Paranormal Coffee Hour
Paranormal Coffee Hour
Werewolves
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Join Jenn and Cortney for a wild deep-dive into the legend of lycanthropy—the terrifying and fascinating lore of the werewolf. From ancient folklore to modern sightings, they explore the enduring question: do werewolves actually exist? The conversation takes a local turn as they investigate why Wisconsin—especially the southeastern part of the state—has become a hotspot for mysterious dog-man encounters and werewolf sightings. Could there be something lurking in the woods of the Badger State? Along the way they unpack history, eyewitness accounts, and pop culture’s obsession with the werewolf
Welcome to Paranormal Coffee Hour. We're your host Jen. And Courtney. And we're pouring you a strong cup of the weird, the wonderful, and the woo-hoo. On this episode of Paranormal Coffee Hour, we're talking werewolves. And we have a special guest host. Emphasis on the special. Our guest with us today is Kent Summer. Who? You. Welcome back. I mean, if we're talking about big hairy beasts, it just made sense to have you as a guest host.
SPEAKER_05Well, thank you.
SPEAKER_00You're welcome.
SPEAKER_05No.
SPEAKER_00It's too bad because we're rolling.
SPEAKER_05Okay, good. Go.
SPEAKER_00So, what exactly is a werewolf? Guys want to answer that question?
SPEAKER_05Uh, man that goes through a transformation every 28 days.
SPEAKER_02I mean, depends on which folklore you're looking at. Full moon.
SPEAKER_00All I could think was a period.
SPEAKER_03Full moon.
SPEAKER_00So instead of bleeding, you grow a bunch of hair and some fangs. Okay. I mean, literally, it depends on which folklore you're looking at. That's true. So a werewolf is defined as a human who can shape shift into a wolf or a hybrid wolf human form. In many werewolf stories, the transformation occurs at night under the influence of a full moon, thus every 28 days. According to legend, most werewolves transform fully from human form to wolf form. Werewolves are typically described as looking much like real wolves with fur-covered bodies, pointed ears, long snouts, razor-sharp fangs, and claws, and bushy tails. Like real wolves, werewolves howl, growl, and hunt for prey. Most stories depict werewolves as monstrous, devouring animals, people, and corpses alike. Have you heard of a werewolf eating a corpse? No, not lately, anyways.
SPEAKER_05Seems a lot of trouble to dig one up.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I want to know the stories where there is a werewolf eating a corpse because I've never heard of them. Actually, well, let's wait and see, because I thought there might have been one. Some werewolves in modern fiction possess hybrid or in-between forms that retain both wolf and human characteristics, or become more monstrous than either form on its own. In some stories, a human becomes a werewolf because of a curse or because of having been bitten or scratched by another werewolf.
SPEAKER_02Oh my gosh, your dog keeps biting me.
SPEAKER_00Wallace. It's trying to turn you into a werewolf.
SPEAKER_05Or a land shark.
SPEAKER_00Or a land shark, yeah.
SPEAKER_05Fantastic.
SPEAKER_00Alternatively, other ways people have become werewolves. Listen to these. The person may have drunk water from a wolf's paw print being conceived during a new moon, or they made a pack with the devil. That damn devil, he gets around, I tell you.
SPEAKER_03Conceived during a new moon? New moon. But not a full moon. No.
SPEAKER_02Oh my god, it's so dark. We can't do this right now. So let's do this instead.
SPEAKER_00Other stories tell of people who are able to assume a wolf's form through the use of a magical cloak or a sash made from a wolf's pelt. Yep, I got stories like that. Although in some stories the werewolf may shape shift at will, the most well-known werewolf tales claim that the transformation happens involuntarily and only in the light of a full moon. Further, when the sun rises the next day, the person may not remember having turned into a werewolf. But any injuries sustained by the werewolf while marauding at night are typically intact. That's kind of sucky. You don't remember your adventures, it's like your dreams. Then you wake up with bruises and scratches and gashes. Here you think you have mental issues, and no, you're out just praying around as damn wolf. In modern tales, the most surefire way to destroy a werewolf is to use a weapon made of silver, usually a bullet. The belief may have been inspired by a real life incident in France in 1767, when a farmer is said to have killed a ferocious beast, possibly a wolf or a large dog, using silver bullets. Another method is to find the wolf's pelt, which some werewolves were said to have hidden during the daytime while they were in their human form, and then destroy it. Yes, it does. Find their skin. This could be tricky, however, as werewolf pelts were believed to be impervious to most methods of destruction. Some so-called werewolves were said to have been cured of their affliction by exorcism or by dubious medical treatments such as bloodletting, induced vomiting, or drinking vinegar. Um what the fuck?
SPEAKER_02Vinegar cleans everything, don't you know? Cleans your windows and your werewolvism.
unknownWhat the fuck?
SPEAKER_00So where does the werewolf myth come from? The earliest known tale of a human or wolf transformation is actually found in the Epic of Gilgamesh, which is a Mesopotamian poem composed between 2000 BCE and about 700 BCE. And the poem, the goddess Ishtar, is rejected by the warrior king Gilgamesh because she is said to have transformed a shepherd into a wolf after having tired of his affections. Oh, that's all you gotta do.
SPEAKER_02Yep. Fantastic.
SPEAKER_00Greek mythology tells of a king named Lycon who angered the god Zeus for attempting to feed him human flesh. Lycon was punished by being transformed into a wolf. Yep. Lycan's name comes from Lycos, the Greek word for wolf, as does the word lycanthropy, which originally referred to a psychiatric disorder experienced by people who believe they could become a wolf. The term also refers to the fantastical shifting from human to wolf. I also think of um Harry Potter, which we know, Courtney, you have not watched really any of them. So if we think the Latin term for wolf is like lupin. So Professor Lupus in the story of Harry Potter is the one who transforms into a wolf. Sorry, it's I'm not ruining it for anybody because the fucking movies have been out and the books have been out for like 30 years now. But Professor Lupin, in his name alone, gives us the clue as to what he's capable of doing. And he gets to transform into a wolf when there's a full moon. Oh, there's a wolf in Harry Potter. There's a wolf in Harry Potter, yes. I missed it. No. You? About 425 BCE, Greek historian Herodotus wrote of a tribe from Scythia in what is now Russia called the Nuri, whom he claimed transformed into wolves several days a year. According to folklorist Carol Rose in ancient Greece, it was believed that eating wolf's meat mixed with human flesh could irreversibly change a person into a wolf.
SPEAKER_02Well, okay, I mean now think about this. You're mixing them together, so why wouldn't it? I mean, it just produces a really good burger.
