Home Page
cover of Werewolves, there wolves...
Werewolves, there wolves...

Werewolves, there wolves...

00:00-45:40

Nothing to say, yet

0
Plays
0
Downloads
0
Shares

Transcription

The transcription is about two millennials discussing their passion for creepy and spooky things, true crime, and their favorite spirits. They talk about a cocktail called the Blood Moon Cocktail and its ingredients. They then delve into the topic of werewolves and discuss the history and legends surrounding them, including the story of Romulus and Remus. They also mention infamous werewolves in history, such as Pierre Bergot, Michel Verdun, Gilles Garnier, and Peter Stubb, who were all serial killers. They discuss the gruesome crimes these individuals committed and the superstitions and beliefs surrounding werewolves in the past. We're just two millenials who share a passion for the creepy and the spooky, harbor a true love for true crime, and share our favorite spirits, so sit back and have a cocktail with two creepy ghouls. I'm Amy. And I'm Rachel. And like I said, we're two creepy ghouls. So anyway, let's get into it. Today's topic is werewolves. And what drink goes with the werewolf episode. I, as usual, love to do a little Pinteresting on favorite cocktails, some themes, and the one I've chosen for this week is the Blood Moon Cocktail, and the Blood Moon Cocktail is a half ounce of pomegranate juice. If you have one of those frozen spherical ices, it's just cute, and it's really, because it looks like a full moon once you put it in the drink, but back to the drink itself, it's also a half ounce of pomegranate juice, two dashes of orange bitters, three-fourths of an ounce of bourbon, one ounce of red wine, and that's any red wine of your choice, pretty So, when I did it, I did a Cabernet Sauvignon, but if you are more into, have a sweet tooth in your beverages, I would encourage you to do some kind of red blend, a sweet red wine, that would go good, but it's pretty much dealer's choice, and then to top it off, put a half ounce of vermouth on it, I did extra dry for that, but when I originally made this cocktail, I did not, thank you, Winky, I did not have, Winky, I did not have pomegranate juice, so I, Winky, oh my gosh, it's fitting that we're doing werewolves, yeah, he's chiming in, is it a full moon today or yesterday, you know what, it could be, you look that up, but I did not have the pomegranate juice when I initially made this drink, so I used cherry juice that I had in the fridge, and it was very good, it very much tasted like an old fashion, like a fruitier old fashion, and so when I initially made it, I put all of my ingredients, the ice, and the juices, the alcohols, into a cocktail shaker, and I just gave it a good shake all together, and then I strained it into a fancy glass, just because I wanted to be extra, as you should be, absolutely, but that is the cocktail of this week, and it's pretty tasty, it's very, it is stronger, but it's very smooth for a nice full moon, do you feel like a werewolf when you drink it, it was making me howl, so, deal with that when you will, alrighty, am I starting this off, yes, okay, so you're starting us off with telling us, what is a werewolf exactly, that's a great question, I'm glad you asked, alright, so what is a werewolf, a werewolf literally means, one translation, is man wolves, and they are shape shifting creatures, with unusual speed, strength, reflexes, and senses, the werewolf is a mythological, quote on quote, animal, and the subject of many stories throughout the world, and more than a few nightmares, if you will, have you ever had a nightmare about a werewolf, no, but I've always thought that they were really cute, I mean, I just look at it as a rabid dog, I mean, I wouldn't go outside and play with said dog, but, yeah, I've always liked werewolves, werewolves, they're wolves, um, yeah, I know, so werewolves are according to some legends, people who morph into vicious powerful wolves, other are a mutant combination of human and wolf, but all are bloodthirsty beasts who cannot control their lust for killing people and animals, um, it's unclear exactly when and where the werewolf legend originated, some scholars believe the werewolf made its debut in the epic of Gilgamesh, the oldest known western prose, when Gilgamesh jilted a potential lover because she had turned her previous mate into a wolf, and then they also made another appearance, I think, I can't remember if we're talking about this one or not, in the greek mythology, the legend of Lyokon, or Lycan, um, according to the legend, wait, you are talking about it? I was, but, I mean, no, no, then I'm, I had literally two sentences, so anyways, I'm gonna skip it so you can talk about it, more than two sentences, so there's another one, we'll hear about that later, alright, the werewolves also emerged in early nordic folklore, in the saga of Volsongs, um, it tells the story of a father and a son who discovered wolf pelts that had the power to turn people into wolves for