Damarchus

Damarchus (Greek: Δάμαρχος) or Demaenetus was a victorious Olympic boxer from Parrhasia (Arcadia) who is said to have changed his shape into that of a wolf at the festival of Lycaea, only to become a man again after nine years. The festival of Lycaea involved human sacrifice to Zeus. A young boy was killed and … Read more

The werewolves of Ossory

A priest was journeying from Ulster to Meath accompanied only by a single youth when they were benighted in a wood. They had kindled a fire when a huge wolf approached them and spoke, telling the travellers to fear nothing. The priest adjured him by all that was sacred not to do them harm and … Read more

Benandanti werewolves

One of the strangest incidences involving werewolves was that of Benandanti (a term roughly translated into good walkers, those who go well or good-doers)  in northern Italy. In this case the werewolves were men who left their bodies and assumed the shape of wolves. After becoming wolves they descended to the underworld to battle witches. … Read more

Gilles Garnier

From THE BOOK OF WERE-WOLVESby SABINE BARING-GOULDSmith, Elder & Co., London1865 Towards the close of the autumn of 1573, the peasants of the neighbourhood of Dole, in Franche Comte, were authorized by the Court of Parliament at Dole, to hunt down the were-wolves which infested the country. The authorization was as follows:– “According to the … Read more

Bourgot and Verdung

From THE BOOK OF WERE-WOLVESby SABINE BARING-GOULDSmith, Elder & Co., London1865 IN December, 1521, the Inquisitor-General for the diocese of Besancon, Boin by name, heard a case of a sufficiently terrible nature to produce a profound sensation of alarm in the neighbourhood. Two men were under accusation of witchcraft and cannibalism. Their names were Pierre … Read more

Peter Stubb

From THE BOOK OF WERE-WOLVESby SABINE BARING-GOULDSmith, Elder & Co., London1865 Another case was that of Peter Stubb near Cologne, in 1573. His confession came after he was tortured on the rack. He started the “wicked art”, as he called it, at the age of 12. He claimed the Devil had given him a magic … Read more

Jacques Roulet

From THE BOOK OF WERE-WOLVESby SABINE BARING-GOULDSmith, Elder & Co., London1865   Again in 1598, a year memorable in the annals of lycanthropy, a trial took place in Angers, the details of which are very terrible. In a wild and unfrequented spot near Caude, some countrymen came one day upon the corpse of a boy … Read more

The tailor of Chalons

From THE BOOK OF WERE-WOLVESby SABINE BARING-GOULDSmith, Elder & Co., London1865 On the 14th of December, in the same year as the execution of the Gandillon family (1598), a tailor of Chalons was sentenced to the flames by the Parliament of Paris for lycanthropy. This wretched man had decoyed children into his shop, or attacked … Read more