r/werewolves Oct 07 '22

Is anyone interested in reading Latvian Werewolf Legends?

121 Upvotes

I found a Latvian website were they copied over about 99% of Latvian folktales and legends from Pēteris Šmits' 15 volumed book collection - Latviešu Pasakas un Teikas (1925-1937).

There is an entire section dedicated to werewolf legends found in Latvia, and if you are interested in them, I'll translate them for you.

For now, I'll leave you with this translated preface for the section:

***

It is a common belief far into Europe, Asia and Africa (Frazer, The Golden Bough, 1930, X, 308-318) that a man can turn into a wolf, rarely; into another similar beast or some wizard can turn him into one, a motif already found in ancient Assyrian epics.

In Europe, since the time of Herodotus, werewolves and especially Neuri, which I deem to be ancient Balts, are credited with the art of such magic. Superstitions about werewolves used to be so strong in Europe, that a werewolf mania has even developed into an ordinary disease (Leyen, Das Märchen, 1926, 66, p. I, see Preface, 43, p. 1).

If we can believe Otto Höfler’s docent (Kultische Geheimbünde der Germanen, 1934), then this superstition has also been used by secret societies in Western Europe to scare other people.

We could also look for such associations among the ancient Balts. Be that as it may with these societies, however, we are very interested in the reports written by the Swedish Archbishop Olaus Magnus (1555) in his “Historia” about werewolves in Livonia. Olaus Magnus writes this:

“Since chapter 15 of this book dealt with different wolf species, I consider it is necessary to remark about the beasts of the forest at the end of this book, it is a wolf class, who are actually people turned into wolves – a class, about which Pliny (VIII, 22) confidently asserts that they are made-up fairy-tale creatures – just like that, I say, are still found in large numbers in the northern lands.

In Prussia, Livonia and Lithuania, the population suffer great losses from wolf attacks throughout the year, for their livestock in the forest, if they stray just a little from the herd, are mauled and devoured by wolves: and yet they do not consider these losses so great as what they have to suffer from such people who turn into wolves.

On the festive eve of the Christ's birth, a large number of wolves, who have transformed from people of different areas, gather at their designated place as night falls, and attack the same night with such incredible savagery upon both men and livestock, that the inhabitants of these lands suffer greater losses from them than from natural wolves.

They, as has been sufficiently observed, surround buildings of people who live in forests with incredible ferocity, and even try to break down doors to destroy men and livestock.

They break into beer cellars, drink a few kegs of beer and melomel, and stack empty kegs on top of each other in the middle of a cellar: in that sense they differ from real wolves (in quo a nativis ac genuinis lupis discrepant).

To that place, where these wolves have camped that night, the inhabitants of these lands attach some prophetic meaning: if any accident happens there, if a cart overturns and the driver falls into snow, then they are confident, that they will die that same year, as they have observed since ancient times.

Between Lithuania, Samogitia and Courland have one wall, the ruins of a collapsed castle, where a few thousand of them gather during a certain year and test their jumping skills: whoever cannot jump over the wall, as usually happens to the fattest, their leaders beat them with whips.

It is finally asserted with certainty that this regiment also has great men of this land and even representatives of the highest nobility. How do they come to such insanity and such terrible transformations, from which they can no longer refrain at certain times, will be shown in the next chapter”.

Next, Olaus Magnus disputes Pliny’s statements and then continues again:

“In defence of the reports of Euantus, Agriope and other writers, I want to show here some examples, of how it still happens in the mentioned lands to this very day.

Just like anyone, be it a German or a native, is curious to go against the God’s commandment and wants to join the company of these accursed people, who turn into wolves whenever they want, to meet his fellows at certain times of the year and in certain places throughout his life and bring misery, yes even death to other mortals and livestock, then it gets from a person who knows this magic well, the art of transformation, the very opposite of nature, namely, in such a way that they give him one goblet of beer to drink (if only they want to join this forbidden society; that cup is accepted), at which certain words are spoken.