ten days, isn't that interesting? Oh yeah, the father and son duo donned the pelts, transformed into wolves, and went on a killing rampage in the forest. The rampage ended when the father attacked his son, causing a lethal wound. The son only survived because a kind raven gave the father a leaf with healing powers. That sounds like nordic folklore, doesn't it? Oh, very much so. Alright, so, then another big thing that comes with werewolves is a full moon, obviously. So though the full moon was originally only one of many possible causes, oh, I forgot to tell you, um, the, of lycanthropy, which means turning into a wolf or something along those lines, it is the one that stuck out in the public's mind, because we all associate that, right? Werewolves? Yeah. Like, who would become werewolves in a full moon? Right. Um, today many people still associate the moon with werewolves and madness. Some who work in police and emergency medical services, this is just fun, um, have anecdotally claimed the full moon nights are the busier, crazier, more dangerous than the other nights. The perception may be rooted more in psychology and imagination than reality. Carefully controlled studies have not found good evidence supporting this idea, but we all like it, though, you know what I mean? Furthermore, there's no known mechanism by which the moon would somehow influence a person's mind to make him or her more dangerous, except for, of course, their own imaginations and expectations. I don't like thinking about reality when it comes to werewolves, though. I mean, I'm for it, of course, but I like the idea of thinking that it's more European. Yeah. And then here's the last little bit of, like, werewolf history, if you will, or folklore. So from the early modern period, werewolf beliefs also spread to the new world with colonialism. Belief in werewolves developed in parallel to the belief in witches in the course of the late Middle Ages and the early modern period. Like the witchcraft child as a whole, the trial of supposed werewolves emerged in what is now Switzerland in the early 15th century and spread throughout Europe in the 16th century, peaking in the 17th and then subsiding in the 18th century, kind of like in with the witch trials as well. Right. And that is all I really could find about the history of, like, werewolf folklore. Okay. No, I have, like, more to add to the legend of... How would you pronounce that word? I was just saying it as Lycon is how I'm pronouncing it, but I mean, that could just be because I'm an ignorant American. So it could also be Lycaon, it's L-Y-C-A-O-N, and I did not look up, like, the Google how they translate it. I might have seen the translation for it, but even how they had it broken down, I could not get it. I don't need a video. Yeah. But, alright, let's get into the legend of this. I'm going to call our character Lycaon, and Lycaon was king of Arcadia in Greek mythology, but was punished by Zeus for his lack of piety, which resulted in him being cited as one of the first werewolves. Now, according to the legend, Lycaon, the son of Pelagas, angered the god Zeus when he served him a meal made from the remains of a sacrificed boy. As punishment, Zeus was enraged and turned Lycaon and his sons into wolves, and I also have a more detailed version, too, but I'm going to get into a question I have for you after I tell you the more detailed version, because, me being me, this is what pops into my cranium. A more detailed version was to test Lycaon and his sons visited by Pelasga in disguise of a laborer, so Zeus goes to Pelagas, so his dad was Pelagas, and the place he visited, I guess his kingdom, is Pelagasia, very original there. In disguise of a laborer, Zeus went in, and Zeus wandered the kingdom for signs he started to show, many started to worship him, because they recognized him as Zeus, but Lycaon wanted to test the divinity of Zeus and his godly powers, so Lycaon and his sons arranged a banquet and invited the laborer, a.k.a. Zeus, and a child was killed and parts of him were roasted and boiled, but ultimately they were all served up to Zeus, and at this, Zeus overturned the table and he took his vengeance out on Lycaon and his sons by turning them into wolves as we just discussed. So, me being me, if you were to be cooked, how would you want to be cooked? I don't want to be boiled. Do not boil me. Why? That is the worst way of cooking. One of the worst. If I'm going to be cooked. How do you mean cooked? I would want to be, part of me thought, well, it could be fun to do like a deep fry my toes, or you could roast me. Like frog legs? Grill me. But to me, that's just so bland. I mean, boiling, we boil noodles, we boil potatoes to make them into mashed potatoes, but to me that's just a very bland way of cooking is boiling. What about baked? A baked version could be good. What kind of seasonings would you put on you? Oh, krails seasoning. Krails? Ooh, that'd be good. Or a peplakin? Yeah. Put garlic in me? A lot of garlic. A lot of garlic. Ooh, add