SPEAKER_05Jeffrey Dahmer said so.
SPEAKER_02I mean, human meat small tastes like pork, and if you mix pork and beef together, it's supposed to create good soap. Exactly. Maybe a wolf is a little more like beef. I don't know how I know this, but Jeffrey Dahmer.
SPEAKER_00Courtney Dahmer. Anyway. Werewolves were also featured in early Norse sagas. And the Volsunga saga, which is from the 13th century, a father and son discovered wolf pelts that give the wearers the power to transform into wolves. The story resembles that of Norse berserkers, fierce warriors who worshiped the god Odin and were said to whip themselves up into a fighting frenzy by wearing the skin of bears and wolves, which allowed them to channel the animal spirits in battle. Ancient Romans had their version of werewolf meant, often related to the idea of transformation and punishment. For example, they celebrated a festival called Luperkalia, where young men dressed in animal skins, possibly to honor or become closer to wolves. And what else did they do? Valentine's Day. Exactly. And what else did they do at Luperkalia?
SPEAKER_02They went wild during that time. That was their sexual party. Yeah. They ravished the women. Not that I would know about that either. Ravishing women? No, that their party weighs. Oh, sure, Courtney's still covering. Didn't we do a podcast on that one too? Luperkalia?
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_05No.
SPEAKER_00No, we talked about Saturnalia.
SPEAKER_05I feel like it got touched on somewhere along the. I mean, a lot of things get touched on during lubricalia, but um well, it wasn't a podcast of its own.
SPEAKER_00I don't know.
SPEAKER_02It's interesting that I knew about that one.
SPEAKER_00But not surprising. That's valid. And on that note, we're gonna move over to Courtney, who's gonna talk to us about some of the werewolf folklore in Europe.
SPEAKER_02All right, I'm gonna touch on the Irish werewolves. Irish werewolves are said to be able to shape shift into wolves at will, usually during the full moon. Unlike other werewolves from folklore, Irish werewolves were not considered evil, but were seen as protectors of their communities. It was believed that they would use their powers to defend their families and loved ones from harm. Oh, they're sweet. According to some versions of the legend, Irish werewolves were believed to be especially protective of children. They would go to great lengths to keep them safe from harm.
SPEAKER_05Because they're tender and tasty.
SPEAKER_02One famous story involves a mother who was out walking with her young child when they were approached by a pack of wolves. The mother was terrified, but the wolves surrounded them and kept them safe until help arrived. When villagers came to rescue the mother and child, they found that the wolves had not harmed them and had even left a deer carcass for them to eat. Oh, that was super sweet.
SPEAKER_05My question though is what did the wolves surround this mother and child to protect them from? I'm not sure.
SPEAKER_02Evil asked people, because this says in another story, an Irish werewolf is said to have saved a young girl from a group of bandits who had kidnapped her. The werewolf chased the bandits away and returned the girl safely to her family. See? Bandits.
SPEAKER_05And then when he changed back to a man, he came according or what?
SPEAKER_00I mean, isn't that how like Disney movies would be?
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I suppose.
SPEAKER_00I want to see a Disney version of this where, you know, he's a badass werewolf and then he's comes to court her because, you know, it'd be the He's like, Oh, I fell in love with her.
SPEAKER_02She was only 12. I was 26. Wait, we do have a movie.
SPEAKER_00That would be Disney. We do have this movie. It's called Twilight. That is true.
SPEAKER_02I'm with the animated version. These stories and others like them illustrate the idea that Irish werewolves were not simply savage beasts, but rather were protectors of their communities who would use their powers to defend the most vulnerable members of society. In some versions of the legend, Irish werewolves were said to be able to communicate with other animals and even control them. They were also believed to possess superhuman strength and speed, which they used to protect their communities from threats. Interestingly, evidence suggests that belief in Irish werewolves persisted well into the 18th and 19th centuries. Some historical accounts indicate that people who exhibited erratic or violent behavior were accused of being werewolves and were sometimes subjected to harsh punishment. What a bunch of assholes.
SPEAKER_05So just because you're erratic and a little violent, all of a sudden now you're a werewolf and we're gonna punish you. Maybe the dude just had a bad day.
SPEAKER_02I mean that's true.
SPEAKER_05And now your bad day got worse.
SPEAKER_02Has he met any people from our town?
SPEAKER_05Seems that way.
SPEAKER_02Good lord. Are there more European werewolves? Oh, we've got the Osari werewolves that are from the medieval Irish, English, and Norse sources. The ancient kingdom of Osuri comprised largely of what is now counties Laos and Kilkenny, before the Normans arriving in Ireland in the late 12th century. The kings of Osuri claimed descent from one Legneck Felin. Sorry, I'm butchering this, who was said to be the first to adopt the wolf shape. His brother was called Ferdok Makdoch. It was recorded in a medieval genealogy. Bless him. Thank you. As the king of Osuri, and the ancestor of the subsequent generation of kings all the way to the Norman conquest. The famous Gerald of Wales, in his book Topographia Hibbernach, holy Christ, Geography of Ireland, recorded one of the most famous accounts of the werewolves of Oserary. Gerald presents the story of an unnamed priest who was traveling from Ulster when he encountered a wolf in the woods. To the priest's astonishment, the wolf begins to talk to him and tells the priest not to be afraid. The priest in turn asks to wolf not to attack him and to explain his story. There are two of us, a man and a woman, natives of Oserary, who through the curse of Saint Natalus, the abbot, are compelled every seven years to put off human form and to depart from the dwellings of man. Quitting the human form, we then assume that of wolves. At the end of seven years, if chance to survive, two others being substituted in their place, they return to their country and their former shape. And now she, who is my wife, lies dangerously ill, not inspired by divine charity, to give her consolations of your priestly office. The priest complies and gives last rites to the sick female wolf, and the male wolf pulls down wolf's skin to reveal an elderly human woman underneath, to show the priest that he is not committing blasphemy. The priest then gives communion to the she-wolf and the male wolf leads the priest safely from the woods. The wolf finally makes a number of prophecies concerning the future of Ireland and the Norman invaders. Priest is later summoned before the Bishop of Meath, and on Gerald's advice is ordered to travel to meet the Pope to present his story. Catherine Carkaval, in her book The Tales of the Ancient Colonial Werewolves and the Mapping of Post-colonial Ireland, has argued that the story of the ulcerary werewolves could be seen a political metaphor for the Norman settlement of Ireland. She argues that the Irish people themselves as being bestial in appearance, yet still redeemable, thought the Christian sacrament, as they were made in the image of God underneath.
