March 28, 2024, 06:23:13 am
Welcome,
Guest
. Please
login
or
register
.
1 Hour
1 Day
Forever
Login with username, password and session length
News
: Hunt for Lost City of Atlantis
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3227295.stm
Home
Help
Arcade
Gallery
Links
Staff List
Calendar
Login
Register
THE NEW IMPROVED BEAST
Atlantis Online
>
Forum
>
Halloween & Seasonal
>
Monsters of Myth, Movies & Folklore
>
THE NEW IMPROVED BEAST
>
Message #121365
Pages: [
1
]
Go Down
« previous
next »
Print
Author
Topic: THE NEW IMPROVED BEAST (Read 200 times)
0 Members and 25 Guests are viewing this topic.
Jean
Hero Member
Posts: 125
Re: THE NEW IMPROVED BEAST
«
on:
December 28, 2008, 03:47:22 am »
WOLVES IN THE FOLD
"Throughout the ages [the wolf] was known as the savage plunderer and swift pitiless marauder of the shepherd's grazing flocks, not sparing to attack child and maid or even the solitary wayfarer by the wood ... the wolf has ever been the inevitable, remorseless enemy of man." So wrote the excitable Reverend Montague Summers in his massive 1933 volume The Werewolf, an exhaustive nonfiction study of furry people through the ages.
THE ANCIENT WEREWOLF: Summers and other scholars have shown that in ancient times wolves were a big deal all over Europe, most of Asia, and the Americas. In Greece and the Baltic region, cults worshipped the wolf as a powerful but fickle deity. Germans believed that after death, honorable ancestors became wolves. But other cultures wouldn't come near a wolf, even in the afterlife. As Summers says, "In classical authors the wolf is the eternal symbol of ferocity and inordinate evil appetite, hard by which rides cruel devouring lust."
Actually, little evidence survives that wolves ever attacked humans, except during hard, hungry winters. But humans certainly believed in wolf attacks, and in the heady realm of folklore, belief amounts to reality. Throughout the ancient world voracious wolves inspired legends of the werewolf, a human who transforms into a wolf (were means "man" in Old English).
The ancient legends share only two points: The werewolf is evil, and it has a taste for human flesh. Other than these certainties, nobody got their stories straight. A werewolf could be male or female. It might become a wolf permanently, through enchantment, or assume wolf form at will. The werewolf might or might not need a wolf skin to change. In Germany, the skin of a hanged man worked just as well. Europeans believed that sunrise forced the werewolf to resume human form by taking off the skin. If he hid it in a cold place, he shivered all day, and if anybody found and destroyed the skin, this would destroy the werewolf.
Did the werewolf need a full moon to change? No. Did he fear silver? No. These beliefs came later -- much later. Some cultures had it that werewolves fear clear or running water, but again, no one agreed on anything.
Well then, if you couldn't scare the wolf, could you cure it? Unfortunately, werewolf cures sound about as convincing as those for hiccups. Elliott O'Donnell passed along a Belgian exorcism recipe in his 1912 book Werwolves (note the older spelling of "werewolves"):
"[A] werwolf is sprinkled with a compound either of 1/2 ounce of sulphur, 4 drachms of asafoetida, 1/4 ounce of castoreum; or of 3/4 ounce of hypericum in 3 ounces of vinegar; or with a solution of carbolic acid further diluted with a pint of clear spring water. The sprinkling must be done over the head and shoulders, and the werwolf must at the same time be addressed in his Christian name."
If you find little worth in the prospect of sprinkling water on and chatting with a frenzied man-eating beast who is about to disembowel you, O'Donnell agrees: "[A]s to the success or non-success of these various methods of exorcism I cannot make any positive statement.... As far as I know, once a werwolf always a werwolf is the inviolable rule."