cheese on me. You know, human meat is said to be long pig, so we're very much on par with pork. True. Yeah, that's true. Serving for breakfast on an egg muffin. So why was it punishment to turn them into wolves? It didn't specify, I think, probably, I think personally, wolves were just seen as like kind of a low creature, if you will. And he just thought, didn't really specify on why wolves, but that's just how my mind, it's very much, it's not associated with anything good. People may not like wolves because they kill their flock. They're feral. They're very feral. And I don't think, just because they weren't regarded highly and they're more of a nuisance, so they would never be welcomed kindly. Gotcha. I dig it. My whole theory on it. I like it. I do have other werewolves, and I'm not sure if we want to talk more into the folklore before we get into some actual real cases I looked up. So do you want to tell us about the founders of Remus? Yes, I'll tell you about Romulus and Remus, which has a little werewolf in it, but not too much. Oh my gosh. Okay. I mean, it's fitting, except for barking. I feel like, yeah, we're doing it on cue, but it's such, that is not a wolf. That's a little tiny teacup. Teacup puppet. Teacup wolf. So, for those of you who are not familiar with the Romulus and Remus story, here it is, which is pretty fascinating. So, according to legend or tradition, on April 21st, the heavenly date, 753 BC, Romulus and his twin brother Remus found Rome on the site where they were suckled by a she-wolf as orphaned infants. So, actually, the myth originated sometime in the 4th century BC, and the exact date of the founding was set by a Roman scholar, Marcus Turnius Varro, in the 1st century. So, don't know how it came up with April 21st, but we'll get with it. You know what I mean? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So, Romulus and Remus were the sons of Rhea Silvia, the daughter of the king Numitor, of Alba Longa. I know these are weird places, but... So, Alba Longa was a mythical city located in the Alban Hills southeast of what would one day become Rome. Before the birth of the twins, Numitor, the king, was deposed by his younger brother, Amulus, who forced Rhea to become a vestal virgin so that she would not give birth to rival claimants to his title. However, Rhea was impregnated by the war god Mars and gave birth to Romulus and Remus. So, Amulus ordered that the infants be drowned in the Tiber River, but they survived, of course, or else that would be the end of the story, and they washed ashore the foot of the Palatine Hill, where they were suckled and raised by a she-wolf until they were found by a shepherd. So, they were brought up by the shepherd and his wife. The twins later became leaders of a band of young shepherd warriors. After learning their true identity, which it does not go into detail how they found out, by the way, they attacked Alba Longa, the city, killed their wicked uncle, Amulus, and restored their grandfather to the throne. The twins then decided to found a town on the site where they had been sated and spent by a wolf. When seeking the perfect location for their new city, the twins wandered across the Seven Hills. Remus wished to start the city on the Aventine Hill, while Romulus preferred the Palatine Hill. Now, this is the only website I found this at, but I enjoyed the story. So, in order to decide which brother was right, they agreed to consult an arguery, where birds are examined to see what the gods favored. You know, birds decide. Let's go back to that. Remus claimed to have seen six birds, whereas his brother had seen twelve, so double, so obviously. Even though Romulus had seen more birds, Remus argued that he had seen them first, and therefore the city should be built on the Aventine Hill. Meanwhile, Romulus began to build a wall on his hill, which Remus decided to jump over. Angered by his brother's actions, Romulus killed him. According to legend, this took place in 754 BC. So, Romulus then became the ruler of the settlement, which was named Rome after him. And if you want to get a little more gruesome here, please. To populate his town, Romulus offered asylum to fugitives and exiles. Rome lacked women, however, so Romulus invited the neighboring Sabines to a festival and abducted their women. A war ensued, but the Sabine women intervened to prevent the Sabine men from seizing Rome. A peace treaty was drawn up, and the communities merged under the joint rule of Romulus and the Sabine king, Titus. Titus had an early death, perhaps perpetuated by Romulus, and left the Romans as the sole king again. After a long and successful rule, Romulus died under obscure circumstances, and the many Romans believed he was changed into a god and worshipped him as a deity. After Romulus, there were six more kings of Rome, and then around 509 BC, the Roman Republic was established, and then there were no more kings. But I wish they didn't go too much into the story of the she-wolf. I looked and looked and looked, but I