Background or History: The werewolf dates back as far as 8 A.D in a poem titled “Metamorphoses”, written by Ovid, a Roman poet. The poem is a very long collection of mythological stories told in a chronological order from the beginning of time until the end of Julius Caesar’s death. This poem is believed to be the oldest written record of metamorphosis in history. Oxford Dictionaries defines metamorphosis as “a change of the form or nature of a thing or person into a completely different one, by natural or supernatural means (“Metamorphosis”). Despite records of metamorphosis dating back that far, it was not until the late 1500’s where both persecutions and interest in werewolves went on the rise.
Elmar M. Lorey, German writer, documented …show more content…
In folk lore, this supernatural transformation is known as lycanthropy, however, these days it carries another meaning. Lycanthropy is defined as “an unusual belief or delusion that one has been transformed into an animal, or behaviors or feelings suggestive of such a belief.” (Khalil, Dahdah, Richa, Kahn). In the past, almost anyone could be marked as a werewolf if a medical expert deemed it so.
According to Nadine Metzger, graduate of University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, “One of their principal tasks was to undertake a physical examination of the defendant and check for a witch’s mark or other physical evidence of a connection with the devil.” (Metzger). Science is much more evolved today as we take a more logical approach. Rather than looking for witches marks or connections with the devil, we see lycanthropy as a mental …show more content…
Blom, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Groningen, states that “since 1850, there have been 56 original case descriptions of people who believed they were metamorphosing into an animal. Among them, 13 reports met the criteria for clinical lycanthropy, the medical term for having delusions of being able to turn into a wolf.” (Bahar). The remaining cases were of other delusions, not of actual lycanthropy. This shows that while people may believe or may have believed in the past that they were werewolves, it was just a mental illness, a delusion. It was simply something we did not have the knowledge to understand at the
Elmar M. Lorey, German writer, documented …show more content…
In folk lore, this supernatural transformation is known as lycanthropy, however, these days it carries another meaning. Lycanthropy is defined as “an unusual belief or delusion that one has been transformed into an animal, or behaviors or feelings suggestive of such a belief.” (Khalil, Dahdah, Richa, Kahn). In the past, almost anyone could be marked as a werewolf if a medical expert deemed it so.
According to Nadine Metzger, graduate of University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, “One of their principal tasks was to undertake a physical examination of the defendant and check for a witch’s mark or other physical evidence of a connection with the devil.” (Metzger). Science is much more evolved today as we take a more logical approach. Rather than looking for witches marks or connections with the devil, we see lycanthropy as a mental …show more content…
Blom, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Groningen, states that “since 1850, there have been 56 original case descriptions of people who believed they were metamorphosing into an animal. Among them, 13 reports met the criteria for clinical lycanthropy, the medical term for having delusions of being able to turn into a wolf.” (Bahar). The remaining cases were of other delusions, not of actual lycanthropy. This shows that while people may believe or may have believed in the past that they were werewolves, it was just a mental illness, a delusion. It was simply something we did not have the knowledge to understand at the