Skyrim how to get infected with lycanthropy. How to recover from lycanthropy in the game Skyrim

The idea of \u200b\u200bbecoming an animal has been dominating the human mind since ancient times. And only recently have cases of such a transformation received a logical justification. It turned out that in some mental illnesses, in particular schizophrenia, in one of the variants of delusional hallucinatory states, it seems to a person that he is or has already turned into an animal. There are many variations of delirium itself and a possible animal. Patients may claim that they have turned into a frog, cat, fox, bear, but the most popular, of course, is the transformation into a wolf. In addition, variants of the transformation itself are also possible - periodic or permanent, complete or partial, and so on. It is the transformation into a wolf that implies the name of the disease: lycanthropy from the Greek means "wolf-man".

Lycanthropy in history

The first mentions of lycanthropy were recorded in ancient Greek legends.

“According to one version, the disease is called lycanthropy in honor of the hero of ancient Greek legends - King Lycaon. According to legend, as a mockery of Zeus, he fed him with human flesh - his own murdered son. As punishment, Zeus turned him into a wolf, condemning him to eternal wanderings along with packs of animals. Death Zeus considered insufficient punishment for such an atrocity. "

The Lycaon story was the first recorded werewolf tale. However, it should be understood that in ancient Greece and Rome, the attitude towards wolves was very benevolent and respectful, they were considered wise and fair animals. And in ancient Rome there was a whole cult of wolves - after all, it was the she-wolf who fed the founders of the city, Romulus and Remus. The image of the Capitoline she-wolf in Italy is still the standard of true motherhood.

Ancient legends extensively operated on the possibility of both full and partial transformation into a beast - remember at least the Minotaur, centaurs and sirens.

In Scandinavian mythology, wolves played an equally important role - the supreme god Odin, instead of dogs, was accompanied by two wolves, Frekki and Jerry. The destructive essence of the wolf was embodied in Fenrir - a giant wolf that is chained and hidden in the dungeon until the end of the world - then he can free himself from his shackles and become a participant in the universal battle of the gods that will destroy the world.

“Interestingly, the details of the werewolf legends varied depending on the region's fauna. So, in Western Europe, most legends associated a werewolf with a wolf, and in Central and Eastern Europe, werewolves-bears were no less common. Werewolf foxes are characteristic of Japan. In African legends, transformations into a monkey or a hyena are frequent. In addition, there were local variants - for example, in Slavic legends, transformations into a toad, rooster or goat are often found. "

With the onset of the Middle Ages, all kinds of sins were attributed to wolves, and this animal became a collective image of "evil". This was partly due to the great harm caused by wolves to animal husbandry.

"Investigations" by the Inquisition of cases of lycanthropy, like the witch trials and other trials, were purely accusatory in nature, their only purpose was to snatch a confession from the defendant. Therefore, on charges of werewolves in the XVI-XVI centuries, thousands were tortured and executed, and according to some studies - tens of thousands of people. Most of the accusations were the results of settling personal scores between fellow villagers and had nothing to do with real patients. Of course, under torture, people agreed to any, even the most absurd, testimony. The isolated cases when real patients with lycanthropy fell into the hands of the inquisitors only fueled their ardor. There were practically no acquittals, and those rare cases when they were nevertheless passed left the defendants deeply crippled.

With the end of the heyday of the Inquisition, the attitude towards lycanthropes became more even, and the first attempts to study this phenomenon began. In the XVIII-XIX centuries, research was already actively conducted to clarify the nature of the disease. The first reliably described cases of lycanthropy also belong to the same period.

Currently, lycanthropy in medicine is considered a syndrome that occurs in several mental illnesses. The diagnosis of "clinical lycanthropy" is made in the presence of the following manifestations:

  • Delirium of transformation - the patient claims that he has turned or is turning into an animal, indicates a specific type of animal, claims that he sees in the mirror not himself, but an animal. Often the patient can tell the details of the transformation, his feelings at the same time.
  • The patient's behavior corresponds to the behavior of the animal into which he allegedly turned. Patients move on all fours, bark, howl, scratch, sleep on the ground, take off their clothes, demand food, which, in their opinion, are consumed by animals, and show other signs of "animal" behavior.