SPEAKER_00Oh, how kind. Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_02The old dying female wolf could be seen as a personification of Ireland and a symbol of the passing of the old Irish Celtic Church with this different character to the new English church brought with the Normans. So we are headed now to Scotland, is it, Courtney? Yes, ma'am. The wolver is a mythical wolf-like creature from the Shetland Islands of Scotland. It is said to be half man and half wolf, with a wolf's head and a man's body. Kind of reminds me of Sven. The wolver is known for being friendly, patient, and helpful. It is not considered aggressive unless provoked. I mean, isn't everybody? It is said to leave fish on the windowsills of the poor. It is said to live in a cave dug into a steep no, and is fond of fishing. Well, that's where you get the fish from. The wolver's origins are disputed. Folklorist Jesse Saxby invented the wolver as more of a dramatic alternative to Jack Dobson's theory. And the last reported sighting of a wolver was in the early 20th century.
SPEAKER_05May I question this? It has the head of a wolf but the body of a man. Does it fish like a wolf with its mouth, or does it fish like a man with a fishing pole?
SPEAKER_02They didn't say I always assumed with its mouth, but that would be an interesting with pole. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00See this dog sitting next to the side of a lake with a pole.
SPEAKER_02Hey guy, did you catch anything?
SPEAKER_05Just some rough fish. So rough.
unknownOh my god.
SPEAKER_02The ancient Celts believe that the wolver evolved from wolves. It symbolizes the in-between stage in man and wolf, and some believe an encounter with the wolver is providential and may lead to treasure. Others view the wolver sightings as omens of imminent death. Bum bum bum bum.
SPEAKER_00Okay, but they say that the wolver is like this nice and kind. Why would it be associated with death? I don't know.
SPEAKER_05Maybe the fish that it's bringing you are tainted.
SPEAKER_00So did you guys know that in European folklore, the human form of a werewolf is said to have certain telltale characteristics? These included a unibrow. So eyebrows that join together at the center, curved fingernails, or hair growing beneath the person's tongue.
SPEAKER_02That is so gross. And I'm assuming that is a real medical issue if it's brought up. Who's checking?
SPEAKER_00That's what I was wondering too.
SPEAKER_05And does this make Bert from Sesame Street potentially a werewolf?
SPEAKER_00Fuck yes. So werewolf trials were held in parts of Europe from the 15th to the 17th century. However, because the confessions of these people were often made under duress, it's difficult to know whether they actually committed the crimes for which they were accused. In France in the 16th century, several men claimed to have possessed magical ointment that turned them into wolves. I'm sorry, I just think a lube. Um, they confessed to having killed and eaten numerous children and were burned at the stake, which was considered to be one of the only effective methods for killing a werewolf. One of the most notorious werewolf trials was that of a wealthy farmer named Peter Stubb in Germany. Local hunters claimed that they had seen him transform from a wolf into a human. Through means of torture, Peter confessed to having a magic belt that he used to transform into a werewolf and hunt and eat people. His gruesome execution involved in part being strapped to a cartwheel, beheaded, and burned at the stake.
SPEAKER_02He was like one of the first noted serial killers.
SPEAKER_00Yes, he was. This was back in Germany in 1589. So yeah, Europe. Interesting, interesting times. Not just witch trials, but werewolf trials also. So now we move to another interesting part of the world, and we're headed to South America with Courtney again and their werewolf stories.
SPEAKER_02Oh boy, these guys have some interesting ones. Alright, we're gonna talk about the Lobisomen in South America. I don't remember which country they're from. Argentina. Their appearance, they have dark circles under his eyes and slightly pointed ears and horse elbows due to the position in which he walks. That always throws me. Horse elbows. Yes, horse elbows. But it is spelt like horse, like your voice is horse, not eh horse.
SPEAKER_00That's somebody whose English was not their first language then.
SPEAKER_02Well, I mean, maybe your elbows are horse from walking on them. I don't know.
SPEAKER_00I just can't make the words come out.
SPEAKER_02In other versions, it is an unusually large pig or dog. Their habitat and behavior, it is said to be cursed by fate to live between two worlds. For centuries, it has terrified the inhabitants of small villages, also in Brazil. There are a variety of ways that one can become one. Being bit by one, coming into contact with the lobisoman's blood, working in healthcare, no bueno. Being a family's seventh son, in which case the son can be saved by making one of his elder brothers his godfather.
SPEAKER_00Not weird at all.
SPEAKER_02Being the first male son of a couple with seven daughters, in which case the first transformation takes place on the said son's 13th birthday. So there's the seven and the thirteen. Those are always fantastic numbers. Punishment for incest, concubinage, or a woman having sexual relations with a priest. Oh. So it's not the priest's fault, it's the woman's fault. Of course. Some say that a lobisoman transforms every day in which the moon is in its full phase. Others say that the change only occurs on Fridays with such condition. Either way, in all versions, it's transforms at night, usually attacking travelers and animals on the road. In some regions, instead of transforming during a full moon, the lobisomen transforms at midnight on Friday at a crossroads. Once transformed, he goes out at night in search of blood, ferociously killing everything that moves.
SPEAKER_05Everybody on their way back home from a fish fry.
SPEAKER_02But oh no, this gets better. With a preference for unbaptized babies, which causes families to baptize their children as soon as possible. Because this wasn't created by the church. Right. Before dawn, he looks for the same crossroads to become a man again. During Lent, however, his transformations happen every day and they become more aggressive, especially on Good Friday.
SPEAKER_00Be careful when you go get your fish.
SPEAKER_02In general, it's believed that a Lobisolman could be healed if he was seriously injured with certain objects. One of these objects was a bullet dipped in the wax of a candle from an altar where three midnight masses or three Sunday masses had been celebrated. This was so not made up by the Catholic Church.
SPEAKER_05How well does a bullet fire when it's been dipped in wax?
SPEAKER_02See, I had that same damn question.
SPEAKER_00I'm so glad somebody else had that question. So I have a little bit more information about a sighting that happened of the Lobisomen in 2023. Oh, so recently. Fairly recently. I want to know about his horse elbows. So the fear of werewolves, as you can see, seems to permeate all cultures. In a country of Argentina, uh, werewolf sightings continue to occur and frighten locals and the internet alike. So according to yourweather.co.uk, a video showing the image of a creature on all fours crawling through a street surfaced in April of 2023. That image appeared on the streets of the Dr. Montana neighborhood and the city of Corrientes, Argentina, a place that's been known for werewolf sightings. The video was taken with a cell phone, and after being analyzed, the conclusion was that it could very well be a real werewolf. The difference between the European werewolf and the Argentinian werewolf is at the time that they shift, as Courtney stated. In Europe and in North America, werewolf turns its skin on on a full moon. But in Argentina, the werewolf can shift on Fridays at midnight, which is pretty much when this video was taken. So this was a werewolf, it was not a jupagabra? No, they think it was a lobisoman, a werewolf. But you know, when we look at one of the images that I included for our live presentation, it honestly the lobisoman looks like it's like a 1980s like rocker wolf with um a 1980s wrestling what do they call those?