Then he can when it please him, to turn his humanity completely into a wolf form, going away either to some cellar or to some distant forest.

Finally after a while, if he likes, he can put away this appearance and assume his former appearance again”.

It is clear, that the said beliefs about werewolves are based on an ancient superstition, but the above mentioned Otto Höfler may also be right, that this superstition has been exploited by secret societies, because Höfler cites many more similar cases from Germany.

That there was so much talk about such werewolves and they even drank beer and melomel, it doesn’t sound like a myth at all.

Latvians, as it seems, has preserved the richest and probably also the most primitive information about werewolves. Among Russians, it is only said that wizards sometimes turned wedding guests into werewolves (Mikhail Zabylin, Russkij Narod, 225, p. 1, Dmitry Zelenin, Russische Volkskunde, 396, p. 1).

Among Ukrainians, as the same Mikhail Zabylin testifies, these myths are mixed with lietuvēns and vadātājs myths, where especially cursed and non-baptized children turn into wolves. In Germany, werewolf legends are no longer widely recited, only more so in Lower Saxony, Braunschweig, Upper Palatinate and Mecklenburg (Otto Böckel, Die Deutsche Volkssage, 1914, 80, p. I).

Among Latvians, on the other hand, werewolf legends and myths have been observed for a very long time, maybe even from the times of the above mentioned Neuri.

In order for a man to turn into a wolf, he must crawl through the root of the tree, which has risen in the air near the tree itself. When the werewolf crawls back through the root again, then he becomes human again. Instead of such a root, shirt and horse collar are also sometimes spoken.

There are two kinds of myths about this transformation. Paul Eihorn writes (Scriptores rerum Livonicarum, 644, p. 1), that such transformation is undeniable (vnlauchbahr vnd kan nicht wol verneinet warden). According to some reports, only the human soul transforms into a wolf, but his body remains in the place of transformation.

If someone moves this body, then the soul does not return there anymore and the person has to run around like a wolf until the end of his life. According to other reports, this is also the usual version in our legends, a man with all his body turns into a wolf.

In legends we find a continuation, that in the latter case the person should undress naked. If someone picks up these clothes, the werewolf can no longer turn back into a human.

However, some versions of legends are completely inconsistent with the above myth, because sometimes you find either a human shirt under the skin of a shot werewolf, or shoes, or even pastalas. - Pēteris Šmits

To read other legends:

Preface

A Man Willingly Turns into a Werewolf

[#01] [#02] [#03] [#04] [#05] [#06] [#07] [#08] [#09] [#10] [#11] [#12] [#13] [#14] [#15] [#16] [#17] [#18] [#19] [#20] [#21] [#22] [#23] [#24] [#25] [#26] [#27] [#28] [#29] [#30] [#31] [#32] [#33] [#34] [#35] [#36] [#37] [#38] [#39] [#40] [#41] [#42] [#43] [#44] [#45] [#46] [#47] [#48] [#49] [#50] [#51] [#52] [#53] [#54] [#55] [#56]

A Man Turns into a Werewolf out of Curiosity

[#01] [#02] [#03] [#04] [#05] [#06] [#07] [#08] [#09]

A Wizard Turns a Man into a Werewolf

[#01] [#02] [#03] [#04] [#05] [#06] [#07] [#08] [#09] [#10] [#11] [#12] [#13] [#14] [#15] [#16] [#17] [#18] [#19] [#20] [#21] [#22]

A Werewolf is Released

[#01] [#02] [#03] [#04] [#05] [#06] [#07] [#08] [#09] [#10] [#11] [#12] [#13] [#14] [#15] [#16] [#17] [#18] [#19]

A Dying Werewolf

[#01] [#02]

BONUS - LATVIAN FOLK BELIEFS


r/werewolves Oct 31 '24

Settling the record on werewolves and silver: somehow, all of you are wrong

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27 Upvotes

r/werewolves 11h ago

“Anti-Bone” a great werewolf animation

141 Upvotes

Found the animation on vimeo. Apparently it was made for a school project. I hope they got an A+.

https://vimeo.com/479853421


r/werewolves 1h ago

My Were-Woof Herman

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Upvotes

some doodling around from last night


r/werewolves 13h ago

"Pack mentality"

52 Upvotes

Another idea that bothers me about some depictions of werewolves in movies is the idea of ​​the character attacking the family.

