A curse, a full moon, terror, a transformation, this is the path traced in the legend of the werewolves. The tale of this strange creature, known as a ferocious beast, is spread to every corner of our planet. In the most famous cases, the veiled protagonist always remains the werewolf, even if there are several versions that see bears and wild cats as main actors of this legend, and of the many anecdotes scattered throughout the territories.
Surely, the mountain villages, the villages far from civilization, the small inhabited agglomerations still hold strong markers of the history of werewolves. Sightings of these beings are recorded in the peace of everyday life. Simple imagination? Suggestion? Hidden fears? Is there a pinch of truth?
Origins of the tales about werewolves
You really need to take a dip in the past to find the first evidence on the tales of werewolves and the first werewolf. A journey that starts from the mists of time to try to discover curiosities about these strange tales. Stories about the werewolf have inspired films of all kinds. TV series, prime time programs, fiction, cartoons, we find werewolves everywhere.
There are several texts on the subject, with reconstructions and often a mixture of adventure. There are real legend hunters, who try to impress, perhaps through a camera, the proof of the existence of werewolves. Over the centuries, hundreds of expeditions have been organized to try to unravel this mystery. Infested by werewolves, according to legend, they would also be several European capitals.
Full moon…
In the collective imagination, the full moon is certainly the great protagonist of these narrated episodes. It is precisely the moon that triggers the transformation of the werewolf, a man becomes a wolf. La Sila, in Calabria, strongly contains the tales of werewolves. Since the Middle Ages, in the Silan woods, this legend caused fear and terror for all the Calabrian populations. There legend, before contaminating our beautiful country, he took his first steps in America, specifically he was born from a Native American tribe. Presumably these tales can also draw imagination from clinical pathologies: such as hypertrichosis or werewolf.
The werewolf in medicine
There are several medical conditions that presumably contributed to the creation of these creatures: clinical lycanthropy (a person's belief that they are an animal), or hypertrichosis (the exponential growth of hair all over the body). Everything was born in America. These tales over the centuries reach Europe and specifically land in Italy. Even today, sightings of strange phenomena are reported daily. Is there a pinch of truth? Can a human being assume the characteristics of a wolf? Dreaming does not cost anything? Meanwhile, films on the subject continue, with a strong focus on large European cities.
The werewolf and werewolf stories
There are historical archives, carefully guarded by Italian intellectuals on werewolves, which attest to tales of werewolves. In particular, what can be deduced from some analyzes, elaborated by experts in the sector, is the frequency of these sightings, particularly in medieval times. Some villages, fortified, also located in Calabria, keep the memory of these events full of terror. The transformation, from man to wolf, took place in the cold nights of a full moon. According to the legends, the werewolf attacks took place near the houses. With a howl he anticipated the raids in search of his victims, which he devoured in a few minutes. According to a medieval tale, in the Sila woods, a patrol of Roman soldiers, deployed to check the timber, used in the Punic wars, was attacked by a werewolf. According to the military diary, no soldiers managed to survive. After a few days, only the blood-stained weapons of the military patrol were found. Reality? Tale? A story "written" by the Romans to cause fear? It is not known….
(Cover photo of the film “An American Werewolf in London 1981)