SPEAKER_02The spandex singlet.
SPEAKER_00Singlets. Except this isn't a singlet. This is more like a jock strap and a little bit of a necklace.
SPEAKER_02It looks like one of those Japanese ones that we did for uh which podcast was that? But yeah. We have to stop doing so many. We forget which one was which. He looks like one of the Japanese flying fish coming out of the water.
SPEAKER_00Oh, yeah, probably for the murk. Yes. Yeah. But yes, recent as 2023 is the last time that they've claimed to see a lobisoman. Now, usually a photograph or video taken with a cell phone wouldn't be great, but thankfully, 2023, we still have relatively good technology that, you know, this could legitimately be analyzed and looked at and determined. I want to know who determined it though.
SPEAKER_02And is 2023 still early, late, whatever enough for could it have been AI or was it I mean that's possible.
SPEAKER_00That's the worst part about cryptids now, is that we're always gonna be asking, is this AI?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I know it's unfortunate. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00All right, anything more in South America? So now we head to werewolves in North America. And we're gonna start in the country of Mexico.
SPEAKER_05In Mexico, the werewolf or nahual is a big part of their stories and beliefs. People think nahuals are special because they can turn themselves into animals. For many, being a nahal means that you have a special job to protect your community and keep balance with the natural world. In Mesoamerica and Toltec, spiritual traditions, a nahual refers to a human being who can access spiritual power through transformation or deep connection with their tonal counterpart. The ability is not merely about shapeshifting, but also about guiding spiritual development and fostering personal transformation by bridging the physical and metaphysical realms. Nahualism involves the belief that each person possesses a dual aspect, the tonal representing their everyday awareness and ego, and the nahual represents their deeper limitless self. Think higher being.
SPEAKER_00Think soul.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. The nahual serves as a guide, helping individuals access hidden potential and spiritual insight by harmonizing these two aspects.
SPEAKER_00That's really interesting, though, how they bring up this concept of the tonal, and like even the term tonal, you know, you think about it as an energetic frequency, you know, a tone frequency is honestly what I thought of when you say it. And that harmonizing the two, it's very musically inclined. But it also goes along with kind of how the Irish saw their werewolves, which was to help others. It's just you know, slightly different.
SPEAKER_02So as he was also discussing it, it brought up two different things. One is something that we don't usually discuss around here, and two, watchers. We have watchers around this area, and that's what I it made me think about is they can take any form, any shape. And this one discussed as taking the shape of the werewolf.
SPEAKER_00You know, it becomes a question of in Mexico. Why? Why the werewolf? You know, why is it shape shifting into that shape? But yeah, it makes a lot of sense.
SPEAKER_02But it also crosses how many different nationalities or areas belief systems.
SPEAKER_00Right. That's true. Very interesting. I like how Mexico sees it. If we look at Native American folklore, we see that wolves are often respected as strong and wise creatures. Some Native American stories talk about werewolves as special beings who can change shape to teach or protect their people, but not all. In Navajo, another word for wolf is my koi, meaning witch. The Navajo fear of wolves derives not from the nature of the animal, but rather from the potential for monstrous behavior from humans. Both the Navajo and the Hopi believe that human witches use or possibly abuse the wolf's powers to influence other people. While Europeans warned of a wolf in sheep's clothing, some Native American tribal beliefs cautioned against a human in wolf's clothing. Interesting. Literally, the Navajo wolf or witch can also be referred to as a skinwalker. Not all Navajo witches are skinwalkers, but all skinwalkers are witches. In some Native American myths, a skinwalker is a person with a supernatural ability to turn into any animal he or she desires. To effect this transformation, legends suggest that skinwalkers need to wear a pelt of the animals they desire to metamorphose into, though this is not always considered necessary. In addition to transforming into animals, the skinwalker has other powers. He or she can read others' minds, control people's thoughts and behavior, bring forth disease, destroy homes, and even cause death. Trained in both physical medicine for the body and spiritual medicine for the spirit, skinwalkers braid the two practices tightly together, as most skinwalkers at one time served in the position of a healer and spiritual guide for their communities. Initiation into the deviant life of a skinwalker mandates breaking the killing taboo and taking the life of a member of their immediate family, usually a sibling.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. In Canada, the loop guru is believed to be a cursed man. In the French Canadian tradition, a loop guru is often guilty of not being a good Christian. For example, people who did not confess during Easter could be cursed to become werewolves. The spell could last for as long as 101 days. It would take hold of the victim every evening. They were then forced to wander the countryside in animal form. The spell might be broken if someone recognized the individual while transformed and could draw blood from the animal. Neither person could speak of this incident for fear of worse reprisals. The loop guru of 1767 had been stalking through the colony for years. The Gazette's first report had been published by the previous summer that June, the werewolf had been spotted outside the stone walls of Quebec City. It was in disguise as a beggar to better stalk its prey. The most recent sighting suggested the creature was headed in the direction of Montreal. The newspaper warned its readers to be careful. It recommends to the public to be as cautious of him as it would be of a ravenous wolf.
SPEAKER_02The Rougarou legend has been spread for many generations, either directly from French settlers to Louisiana, New France, or via the French Canadian immigrants centuries ago. In the Crayol and Cajun legends, the creature is said to prowl in the swamps around Acadiana and Greater New Orleans and the sugarcane fields and woodlands of the regions. The Rougarou most often is described as a creature with a human body and the head of a wolf or dog, similar to the werewolf legend. Often the storytelling has been used to inspire fear and obedience. One such example is stories that have been told by elders to persuade crayle and Cajun children to behave. According to another variation, the wolf-like beast will hunt down and kill Catholics who do not follow the rules of Lent. This coincides with the French Catholic loop guru stories, according to which the method of turning into a werewolf is to break Lent seven years in a row. I'm gonna be a werewolf. Yep, me too. A common blood sucking legend says that the rougaro is under the spell for 101 days. After that time, the curse is transferred from person to person when the rougaroo draws another human's blood. During that day, the creature returns to human form. Although acting sickly, the human refrains from telling others of the situation for fear of being killed. Other stories range from the rougaro as a rabbit to the rougaroo being derived from witchcraft. In the later claim, only a witch can make a rouguru, either by turning into a wolf herself or by cursing others with lycanthropy.