could not find anything. That just makes me think of the Shakira song. There's a she-wolf in my closet. But I've always heard about the story of Romulus and Remus, so that they were two brothers fighting over, and then one just killed the other. But I had never heard about it until it was woken up that they were supposed to want, raised by wolves, a she-wolf for a hot minute. And then a shepherd took them in. And then it doesn't explain how they found out their identity. I feel like it's an important part to leave out, but you know, whatever. Yeah, that's what I said. There wasn't more detail there. Yeah. Should be. Maybe it's hidden in a cave somewhere with transcripts. Ooh, very National Treasury. Yeah. Let's go on the hunt. Yeah. Yes. So, we're going to turn the table there and get into some gruesome real wolf stories. Good. I can't wait to hear. Oh, you're going to be. A lot. So, we're first going to go into infamous werewolves that I was looking at. And no surprise, many were actually serial killers. France had a lot of occurrences, so I think there was just something in the water in France. I bet there is. Or something in the wine. Don't they drink wine? Yes, they do. They do. As we all. France had an occurrence in 1521 where Pierre Bergot and Michel Verdun had swore allegiance to the devil and claimed they had an ointment that turned them into wolves. Ooh, an ointment. An ointment. So, picture of us ointing I guess. After they confessed to murdering several children, they were burned at the stake and burning was said to be one of the few ways to kill a werewolf. There was also Gilles Garnier, also known as the werewolf of Dole. A 16th century Frenchman also claimed he had an ointment, more Vaseline, with the ability to transform into a werewolf. He also was said to have brutally murdered children and ate them. He too was roasted like a marshmallow. Burned. Oh my gosh. I know. I think, honestly, they were going after children because it's just an easier target. Yeah. Way easier. Especially if they're just playing in a field, then they're just easier to pick off versus, say, a group of 20-year-old men working a field. Or easy to lure them away, yeah. And some have said these Frenchmen could have been, A, mentally ill. French mental illness, it's a thing, it's real. Affected under the influence of hallucinogenic properties, I'm thinking mushrooms. I think I'm trying to look into it because I think there is a certain mushroom that can give you hallucinogenic properties. I'm not talking about shrooms, necessarily. Yeah, something along those lines. There is something, especially if they were foraging for food, that's a good cause. I wouldn't think that that would necessarily make you go killing on a spree. It would just make you in a weird high. I mean, hey, bath salts, remember when that was a thing and people were eating faces? Yeah. So, who knows. And, of course, they were just child-murdering killers. But you have to remember, in the 16th century, superstitious beliefs held power and explained these horrific occurrences and crimes. And they could only be done by a beastly werewolf. Yeah, and not a human. Yeah, because, of course, not like today where we can blame it on mental illness or just insanity. Just insanity, yeah. That was their way of explaining it and making it, okay, well, that checks out. That makes sense. They're a werewolf. It was a werewolf. We've got to put the accent on it, man. Yeah. You do that. I can't do that. Yeah, I have to. It's the actress in me. But I'm going to get into the case of Peter Stubb. And I have, like, some information. Some of it may sound a little bit repetitive, but it was just found in the resources I had. So, just go with me on this journey. I will. So, Peter Stubb is known as the Bedberg Werewolf, was a wealthy 15th century farmer in Bedberg, Germany, said to be the most notorious werewolf of them all. And the legend, folktale says that Petey, I'm going to call him Petey, turned into a wolf-like creature at night and devoured the citizens of Bedberg. Eventually, he was blamed for gruesome killings after being cornered by hunters that claimed they saw him transform from werewolf to human. He had a grisly execution, which I will tell you about the grisly execution. It's good. You're going to need that blood moon cocktail. Okay. After he confessed, after torture. So, they tortured him into confessing, which, when I initially read this, I'm like, okay, if I'm being tortured on a rack or by God knows what torture devices exist at any time, I mean, yeah, you're going to confess. But I have another. This is just this version. So, after torture, he confessed to killing men, women, children, animals, butchering cattle, and devouring their remains. Jeez. And to me, it initially, me being me, made me think of a Snickers commercial. You're not you when you're hungry. That would be a good commercial, wouldn't it? Think about it. Like, you have a werewolf terrorizing a village, and then one of the peasants goes, Petey, you're not you