Reinventing the Werewolf

[Anders]

Many of the "classic" features of the werewolf - lunar cycles, silver bullets, etc. - were made up from whole cloth by Hollywood script writers. They are also somewhat cliched at this point. So I want to reinvent the werewolf.

The first thing to do is find what about the werewolf is scary. I'm not just talking physical prowess here, although that is important. What are the deeper roots of our fear for this creature?

I'm going to be unoriginal and say that it is the melding of man and beast. In the case of the person who becomes a werewolf voluntarily, it is the fact that someone thinks so little of his humanity that he is willing to trade it for the rage of the beast. In the setting I'm writing for - 1920s horror - there were plenty of people who thought very little of humanity after the carnage of the first World War.

The origins of the werewolf myth may have been in ancient proto-indo-europeic initiation rites wherein the young men "lived as wolves" for a short time before they were welcomed among the adults. In the Germanic pantheon, the god hallowing the rites would have been Odin/Wotan/Wodanaz. So what if the young men really gained the power to change into wolves, and what if those rites were still available today? Who would volunteer to lose his humanity, if only for a period of time?

The rite would likely involve the skinning of a wolf, with the spear as an important ritual tool and possibly involving the sacrifice of an eye. Further inspiration for ritual tools and other ingredients can come from the Hermetic Astrology system detailed in Thaumatology.

Thoughts?

[LemmingLord]

I like the idea of reimagining horror creatures, if for no other reason to give PCs a reason to do some research or asking experts.

"The weakness of the terrible werewolf is [acid/electricity/teenagers]."

[quarkstomper]

A couple of the Medieval accounts of individuals tried for lycanthropy had them claiming to meet some kind of supernatural being in the forest who gave them an enchanted wolf pelt or something like that. I'd say Pact should be part of the process.

[Adina]

Horror has quite a bit on this. Both re-imagining monsters and werewolves in particular.

[ak_aramis]

Originally Posted by quarkstomper

A couple of the Medieval accounts of individuals tried for lycanthropy had them claiming to meet some kind of supernatural being in the forest who gave them an enchanted wolf pelt or something like that. I'd say Pact should be part of the process.

Some of the traditions include werewolves being an inherited trait, not a contagious one. An ethnicity, rather than a disease.

Given that Hypertricosis is genetic... and results in a nearly classic "werewolf" look... and does run in families...

[David Johnston2]

Werewolf as psychic projection. The werewolf's soul takes on the shape of a wolf while she sleeps and can materialize and demateralize like a ghost...

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

Werewolf as psychic projection. The werewolf's soul takes on the shape of a wolf while she sleeps and can materialize and demateralize like a ghost...

There's those Dream Werewolves that fight witches with brooms. There was a Suppressed Transmission about that.

[Agemegos]

Originally Posted by Asta Kask

The first thing to do is find what about the werewolf is scary. I'm not just talking physical prowess here, although that is important. What are the deeper roots of our fear for this creature?

For me the scary thing about werewolves is the The Thing-like aspect that anyone could be one, even one of your most-beloved, even you without knowing it. "Were those dreams last night, or did I…?" In modern interpretations perhaps inspired by rabies, the danger that anyone could be one. I go heavily on the suspense and paranoia in werewolf scenarios. I reckon that in general the key to effective horror is to undermine the things that the audience relies upon to support their feelings of security, and I think that the best werewolf stuff attacks trust.

Is lycanthropy an infectious disease? An hereditary taint? A curse? An ungodly craft? A metaphor for adolescent sexuality? … You never know going in.

The origins of the werewolf myth may have been in ancient proto-indo-europeic initiation rites wherein the young men "lived as wolves" for a short time before they were welcomed among the adults.

If you have not already done so, check what Herodotus has to say about the Neurians.

Thoughts?

I love werewolf adventures. What zombie adventures are for KROMM, werewolf adventures are in my small and faded way for me. Perhaps because I'm not allowed South American NAZI clones any more.

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

Werewolf as psychic projection. The werewolf's soul takes on the shape of a wolf while she sleeps and can materialize and demateralize like a ghost...

I like that. Also gives a new method to unkillability.

[alexondria]

It's been a long time so I can't give you quotes on it anymore, but I took a class on Vampirism as an elective and the 1st half of the course was looking at different vampire myths. This is relevant since one that we looked at was a Russian one that told about werewolves as protectors of a village, and they would become vampires when they died to keep looking after the village.