Werewolf Sightings

Werewolf sightings have been reported throughout history all around the world. Is there such a thing as a werewolf, or are werewolf sightings the result of active imaginations piqued by centuries of legends about these fabled creatures?

Werewolves are also known as lycanthropes. According to myth, they have the ability to change shape from human beings into anthropomorphic wolves whenever there is a full moon. This ability comes about because they are cursed.

The first literary reference to werewolves comes from the Epic of Gilgamesh. The Epic is an ancient Mesopotamian poem written around 2000 BC. In Gilgamesh, the Goddess Ishtar turns a mortal into a wolf. In the Metamorphoses, Ovid (43 BCE to 17 AD) tells the story of King Lycaeon who was changed into a werewolf for displeasing the gods. An entire host of fictional stories about werewolves and werewolf sightings draw upon these early literary references.

There are a number of well-known, and lesser known, werewolf sightings throughout history.

• In the 1100s, Irish folklorist Giraldus of Cambrensis tells the story of The Werewolves of Ossory where a priest and a young novice encounter werewolves while traveling in Ireland.
• In January of 1573, French hermit and cannibalistic serial murderer Gilles Garnier was convicted of being a werewolf and burned at the stake. According to Garnier’s testimony, a specter appeared to him one night while he was on the hunt, and it gave him a magic ointment that allowed him to take on the form of a wolf. Garnier confessed killing at least four children, eating their flesh and taking some of the flesh home to feed his wife.
• In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Benandanti cult lived in Friuli, in Northern Italy. The Benandanti claimed to be shapeshifters and witches who traveled while asleep in order to fight against the evil of witches (members of the cult of Stregheria). The Benandanti were tried as Satanists under the Roman inquisition.
• In France, in 1598, the Demon Tailor was executed as the Werewolf of Chalons. A tailor in Paris, he lured children into his shop and then killed them. He also reportedly roamed the surrounding forests in wolf form while hunting and killing children.
• Between 1764 and 1767, the Beast of Gévaudan was described as a wolf-like creature that terrorized and killed 100 victims in south-central France.

While history – especially European history – is rife with werewolf sightings. The fabled creature is sighted even in the modern day. Here is a partial list of some modern sightings in the United States.

• In 1936, near Jefferson, WI, Mark Shackelman reported driving down highway 18 and seeing a figure of a wolf-like man.
• In a 1960 issue of Fate magazine, Mrs. Delbert Gregg of Greggton, TX reported an encounter of a shapeshifting creature that looked like it was half man and half wolf. According to Mrs. Gregg, a huge, wolf-like creature clawed at the screen to her bedroom one night in 1958 when her husband was away on a business trip. Mrs. Gregg grabbed a flashlight and watched the wolf run away and change into the figure of an extremely tall man before disappearing into the dark night.
• In January 1970, four teens in Gallup, New Mexico reported an encounter with a werewolf along the side of the road. According to the teens' tale, the creature ran alongside their car, exceeding speeds of 60 m.p.h., until one of the teens shot the creature.
• For a three-month period from July to October of 1972, a number of Ohio residents reported seeing a wolf-like creature running on hind legs.
• In 1973, there were a number of sightings of seven to eight-foot-tall creatures with "fire red eyes that glow in the darkness".
• A dairy farmer named Scott Bray saw a strange looking, huge dog with a large chest lurking around his farm in Elkhorn, WI.
• Another Wisconsin werewolf sighting occurred on Halloween in 1991. A woman driving near Delavan, WI (about 35 miles from the site of the 1936 Shackelman sighting) reported seeing a dark, hairy creature running towards her and leaping onto her trunk.

Are all of these sightings actual werewolves, or could there be another explanation? Folklore and legend can often lead to a case of mistaken identity. Could it be that people familiar with werewolf lore see something else, and their imaginations run away with them?

One possible explanation for werewolf sightings is a rare genetic disease called porphyria. People suffering from porphyria have facial skin with brown pigmentation, and suffer from facial abnormalities, skin lesions, hand and face deformities and photo-sensitivity. They also have severe personality disorders. This aversion to light causes those suffering from porphyria to go out only at night. Could it be that these deformities and behaviors brought about by personalities, coupled with nocturnal behavior, lead to sightings of werewolves? No one knows, and unless a werewolf is captured and studied, these creatures will remain a mystery.

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