when you're hungry, and pulls out a Snickers, and he transforms back. I think that's a, like, that's a, you should sell that to the Snicker company, yeah. I know. Especially around Halloween time or in the fall, whenever Snickers snails, Snickers snails, Snickers snails, like, go through the roof. Mm-hmm. Okay. You should do it. Oh, I really loved it. I was, like, chuckling and smiling. Ah, ah, ah, there's my new account. Okay. But here's the thing, too. Our little Petey, he claimed he owned an enchanted belt that gave him his werewolf powers and abilities to transform at will. Oh, Nordic folklore. So, yeah, we're going back to your Nordic folktale, and that this belt, but, and then I started thinking this, but wouldn't you do this right now when you're being tortured? Like, say if you had the belt. Maybe, I guess the reason is he didn't have the belt on at this time, but I'm thinking, okay, if you were cornered and you were being tortured by the authorities that got you, wouldn't you randomly, like, flip the switch, turn your, use your belt. Buckle your belt. Right. And then, you know, wolf out and escape, but that's just where my mind went. But, however, the belt was never found, so that also makes me think, okay, maybe he hid it in his farmhouse or something, or, you know, it never existed. Yeah, or that. So, it is debated whether Peter was guilty or just the victim of a political witch hunt, because like the Salem Witch Trials, they were very political, land-hungry people. You know, you could say you're a witch and nothing's flat and the whole town would turn against you, so that's possible. But I have another story that is the other version, but his life and death created fears at this time that werewolves were real and on the loose. I also read that this man was a serial killer, that was another version I read, that he donned the skin of a wolf when he did his horrific deeds, so it's possible. So, he tried to disguise it as an animal doing it and not a human, so that is very possible. And then I read he killed a total of 13 children, 2 pregnant women, and numerous livestock. But, oh, I still have more on our dear Petey. Okay. So, the young women were said to have been sexually assaulted before torn apart. With pregnant women, he ripped the fetuses out from their wombs and ate their hearts, panting hot and raw, which is described as dainty morsels. I guess that was his version of an appetizer. Small children were bludgeoned and throats ripped open with his bare hands and some disemboweled and partially eaten. Lambs, calves ripped apart and devoured. There is one instance where a child survived an attack. Some children were playing in a meadow, as children do in the countryside. Sub ran after them and caught the girl by the neck. The others ran away. He tried to rip her throat out, but the high, stiff collar of her dress prevented this. It gave her a chance to cry out. This spooked the cattle in the meadow and alerted the local farmers to run out and protect their calves and charged after Sub, and he released the girl and fled. That's a story I read. You also have to remember during this time, I think you had a lot of word of mouth, but there were pamphlets that were created at this time. I'm going to get into that. I'm going to get into that study I found. It's very interesting. I'm going to get into that too. Sorry, my notes are all over the place. It's how I do it. Another version that I read about Petey is that the townspeople knew him as a widower and father to two children. He is, in this other information, still a wealthy farmer. The man pursued what looked like... Oh, wait, that's another thing. Hold on. He was from Bedford in Germany. The story of his trial was actually... Same kind of thing. When they caught him, his trial was very sensational, and it was translated across Europe. This is gracefully influenced modern ideas on werewolf behavior. Like I said, he confessed after torture, same sort of situation, that he actually made a pact with the devil in return for a belt which gave him power to transform into a wolf. He was convicted of 16 murders. The original pamphlet states that he committed other crimes such as incest, rape, cannibalism. Also found guilty of murdering his own son and eating his brain, so he wolfed him down. The most monstrous acts that one can hurt about that time. Now we're going to get into his execution. Maybe you need to take a drink. Everybody, listeners, take a drink. It's a doozy. Alright, hit me with it. On October 31st, 1889, I am not making this up, that is when this man's execution was. People knew him as Peter Stubb, like S-T-U-B-B-E, but this article called him Peter Stump, like S-T-U-M-P. That's a different translation. I think so too. I like Stubb personally. He was a 50-year-old, and like he said, confessed to everything. So his crimes, you know, the 16 kills, 13 of which were children, his own son among them, allegedly devoured his son's brain, had sexual relations with his daughter, gross, and account of the execution