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_{» Supernatural Creatures: Werewolves}

          _{Werewolf folklore (sometimes referred to as a lycanthrope) are believed to have originated in Early Greek culture. Werewolves are humans with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or wolf-like creature. They can either change purposefully at will, or are under curse where they can only change under a full moon. With a curse, a werewolf will revert back into their human state once the sun rises. In some cultures it is believed a man will not remember becoming a wolf if under curse, and in others he will remember.}

          _{One of the earliest myths of werewolves was in Ancient Greek culture. In the Ancient Greek myth, they told of a man named Lycaon, an early king of Arcadia that served his own slaughtered son to Zeus. This infuriated the god, and as punishment he turned the king into a wolf, slaughtered his other 50 sons and resurrected Nyctimus, the son killed and served to Zeus. Thus it could be believed that any child of the wolf, Lycaon, carried the curse.}

         _{In old European folklore, beliefs of werewolves grew parallel to the belief of witches. Naturally, anyone believed to have been a werewolf was killed in Europe from the 15th century to the 18th century. Early on in this period of superstition, lycanthropy was believed to actually be mixes of either wolf-riding or wolf-charming (in other words a type of ‘witchcraft’, therefore believed to be witches). After the time period of the witch trials, werewolves became more integrated into fairy tales and folklore for fiction.}

          _{Now, with the growing presence of werewolves in fiction along with the history of the wolf trials, techniques to be rid of werewolves or kill them were created. The most popular and common technique is with a silver bullet. However, firearms did not become a common weapon until after the 15th century so beforehand silver daggers were used. Why silver? It was believed that the alloy has some sort of mystical tie to the moon. Werewolves are also tied to the power of the moon so ironically, the power of silver will render the werewolf’s regeneration abilities useless, thus allowing it to be killed properly.}

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