In the werewolf legend, it is said that a man shifts into a wolf-like creature either by magic, curse or more reasonably, disease. Lycanthropic Disorder, Hypertrichosis, and Therianthropy are all disease that can give a person the physical and mental appearance of a werewolf. Most people do not believe in this mythological and folkloric legend, but how can someone believe what he or she knows no knowledge of?
Lycanthropy, or the werewolf legend, is a worldwide legend. It includes France’s loup-garou, Spain’s hombre lobo, and Romania’s varvolac. Werewolf legends date back to the year sixty. In the novel Satyrican by Gaius Petronius, he writes about a man who turns into a wolf by the full moon, which is one of the most known werewolf stories. Other legends include a werewolf can only be killed by a silver bullet or complete destruction of the heart or brain and to be turned into a wolf you have to be bitten or cut by a werewolf.
Lycanthropic Disorder or clinical lycanthropy is a mental condition in which the patient has delusions of being a wild animal, more specifically the wolf. In the disease, a subject does not actually change into a wolf, but is capable of being just as dangerous as one. Victims of Lycanthropic Disorder have been recorded since ancient times. In the book of Daniel, it describes King Nebuchadnezzar as suffering from depression that deteriorated over a seven-year period into a frank psychosis at which times he imagined himself a wolf. Among the first medical descriptions was Paulus Aegineta’s reference to Greek mythology, in which Zeus turned King Lycoan (Lycan) of Arcadia into a raging wolf. Older writers like Forestus and Burton regarded the werewolf mania as a species of melancholy madness. Now-a-days lycanthropy is being linked to schizophrenia, but because of the few cases it is difficult to study in-depth.
Not necessarily a disease, Ergot poisoning has been proposed to explain the werewolf episodes in Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries. Ergot poisoning is a food borne illness that is caused by a fungus that grows in place of rye grains in wet seasons after cold winters. It usually affects whole towns or at least the slum areas of towns and results in hallucinations, mass hysteria, paranoia and convulsions, then sometimes death. LSD is derived from Ergot. Between 1420 and 1630 there were over 30,000 werewolf trials in France alone. Symptoms of ergot poisoning are tremors, writhing, wry neck, convulsions, rolling eyes, and speechlessness; dizziness, confusion, hallucinations, panic attacks and delusions; extreme thirst, uncontrollable hunger; feelings of extreme heat or cold with itching, tingling, swelling and blistering of the skin.
The condition Hypertrichosis can be seen in carnivals as the Wolfman or Bearded Lady. Hypertrichosis is a medical disease associated with the excessive growth of body hair over the entire body. Severe Hypertrichosis is rare; it is due to an unknown genetic defect and can result in animal-like hair on both the face and body. Some of these genetically disordered people are unfortunately displayed, like animals, in carnivals or fairs, and other people think that it is funny, but there is no stopping the hair and it is not purposely done. Fedor Jeftichew and Annie Jones are two well-known examples of humans with Hypertrichosis. Other examples are the 1982 Mexican family that was forced to hide in their home and could only obtain a job in a circus and Tara from Blood Moon (Wolf Girl is the American Title). This condition has also been falsely referred to a “Wookism” or “Wookieeism” from the creature known as Wookiee from Star Wars. If that is not convincing, there’s more
Physical Therianthropy is the ability to shift from human to animal and back again. Spiritual Therianthropy is the ability to mentally shift from thinking normally and humanly to thinking and reacting animalisticly. It evokes images of uncivilized, impulsive, hedonistic behavior without thought or restraint. All humans are animals, but these days very few humans can look in themselves and find the animals remnants. Those few people who do feel those animal remnants, feel them strongly and identify themselves with an animal with characteristics that reflect their own. A theory presented by Issac Boneits in Real Magic explains that sympathetic wounding is a cellular psychokinesis brought by a telepathic rapport between the human and their animal. Meaning if someone were to get wounded as an animal they would also have that wound as a human.
In legends man would turn himself into a wolf during the full moon. He is only active at night and he devours infants and corpses. When a werewolf dies he turns back into his human form. Sound familiar? Werewolves aren’t the beasts that people like to believe they are, but there are werewolves. Lycanthropic Disorder, Therianthropy, Ergot Poisoning, and Hypertrichosis are all proof werewolves are as real as human beings.
Author/Artist: Monstrous.com
Page Title: Lycanthropic Disorder
Site Title: Monstrous.com
