Reinventing the Werewolf - Page 5

Anders · 06-01-2013, 02:16 PM

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?

06-01-2013, 02:16 PM	#1
Anders Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Gothenburg, Sweden	Reinventing the Werewolf 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? __________________ “When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love ...” Marcus Aurelius* Author of Winged Folk. The GURPS Discord. Drop by and say hi!