{"id":25644,"date":"2019-07-26T10:33:42","date_gmt":"2019-07-26T15:33:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/?p=25644"},"modified":"2019-07-25T14:34:53","modified_gmt":"2019-07-25T19:34:53","slug":"countdown-to-halloween-a-comedy-of-weres","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/tartan-news\/2019\/07\/26\/countdown-to-halloween-a-comedy-of-weres\/","title":{"rendered":"Countdown to Halloween: A Comedy of Weres"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

With ancient pagan ritual horror<\/a> (relationships?) out of the way, this week we\u2019ll move back to one of horror\u2019s seminal staples. That most pure of monsters, the one that exemplifies more than maybe any other monster, the great fear regarding monsters. The fear that we will, ultimately, become them. This week we\u2019ll address the werewolf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The werewolf myth itself reaches back well into the bowels of recorded history. There are werewolf myths as far back as the Ancient Greeks of classical antiquity. Heroditus, in his \u201cHistories<\/a>,\u201d a piece of writing that is considered to be one of the founding works of Western literature, described a tribe of people north of the great Eurasian empire of Scythia who transformed into wolves once every year for several days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Werewolf myths though have roots in Norse and Germanic<\/a> pagan cultures as well. Harald Fairhair of Norway, an ancient Viking Age king, was known to have berserker warriors called \u00falfh\u00e9\u00f0nar<\/a>, who resemble many werewolf myths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though, arguably one of the more famous werewolf myths comes from France, from the province of G\u00e9vaudan. The beast was said to roam the Margeride Mountains in the south of France between 1764 and 1767. He was known colloquially as \u201cLa B\u00eate du G\u00e9vaudan<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And yes, there were werewolf myths in North America as well. The Navajo tribe, which resided in modern-day New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona and Utah had a creature that changed form, much like the werewolf legends of Europe and Asia. They called it the skin-walker, or yee naaldlooshii<\/a>, which roughly translates to: by means of it, it goes on all fours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\tBut for today\u2019s entry we\u2019ll discuss a werewolf from North America, who became a werewolf by traveling to Europe. That\u2019s right. My favorite werewolf movie is \u201cAn American Werewolf in London.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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