The Complete Idiot's Guide to Werewolves Read Online Free PDF

family drew lots every nine years. Whoever was chosen by these lots was sent away to a nearby lake to perform a ritual that would transform him into a wolf. In this ritual, the chosen individual would first hang his clothes on the branches of an ash tree. He would then swim to the other side of the lake. By the time he reached the other side, he would be completely transformed into a wolf.
    The Savage Truth
    It is interesting to note that Canis Anthus is the proper title for a species of canine, the jackal.
    He was then bound to wander in this wolf-state for the next nine years. If during nine years he did not attack a single human being, he was free to swim back across the lake. When he reached the other side, he would once again be fully transformed into a man.

The Ulfheðnar (Norse)
    Among the Norse tribes, a group of warriors called the Berserkersgang (also called berserkers ), or “those who act as bears,” were feared for their savagery and aggression. As a result, they were coveted and hired by many of the tribal chieftains. Originally, another similar group called the ulfheðnar (pronounced ulf- heth -nar), or “Wolf wearers,” were also sought out by the chieftains. Over time, the ulfheðnar merged with the berserkers and were called by the same name, despite their differences.
     
    Unlike the berserkers, who are thought to have originated solely as a warrior group, the ulfheðnar are thought to have originally been part of some ancient religious rites. Wolves, for example, are sacred to Odin, Norse god of poetry, mead, and battle. Whereas berserkers were considered men who fought and behaved like bears, the ulfheðnar were considered to be men who became wolves. The ulfheðnar dyed their skin black and covered themselves with wolf skins. They then performed chants and dance rites that worked them into a frenzied mental state. They went completely mad and abandoned their human natures. This allowed them to fight without fear. The Norse believed that such rites also made the ulfheðnar nearly unstoppable in battle.
     
    As a Norse conquest party approached a foreign shore, the ulfheðnar were posted at the front prows of the ships, howling and snarling. When they hit the shore, they rushed straight at the defenders, wearing no armor, carrying no shields, and wielding only basic weaponry. Their psychotic trance was so strong that they seemed to ignore even the most serious of injuries. To those they fought, death seemed the only way to stop them.
     
    According to Norse legends of the ulfheðnar, arrows had no effect on them, swords could not wound them, and they were immune to fire. The only way to kill the ulfheðnar, claimed the Norse, was to crush their skulls in with a club. This was a scary idea indeed for those who had to battle the ulfheðnar. Crushing in an ulfheðnar’s skull meant you had to engage him at close range, which meant you had to be brave enough to stand your ground and let him get near you. On numerous occasions, the initial, first-wave charges of berserkers and the ulfheðnar were so demoralizing to defending forces that they turned tail and ran, giving up ground to the main invading force that followed without so much as a fight.

Sigmund’s Wild Side (Norse Legend)
    In the Germanic epic the Volsung Saga, the main hero, Sigmund, has an encounter with lycanthropy.
     
    Sigmund had recently come across a young and eager warrior named Sinfjötli. Though he was eager to join him, Sigmund doubted the young man’s prowess and felt that he might be too inexperienced. In order to test Sinfjötli, the two went into the woods and began to pick fights with any warriors they came across, soon taking a fortune in plundered gold and other treasures. Eventually their excursion led them to a cottage where two ulfheðnar princes were sleeping. Their wolf-skin garments hung from their bedposts. Sigmund and Sinfjötli stole the magical garments and put them on. They were immediately transformed into wolves