THE MIDDLE AGES: When Christianity arrived in Europe, priests condemned pagan wolf worship and equated werewolves with Satan. Theologians, fresh from the important argument over the number of angels that can shimmy on a pinhead, debated long and hard whether the werewolf actually assumed literal wolf form, or whether Satan merely deluded his victims with illusion. No less an authority than St. Augustine announced the consensus, "that the Devil creates no new nature, but that he is able to make something appear to be which in reality is not."
Once the Church said werewolves were Satanically evil, that must have pretty much shut down the werewolf legends, right? Quite the opposite -- it opened the floodgates. Werewolf scares spread across Europe like the plague. Unlike people in our own enlightened time, medieval Europeans had no Communists, Islamic terrorists, or malevolent hackers to get hysterical over, so they made do with witches and werewolves. In central France between 1520 and 1630 there were thirty thousand reports of loups-garoux (the French term for werewolves), often followed by lynchings or confessions under torture. Weirdest of all are the many accused people who confessed freely, without torture, to all kinds of horrible wolfy acts that proved they were evil and could they please, please be punished.
Werewolf epidemics continued in the Renaissance. The biggest headliner in werewolf history is undoubtedly Peter Stubbe, whose sensational story obsessed Europe like a sixteenth-century version of the OJ Trial. In 1589 in the duchy of Westphalia outside Cologne (now northwestern Germany) a series of wolf attacks led hunters to a man named Peter Stubbe, who happened to be walking in the area where the wolf had supposedly vanished. Under torture Stubbe confessed to having made a pact with Satan, who gave him a belt that turned him into a wolf. Stubbe said he'd spent 25 years killing his son, other children, and livestock, eating the bodies, and committing incest with his sister and daughter. The authorities broke him on the wheel, pulled off his flesh with hot pincers, and then -- just to make sure -- cut off his head. They burned the sister and daughter. No one ever found the belt.
Report Spam
Logged
Pages: [
1
]
Go Up
Print
« previous
next »
Jump to:
Please select a destination:
-----------------------------
Atlantis Online - Messages
-----------------------------
=> Messages
=> Administrative Messages
=> Commemorating Dates in History
=> Alerts & Warnings
=> Upcoming Events, Releases & Ads
=> Television: Shows & Events
-----------------------------
the Coffee Shop
-----------------------------
=> the Coffee Shop
=> Atlantis: Polls & News
=> Poltical Alerts
=> Causes & Activism
-----------------------------
Videos, Documentaries & Online Movies
-----------------------------
=> Ancient History & Lost Civilizations
=> Ghosts, UFOs & the Esoteric
=> Music, Entertainment & the Arts
=> Conspiracies & Suppressed Knowledge
=> Documentary & Videos
-----------------------------
Ages of the Earth
-----------------------------
=> The Early Earth, Geology & Fossils
=> Dinosaurs
=> Catastrophes & Mass Extinctions
=> Ice Age
=> Humanity's Origins & Civilization's First Steps
-----------------------------
Mythology & Heroic Sagas of Culture & Myth
-----------------------------
=> Mythology
=> Greek Mythology
=> Arthurian Myth
=> Quest for King Arthur
-----------------------------
Atlantis
-----------------------------
=> Atlantis & the Atlantic Ocean
=> Atlantis: Theories & Speculation
=> Plato's Atlantis
=> the Scientific Atlantis
=> Geology & Atlantis
=> Atlantis & the New Age
=> Atlantis in the Media
-----------------------------
Satellite Discoveries & Alternate Archaeology
-----------------------------
=> Alternate Archaeology
=> Satellite Discoveries & Aerial Archaeology
=> the Bock Saga
-----------------------------
Maps, Explorers & Adventurers
