The loup garou, also known as werewolves, have been the subject of controversy for centuries. Often one will find accounts of an attack on a medieval village where the surviving people claim to have been assailed by wolf-men” or a Native American story of valiant warriors with the ability to transform themselves into great wolves. Even today from the field of psychology to the craft of movie making werewolves have been howling their way from fiction to possible actuality. The term loup garou can also be described as a classification for mythical shape shifters and depending on the culture or folktale they may or may not include wolfs. Loup garou is from the old French term leu garoul; leu meaning wolf (from the Latin lupus) and garoul, werewolf (of Germanic origin). It is my hope that through the presentation of information collected here that I will be able to illustrate my belief in the loup garou.
The typical Hollywood werewolf can be described as a man, possessed by a curse, who, by the light of the full moon, must transform to that of a deformed wolf like creature. Other cultures have described such beings to be men who are merely shape shifters, and have the ability to become a wolf as they so desire. While still others believe werewolves to be humans who, by some act of sin or neglect of religious duties, are cursed by spirit witches or God to serve some malevolent entity (the devil, the witch or spirit that cursed them). One such legend, according to Armenian belief, states that there are women who as the result of deadly sins they had committed, are cursed to spend seven years as a wolf creature. It is said that by night a spirit will visit the woman and present to her the skin of a wolf, ordering her to wear it, as soon as she does, the woman is taken over by the most monstrous cravings. Following her transformation she will devour her children one by one, and then the children of family members and so forth based on the degree of blood relations. Until, at last the children of complete strangers are to fall prey to her blood lust. These cursed women will only hunt at night and when morning draws near she will remove the wolf’s skin.
Many modern researchers have attempted to explain werewolf phenomena as the result of many recognized medical conditions. Dr Lee Illis composed a paper in 1963 entitled On Porphyria and the Aetiology of Werewolves, in which he argues that historical accounts of werewolf attacks could have been referring to victims of congenital porphyria, stating how the symptoms of photosensitivity, reddish teeth and psychosis could have been grounds for accusing a sufferer of being a werewolf. People suffering from Downs Syndrome have been suggested by some scholars to have been possible starting points for werewolf myths. Others have suggested rabies as the origin of werewolf beliefs, claiming remarkable similarities between the symptoms of the disease and some of the legends. It is also said that the idea that being bitten by a werewolf could result in the victim turning into one, which suggested the idea of a transmittable disease like rabies. A recent theory has been provided to explain werewolf incident in Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries. Ergot, which can cause forms of food borne illness, is a fungus that grows in place of rye grains in wet growing seasons after very cold winters. Ergot poisoning usually affects whole towns or at least poor sections of towns and results in hallucinations, mass hysteria and paranoia, as well as convulsions and sometimes death. (LSD can be derived from ergot.) Ergot poisoning has been proposed as both a cause of an individual believing that he or she is a werewolf and of a whole town believing that they had seen a werewolf.
It seems clear that whether the loup garou are in the form depicted by popular movies such as “American werewolf in Paris” and “the wolf-man” or in that of a mad man’s psychosis, it is not so impractical to say these creatures exist. All over the world dating back to the beginning of recorded history tales and ravings of men that are wolves have established themselves to be truths. It is said that if the mind believes it, the body will to. So whether werewolves are supernatural or a disease of the mind it is my belief they exist in this world. It’s up to each person to decide for themselves: which do you fear the most, the prowlers of the night, or the power of your own mind?
Resources
“History of the werewolf” date retrieved: March 6, 2009 http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Werewolf__History_of_the_werewolf/id/5260151
“Loup garou in Paris” date retrieved: March 6, 2009 http://werewolves.monstrous.com/werewolf_france.htm
“The werewolf” date retrieved: March 6, 2009 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werewolf
“American werewolf tales” date retrieved: March 6, 2009 http://www.americanfolklore.net/folktales/quebec3.html
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