*~Werewolves~*

The name Werewolf most likely derives from Old English wer (or were) and wulf. The first part, wer, translates as "man" (in the sense of male human, not the race of humanity). It has cognates in several Germanic languages including Gothic wair, Old High German wer and Old Norse var, as well as in other Indo-European languages, such as Latin vir, Lithuanian vyras and Welsh gwr, which have the same meaning. The second half, wulf, is the ancestor of modern English "wolf"; in some cases it also had the general meaning "beast". An alternative etymology derives the first part from Old English weri (to wear); the full form in this case would be glossed as wearer of wolf skin.

Lobisón is the word that stands for Werewolf in north Argentina. The werewolf is usually the seventh son in a family. The seventh girl in the legend is doomed to be a witch. When they turn into a hairy creature that resembles a man and a wolf, the Lobisón, goes wonderingly into the woods and mountains, feeding mostly upon carrion. However, if they get to meet with a human being, they will instantly attack. The survivors will then turn into Lobisones themselves, but it is very rare, because most people die in the claws and teeth of these ferocious creatures, it is almost impossible to survive the attack. It is also said that if a Lobison's saliva sprinkles over a man or a woman, he or she will eventually turn into a Lobisón.

The legend of the werewolf is one of the most wide spread and ancient. Stories can be found about these creatures from anywhere in the world.

The full moon has always been linked to werewolves. Unlike movie werewolves, "real" werewolves change shape when they want to, voluntary. In many myths they are witches who take animal form to go about unnoticed, using either a potion she made out of things like blood, the fat of dead children, herbs or animal skin. She then changes form completely, taking the form of the animal.

Lycaon the King

The story of Lycaon the king explains how werewolves first came into the world.
Lycaon was a very fierce and cruel king. His cruelty was legendary. When the powerful God, Zeus heard of his mischievous actions, he decided to come down to see for himself. To his surprise the truth was worse than what he had heard. Zeus went at once to meet with King Lycaon. When Zeus revealed himself at Lycaon's kingdom, Lycaon's servants got on their knees to pray. Lycaon however did not believe that Zeus was a god and made a plan to test him. Lycaon planned to kill him. If he was a god he would survive but if he wasn't then he would die. First he invited Zeus to a feast that he had prepared himself. The feast was human flesh from an innocent messenger that he had killed. Zeus, since he was a god knew at once what was happening and was furious with Lycaon’s cannibalism. As a punishment Zeus turned Lycaon into a wolf. Lycaon's entire body changed, only his eyes were human.

The Beast of Le Gevaduan

This tale takes place in a mountainous region in France called Le Gevaduan where the people lived off of cattle herding. These cattle were mostly watched by children. The first person killed was a young girl who was watching a herd of cattle and did not return home. The villagers went out looking for her and found her dead body and her heart torn out. Many other followed and families began to keep their children home because they feared for their lives. Then a peasant women reported that she had seen a weird looking creature that walked on two legs like a human but had a pig like snout and was as big as a donkey. No one believed her until another man named Jean-Pierre witnessed the creature himself.
News quickly spread to King Louis the XV and he immediately sent a group of soldiers to find and kill the animal. They came upon the animal and they killed it. But they were wrong because the killings continued. The King sent the soldiers out a second time but again the soldiers failed and the killings continued. The third time a group of hunters were determined to kill the creature, especially Jean Chastel who would not rest until he killed the animal. He even brought a rifle full of silver bullets, that were known to kill werewolves. The group of hunters met up with the creature and Jean Chastel shot two of his silver bullets. One piercing the werewolf's heart killing it.
The description of this animal is unclear and we only know that it was a "strange-looking wolf, with close-cropped ears and unusual hooflike feet." The animal was buried but no actually knows where. The only remaining evidence is Jean Chastel's rifle at the church in Saint Martin-de-Bouchaux.