was of all others that were ever lived, none was comparable unto this hellhound. That's what one person said. His execution. Alright. Here we go. Paint me a picture. He was strapped to a wheel, skinned alive, his bones were broken, decapitated, and body burned at the stake as a warning, his head was impaled on a post in the center of the village. Jesus. So, it was by no means a quick death. This man, I mean, and who would want to watch that? I would. Like, no, no thank you. And I also have here that, so like I said, there was European werewolf panics at this time were centered in areas with wild wolves, forested regions, and cultures with livestock herding like Germany and France, prime examples, and where this occurred mostly. And in early modern Germany, there were 300 werewolf cases. Many were male and tended to be shepherds, actually. And also, this comes from pamphlets printed in 1590. So, think about, the pamphlet was more like their newspaper. So, they would have these stories, often, you know, pictures. So, I'm sure there was like, I think there was like images that they drew of his execution and how they pieced it together. So, these pamphlets were printed throughout Europe, pretty much. And that's how the word spread. Now, I'm going to get back. Now, we're going to go back and I'm going to talk about the full moons and stories. Oh, please do. And then, after full moons, I would love to hear about silver bullets from you. Okay, I love it. And then, I have some more random pieces. So, I love it. So, like we said, that was the tragic story of Peter Stubb. Actually, I should say RIP. R.I.P. Yeah, but not really. But not really. No, don't rest in peace. If what he did was true. I personally think that he was a serial killer. Yeah, and then they try to say the only reason he got away with it for so long is because he was a wolf. Yeah, I think he was just wearing his wolf skin around as a disguise. The guy was just mad as a hatter. Yeah. But, on to full moons. In many stories, a person only turns into a werewolf when there is a full moon. The theory is not far-fetched by any means because according to a study that was conducted in Australia at the Calvary Mater Newcastle Hospital, a full moon brings out the beast in many people. See? We have two different, yeah. Yeah, so very much like what you touched on earlier. The study found that out of the acute behavior incidents that occurred in August of 2008 and July of 2009, 23% happened during a full moon. See? So, I like your study better than mine because I have heard that it should be. There's something a little different on a full moon. Right, like patients attacked staff and even displayed wolf-like behaviors like biting, spitting, and scratching. Even though many were under the influence of drugs and alcohol, it is unknown why this happened during a full moon. When I read this initially, I thought, okay, was it a rehab center or was it like a mental institution? My question also is how big is the study size? So, I just think of normal hospitals. So, Calvary is a publicly funded hospital with 215 beds because I looked that up. And so, I'm just thinking it could have been like an ER situation where you have people in accidents that are under the influence. You have drug overdoses coming in. You have a variety. And it's insane what kind of people come in to an ER room. I used to work with a bunch of nurses and a lot of them either worked in emergency rooms or they worked in psych wards. And so, some of the stories they told me, it's just unreal of what they dealt with. I was like, oh my God. They were like, yep, that was just a normal day. So, werewolves real? Medical studies, the werewolf phenomenon may have medical explanations and examples include Peter the Wild Boy in 1725. All their names are Peter. Peter, Peter. He was found wandering naked on all fours through the German forest. Again, Germany. Thought to be werewolves or raised by wolves, Peter ate with his hands and couldn't speak. Eventually, adopted by the courts of King George I and II and lived out his days as their quotation marks pet in England. Kind of like the Petrus Gonzales in Your Beauty and the Beast version. That's what I was thinking about, yeah. That's what I thought of, too, from our last episode or the last couple of episodes. Yeah. And research shows that Peter most likely had Pitt-Hopkins Syndrome. And that is a condition discovered in 1978 that causes lack of speech, seizures, distinct facial features, difficulty breathing, learning difficulties. Other conditions could be the cause of werewolf panic would be the lycanthropy. A rare psychological condition causes people to believe they are changing into a wolf or animal. I've had food poisoning. The hypertrichosis that you talked about, the rare genetic disorder that causes excessive hair growth. Rabies, that could be another reason. Hallucination caused by hallucinogenic herbs and mushrooms like I touched on. But werewolves throughout the ages are a way to explain the unexplainable, like