The prevalence of lycanthropy

Despite the wide popularity of this term and its frequent mention in publications, most of them fall on "esoteric", historical or mythological studies. There are very few medical studies of what lycanthropy is, taking into account the symptoms, treatment, and its results. With a targeted search in the archives for references to the disease of lycanthropy since 1850, it was possible to find a description of only 56 cases of it. Retrospective diagnostics showed the following distribution of diagnoses: half of the cases were divided among themselves by depression with psychotic episodes and schizophrenia, and another fifth was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. The rest of the cases remained without diagnosis. Among sick men there were one third more than women.

Over the past several decades, only two cases of lycanthropy have been described in the literature. The first one was registered in a young soldier with a long history of drug use, especially marijuana, amphetamines and LSD. After taking LSD, there was a one-time episode of hallucinations in which the patient saw himself transformed into a wolf. In the future, delusional ideas appeared that he was a werewolf, which his colleagues know and signal to each other, ideas of the obsession of others with the devil. In the clinic, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia, and after a course of treatment, his condition improved significantly. In the future, the patient independently stopped treatment, after which the ideas of obsession returned, episodes of lycanthropy were not observed in the future.

The second case was described in a middle-aged man and was accompanied by a progressive decline in intelligence and the ability to perform daily work. Gradually, psychotic symptoms appeared - a tendency to sleep on the street, howl at the moon, the statement that he is covered with wool, that he is a werewolf. An in-depth examination revealed degeneration of the cerebral cortex and its microstructural changes. Due to the regular intake of drugs, there were no exacerbations of lycanthropy, but due to the organic nature of the disease, it was not possible to return the patient to a normal state.

Mainstream medicine pays little attention to the mental phenomenon that can be described as lycanthropy. Its symptoms always turn out to be a manifestation of other diseases, the methods of diagnosis and treatment of which are studied in depth, while lycanthropy turns out to be just one of the variants of a delusional hallucinatory state.

Another reason for the low level of knowledge of lycanthropy is the rarity of its occurrence. Even if we count the described 56 cases as the tip of the iceberg and increase them fivefold - 250 cases of the disease for all of humanity for almost 200 years of its study will give an extremely low prevalence of pathology. Moreover, lycanthropy does not require special treatment and is corrected in the treatment of the underlying disease. Accordingly, medical companies lack any motivation to spend on studying it.

Lycanthropy reasons

Most cases of lycanthropy belong to the above triad of diseases: schizophrenia, depression with episodes of psychosis, and manic-depressive psychosis. About a fifth of the described cases of the disease are due to other causes - various organic brain pathologies, hallucinatory syndromes with the use of psychoactive substances, degenerative diseases, hypochondriacal psychosis.

According to most studies, lycanthropy is accompanied by changes in the premotor and sensory areas of the cortex (which correspond to the central and precentral gyrus in the parietal region). Subcortical formations are often involved. The cumulative damage to these areas leads to impaired perception of one's own body.

Even in ancient legends, it was argued that hereditary transmission of lycanthropy is possible. How to get sick with it by inheritance became clear after finding out the true causes of the disease - most mental illnesses, especially schizophrenia, reveal a clear hereditary nature.

Another possible reason for the spread of legends about werewolves is a disease called hypertyhoz. This is increased skin hairiness, in which hair thickly covers the entire body, including the face, making the patient look like an animal. This disease is also hereditary. Many cases of the disease have been described, especially often it occurs in ethnic groups where closely related marriages are accepted - for the manifestation of defective genes, their repeated occurrence in several generations is necessary. For the inquisitors, the frightening appearance of such patients was sufficient reason to conclude a "werewolf" and all the ensuing consequences. Alas, the relationship between lycanthropy and hypertrichosis has been studied even less than the mental aspects of the disease.

Treatment

Lycanthropy is not always successfully cured. In schizophrenia, treatment with antipsychotics and antipsychotics leads to a subsidence of manifestations, but with relapses of the disease, they can return.

Bipolar disorder and depression are usually treated with tranquilizers, but residual symptoms may also persist.

But the consequences of taking hallucinogens and especially organic brain damage are treated rather poorly. In most cases, the maximum that can be achieved is the disappearance of cases of auto-aggression or a threat to others.

Lycanthropy - facts from history and modern life

Since ancient times, a person wanted to be able to turn into any animal, but cases of this conversion have received their logically correct explanation only recently.

Experts have found that with certain mental disorders, for example, schizophrenia, a person in a state of delirium seems to be turning or has already turned into an animal.

There are many animals that patients can "treat" to, as well as the hallucinations of this type. It should be noted that the “conversion” can be either permanent or occur periodically. A person can "transform" either individual parts of the body, or "transform" completely.