SPEAKER_00So we have the loot guru in the French-speaking part of Canada. Then we have the Rougarou in the Creole and French-speaking parts of the US and by Louisiana. Interesting. And both focus around the Catholic Church in Lent. I'm starting to notice the theme here. Yeah, well, I'm about to take us to Pennsylvania for some dogman sightings. So we're going a little more recent. Recent sightings of a dogman occurred in 2014 in Pennsylvania. And before the sightings were common in the 1960s, the dogman of Pennsylvania is between six and seven feet tall and weighs up to 500 pounds, according to eyewitnesses. What?
SPEAKER_05What did they have a bathroom scale there?
SPEAKER_00Could you please just take a sip of the dogman? It's like, I eat a lotter, right?
SPEAKER_05Stop judging. He's fluffy. He probably only weighs 300. Probably.
SPEAKER_00They say he is totally covered in hair, and some say he has the body of a man and the head of a wolf. Penn Live claims reports of the dogman in Pennsylvania date as far back as the late 18th century. What's interesting is, and this is how it's connected to the two that you spoke about, the first reported sighting of the dogman is in the journal of a French fur trader, but it was given the name Lou Garou by that fur trader. So we also have, of course, the most famous dogman sightings in Michigan. The origin of the dogman legend in Michigan can be traced back to the late 19th century. The first reported sighting of the dogman was in 1887 in Wexford County, Michigan, by a couple of lumberjacks. They described the creature as a seven-foot-tall monster with a dog's head and the torso of a man. And it was said to have blue or amber eyes with a howl that sounded like a human. Now, I just want to know if it has the head of a dog, it's gonna be hairy, right? Is the body hairy or is it like what I picture it, which is, you know, like totally hairless.
SPEAKER_05Like Sven in Chewbacca.
SPEAKER_00Is he totally hairy?
SPEAKER_05All hairy.
SPEAKER_00All hairy.
SPEAKER_02Good.
SPEAKER_00Oh boy. Anyway, he is said to walk upright on his two hind legs. There have even been numerous sightings throughout Michigan, but mostly in the northwest lower peninsula of the state. Claims that the dogman appears every 10 years, but there is a new sighting arriving on years ending in the number seven.
SPEAKER_02There's that seven again. Yep. All right. And isn't there dogman sightings in Wisconsin?
SPEAKER_00Oh, yes, there are, but we'll get to that in a little bit.
SPEAKER_02I thought we were kind of moving a little closer to home there. We are.
SPEAKER_00And then we'll move a little farther away and then a little closer back. So, Courtney, take us to Alaska.
SPEAKER_02All right. In Inuit mythology, Okloot is a spirit that takes form of both wolf and an orca. It is a vicious, dangerous beast. Its tracks can be recognized because they are wolf tracks that lead to and from the ocean. Often dogs seen walking to the ocean are and or into it are considered evil. Little is known of the spirit other than that its shape shifts from an orca to a wolf when hungry. Not many myths relate to this creature, but a great number of myths tell of creatures that shift their shape. It is normally portrayed as a mix of an orca and a wolf. It has been said that this is a dangerous creature, but most of the Inuit did not know what was attacking them while trying to get fish out in the Arctic Sea. The only thing they could think of was the wolf tracks coming out of the water. The Occolut is a very vicious and even attacks you if you have fallen asleep near the edge. Sometimes it goes as far as the Inuit camp to snatch them up. It has a furious appetite and would eat anything that's close by. The legend is there are many stories of how the accolate came to be, but this legend is the most popular. It's about a man who is obsessed with the sea and wants to be with it all the time. After coming off the shore, he returns to his village, but his people don't recognize him. Because he has become too obsessed with the ocean, he gets banned from the village. While out on his own, he finds a pack of wolves, and because he is so hungry, like a wolf, for revenge, he becomes one with them. One day his affection for the ocean becomes so insane that he jumps into the ocean to be with it. He then transforms into an orca. Thus he now swims as an orca, being at ease. But whenever his hunger for revenge is once again awoken, he comes to land and transforms into a wolf.
SPEAKER_00So he transforms forth between wolf and orca.
SPEAKER_02He's not like half wolf orca. Correct. Okay. But yet he's also a man.
SPEAKER_05So well, I think he started as a man.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_00And now he's wolf orca orca wolf. I'm not sure what box you would check on an application. What do you identify as?
SPEAKER_02I don't think those boxes are even on there. This sir is very confused. It is. Um, there is a couple of explanations though, so we got a little bit more. Arctic wolves can swim in icy water. This would be an explanation as to why there are always footprints leading out of the water. There's the explanation that the chunk of ice the Arctic wolf was coming from going to simply broke off, with the wolf still on it, or with the wolf already having left, but a few meters away. The second solution is somewhat more mysterious and still some kind of myth. It says that sometimes when older Arctic wolves are being rejected by a pack, they would commit suicide by jumping in the cold icy water and drowning themselves.
SPEAKER_00I'm like, well, so there we have it. Alright, well, we're gonna head from the Arctics of Alaska down to Florida.
SPEAKER_02Oh, here we are. Florida always makes an appearance weird.
SPEAKER_00There are even accounts of real werewolf sightings in the state of Florida. If you have ever visited Central Florida, you'll notice that much of the land is made up of a swamp. There are plenty of places for things to hide. Just Central Florida. One particular story is of a large wolf-like creature called a dogman, seen by more than three people in a neighborhood in the early 2000s. More recently, a hunter in Bardwin saw a werewolf that was nine feet tall near his truck. According to author Mark Muncy in his book Freaky Florida, Sally Gage, an anthropologist and descendant of the Anishabi tribe, loves to point out that early Native American art with Wolfman images, more and more believe that these might involve Native American interaction with dogmen dating before recorded history. So we're still seeing dogmen. Granted, it's Florida. Take it with a grain of salt. I'd be like, dude, I'm out. There's also real werewolf sightings occurring in Illinois, closer to home. One individual even believes Google Earth captured the image of a werewolf on an aerial picture from 2007. This individual claims to have seen a werewolf-like creature in the exact same spot that this Google Earth image was picturing. Apparently, this person is not the first to have a real werewolf sighting in Illinois. There are eyewitness accounts in Illinois dating back to the 1960s. And that's actually where we're about to head is the 1960s and the Beast of Bray Road in Wisconsin because they're wondering could this creature being seen in Illinois have been connected to the Beast of Bray Road in Wisconsin? They're not terribly far away from each other. So as promised, we're headed to Wisconsin to talk about the Beast of Bray Road. Kent, take us there.
