the "''runa uturuncu''".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170816010101/http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/servlet/SirveObras/p243/12479418822381506109435/p0000001.htm |date=16 August 2017 }} {{in lang|es}}</ref><ref>[http://quipucultural.galeon.com/uturuncu.htm The Legend of the ''runa uturuncu'' in the Mythology of the Latin-American Guerilla.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711063421/http://quipucultural.galeon.com/uturuncu.htm |date=11 July 2011 }} {{in lang|es}}</ref> and ''werejaguars'' ("{{illm|Yaguareté-abá|pt|lt=''yaguaraté-abá''}}" or "''tigre-capiango''")<ref>[http://www.temakel.com/leyendayaguarete.htm The Guaraní Myth about the Origin of Human Language and the Tiger-men.] {{in lang|es}}</ref><ref>J.B. Ambrosetti (1976). Fantasmas de la selva misionera ("''Ghosts of the Misiones Jungle''"). Editorial Convergencia: Buenos Aires.</ref> in southern South America.

An idea explored in [[Sabine Baring-Gould]]'s work ''The Book of Werewolves'' is that werewolf legends may have been used to explain [[serial killer|serial killings]]. Perhaps the most infamous example is the case of [[Peter Stumpp]], executed in 1589, the German farmer and alleged serial killer and [[Human cannibalism|cannibal]], also known as the Werewolf of Bedburg.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P1cs7mq_kxgC&q=The%20Werewolf%20Book%3A%20The%20Encyclopedia%20of%20Shape-Shifting%20Beings%202nd%20Edition&pg=PP1|title=The Werewolf Book: The Encyclopedia of Shape-Shifting Beings|last=Steiger|first=Brad|publisher=Visible Ink Press|year=2011|isbn=978-1578593675|pages=267}}</ref>

=== Asian cultures ===
{{See also|Asena|Itbarak}}
Common [[Turkic mythology|Turkic folklore]] holds a different, reverential light to the werewolf legends in that Turkic Central Asian [[Shamanism|shamans]], after performing long and arduous rites, would voluntarily be able to transform into the humanoid "Kurtadam" (literally meaning "Wolfman"). Since the wolf was the totemic ancestor animal of the Turkic peoples, they would respect any shaman in such a form.