I said before. And today, they are seen more as horror icons that we all know. And I do have a little bit on Full Moon's continued. I'm sorry, I'm stealing your sunshine. No, steal it away. So, I love this Wolfman rhyme. And it's on both the most recent one with Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt. And it's also in the original 1940 version film. And it is the Wolfman rhyme. Even a man who is pure at heart and says his prayers by night may become a wolf when the wolf's spaying blooms and the autumn moon is bright. I love that. I do too. And I think this one, actually. I have more in werewolf culture today. Basically, in werewolf culture, it is believed that werewolves are given their power by the full moon. There is a price, of course. Heightened aggression and bloodlust that causes them to turn animalistic. Basically, they have no control. The beast takes over any humanity, anything you have. Very Jekyll and Hyde-ish. And certain southern regions of France believed this into the 1800s and indicated in some Greek legends, as we've discussed. I should say Greek and Roman. Yeah. But, yeah. That's what I have for that. And, again, I apologize for my scattered brain in this. But, I feel like I just brought it over. But, the latest one is Silver Bullets. Okay. So, I only have a little bit about Silver Bullets. Because, when you look into that, it gives you snippets. And then, just tells you about movies and books about Silver Bullets. But, anyways. So, obviously, there are a few ways that werewolves can be killed. Not too many, because of their, like, super strength. And there's also some legend that they heal really fast. Right. So, really, the best ways that werewolves are killed, or the only way, is by decapitation or being lit on fire. And then, other than the most common method of killing werewolves, is to shoot them in the heart with a silver bullet. Oh. In fact, silver is a common word against evil throughout mythology and its representations. Silver has been fictionally used to kill many types of creatures and monsters. But, using it against werewolves is the most universally accepted trope. The reason behind using silver as an Achilles heel, if you will, for werewolves, varies from story to story. Some legends tell of silver poisoning a werewolf's blood. And shooting it in the heart with a silver bullet will be the fastest way to contaminate the bloodstream. In other legends, lycanthropy is a blood-borne virus that silver can kill or cure due to its antibiotic properties. Silver has also been attributed to the moon for thousands of years, which may be another reason why it affects creatures of the moon. But, then, it doesn't go into detail about that. I think it was just something that Hollywood made up. But, it's a good one. I mean, it's very good. I'm not hating it. Maybe it's because the moon looks silver, like the color silver. I don't know. It's just, it's popular in a lot of horror films, I think. I think even they've said stuff against vampires with silver at one time. Yeah, it did. Am I right? It did. But, it's usually the best way to kill a vampire is with a stake through the heart. It's always through the heart. Not the head. Nope. But, the heart. That's usually a wooden stake. Excuse me, I should be specific. A wooden stake through the heart. You know, when I was a kid, I didn't know what a wooden stake was. So, I just assumed it was like a stake, like meat. Oh, my gosh. But, made out of wood? No, I just assumed it was a stake. You just took a wooden stake. I was like, how does that work? That is hilarious. Random side note on, yeah, I'm older, I'm wiser, I've learned. But, to kind of finish this out, because I really did enjoy this topic, and especially finding out that werewolf panic was a thing. I feel like we've had all kinds of werewolf panic. We've had werewolf panic. We've had witch panic with this child. In Salem, we've had satanic panic in the 80s with heavy metal. Absolutely satanic panic, yeah. So, it's just interesting what panics we've had. The panics are attacking me. But, yeah. It's very interesting what we've had. So, I think if you guys are film buffs like we are, we love a good film, we love a good television show. So, I have some personal recommendations, and if you have any that come to mind, please bring them forward. You go first. So, I have a list here, and the first being is The Company of Wolves by Neil Jordan. It's 1984. It's a horror fantasy. Lots of symbolism. Has a fairytale feel to it, but also a horror feel to it. It tells you a variety of different wolf stories. Angela Lansbury is in it. Ugh, bold. So, I, it's very, and I like the music. It's just, it's also just a pretty film, too. Mm-hmm. So, I always recommend that one. The Wolfman, both versions, the 1941 with Lon Chaney, and the 2010 version that I mentioned earlier with Anthony Hopkins, Benicio Del Toro, and Emily Blunt. Very classic horror film vibes. Nostalgic is the 40 ones, I would say. You know, very much kind of, you get that classic film, which