SPEAKER_05It starts in 1936. Mark Shackleman was the night watchman at St. Coletta's. One evening, while patrolling the grounds, he witnessed a large animal digging into a burial mound. The creature noticed Shackleman, then fled upright on two legs into the nearby woods. Shackleman, not sure what he saw the previous night, returned to the site the next morning to confirm that the mound had been dug into. The diggings bore the distinctive mark of a three-fingered creature, which baffles me because even wolves have four fingers. Anywho, that night, when Shackleman returned to the mound, he once again saw the beast, hunched over, still digging. The night watchman pointed the beam of his flashlight at the crouched figure. It suddenly stood upright and confronted him. Shackleman could now clearly see the face and features of a tall, dog-like beast covered in fur. It also had hands. Three fingers of each hand between the thumb and the small finger were very long, with jutting claw-like nails. Shackleman, a level-headed man who kept this incident to himself for most of his life, was frightened in place. He did the only thing he could think of. He prayed aloud. That's what I would have done probably first. The creature turned and walked away. I don't know if it was from the praying or from the pissing of the pants.
SPEAKER_00Oh, not another religious one. I gotta go.
SPEAKER_05Right. Sixteen miles away in the Norwegian tobacco country of southeast Dane County is the town of Deerfield. In the early 1970s, two sightings were made of a calm, eerie scene involving a bipedal canine-like creature. Both scenes were witnessed at dusk in a cemetery just outside of town. A passing driver saw what appeared to be a tall, hairy creature with a snout, fully dressed in gentleman's evening clothes of a bygone era, top hat and tails. He was a very distinguished gentleman werewolf. Yes, he was. It was standing still among the headstones. The driver pulled his car to the side of the road and took a second look. The dapper beast was still there. I've been called that a time or two. The driver related his story to a local man who quickly laughed it off because he was that beast. One month later, a salesman from Minnesota, a man not acquainted with the first witness, was visiting that same local man. The salesman told the exact same story, with one difference being that when he pulled over his car to get a closer look, the creature turned its head and met his gaze. The salesman was reportedly much shaken, probably because of the roads in Wisconsin.
SPEAKER_00Right. Maybe he pissed his pants. We don't know.
SPEAKER_05I think everyone involved probably pissed their pants.
SPEAKER_00So a lot of these stories of the Beast of Bray Road, we have learned about compliments of a wonderful journalist named Linda Godfrey. She is from the Lake Geneva area and unfortunately is no longer with us. She had passed away a few years ago. But I want to share with you some of the stories that she collected regarding the Beast of Bray Road. Because if you were to type into Google, like werewolf hotspot, which I did, do you know what it brings up? Wisconsin.
SPEAKER_04London.
SPEAKER_00Not London, Wisconsin. So here in Wisconsin, we are seen as sort of the werewolf capital of at least the United States.
SPEAKER_02Is that, I wonder, like a Bigfoot thing? Like werewolves?
SPEAKER_00Are they Are they connected with Bigfoot? Yeah. So if there's a lot of Bigfoots, are there gonna be a lot of werewolves? Yeah. Yeah, I don't know. It's a good question. So according to Linda, Bray Road is an unlikely place to hunt for monsters of any type. It is a three-plus mile-long stretch connecting Highway 11 east of Elkhorn with County Road Double N. The road is a country lane lined with old family farms, marshy meadows, cornfields, and scrubby woods. The road serves as an alternative route to the county law enforcement offices, nursing home, and hospital. So it isn't exactly isolated either. Nonetheless, people were claiming something really strange was out there. There were hints that the occult might be involved, you know, because there's always hints of the occult.
SPEAKER_02Of course there is. Every day.
SPEAKER_00Right. But Linda was getting this information from another freelance writer. And the woman herself who was giving this information didn't really want to write about it. And so it was kind of left up to Linda to do so. So she started with the freelancer's bus driver friend, Pat Lester. Lester lived in Spring Prairie, which is a tiny community east of Elkhorn on Highway 11, not far from Bray Road. And Pat was the mother of a young woman named Lori and Drizy. Lester told me that one day she had told Doris Gibson, a teenager who rode her bus and was also Lester's neighbor, about something weird Lori had seen a year or two earlier on Bray Road. As Lester told Gibson of Lori's experience with what appeared to be a wolf or a large dog but with human characteristics, she noticed Gibson was looking at her with shocked expression. Gibson had seen the exact same thing. The surprised teen had told Lester, but she had been too afraid to tell anyone else about it. And Drisi had been too frightened of what she saw to spread her horror story around as well. She didn't want people to think she was crazy. But neither Gibson nor Andrezi had ever forgotten the strange creature they saw. And Lester told me she had heard some unusual howling at night, not far from Spring Prairie. Finding out that Gibson had also seen something strange, Andrezi had recently told her story to John Frederickson, an animal control officer for Walworth County, hoping he could shed some light on the animal. Unexpectedly, Andrezi and Frederickson had a very spooky experience while discussing the sightings. Andrisi had always had an eerie feeling about what she had seen, and like the freelancer, who Linda was talking to, thought it might be related to some type of unspecified cult activity. She and John Frederickson were discussing that possibility. She said when suddenly several books on a shelf fastened to the wall in Frederickson's office jumped off the shelf as if they were pushed and fell to the floor.
SPEAKER_02I'm sorry, what does that have to do with the beast of Ray Road?
SPEAKER_00They were talking about the beast when this happened. I mean, I get that, but no one had banged on a door, you know, banged a door shut or anything like that. So there was no reason for them to fall. The shelf had bookends on it. And Drezy said, We just looked at each other and stopped talking about it.
SPEAKER_05Makes me wonder what these books were that fell, if they were something that would be relevant to the conversation.
SPEAKER_00Possibly. She was trying to understand what this animal was, so she's talking to an animal control officer. Not to mention that John Frederickson eventually would develop a file on werewolves in Wisconsin and on the Beast of Bright Road, because there would be so many sightings. And he would eventually show that werewolf file to Linda Godfrey. And she was like, You have a file on this stuff? He's like, Yeah, of course I do. It was reported to me.