Name "Lycanthropy" translated from Greek as "Wolf man", and it is the conversion to the wolf that implies the name of the disease.

Historical background

The first mentions of the phenomenon of lycanthropy are found in the myths of Ancient Greece. According to one theory the disorder got its name from King Lycaon, who regaled Zeus with human meat prepared from the son he killed with his own hands.

For such a mockery, the god of thunder turned him into a wolf and condemned him to wander the earth in packs of animals, since he came to the conclusion that death is not enough to punish the king for this crime. Legends claimed that a person could turn into an animal in whole or in part (transform individual limbs), which is confirmed by the existence of centaurs, minotaurs and sirens in mythology.

Wolves also played a significant role in the mythology of the peoples of Scandinavia. So, according to the legends, Odin was accompanied by a pair of wolves (not dogs). The destructive nature of the wolf among the Scandinavians is reflected in a huge wolf named Fenrir, chained and hidden in the dungeons until the end of the world. According to legend, it is then that he will be able to gain freedom and will take part in a destructive battle between the gods. The Middle Ages marked a difficult period for the image of the wolf: it became a symbol of absolute evil and sinfulness. This, to some extent, could have been facilitated by the harm caused by wolves to farms of that time.

The Inquisition investigated cases of lycanthropy on a par with the phenomenon of witches. It is worth noting that all the trials were only of an accusatory nature, their sole purpose was to extract a confession from the accused. Most of these accusations were subjective, that is, people living in the same area wrote denunciations against each other.

Cases when the inquisitors came across people who really suffered from lycanthropy, only kindled in them the fire of righteousness of what they were doing. The number of sentences justifying lycanthropic patients was negligible, and in those rare cases when such people were nevertheless acquitted, the former defendants remained crippled for life. After the end of the inquisitorial activity, the first attempts to study the disorder appeared, and the attitude towards lycanthropes changed to neutral.

Symptoms

From a medical point of view, lycanthropy is characterized as a syndrome that arises from several mental disorders. Clinical lycanthropy can be diagnosed based on the following signs:

  1. Delirium of transformation: "Lycanthrope" is firmly convinced that at the moment he is being transformed into an animal or has already been transformed, while he indicates exactly who he has turned into and when looking in the mirror is sure that he sees the animal he has become.
  2. The patient behaves in accordance with the behavior and habits of the animal, the transformation into which he always imagines. He can bark and meow, move on four "legs", scratch and bite, sleep on the ground (bare floor), not wear clothes and show other signs of animal habits.

Disease prevalence

Despite the frequent use of this term in literature, most of its interpretations refer to research in the field of esotericism, history and mythology. Medical studies that answer the question of the nature of a disease such as lycanthropy and structure all the results obtained are extremely insufficient to compile a complete picture of the disorder. Since 1850, only 56 cases of lycanthropy have been found in the archives.

The diagnoses were distributed as follows: half of the cases are psychotic depression and, another part (about a fifth), the remaining cases have not received a diagnosis.

It is worth noting that there were much more men with symptoms of lycanthropy than the fairer sex (by about one third).

Over the past decades, only a couple of cases of lycanthropy can be found in the literature.

One of them was registered with a serviceman who had a long history of taking narcotic substances (cannabis, amphetamines, LSD).

It was noted once after the patient had consumed a dose of LSD, in which he imagined himself completely transformed into a wolf. Then he began to claim that he was a werewolf, which his colleagues had already guessed, and that everyone around was possessed by the devil. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia and prescribed a course of treatment, after which the patient's condition underwent noticeable changes towards improvement. However, he subsequently discontinued treatment and the previously present symptoms reappeared, but the lycanthropy no longer manifested.

Another case was observed in a middle-aged man. The disease proceeded with an intense regression of intelligence and ability to perform daily activities. Gradually, the patient acquired a tendency to howl at the moon, sleep in the open, began to assert that his entire body was covered with thick hair, and that he himself was a werewolf. Despite the prescribed treatment, it was not possible to bring the patient back to normal.

One of the reasons why lycanthropy is still poorly understood is its rare manifestation. All cases described in the literature are not enough for building a theory characterizing the disease, identifying effective methods of its treatment and diagnosis. And since lycanthropy does not require separate treatment and is eliminated along with the underlying pathology, companies working in the field of medicine have no motivation to spend money on studying this disease.

