Taken from
"BIZARRE" Issue 21, June 1999
WORLD - WIDE WERES
By Joe McNally
This table outlines some of the differing Were Legends
and Myths to be found around the world. The entries are
arranged by alphabetical order of country.
| Country: |
Amazon jungle |
| Animal: |
jaguar |
| Who's
Affected: |
men |
| Transformation: |
spirits of the great cats
summoned to commune with men via rituals and
hallucinogenic drugs |
| |
|
| Country: |
Argentina |
| Animal: |
wolf |
| Who's
Affected: |
seventh sons become Lobosons
(werewolves) |
| Transformation: |
being bitten by or sprinkled
with the saliva of another werewolf |
| |
|
| Country: |
Burma |
| Animal: |
tiger |
| Who's
Affected: |
women, usually married ones |
| Transformation: |
putting on the skin of the
animal in question |
| |
|
| Country: |
Canada |
| Animal: |
Wendigo |
| Who's
Affected: |
men |
| Transformation: |
Shamanistic spells enable people
to be taken over by the spirit of the Wendigo, a
white-furred, long toothed monster |
| |
|
| Country: |
China |
| Animal: |
fox |
| Who's
Affected: |
foxes - unlike most cultures the
Chinese believe these are animals who take on
human guise, not vice versa |
| Transformation: |
magic spells |
| |
|
| Country: |
England |
| Animal: |
cat |
| Who's
Affected: |
Witches |
| Transformation: |
by rubbing a magical ointment
into their bodies (containing psychoactive herbs) |
| |
|
| Country: |
Estonia |
| Animal: |
wolf |
| Who's
Affected: |
children |
| Transformation: |
visit by a devil child on Xmas
Day if you've done something wrong. Lasts for 12
days |
| |
|
| Country: |
Germany |
| Animal: |
fox |
| Who's
Affected: |
mostly women |
| Transformation: |
by putting a magical strap on
the head |
| |
|
| Country: |
Germany |
| Animal: |
wolf |
| Who's
Affected: |
mostly men |
| Transformation: |
putting on a magical wolf belt |
| |
|
| Country: |
India |
| Animal: |
dog |
| Who's
Affected: |
women |
| Transformation: |
putting on a dog skin |
| |
|
| Country: |
Mexico |
| Animal: |
coyote |
| Who's
Affected: |
witches |
| Transformation: |
the tlahuelpuchi
(witches) cast spells on themselves, in order to
drain small children of their blood |
| |
|
| Country: |
Norway |
| Animal: |
polar bear |
| Who's
Affected: |
men |
| Transformation: |
having an evil spell cast on you |
| |
|
| Country: |
Russia |
| Animal: |
wolves and bears |
| Who's
Affected: |
mostly men |
| Transformation: |
stick a copper knife in a tree
in the forest and sing incantations to summon
animal spirit |
| |
|
| Country: |
Scandinavia |
| Animal: |
wolf |
| Who's
Affected: |
men |
| Transformation: |
by putting on an enchanted wolf
skin |
| |
|
| Country: |
West Africa |
| Animal: |
leopard |
| Who's
Affected: |
men |
| Transformation: |
magical rites of dressing up in
the skin of a leopard and dancing and drumming |
"World-Wide Were'd" © Joe McNally 1999
"Bizarre" Magazine © John Brown Publishing
Ltd, May 1999
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