Page 61 - All About History - Issue 186-19

The History Of Werewolves

WEREWOLFSYNDROME The famous transformation scene in 1981’s

An American Werewolf In London
EXPLAINED

A quick guide to hypertrichosis

Colloquially known as werewolf syndrome,
hypertrichosis is a rare skin condition that
results in an unusual amount of hair growth
over the body. The condition is associated with
a hereditary mutation that can be present at
birth, but can also be acquired as a reaction
to drugs, cancer or eating disorders. In the
later form the condition can be reduced
through treatment, but there’s no cure for
the congenital form of hypertrichosis.
The first recorded case of the condition
was that of Petrus Gonsalvus of Tenerife,
documented by Ulisse Aldrovandi, who arrived
at the court of Henry II of France in 1547. Both
Gonsalvus, his children and grandchildren
had the condition. It’s possible that his story
inspired Beauty And The Beast. People with the
condition would often be hired as part of freak
show acts in the 19th century. Today fewer than
50 cases are documented worldwide.

3x © Alamy

modern werewolf, from horror films and young Darker Than You Think (1948), and Greye La
adult fiction alike, finds its origins in these gothic Spina’s Invaders From The Dark (1960). The
tales. One of the most famous gothic werewolf tradition pushed further into cultural memory
stories is George WM Reynolds’s Wagner The with the first mainstream film to portray a
Wehr-wolf, published in 1847, which tells the story werewolf transformation, Werewolf Of London,
of a Fernand Wagner, who makes a pact with released in 1935. It inspired the later film, An
the Devil for the gift of transformation. A novel American Werewolf In London (1981), which was
that influenced the werewolf tradition, although revolutionary for its use of special effects and
it does not reference a werewolf specifically, is reenergised the werewolf in popular culture. The
Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr transformation scene, in which the main character
Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886). The dual nature of man, is changed into a werewolf, is still considered to be
and the depiction of the ‘curse’ as both physical some of the best effects of its time.
(transformation) and mental (madness) heavily When computer generated images (CGI) became
influenced later appearances of the werewolf in the latest technological marvel of cinema, the
fiction. The first female-authored werewolf tale, werewolf gained traction once again through films
The Were-wolf (1896), was written by Clemence such as the Harry Potter series (2001 – 2011), the
Housman and is widely considered to be Underworld franchise (2003 – 2016), Van Helsing
a classic within the Gothic genre. It was (2004), and (many) more that began to explore
during this time that the werewolf the werewolf archetype and add to the tradition.
stereotype was beginning to solidify, to Drawing on material from the considerable
be explored and expanded during the examples before them, werewolves could now be
20th century. killed by silver bullets, their transformations were
at the behest of the lunar cycle, and they were
THE MODERN WEREWOLF violent and murderous. But they also showed
depth and individualism in ways that reflected
Image source: wiki/Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien While never treated as an werewolf explode within confused and unclear, but the running theme
the diversity of the traditions.
The early 1900s saw the
The history of the werewolf is sometimes
popular culture, and the
connecting the werewolf throughout its historical
century introduced classic
appearances is the concrete belief that the
texts such as Guy Endore’s
werewolf, in both human and wolf form, is
The Werewolf Of Paris
equal, Petrus Gonsalvus
inherently evil.
(1933), Jack Williamson’s
was a nobleman and moved
between the courts of Europe
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