The reasons

Most of the known cases of lycanthropy are associated with one of the manifestations of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and reactive depression. But it's worth noting that about one fifth of all known cases of lycanthropy are due to other causes. These reasons include:

  • organic brain pathologies;
  • the use of hallucinogens;
  • diseases of the degenerative type;
  • hypochondriac syndrome;
  • hallucinosis.

Studies have shown that lycanthropy occurs with changes in the central and precentral gyri of the parietal lobe, often involving gray matter from areas close to the cerebral cortex. Complex disruption of the work of these zones is the cause of disorders in the patient's perception of his body.

Ancient legends spoke of the possibility of hereditary transmission of lycanthropy, and after determining the reasons that provoke the disease, it became clear why it is hereditary: the overwhelming number of disorders that cause lycanthropy (especially schizophrenia) are hereditary in nature.

Lycanthropy and hypertrichosis

Hypertrichosis is one of the possible reasons for the spread of rumors and the composition of legends about werewolves..

This is a disease characterized by the presence of a thick hairline in a person, while the entire body is covered with hair, including the face, which outwardly makes a person related to an animal.

An increased level of hair growth is hereditary and is often found in peoples, in whose traditions marriage with close relatives is allowed and encouraged, which meets the main rule of the manifestation of the disease: a defective gene must be encountered again over several generations. Such a frightening appearance was an unconditional pretext for the inquisitors: the patient was branded a "werewolf" and used the accepted methods of fighting wolf-people.

Currently, the relationship of this disease with lycanthropy is at the stage of little study., even less than the knowledge of the mental side of the disease.

Treatment

The disorder in question is not always amenable to successful treatment. Even with the use of antipsychotic and antipsychotic drugs to suppress schizophrenia, there is a risk of recurrence of the manifestations of the disease.

Residual symptoms may persist even after treatment with tranquilizers from diseases such as depression and manic-depressive psychosis.

In cases of elimination of the consequences of the use of substances causing hallucinations, as well as with brain lesions of an organic nature, treatment has a rather low effectiveness.

The most that can be achieved is the elimination of self-destructive actions and a decrease in the likelihood of situations that threaten strangers.

Lycanthropy is a disease in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim that gives the character the ability to transform into a beast.

Some consider it a gift descended from Hircine himself. Others consider lycanthropy a terrible curse and try to cure it so that the soul does not end up in the Hunting Grounds, the plane of this Daedric Prince, where the souls of werewolves fall after death.

The main carriers of this curse in Skyrim are the Companions War Guild, whose headquarters, Jorrvaskr, are located in the city of Whiterun. Unlike previous games in the series, where werewolves could not control the transformation into a beast, the curse of the Companions is softer in nature, allowing you to transform at any time of the day and anywhere. It is not at all necessary to kill someone and satisfy hunger to find a normal form. This was made possible by the fact that one of the Harbingers, Terrfig, made a pact with the Glenmoril coven, the servants of Hircine. Thus, one can agree with Ayla the Huntress and Skjor, who consider lycanthropy a gift rather than a curse. All other werewolves of Skyrim, such as Sinding, are classic lycanthropes and have no control over their transformations.

Beast shape

The main character can receive the ability "Transformation into a beast" as a kind of reward when he proves that he is worthy to become a member of the Circle of Companions. This ability can be used once a day. After transforming into a beast, the camera automatically switches to third person mode. The duration of the transformation is 2.5 minutes in real time, but eating the corpses of other characters extends the time spent in this mode by 30 seconds for each corpse. In the Dawnguard add-on, it becomes possible to feed on corpses and other creatures, after acquiring the corresponding ability.

The following changes occur to the character in the form of the beast:

Health increases by 50 units, and stamina by 100.
Carrying capacity increases to 1500 units.
The base damage of werewolf claws is 20 (at levels 1–10) and increases by 5 every four levels, from 11 to 45. So the maximum is 70 at level 45.
All racial talents are disabled during the transformation, but the effects of some abilities and spells continue to operate. These include: Sign of the Lord, Blessing of Mara, the Resist Magic ability of the Alteration skill, and the effects of long-lasting spells such as Stone Flesh or Frost Cloak, which continue to act in beast form.