SPEAKER_05He seems like a type A personality.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_00Reminds me of me. Anyway. And Drizy would eventually share her story with Linda of what happened that night. And here it is. She was driving home via Bray Road one night, two years earlier in the fall of 1989. Quote, when I saw this thing on the side of the road, it was about 1.30 in the morning, quiet and desolate, which made the creature all the more startling. And Drizy said its back was to her when she first sighted it, so she had a good look at its pointy ears. As she drove forward and saw the creature from the front, its position was what got her attention, however. It was kneeling. Its elbows were up and its claws were facing out, so I knew it had claws. I remember the long claws. The claws held a chunk of what looked like a dead and flattened small mammal or roadkill. She had the impression the creature had been dining upon it. Its eyes reflected the glow of her headlights as most animal eyes will at night. And she was surprised when the creature didn't run away, but turned its head to gaze back at her. She described the animal as dark brownish gray and the size of an average man, maybe five foot seven, and she only described this thing as a hundred and fifty pounds, not like five hundred pounds.
SPEAKER_02So if you think about it, the base of Bray Row doesn't. Give two fucks who sees it. It's like, hey, what's up? Set bitches.
SPEAKER_05We're unless it's digging in a mound.
SPEAKER_02Well, well, when someone's pissing themselves and praying, you're not gonna stick around.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Where Daryl's like, uh-uh, you can't see me. I'm out.
SPEAKER_00That's because Daryl doesn't like humans.
SPEAKER_02I I get that. I feel that deeply. Him and I we're bonding over that.
SPEAKER_00To determine to figure out what she had seen, Andrezi went to the library and began searching through books until she came across an illustration labeled werewolf in the Golden Book of Mysterious by Western Publishing in 1976.
SPEAKER_04Is that a little golden book?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I was wondering the same thing, but it doesn't really say.
SPEAKER_04We'll have to look for that.
SPEAKER_00The drawing of a creature with wolf-like head and human knees was it, said Andrizi. It was night and it was quite late, but I know what I saw. You don't mistake something like that. Andrisi said the creature was so manlike that she felt right away she was seeing something supernatural. To this day, she believes it was satanic, she told Linda Godfrey in an interview. It was just my feeling. I don't really believe in werewolves per se, but I believe something could be well conjured up. My grandmother was very religious, and she believed it too. We then have another sighting from a sledding party in the Spring Prairie area. So we have 13-year-old Heather Bowie. She also had an encounter with the Beast of Bray Road. Heather had seen the creature two previous years when she was 10 or 11 while playing with a small group of friends and cousins. In late December 1990, the children had been sledding near a creek and were on their way home just before dusk when they saw what appeared to be a large dog. She said she thought it was a big dog until it stood up. We said, What do you mean? It stood up. That's Heather's mother talking. Although Heather begged her parents to go back with her and see it, no one was inclined to do so. So the girl who's only how old was like, let's go back and find him. Or no, she's 13. I'm sorry. She's 13. Yeah, she's she's like brave as all hell. And her parents are like, fuck no. She's not worried about Satan. Heather's description of the creature was chilling. It had silver-colored fur with brown in it, and its face was shaped like a coyote's, but the back legs were shaped differently. When it stood up, they looked bigger than a dog or coyote's. Like they could stand up and jump and stuff. This total 13-year-old. The creature's aggressive looking was something that all of the witnesses had noticed. An unabashed stare that they perceived as unnatural and challenging. It seemed to be what scared people the most.
SPEAKER_02He wants to go.
SPEAKER_00The animal just kept looking at the children while they looked back until the children sensed something was wrong and began to run. The creature chased them. Kind of like a dog would run, but with bigger leaps. It got halfway to the house, then turned around and went back into the cornfield. Why do you think it turned back?
SPEAKER_02Because it chased them into the house. It didn't want him outside. Got what it wanted.
SPEAKER_05It wasn't gonna go into the house after them.
SPEAKER_02So what did it want, Courtney? I feel like it's one of those watcher things where it's like, okay, get off my land.
SPEAKER_00You little shitheads.
SPEAKER_05Get off my porch. Yep.
SPEAKER_00Goddamn kids these days.
SPEAKER_02Stay off my front yard, you little fucks.
SPEAKER_00It's the grand turismo of spirits. Get off my porch, you goddamn kids.
SPEAKER_02I mean, the way they make it sound, it's not afraid of anything.
SPEAKER_00And no, it challenges things.
SPEAKER_02Right. It just chased the kids in the house, and it was like, okay, job's done. Brushes its hands and away it goes.
SPEAKER_05But if it's not afraid enough to run away from people, then yeah, then makes me wonder why somebody hasn't tried to take a shot at it yet.
SPEAKER_02That's the part I don't get.
SPEAKER_05It should be strung up in the back of a pickup truck with people standing next to it all proud and stupid.
SPEAKER_00It's kind of like Bigfoot, though. That same question has been asked about Bigfoot. Right. What if it's too much, kind of like Bigfoot, from people we know who have seen Bigfoot? What if it's too much little man looking for people to be able to actually take a shot at it? So, what could be the explanation for werewolves? Court, what's one of the explanations?
SPEAKER_02Well, I've got medical theories here. Throughout history, outbreaks of ergoutism have been documented, particularly in Europe. One of the most notable incidents occurred in 944 AD in France, where ergo poisoning led to widespread hallucinations, gangrene, and convulsions. Reported cases of werewolf sightings in Europe often corresponded to these times when there were outbreaks. Another significant case is associated with the Salem witch trials in 1692, where some historians believe ergotism may have contributed to symptoms reported by the accusers. Some scholars think that werewolf stories may have been inspired by real-life medical conditions. The most commonly suggested conditions are hypertrychosis, a congenital disorder that causes excessive hair growth. Rabies, which is contracted from animal bites, damn you animals, and can cause a person to become aggressive and foam at the mouth. And of course, your mental illnesses, such as lycanthropy, named for the Greek legend of lycan, and belief that one can change into a wolf. Fuck that. There have also been stories of human children who are believed to have grown up in the wild. These are fascinating. They were said to have been raised by wolves. These so-called feral children were described as exhibiting animal-like behaviors such as running on all fours and foraging and hunting for food, as well as having exceptional hearing and possessing no language. One of the most well-known of these children was a boy called Peter the Wild Boy, who in 1725 was found living alone in a forest in Hanover, Germany. Modern doctors believe that Peter's behavior was a result of Pitt Hopkins syndrome, a rare genetic condition that causes impaired speech, seizures, distinctive facial features, difficulty breathing, poor coordination, and intellectual challenges.