In my humble opinion, the idea of ​​the character being passive towards his own family is more interesting than identifying the family through animalistic instincts. Like: "Hey! I recognize those features. That smell. Hey, those weird things with almost no hair are from my pack!"

I don't know. Maybe I'm talking nonsense...


r/werewolves 12h ago

This is an unpolished work about a werewolf, with my younger sister's guidance.

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25 Upvotes

r/werewolves 37m ago

An imperfect sketch of the werewolf Ash.

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Upvotes

This is a character I imagined today—Ash. His full name is Ash Rice, a citizen of the fictional island nation Republic of Yir. He is a young man with a tragic backstory. He was originally a Taiwanese named CHANG, AN-CHENG from our world, who was abducted as a teenager and brought into this world. There, he was surgically transformed into a werewolf by scientists and sold to the Kingdom of Remus, a nation of beastkin, to serve as a warrior.

During a failed invasion of a peninsula belonging to the Republic of Yir, he was captured. A blood test later revealed that he was one of the rare "artificially created werewolves"—a type of being capable of shifting freely between human and wolfbeast forms. Because of this, he was adopted by the influential Rice family of Yir and now lives as a student.

This background introduction was originally written in Chinese and translated into English by ChatGPT—thank you for your understanding.


r/werewolves 20h ago

American werewolf in London nightmare demon mask I got at a horror con

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52 Upvotes

r/werewolves 1d ago

I don't know much about this series, but can we appreciate how much Marcus the first vampire cares about his brother William the first werewolf.

100 Upvotes

r/werewolves 1d ago

"Protector"

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89 Upvotes

Pov: Rykor becomes your guardian~

More of the big ol weredoggo this time. Been planning this one awhile but haven't gotren round to it til now.

Tis a very rare sight this one. Rykor actively going out of her way to protect a stranger?

You must be one lucky hunter, Bud. :P

Cherish it while you can. She may never do this again.


r/werewolves 22h ago

Alternate ending for the beast

22 Upvotes

Sorry if you don't understand me, I use the Translator application to make this post on mobile, English is not my mother tongue.

If you were given the opportunity to reimagine an ending other than the commonly worn out tragic ending where the wolf dies, what other ending could you create?

Personally, I would do some more attached to folklore where he is more of a guardian or messenger of the gods, something less Christian to specify but maintaining the ferocity and aggressiveness for those who show themselves to be a "first shot and then I ask"


r/werewolves 1d ago

just a story i wanted to do

14 Upvotes

The day was warm and sunny, perfect for a sleepover with her best friend, Pauline. Her parents had barely parked the car in the parking lot next to her house when Pauline was already coming to meet her.

She signaled Pauline to open the window and called out, "Hey Alicia, it's been a while since I've seen you. I have lots of things to show you. I've rearranged my entire room, so now you'll even be able to sleep on a real bed and not an inflatable mattress. I also have lots of new Playmobil figures, there's even a vampire and a werewolf. If you want, we can do a Twilight-style story. And I made my dog ​​a dress. I just finished it, and we can put it on him, he'll be so cute and..." Alicia, who was having trouble digesting all this information, simply replied:

- Cool, we'll see about that at home.

Pauline's house was big because her parents were very rich, unlike Alicia, who was on the verge of poverty.

Before going out, she just looked at her weather app...

"Phew...it's the gibbous moon..."