-----------------------------
=> the Oceans
=> Islands
=> the Bahamas, Bermuda, Cuba & the West Indies
=> Explorers & Adventurers
=> Maps, Cartographers & Cartography
-----------------------------
Egypt & the Pyramids
-----------------------------
=> Gods of Egypt
=> Egypt & the Pyramids
=> the Giza Complex
=> the Dynasties of Egypt
=> Egypt: Latest Discoveries
-----------------------------
the Guanches, Basques, Berbers & Sea People
-----------------------------
=> Guanches, Basques & Berbers
=> Pirates, Phantom Islands & Stories of the Sea
=> the Sea People
-----------------------------
the Ancient World
-----------------------------
=> Neolithic Europe
=> Stonehenge & the Druids
=> the Library of Alexandria, Ancient Historians & Philosophers
=> Ancient Warfare
=> the Spartans
-----------------------------
the Dawn of Civilization
-----------------------------
=> Africa, the Cradle of Life
=> China & the Asian Empires
=> Eastern Mysticism, India, & the Ancient Far East
=> Zoroastrianism, Arabia & the Near East
=> the Sumerians
=> Ancient Asia Minor
=> Hawaii, Australia, Alaska & the Pacific Rim
-----------------------------
Ancient Mediterranean Cultures
-----------------------------
=> Minoan Crete
=> Phoenicians & Carthage
=> Mediterranean Islands
=> Israelities & the Kabbalah
=> Etruscans
=> Ancient Greece
=> Rome: Empire & Republic
-----------------------------
Ancient European Cultures
-----------------------------
=> The Picts & Celts
=> Ireland: History & Myths
=> Balkan History
=> Italy & Magna Graecia
=> the Vikings & Scandinavia
=> Germanic History
-----------------------------
Timelines of Ancient Europe
-----------------------------
=> History of Britain
=> Scotland: in History & Lore
=> Continental Europe: Past & Present
=> the Dark Ages
=> the Medieval World
=> The Renaissance
-----------------------------
the Ancient Americas
-----------------------------
=> the Ancient Americas
=> Peru: Mysteries & Prehistory
=> Mesoamerican & South American Cultures
===> Aztec
===> Incan
===> Olmec
===> Toltec & Teotihuacan
=> Mayan
=> Native American
=> Canada: Past & Present
-----------------------------
The Crusades, Templars & the Holy Grail
-----------------------------
=> the Crusades
=> the Knights Templar
=> The Holy Grail & Christian artifacts
=> The Sacred Feminine, the Cathars & Gnosticism
=> the Da Vinci Code
-----------------------------
Ancient Mysteries
-----------------------------
=> Philosophy
=> Ancient Mysteries
=> Lemuria, Mu & other sunken civilizations
=> Easter Island
=> Oak Island
-----------------------------
Archaeology & Anthropology
-----------------------------
=> Museums & Universities
=> Archaeology
=> Ancient Languages
=> Archaeological News
=> Underwater Archaeology
-----------------------------
Ancient Knowledge, Mysticism & Sacred Beliefs
-----------------------------
=> Ley Lines, Ancient Astronomy & Archeoastronomy
=> Prophecy, 2012, End Times & the End of the World
=> Sacred Symbols
=> The Ancient Arts: Astrology, Alchemy, the Tarot, Arcane Recondite Practices & the I Ching
-----------------------------
Search for the Sacred
-----------------------------
=> Angels & Angelology
=> Goddess Worship
=> Search for the Sacred
=> World Religions
=> the Urantia Book
=> Wicca, Witchcraft, Paganism & Ritual Magic
-----------------------------
Health & Healing
-----------------------------
=> Health, Healing & Medical News
=> Human Biology
=> Love & Relationships
=> Women's Studies
-----------------------------
Science & Technology
-----------------------------
=> Science, Physics & Technology
=> History of Science
=> Evolution vs. Intelligent Design
=> Human Genetics
-----------------------------
Earth Changes
-----------------------------
=> Earth Changes
=> Global Warming
=> Botany & Plant Life
===> Plants of the Americas that Changed the World
=> Antarctica & the Arctic
-----------------------------
Space