you just always like to have on during the Halloween season. Always. But, the 2010 version, very dark, gothic. I love the design of it, personally. Okay. To me, it's just like a feast for the eyes with the costumes. Yeah. So, to me, I really enjoyed that. And, very gothic feel to it. So, I like to watch that one now and then. And then, I have An American Werewolf in London, 1981. I was waiting for you to mention that one. John Landis did a great, did this great effects in this film. You get that feel for horror and fantasy. People will say it's kind of like there's comedic bits in there, which, to me, it was just very much a drama, because, if we've learned anything, werewolves are more tragic characters, I think, because they can't control their humanity. They can't control what they're doing. So, their stories tend to be a little on the sad side. So, if you, I say John Landis. It has some of the best transformations, and I recommend that one. I feel like everybody should watch that film at least once in their life. Okay. And then, to conclude, if you want something that's more action-packed, I used to love these movies, the Underworld series. I was wondering if you were going to mention that. Kate Beckinsale and, oh, what's his name? Yeah, Hugh Jackman. Right? No, not Hugh Jackman. Not Hugh Jackman? No, you're thinking about the one they did. The Underworld series. That's not Underworld, babe. Underworld. I know Kate Beckinsale. Yeah, but Underworld had Scott Speedman in it. Yeah, Hugh Jackman was not in that, babe. Oh, okay. But, I am thinking, you're thinking about Van Helsing. Yeah, I've seen that, but I have seen, I think, only the first one of Underworld. Michael Peen is in this one. Yeah. So, this is very much an action series. I think the first one came out in 2003. It did. And 2016, I think, is when the latest one was. But, she's like a female version of Jason Statham in these movies. So, very action-y. So, not anything tragic necessarily. The most recent one I've seen is Underworld, Blood Wars. Yeah. So, I used to really love these. I haven't watched them in a long time. But, those are my recommendations. Do you got anything that comes to mind? No, because the only, well, I only have one. But, it's more vampire, even though we do it. But, there is some werewolves in it. So, the show, What We Do in the Shadows, that you know I love so much. That's about so good. Vampires. But, there are a couple episodes that involve them fighting werewolves. And, it is hilarious. So, if you're looking for something funny to watch. They're not in all the episodes. Werewolves are hardly in it. But, I have to find the episode. I have to say the line from the original movie. Oh, please do. We're werewolves, not swearwolves. Oh, yeah. Because they don't swear. Because they are queer. And, they're like, we have, we follow different codes. We're animalistic like they think we are. It's so good. I recommend that one all the time. All the time for a good laugh. That's really, because I don't really watch too many gory films. And, I feel like if werewolves are involved, it's going to be gory. And, that's totally up here. Oh, yeah. Like the 2010 version of The Wolfman. Oh, it's gory. Like, yeah. Not, I don't want to say it's over the top. It's not like hostile gory. But, there is a little. Plenty of gory. There is a little bit of blood spatters. A little bit. Very graphic blood spatters I should say. No, I like this topic. This was a fun one for me. Yeah. I didn't know too much about werewolves. Other than what I had seen from the Underworld series. When I probably watched the original 20 years ago. Oh, yeah. Gosh. And, what we do in the shadows. So, I had very little knowledge about it. Now, I feel a little bit more knowledgeable about it. I know, right? I think it's just Germany and France. Germany and France. You have to worry about werewolves. Would you want to be a werewolf? To be able to transform into a werewolf? I don't like the idea of not being able to control my actions. True. So, I. No. Hard pass. And, you know, they always make it seem like their transformations are painful. Yeah. Like, it's not pleasant. Like, your bones are breaking and contorting into different bone structures. You're growing hair, which I don't need any help in that department. I have to wax the Tom Selleck, you know, once a month. Listen, I don't need help in that department. My Italian genes help me. Do that for you? Yeah, they do. Okay. So, but, I mean, if I knew a werewolf. There would just be a lot of responsibility. I feel like you would have to find a dungeon for it to lock me up in. And then, if I stay locked up. It's just, to me, they're very. They're tragic characters. They are. And, I think it is supposed to be a punishment. You're right. Yeah, it's more of a punishment. So, I'm going to say no to being a werewolf. But, other creatures, I'm very open-minded. Okay. I dig it. Open-minded as hell. Alright. But, yeah. So, this is two creepy ghouls out. Out! Out!

Listen Next

Other Creators