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In "Wolfman" (1979), the Glasgow family suffers the effects of a terrible curse, and Colin is next in line to become werewolf. Though the history of the werewolf is purely mythical, there is a rare psychological disease called lycanthropy in which a person believes he or she is a wild animal, usually a wolf.
While werewolves may seem to be an invention of 20th Century moviemakers, they have in fact a long history. Ancient Greek myth tells of Lycaon, the king of Arcadia, who tried to feed Zeus human flesh. In punishment, Zeus turned the king into a wolf. In 17th Century Europe, many believed in the existence of werewolves and those accused of being werewolves often did not survive their legal trials, thanks to methods of proving innocence such as removing a man’s arms to see if he had the tell-tale sign of fur growing on the inside of his skin. This rationale is not unlike the notion that “if the woman drowns, then she’s not witch” made (in)famous during the witch hunts of the same period. Kind of makes you glad for newfangled ideas such as human rights and burden of proof, yes?
Yet before we before we dismiss too rapidly the superstitions of a bygone day, perhaps we should consider the historical accounts of what came to be called the Beast of Gévaudan. Blamed for a spate of murders in 18th Century rural France, The Beast was sighted by numerous people, from lone travelers to groups of King’s soldiers to respectable town citizens. Since the soldiers’ attempt to dispatch The Beast seemed to be impermanent—the killings continued even after they confirmed the body was filled with bullets—the posse that finally succeeded in felling the creature burned its body, leaving nothing but their testimonies for us to ponder.
