Werewolves Journal

Werewolves are simply another way of manipulating the human brain... 

After reading the document, I believe that werewolves were simply seen as a way to find someone to blame during difficult situations. The document said "driven by superstition, religious and political clashes and the desire to find scapegoat for harsh conditions" So basically there was already this stigma that they were escaping something, the document also said "many of the accused were beggars, hermits, or recent immigrates to the areas" so these were often viewed as outsiders so if something horrible happened it was easier to blame someone who seems strange, blame the werewolves. What interested me the most is that werewolf trails was less about believing in monsters but more about finding someone else to blame for something. 

The two documents talk about how werewolves became a real terror in the sixteenth century because several fears accumulated so it was not only the fear of real wolves but it was the fear of violent crimes, religious fears, superstition and the overall suspicion of outsiders. Something that made the werewolves so believable and made it into such a prevalent issue is that because they were connected to real crimes, and most of the crimes were crimes that were so horrific that only a monster could commit. Werewolves also became associated with the Devil and witchcraft at the same time so this creating more panic and more accusations. Most of the trails were fueled by superstition and with the desire to find scapegoats for harsh conditions. 

Overall, the werewolf became a real terror because of the already present violence, religious fears and social instability; and people used the idea of werewolf to explain this terrible behavior when they needed to find someone to blame. As we have talked in class, the idea of the werewolf was basically a manipulation to the human mind, when I say this I am referring to the idea that fear influences how people interpret reality and can make people act a certain way. 

Comments

  1. williams.dan766 October 2026 at 06:44

    Great review of werewolves. Your first two sentences are both insightful. During times of social instability and uncertainty, people become fearful, and then they often look for outsiders to blame.

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