Bump in the Night Brawl #5: Werewolves

We're getting close to the end, everyone!  Today is the next to last day of the Bump in the Night Brawl campaign posts.  Who has made the biggest impression upon you, so far?  Hold that thought, because I have a new offering for you.  The awesome DJL from Denim Jacket Librarian Dishes is here to have her say on our more lupine peers, werewolves.  Let round 5 begin!

Hellooooooow, my dears!  Welcome to Wolfish Friday, and please pardon my rehearsing for when the moon comes out tonight.  I've been asked by Marla of Starting the Next Chapter to talk about the fierce creatures of Halloween, werewolves.  Swift and powerful with a bite that's far worse than their bark (or roar as the case may be), you can't help but be terrifyingly fascinated by werewolves.  They come in many different forms and sizes from a four-legged wolf to an overly hairy human with a not-so-slight overbite problem to a towering, brutish beast on two legs.  No matter their size or shape, they possess the strength, speed, and cunning of their lupine side along with human intelligence.  And when you combine the two, this can have frightening effects in which you have a hulking predator that stalks the night, stealthily tracking its prey before striking without warning. There is no comparison to that feeling of being watched, being followed... being hunted.

You wonder if something is there with you in the dark but do not know what's really there... until you hear the tell-tale beastly growl or see the flash of sharp white teeth.  Too late and the predator has pounced upon its prey.  And the scariest part?  During the day they look just like you and me.  That is where werewolves have other creatures of Halloween beat.  Vampires, zombies, and ghosts... not really so good at hiding their identities especially when you look at them or through them with the case for ghosts if you can even see them.  Anyone could be a werewolf without others around them being any the wiser.  The fact that they can blend into the crowd is what really makes this beast the baddest of Halloween because unless you know the signs, there's no way for one person to identify a werewolf from another human.  Here are some ways to help you possibly identify if a person is a werewolf:

1.  A person has more hair than they should.  Unless they're able to get a wax job on a regular basis, this will have most werewolves wearing long-sleeved clothes... a lot.  (Do you know how cold it gets in a library?  Long sleeves are a must!)

2.  A person shows an appreciation for rare-cooked meat.  (What?  It's the best way to have steak in Texas!)

3.  A person shows an aversion to silver.  (White gold is really where it's at with jewelry.  Any fashion-conscious person knows that.)

4.  A person likes to take long walks at night usually under a full moon.  (Don't you know that a girl's most favorable lighting is moonlight?)

5.  Dogs tend to get a little antsy and jumpy around a person, usually barking in aggression at first and then whining in submission.  (I happen to love dogs.  I just love them more when they realize who's the alpha... I mean master!)

Just because you have a possible means of identifying them doesn't mean that werewolves can't evade detection over time.  I mean, history is full of tales and legends of the werewolf or lycanthrope, starting with King Lycaon of Greek mythology.  Wanting to trick the mighty Zeus, who had changed himself into a mortal, Lycaon killed one of his prisoners and served his body in a stew before Zeus. This enraged the thunder god and Zeus punished Lycaon by transforming him into a vicious, bloodthirsty wolf.  The Greek word lycanthropos is believed to be the basis for lycanthropy.

   
Haven't heard that myth?  Okay, what about the Beast of Gévaudan, a real-life account of werewolf attacks between 1764 and 1767 within the Margeride mountains of Southern France?  This beast was said to have huge fangs, an enormous tail, red fur that exuded a foul smell and was supposedly the size of a cow.  Within a three-year span, the beast claimed over 100 lives and injured another 50 people.  There's even a loosely-based film recounting these incidents, Le Pacte des Loupes: Brotherhood of the Wolf, that I recommend for entertainment value.

Not close enough to home for you?  All right, one of the most prominent werewolf legends in America is that of the Beast of Bray Road near Elkhorn, Wisconsin.  A huge, wolflike creature walking and running on two legs began appearing in front of startled travelers on the rural Bray Road outside of town in 1991.  So far there have been no attacks from this werewolf-like creature, but should drivers really push their luck in taking this route at night? 

Being from the Lone Star State, we also have our share of werewolf and skinwalker tales.  A legend spoken of in certain areas of the Hill Country tells of an old Native American man who would change his shape in order to evade capture by the cavalrymen stationed nearby.  It was said when he was trapped, he would become a wolf and attack his pursuers which usually ended in death.  A possible tie to this legend is "Cleo Face" as carved by N.Q. Patterson.  A settler of the Hill Country, Patterson was a tombstone carver who suffered from tuberculosis.  Having a lot of time on his hands due to the small community, Patterson began carving into the limestone rocks that lined Bear Creek.  One particularly notorious carving was of a face with a broad nose, glinting eyes, and a snarling mouth with long, fang-like teeth.  You have to wonder what Patterson encountered within the hills to inspire him to carve such a face.

  

Aside from silver and chopping off the head, there is little that can kill a werewolf.  You can run over them, shove them off a cliff, shoot them with regular bullets and they will heal and recover much faster than you can think.  They are truly one of the fiercest of Halloween brawlers.

Vote Werewolves on October 30th because you know Hugh would want you to.

I would like to thank Marla for having me here at Starting the Next Chapter to help enlighten you wonderful readers on the history and traits of werewolves.  Don't worry, Marla, I brought my dust-buster to take care of the loose hair on the blog.  *coughs*  You can't help the shedding.  Happy Hooooowlloween!

 
Thanks for stopping by, DJL!  As usual, you have set forth an awesome combination of opinion and observation.  If you enjoyed DJL's post, show her some love!  Comments are always welcome and there has been an epic Twitter party going on for the past 3 days amongst us competitors.  Remember, we will have the last round tomorrow, when Christy from The Reader Bee will be telling us why demons should be the biggest bad asses in the entire bump in the night world.  Stay tuned!