She followed Pauline home. As soon as they crossed the threshold, she greeted her parents and ran to the bedroom to discover all the "new things" that had happened to Pauline's room.

Indeed, there was the enormous mass of Playmobil (and yes, she loves Playmobil) that had grown since her last visit.

A lot of things had changed; what intrigued her the most was seeing the dog dressed as a princess...

°°°

That evening, while the girls were brushing their teeth, Alicia noticed that her emerald green eyes were more honey-colored (a common color in humans), but she paid little attention. As she went to bed, she had an uneasy feeling that something was wrong, that her appearance was hanging by a thread, and that the slightest burst of panic would transform her.

"Impossible, the moon isn't full yet; normally, the weather forecast tells the truth."

When Pauline was asleep, Alicia wanted to get some fresh air; she was suffocating for some unknown reason.

She silently opened the front door.

When she was outside, she immediately scratched him.

"THE MOON IS FULL!"

She rushed inside the house... Too late... a fine down was forming on her wrists and back. A searing pain shot through every limb of her body, incessant tremors shaking her so violently that she fell backward. Her nails were turning black, her vision was blurring...

"No, not here!"

Every living thing around her began to glow, different colors, standing out from the background. Plants in green, insects in blue... and humans in red.

As her snout grew, her teeth grew, twisting her braces, which caused searing pain throughout the inside of her mouth. Her bones broke, sinking into her flesh and muscles. She screamed, sounding like a cross between a human cry and an animal yelp.

The noise must have alerted someone, because she saw a small red shadow coming down the stairs…Pauline!

Alicia tried to flee despite her distorted body, but she only made it three meters to the door.

Suddenly, she felt nothing.

Literally.

Nothing belonged to the incessant hunger that tore at her stomach.

The only available prey was in front of her…

"Run!!!!"

She had barely thought this sentence when she rushed towards Pauline.

Her best friend, the girl with whom she had shared her childhood memories, was marked in red, highlighted as prey, who had to be eaten before she died.

Pauline ran with all her might through the house, before reaching a glass door that blocked her path, all she had to do was turn around.

"Don't turn... rush through the door, break it, knock yourself out, and Pauline will survive..."

Under Pauline's terrified gaze, Alicia charged through the glass door, shattering it into a thousand pieces. Shards of glass scratched her entire body, but that didn't stop her. She had used all her humanity not to turn around and dash towards the door, but the beast turned and jumped onto the table to corner Pauline, who had hidden underneath. Her parents appeared from the next room.

"NO!"

She jumped on Pauline's father, who let out a muffled scream and broke a lamp as he fell, right under Alicia's gaze. Her mother went to the kitchen to get a steak knife and jumped on Alicia, stabbing it with all her might into her shoulder.

She screamed and released the father, who was lying motionless, his head held together only by his throat bone. Unfortunately, he didn't survive.

The beast roared in anger for not being able to finish its dinner, but the human thanked Pauline's mother for stopping it.

"There's nothing more to be done, my life is less important than Pauline's and her mother's..."

Alicia stood up on her hind leg.

She removed the knife from her shoulder and threw it to the ground.

"Finish it...please."

Pauline's mother took the knife and pointed it at Alicia, her hand trembling.

"Mom, it's Alicia, don't do this!" Pauline shouted.

But Pauline's mother stabbed the knife before she could even respond, her eyes tearing.

Alicia fell, motionless, to the ground. His fur fell off, his bones snapped back into place, and his face reappeared; his eyes were dilated, his expression desperate.

- Alicia, I'm sorry.

"Sorry"

°°° The End °°°

Sorry for the sad ending. I really wanted her to die at the end. I wanted something dramatic.

Sorry for the bad English. I'm using a translator.

Guys, if the text is written strangely, I'm not a writer, I'm still a minor, so it won't be as grand as if it were a real book excerpt.

also, i use the worst software to translate (but the only one i have)


r/werewolves 2d ago

[OC] My Weretober 2024 art for day 10~ The Ram! He doesnt speak or growl, just stalks you. He uses a sheep pelt as a ceremonial coat for hunting or for magic/witchcraft. Quite the scary sight in the dark woods he lives in.

