The Complete Idiot's Guide to Werewolves (40 page)

 

berserker
A Norse/Germanic term that roughly translates as “bear skins,” but really means something like “one who acts as a bear.”

 

Berserkersgang
A class of ruthless and frenzied warriors feared by all who faced them. Among the berserkers was a more specific class called the
ulfheðnar
.

 

bouda
(Sometimes spelled
buda.
) An African term that has come to mean “were-hyena,” though it is very likely that it originally could have had a different meaning. In Ethiopia, this term is sometimes used by Christians to refer to Ethiopian Jews, though not always with the “were-hyena” connotation.

 

bruxsa
A Portuguese word that refers to a creature possessing the powers and attributes of both a werewolf and a vampire, though legends vary on just which creature it started out being. The term
cucubuth
can be used interchangeably.

 

bultungin
In the dialects of the Nigerian state of Borno, this term literally means “I become a hyena.” However, the term commonly refers to a person who shapeshifts into a hyena.

 

caul
A soft membrane that covers and protects the heads of embryos that are high vertebrates (such as primates and humans). This membrane is usually shed during delivery, slowly rubbed off and torn away as the infant travels down the tight birth canal. Many ancient and medieval cultures assigned certain omens (good and bad) to babies that were born with the caul still wrapped over their heads.

 

clinical lycanthropy
(Also called psychological lycanthropy.) A symptomatic psychological disorder (meaning it is a symptom of one or more main causal conditions) that is commonly identified by a strong delusion that one can, is, or has at some time transformed into a wolf or werewolf. However, it is important to note that no actual physical transformations are involved.

 

cryptids
Cryptids are believed (by cryptozoologists) to actually be unidentified, undiscovered, or extinct species of animals that have been mislabeled as “monsters” or “creatures.” Perhaps the most globally known of the cryptids is the so-called “Loch Ness Monster,” which has yet to be confirmed or concretely identified.

 

cryptozoology
The study of special/rare animals called cryptids
.

 

cucubuth
See
bruxsa.

 

dementia
A state of delusional madness usually marked by extreme disorientation, bouts of irritability, and an erratic/infirm grasp of one’s current time and/or location. Clinical lycanthropy is considered a specified manifestation of dementia.

 

Dragoons
Specially trained soldiers that were once a common element of European armies. They were trained to fight on foot as well as horseback and were schooled in cavalry tactics. In the beginning, members of such units were commonly armed with “dragon” muskets.

 

enchanted lycanthropy
A form of lycanthropy that is achieved through the use of magic rituals or enchantments, or by using/wearing magical clothing, amulets, or other enchanted objects.

 

ergot
A disease that affects certain grain-producing plants such as rye. It is caused by the
claviceps purpurea
fungus and is one of the most potent hallucinogens to grow naturally. Ergot may be indentified by its brown or purple sacks, called sclerotia, which envelop the affected grain.

 

familiar
Refers to an idea, widely created by church propaganda, that witches (and, in this particular case, a werewolf) kept demonic spirits to assist them in their work. In order to avoid being discovered, church authorities claimed that these demon servants remained invisible in the presence of others, assumed the forms of household animals (the most popular being cats, especially black cats), or just possessed the bodies of animals that were already in their masters’ homes.

 

graphic novel
A comic-style, illustrated book that typically has a more complex, full-length story than is usually found in comic books. It usually is created for a more mature reading audience.

 

hellhounds
Demonic hounds that come from hell. This idea likely originated from an ancient myth, such as that of the giant, three-headed dog named Cerberus that guards the gates of the underworld (the domain of the death god Hades) in Greek mythology. These dogs are often described as black, sometimes resembling shadows, with glowing red eyes.

 

hydrophobia
An irrational and debilitating fear of all water. Many pieces of werewolf lore state that lycanthropes have an unnatural aversion to water.

 

hypertrichosis
A rare skin disorder that is characterized by the growth of long, fine hairs on the affected individual’s body far beyond what is normal for the person’s age, sex, and ethnicity. The condition can be congenital, starting at birth, or acquired, occurring later in life. It can also occur all over the body or only in specific, localized areas.

 

hysteria
A condition that is usually characterized by unusual and often irrational behavior by an individual suffering a mental break (often temporary but sometimes permanent) caused by an experience of overwhelming, emotionally or mentally traumatizing terror.

 

inquisitor
A church title for an official member of the Ecclesiastical Court of the Inquisition, which was charged with rooting out enemies of Christianity, such as heretics, witches, devil worshippers, and quite often just about anyone else that the church deemed undesirable.

 

Jinn
A group of magic spirits in Middle Eastern folklore. The term is often misspelled in English as “genie.” After the spread of Islam, Jinn came to be viewed as a malevolent class of demons or fallen angels.

 

kitsune
A Japanese term that can be used to refer to a normal fox. However, it is often used to refer to a Shinto “fox spirit.”

 

lais
(Spelled
lays
in English.) Once a very common form of romance poetry, used especially in medieval England and France. One relatively well-known lai is “The Franklin’s Tale,” from Geoffrey Chaucer’s fourteenth-century work
The Canterbury Tales
.

 

Layak
(Also spelled
Leyak.
) A mythical shapeshifting being in Indonesian lore. Some lore claims that a Layak is an evil spirit, while others claim that a Layak is actually a human witch with dark powers. So the next time you meet a Layak, you should ask it about this.

 

libido
A Freudian term for the human sex drive. Newly infected lycanthropes are often said to experience a sudden and extreme increase in sexual appetite and endurance.