SPEAKER_00Another explanation for werewolves is spiritual protectors, as we kind of heard from Mexico and Ireland. It has been noted that most states who have werewolf sightings, especially Wisconsin, where we are, these sightings are most prevalent in areas of Native American or early First Nation people's sacred sites. Wisconsin's Beast of Bray Road is near Ostalan State Park. This is a national historic landmark and contains one of Wisconsin's most important archaeological sites, showcasing an ancient Middle Mississippian village that thrived between AD 100 and 1300. The people who settled in Ostalan built large, flat-topped pyramidal mounds and a stockade around their village. Nearby in the town of Lake Mills is Rock Lake, the site of an ongoing investigation into underwater stone structures, purported to be that of an ancient necropolis or city of the dead. The connections between Wisconsin's ancient mounds, earthworks, and sacred places and these incidents are a recurring common factor.
SPEAKER_05Another one to consider is a shamanic transformation theory. There's historical and mythic roots that seem to directly connect with the horned god and shamanic practices. While wolves are known as the first canines to bond with humans at the dawn of time, the roots of this primal magic still reside today in our hearts and on our loyal canine companions, especially the pug. Many people in many countries have been magically transformed into different kinds of animals for centuries. It seems there are two intertwining threads here, the mythical and the magical. You can be born as a werewolf. Folklore tells us to say people can be born as werewolves as a result of a curse being put on an infant or the pregnant mother. Others mention a curse for those born on Christmas. Why? Because that birthday is an affront to God, it seems. So you must suffer. Go figure.
SPEAKER_02Thank God Mason just missed that.
SPEAKER_05Right? Now are we talking the December 25th birthday or the actual one in September?
SPEAKER_00We don't know.
SPEAKER_05Probably the one about September 2nd. Still other sources simply say that there are lineage of werewolves among us, that some families have the lycanthropy gene, if you will, born under a full moon, but not always a bad moon. Romulus and Ramus were raised by Lupa, the eternal spirit guardian of Rome, and thus all Romans venerated wolves and their children dogs. The ancient divine Germanic hero Siegfried was abandoned at birth and raised by a she-wolf. Tuken, the mythic hero who founded the Turek peoples in prehistory, was raised by a blue she wolf. There are many such examples of demigods born from or raised by a sacred wolf. These were forever known as filled with wolf power and magic. Werewolves. Such wolf people were often looked up to as warriors and leaders in ancient cultures, including Viking berserkers and Celtic druids who were said to be able to shape shift into wolf forms. Some claim that hereditary werewolves can be nice and not kill humans. Very nice of them to be that way. But people who become werewolves due to curses are simply cursed forever, according to later Christian myths, which also maintained that all werewolves were headed to hell.
SPEAKER_02Why do the Christians always have to wreck everything?
SPEAKER_00Last but not least, you can become a werewolf through sorcery, witchcraft, or magic.
SPEAKER_02Game on, that's my call.
SPEAKER_00From ancient times, it has been said that a shaman or sorcerer can make you a werewolf through a ritual or a spell. Or that you can do a ritual yourself to become one. Since magically this is the juiciest way to become a werewolf, let's look at what kinds of rituals we are talking about. You bet. Juicy. Here are some ritual components often mentioned in several traditional Western grimoires or books of magic concerning werewolf rituals. Do I have to get those pants that say juicy?
SPEAKER_05I thought you had some.
SPEAKER_00Only to become a werewolf court.
unknownFuck.
SPEAKER_00Here's what you gotta do, girl. Wearing a wolf skin or a magical belt of wolf or of human skin Edge will make you one under the right conditions. Using a psychoactive ointment can do it too. Smearing one's body with it. For example, boiled wolf spane, opium, foxcloves, bat blood, and the fat of a murdered child.
SPEAKER_02I'm just gonna say, isn't half of that really bad? And then it gets to a murdered child. Well then, friends?
SPEAKER_00Other recipes for werewolf body rub call for such ingredients as hemlock, poppy seed, belladonna, nightshade, and animal fat of some kind.
SPEAKER_02You know, most of that is gonna kill you too. No shit. Usually the fat of a wolf. Not that I know any of this stuff.
SPEAKER_00That is a lot of psychoactive ingredients. A brew like this was often to be cooked up in an iron cauldron in a thrice-cast circle during such self-transformation rates before being rubbed on the body or eaten.
SPEAKER_02You know, you fucking cook that shit up. I would believe I was fucking anything. Wolf? Fucking Daryl.
SPEAKER_00Another way to become a werewolf is to ritually eat the brains of an animal a wolf has killed, or by eating the flesh of a wolf itself. Cooked, one hopes. Or you could ritually drink rainwater collected in a wolf print or go drinking from a wolf watering hole. God, I really hope that's rainwater, not piss. There is a logo bar in town, you know, and maybe the logo bar. Yeah, in in a town, you know, could suffice. Another ritual of for wolf transformation is jumping over a log, stabbing it with a copper knife, and uttering an incantation. The log, right? Yes. This right is from Russia. Another ritual explicitly calls for the casting of a circle in the woods and invoking the lord of the forest. In 1603, a 12-year-old shepherd boy, Jean Grenier, claimed that the Lord of the Forest had given him a magical wolf skin, an ointment that turned him into a wolf.
SPEAKER_02I have that actually, the paper on that. He got accused of raping and killing all these people. Alright, here it is. In the year 1603, a case of lycanthropy was brought before the Parliament of Bordeaux. The person accused was a boy of 14 called Jean Grenier, who herded cattle. Several witnesses, chiefly young girls, came forward as his accusers, declaring that he had attacked and wounded them in the disguise of a wolf and would have killed them but for the vigorous defense they made with sticks. Jean Grenier himself avowed to the crime, confessing to have killed and eaten several children, and the father of the children. You confirmed all he had said. Jean Grenier, however, appears to have been little removed from an idiot. So in other words, he had some mental illnesses.
SPEAKER_00Oh, poor Joan.
SPEAKER_02At 14.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So we're at this point of the podcast where we ask you, what do you think? You know, ancient werewolf symbols often carried meanings of transformation, primal instincts, and the duality of human nature. Spirituality and the werewolf symbolizes the duality of human nature and the balance between primal instincts and civilized behavior and the transformative journey of self-discovery and personal growth and powerful instinct. But with that in mind, is it just simply metaphorical or do werewolves actually exist? I don't know. What do you think, Kent? Do they exist?
SPEAKER_05I think they exist in some forms of spirituality. But as far as just in the wild, no.
SPEAKER_00I don't know. I think it's possible. Just like I know Bigfoot exists, I think it's possible a werewolf could exist.
SPEAKER_05When I come across Bigfoot and werewolves playing cribbage at a table in the woods, then I'll believe in all of that.
SPEAKER_00Alright then. So, listeners, what do you think? Do they exist? And on that note, keep it weird.
SPEAKER_02Keep it wonderful.
SPEAKER_05And keep it woohoo.