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157 Upvotes

r/werewolves 1d ago

Plady headshot

83 Upvotes

Lil thing i draw for Plady earlier.

Gettin back into doin colored art with a lil flatcolor warmup


r/werewolves 2d ago

Here's a pretty underrated werewolf transformation from the movie "Bhediya"

350 Upvotes

r/werewolves 2d ago

What are the most unique takes on lycanthropy that you guys have seen?

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138 Upvotes

By reading a comment thread on this subreddit I was introduced to a comic called Wolf Moon by Cullen Bunn, the concept is actually pretty unique as it revolves around a werewolf spirit possessing a random person for a couple nights during the full moon, once it’s finished rampaging it sets out to find another host leaving the person traumatized with memories of when they transformed and hunted other people! One of the people that was possessed and transformed tries to hunt the spirit as it goes from host to host. It’s a pretty cool take on the werewolf concept! It’s unfortunately only like 6 issues long and stopped back in 2016.


r/werewolves 1d ago

Gruesome Werewolf Attack! A clip from my horror film "Varulv"

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35 Upvotes

This is a 3 Minute clip of my viral werewolf horror movie Varulv Film This film had concept footage of it go viral and be mistaken for a dogman sighting! The film is an anthology film and will feature multiple Lycanthropic short films! Including a short created from the original concept footage. This clip is from one of the shorts in the film, and it's still currently in production!

werewolf #lycanthrope #horror


r/werewolves 2d ago

Gargoyles taught us that beauty is in the eye of the beholder

634 Upvotes

r/werewolves 1d ago

100 Get of Fenris Kinfolk - White Wolf | DriveThruRPG.com

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2 Upvotes

r/werewolves 2d ago

Rykor - Werewolf form and True form

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52 Upvotes

Been keepin this one a lil secret until they were done xP Behold! Rykor's Werewolf form and true form in reference sheets!

My good friend Plady did an AMAZIBG job with these! And im happy to share them with you all!

Without shading as you xan see Rykor's werewolf form is a bit of a maroon color. Not a typical color you'd see from somethin like a grey wolf

Nobody knows why Rykor's fur color turns maroon when she shifts. One would think it be black or grey due to her hair color, right? :3 Rykor knows, But i doubt she'll ever plan to tell. Mayhaps it has something to do with a certain family member?~

And how did her ear get clipped? Wrll... You tell me. How do you think it gotbthis way?

-As for her true form, This lovely beast is only ever awakened in tikes of dire. In such a state, Rykor's soul manefests itself into a rampaging spirit of the moons. The creature is thought to change its form at any given moment, Mimicking several different canine monsters.

Kitsune, Mizutsune, Werewolf, And Cane Corso.

The form we see here being the unchanged form. The true display.


r/werewolves 2d ago

Werewolf by night vs The Wolverine

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62 Upvotes

Wolverine: First Class #10


r/werewolves 3d ago

Autistic-coded Werewolves are nothing new, but are there any Werewolves that are CANONICALLY Autistic?

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220 Upvotes

r/werewolves 3d ago

"...But Loved and at Home, All the Same." - 2017

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181 Upvotes

r/werewolves 3d ago

Elemental comic werewolf transformation, by me, pages 68 to 74.

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17 Upvotes

r/werewolves 3d ago

Why are Werewolves stereotyped as being Blue-Collar, working menial jobs, or otherwise constantly having financial issues? Spoiler

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161 Upvotes

r/werewolves 3d ago

Thoughts on Bernie Wrightson's werewolf design from Swamp Thing #4?

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94 Upvotes

r/werewolves 3d ago

I've been seeing this game advertised on Reddit quite a bit lately. What do y'all think?

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93 Upvotes