 

LSD
Commonly referred to as “acid,” stands for lysergic acid diethylamide. LSD is an extremely potent psychedelic drug that affects both the mood and perception of the user, causing hallucinations, disorientation, mood swings, paranoia, and other delusions.

 

lunacy
A term currently defined as insanity, extreme foolishness, or a display of foolish behavior. In ancient times, bouts of insanity were thought to be influenced by the lunar cycle. Despite the insistence of science to the contrary, many people still believe that the full moon influences humans to behave strangely.

 

lycanthropy
The technical term for the state of being a werewolf. A person who is inflicted with or practices lycanthropy is called a lycanthrope
.

 

manga
A Japanese term that literally translates as “involuntary sketches.” However, manga is now used in reference to a popular genre of book-length, black-and-white Japanese comics. The term is believed to have first been coined in 1814, when a Japanese artist named Hokusai created a book of impromptu black-and-white sketches, many of which had elements of storytelling, which he called manga.

 

Mark of the Beast
A belief from medieval werewolf lore that has sometimes also been used in pop culture and werewolf cinema. It states that werewolves are marked (usually on the hand) with the mark of a pentagram or the numbers “666.”

 

necrophilia
A condition in which a person becomes unhealthily obsessed with corpses. This strange condition often leads to unusual behaviors such as stealing corpses and frequenting graveyards. It can also manifest in sexual ways.

 

nihilism
A term usually defined as a self-centered belief that one is somehow exempt from all rules or social/religious/moral restrictions. In a more broad sense, it refers to a philosophical belief that life has no point, that human rules are valueless, and rejects the validity of any truth aside from one’s own.

 

O-Guchi no Magami
Japanese name that translates as “Great-mouthed Pure-Kami,” an ancient wolf deity in the Shinto nature religion of Japan.

 

O-kami
In Japanese, O-kami is generally used to mean “wolf.” Literally translated, however, it actually means “great deity.”

 

pagan
This term originally comes from the Latin word
paganus,
which means “rustic” or “country person.” During the rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire, the word came to refer to the “uncivilized” people who continued to practice polytheistic or pre-Christian religions. The word later took on a negative connotation and came to be associated with dark arts, devil worship, evil, etc. In recent years, the term has begun to shed this negative connotation as more people have begun to practice these old religions openly, now that they can do so without fear of harm.

 

pastoral
Refers to something related to the lifestyle, work, and activities of shepherds or their livestock. The word
pastor,
which is now a popular religious title, originally referred to a shepherd.

 

penny dreadful
A popular nineteenth century form of fiction known for its lurid and sensational content. The name comes from the fact that these were cheap (usually costing only a penny), relatively short, paperback-bound stories that usually involved “dreadful” plots of crime, murder, and a fair amount of sexual content. As one might imagine, these books were primarily sold to the younger male members of England’s vast working class.

 

physical lycanthropy
Also called “cursed lycanthropy” or “viral lycanthropy,” this refers to lycanthropy received as a result of being bitten by a werewolf.

 

porphyria
A rare condition that causes an inability in the body to create
porphyrin
in the bone marrow. This leads to a discoloration of the skin that is reddish or purplish, as well as extreme physical deformities (especially in the face and hands).

 

pulp fiction
Refers to inexpensive magazines or novels written for a mass market audience. Such works often contained violent or sexual material. The moods of such stories were generally melodramatic in dialogue and sensational in tone.

 

quicksilver
An obsolete term once used to refer to mercury. In ages past, mercury was believed to be a liquid form of silver.

 

rabies
A viral infection, often passed by the saliva through a bite, that attacks the brain and nervous system of warm-blooded animals. It is also thought to be a possible explanation for medieval reports of lycanthropy and certain parts of werewolf lore.

 

Rosicrucian Order
A seventeenth-century group of scholars, philosophers, and aesthetics who studied and collectively shared knowledge related to the secret arts of mysticism, metaphysics, and alchemy.

 

schizophrenia
A mental illness commonly thought to be caused by neurological damage or defect and characterized by hallucinations, paranoid delusions, physical restlessness, and hearing voices.

 

Shinto
The indigenous nature religion of Japan. For a time, it was the officially recognized Japanese state religion.

 

spirit lycanthropy
Lycanthropy that is achieved through spiritual rites, such as those used by the Native American tribes of the Pacific Northwest.

 

strychnine
Commonly considered a fatal poison, but sometimes used as a heavy stimulant when taken in small doses.

 

succubus
A female demon commonly known for seducing men as they sleep. A succubus is, for the most part, a female “sex demon” that has intercourse with men as they sleep. This likely originated from a demonic female figure from Judaic folklore, known as Lilith. In the Judaic tradition, men are not supposed to sleep alone in order to avoid encounters with Lilith.

 

tengu
In the Japanese nature religion of Shinto, a clever, mischievous, and sometimes destructive nature spirit, usually found in the mountains and described as having wings and a beaked face.

 

ulfheðnar
A specific class of berserkers. The word roughly means “wolf wearers,” but really means something like “those who become wolves.”

 

Valkyries
In Norse myths, these are beautiful female warrior spirits tasked with retrieving from battlefields the souls of fallen warriors who had died bravely and with honor. They would then escort the soul to Valhalla, a heavenly utopia of food, drink, sex, and battle, which was reserved only for the brave.

 

Vargamor
Roughly translates as meaning “wolf-crone.” The term refers to the members of a prehistoric northern European nature cult, predominantly made up of women, who practiced magic wolf-rites. With the rise of Christianity, they came to be thought of as evil witches.