Lycanthropy

The phenomenon in which a human turns into a beast during the night and reverts to human form at sunrise. The were-beasts may be as harmless as a rabbit or as dangerous as a wolf, crocodile, or tiger. In Africa, where whole tribes may be affected by lycanthropy, a white hunter once shot hyaenas wearing golden earrings.

Lycanthropy occurs internatinally and always follows the same course. An apparently normal human, usually uite inoffesive in everyday life, changes at sunset into some kind of wild animal. During the night the were-person indulges a taste for human flesh or for the raw flesh and blood of other animals. Were-persons are appallingly dangerous in their bestial form and may even eat their own human children or other relations.

The only exception to this rule is that of were-persons who change into vegetarian creatures such as squirrels, rabbits, or hares. Probably these are witches or wizards who wish to spy on people for the purpose of blackmail.

The cases of lycanthropy are obscure. It may be that a human deliberately learns the necessary magical powers, or he may be under a spell cast by a magician [St Patrick of Ireland changed Veretius, King of Wales, into a wolf]. Or he may become infected with lycanthropy by physical contact with a were-beast in human or bestial form.

Some researches believe that even the consumption of food prepared by a lycanthropist is enough to carry the infection. Lycanthropologists are still uncertain whether a were-person makes an involutary transformation at nightfall, or whether he/she aids the process by smearing the body with ointment made from the fat of the relevant animal.

Sometimes a were-person reveals himself or herself involuntarily, as in the case of the Indian were-tigress caught in a trap. At sunrise, the villagers found the trap contained a naked woman. On other occasions a hunter shoots at some beast spotted during the night, and on the following day a villager is seen limping from a wound.

Apart from such obvious revelations, a were-person is easily detected when there have been night-time attacks in a neighbourhood. He or she has no appetite, because of the feasts of raw meat taken during the night; and is always tired and stiff in the daytime because of the vigorous nocturnal activities. If the lycanthropist co-operates then the condition may be cured by any accomplished witch or wizard. If not, then the were-person should be shot with a silver bullet.