-----------------------------
=> NASA
=> Mars, the Red Planet
=> Life on Other Worlds
=> the Universe
=> Images from Space
-----------------------------
UFOs, Aliens & Future Science
-----------------------------
=> UFO's
=> Aliens & Alien Abduction
=> UFO Evidence & in the Media
=> Alternate History & Multiverses
=> Future Science
=> Time Travel
-----------------------------
the Occult
-----------------------------
=> Ghosts & Apparitions
=> Communicating with the Dead
=> Paranormal Events, Reincarnation & Near Death Experiences
=> the Enchanted World
=> the Supernatural
=> the Occult
-----------------------------
the Unexplained
-----------------------------
=> Cryptozoology
=> Bigfoot Sightings
=> the Unexplained
=> the Hollow Earth, Crop Circles, Strange Structures & Devices
=> Vanishings & Unsolved Murders
-----------------------------
Science Fiction & Fantasy
-----------------------------
=> Lord of the Rings
=> Science Fiction
=> King Kong, Gigantopithecus & the Mountain Gorilla
=> Godzilla, King of Monsters
=> Comic Books
===> Comic Book Creators
===> Videogames & Toys
-----------------------------
Halloween & Seasonal
-----------------------------
=> Halloween
=> Seasonal
=> Monsters of Myth, Movies & Folklore
=> Ghost Stories
=> the Zombie Apocalypse
-----------------------------
Genres of Film & Literature
-----------------------------
=> Universal Horror
=> H. P. Lovecraft
=> Horror
=> Dark Shadows
=> Twin Peaks
=> Online Horror Movies Sci-Fi & TV Series
-----------------------------
Arts & Literature
-----------------------------
=> Online Books & Research Papers
=> Classical Literature & Book Reviews
=> Art History
=> Architecture
=> Sculpture & Statuary
=> the Great Masters
=> Music
-----------------------------
Media & Film
-----------------------------
=> Cinema
=> the History of Film
=> Marilyn Monroe
=> Actresses & Models
=> Entertainment News
-----------------------------
Modern Historical Mysteries
-----------------------------
=> American History
===> Presidents of the United States
=> the World Wars
===> the Great Depression
=> the Holocaust
=> the Middle East: Past & Present
=> Modern History
===> the Industrial Age
===> Civil Rights
=> Great Cities of the World
=> the Kennedys: Their History & Assasinations
=> New York City: Then & Now
-----------------------------
September 11th, 2001
-----------------------------
=> September 11th: Conspiracies, Cover-ups & Remembrance
=> The World Trade Center Remembered
===> Life of the Twin Towers
=> Modern Warfare
=> Environmental Disasters & Mass Tragedies
-----------------------------
Suppressed Knowledge
-----------------------------
=> New World Order
=> Conspiracies
=> Suppressed Knowledge
=> Media Matters
-----------------------------
Politics
-----------------------------
=> the Barack Obama Administration
=> Conservatives, Trump, & Republican Politics
=> Joe Biden, Democratic Politics & News
=> Tea Party, Constitution, Libertarian Parties & Ron Paul
=> Politics & News
-----------------------------
Current Events
-----------------------------
=> Current Events & Odd Stories
=> The World Today
=> Financial News & the Economy
===> The History of Labor
=> Breaking News
-----------------------------
General Category
-----------------------------
=> Opinions & Editorials
=> Cartoons, Humor & Comic Strips
=> Ecology, Pets & the Animal Kingdom
=> General & Miscellaneous
=> Sports
=> Computers & the Internet
-----------------------------
Art, Graphics & Creative Writing
-----------------------------
=> Fantasy Art & Graphics
=> Creative Writing
===> Horror Fiction
=> Poetry
=> Photography & Models
=> Earth Images
-----------------------------
Past Events
-----------------------------
=> Case for Bush Impeachment/War Crimes
===> Bush Administration Torture Scandal
=> Campaign 2008
=> Atlantis Online - Memorial & Biography
===> Atlantis Online - Old Posts
Powered by
EzPortal
Loading...