Werewolves and Shapeshifters

Here we will discuss the similarities between werewolves (Lycanthropes or Children of the moon) and Shapeshifter.

Please feel free to discuss theories, movies based on either of the two, similarities (and there are alot of those, trust me) and differences.

here is a quick definition and backround on Lycans and shifters. Keeping in mind that Lycan do have to shift shape to become the wolf, which is were the things get confusing.

Werewolves, also known as lycanthropes from the Greek word meaning wolf, moon and man, are mythological or folkloric humans with the ability to shape shift into wolves or anthropomorphic wolf-like creatures, either purposely, by being bitten or scratched by another werewolf, or after being placed under a curse. This transformation is often associated with the appearance of the full moon, as popularly noted by the medieval chronicler Gervase of Tilbury, although it may have been recognized in earlier times among the ancient Greeks through the writings of Petronius.

Werewolves are often granted extra-human strength and senses, far beyond those of both wolves or men. The WEREWOLF is generally held as a European character, although its lore spread through the world in later times. SHAPESHIFTERS, similar to werewolves, are common in tales from all over the world, most notably amongst the American Indians, including the Quieleute's and Napalm's.

Werewolves are a frequent subject of modern fictional books, although fictional werewolves have been attributed traits distinct from those of original folklore, most notably the vulnerability to silver bullets. Werewolves continue to endure in modern culture and fiction, with books, films and television shows cementing the werewolf's stance as a dominant figure in horror, rivalling that of it's biggest supernatural enemy, the Vampire.

DID YOU KNOW? ....There is also a mental illness called lycanthropy in which a patient believes he or she is, or has transformed into, an animal and behaves accordingly. This is sometimes referred to as clinical lycanthropy to distinguish it from its use in legends. Despite its origin as a term for man-wolf transformations only, lycanthropy is used in this sense for animals of any type. This is actually a serious mental problem, and it perhaps where werewolf lore began.

Various methods for becoming a werewolf have been reported, one of the simplest being the removal of clothing and putting on a belt made of wolfskin, probably as a substitute for the assumption of an entire animal skin (which also is frequently described).[7] In other cases, the body is rubbed with a magic salve.[7] To drink rainwater out of the footprint of the animal in question or to drink from certain enchanted streams were also considered effectual modes of accomplishing metamorphosis.[8] The 16th century Swedish writer Olaus Magnus says that the Livonian werewolves were initiated by draining a cup of specially prepared beer and repeating a set formula. Ralston in his Songs of the Russian People gives the form of incantation still familiar in Russia.

In Italy, France and Germany, it was said that a man could turn into a werewolf if he, on a certain Wednesday or Friday, slept outside on a summer night with the full moon shining directly on his face.

In other cases, the transformation was supposedly accomplished by Satanic allegiance for the most loathsome ends, often for the sake of sating a craving for human flesh.

The curse of lycanthropy was also considered by some scholars as being a divine punishment. Werewolf literature shows many examples of God or saints allegedly cursing those who invoked their wrath with werewolfism. Those who were excommunicated by the Roman Catholic Church were also said to become werewolves.

The power of transforming others into wild beasts was attributed not only to malignant sorcerers, but to Christian saints as well. Omnes angeli, boni et Mali, ex virtute naturali habent potestatem transmutandi corpora nostra ("All angels, good and bad have the power of transmutating our bodies") was the dictum of St. Thomas Aquinas. St. Patrick was said to have transformed the Welsh king Vereticus into a wolf; Natalis supposedly cursed an illustrious Irish family whose members were each doomed to be a wolf for seven years. In other tales the divine agency is even more direct, while in Russia, again, men supposedly became werewolves when incurring the wrath of the Devil.

Where as for shape-shifters in Native American lore, you are born that way, you were bon into the world alread with the spirit animal inside of you.

Becoming a werewolf simply by being bitten by another werewolf as a form of contagion is common in modern horror fiction, but this kind of transmission is rare in legend, unlike the case in vampirism.

Most modern fiction describes werewolves as vulnerable to silver weapons and highly resistant to other attacks. This feature does not appear in stories about werewolves before the 19th century. (The claim that the Beast of Gévaudan, an 18th century wolf or wolf-like creature, was shot by a silver bullet appears to have been introduced by novelists retelling the story from 1935 onwards and not in earlier versions...good book tooo)

Unlike vampires, they are not generally thought to be harmed by religious artifacts such as crucifixes and holy water. In many countries, rye and mistletoe were considered effective safeguards against werewolf attacks. Mountain ash is also considered effective, with one Belgian superstition stating that no house was safe unless under the shade of a mountain as. In some legends, werewolves have an aversion to wolfsbane and wormwood

In saying that, it is believed that werewolves are generally more vulnerable the shapeshifter who do not have an aversion to silver, and are fast healing, it is believed that a vampire spreading his or her own blood to a shapeshifter would kill immediatly (or in the case of Twilight, spreading his or her vemon to a shapeshifter)

Well i actually have alot more to say, but im not even sure if anyone besides Troy will read it and have anything to say...lol...