Benefits

The werewolf's power attacks knock down and knock aside any prey, except for the largest ones, such as mammoths and dragons. For this reason, one-on-one combat with most opponents is not particularly difficult for a werewolf.
A werewolf sprint is faster and much longer than a horse canter, which can be helpful.
A werewolf cannot be stunned with a hit from a weapon or shield.
Fines for any crimes committed in the form of the beast do not count unless there were witnesses to the transformation. If the transformation was noticed, then the player's character is immediately imposed a fine of 1000 septims, which, however, can be removed by getting rid of the witnesses. This feature can be very useful when completing some quests of the Dark Brotherhood and the Thieves Guild.
Wolves mistake a werewolf in beast form for an ally and can help in battle.
If Dragonborn is in the form of a beast, then savage werewolves will not attack him and his companion.
Werewolf has 100% disease resistance, even vampirism. Therefore, while the character is sick with lycanthropy, it will not work to become a vampire.

disadvantages

The biggest drawback is that health in beast form does not regenerate. The only way to restore it is by devouring the corpses of other characters, which restores 50 health units. But, as mentioned above, with the release of the Dawnguard add-on, it became possible to acquire the ability to devour corpses and other creatures. In addition, if the Dragonborn add-on is installed, then on Solstheim, on Frostmoon Cliff, you can buy the Ring of the Hunt from Maine, one of the local hunters who turn out to be werewolves. Thanks to the enchantments on this ring, health in the form of a beast will be restored.
In the form of a beast, it is impossible to sneak, pick up objects, use a map, open doors with locks and use spells, talents and Shouts, open the menu of characteristics and inventory.
A character infected with lycanthropy does not receive the bonus from sleeping after sleep.
Most of the characters, with the exception of the current companion, the huscarls, members of the Circle, the Thieves Guild, and the Dark Brotherhood, will attempt to kill the werewolf or flee.
Beast Armor is 0.
Before version 1.3.10, the armor in the form of a beast depended on the level of development of the "Light armor" skill and its ability "Dexterity in defense".
All equipped equipment is removed and placed in inventory. After returning to normal form, you have to equip everything back.
It is not possible to perform the reverse transformation until the expiration of the time of the transformation into a beast. In order for the character to return to normal form, the only way is to wait quickly for 1-2 hours.

Werewolf attacks

The werewolf can use both paws to quickly deliver many simple hits: the attack and block buttons alternately. Also, when using certain key combinations, special power attacks are available:

1.Hold attack or block button - a series of three hits with both paws alternately, starting with the one for which the key was held down.
2.Hold attack and block buttons at the same time - fast power attack.
3.Hold the movement key and the attack or block button - a strong blow with the left or right paw (the difference is only in the animation) with the victim being thrown over a rather long distance, after which she cannot stand up for a long time.
4.Hold attack or block button while sprinting - the most powerful attack, which is a jump forward with the overturning of an opponent who has come under attack. At level 46 and with Feral Strength fully developed, this attack deals 960 damage, enough to instantly kill all but the most powerful creatures. However, it is very difficult to hit the target with this attack, as in the sprint the werewolf changes direction very slowly.

The werewolf has special finishing moves: he pounces on the enemy and tears him apart with claws and teeth, or raises him off the ground and bites off his head. However, after that, an even cut will remain on the neck, as if the head were cut off with a sword or chopped off with an ax. During the finishing move animation, other enemies can move and attack the werewolf, but the werewolf itself is invulnerable until the end of the scene.

Hircine's artifacts

  • Hircine's Ring allows the werewolf to additionally change shape once a day.
  • Hircine's cursed ring causes even healthy people, mers and beastmen to spontaneously turn into a beast.

How to become a werewolf

Whiterun has Companions, I think you can find them without any problems, we join their ranks, and we complete quests for them, and when you are asked to go down to lower forge (after completing the next quest), this will mean that the moment has come when you finally become a werewolf.

Healing

Healing from lycanthropy through a special cleansing ceremony will become available at the end of the Companions storyline. The ceremony involves the burning of the head of one of the Glenmoril coven witches in the fire of the altar in the depths of Ysgramor's tomb. After that, the wolf spirit of the one over whom the purification ritual is performed appears. With a ghostly wolf you need to fight and prevail. From this moment on, the soul is considered purified and the mortal will never again become a lycanthrope.

In order for Dovahkiin to be able to purify his soul, you will first have to help with this problem other members of the Circle who want to get rid of the curse, namely the brothers Vilkas and Farkas.

If the Dawnguard add-on is installed, then the character can be reinfected with lycanthropy. Eila the Huntress will help with this. However, this can only be done once - after repeated healing, there will be no more chances to be infected again.

Note: You can restart Eila's miniquest using the resetquest XX00F899 console command. This will make it possible to get infected with lycanthropy again.

An alternative to the purification ceremony can be to accept the gift of the vampire lord from Harkon, after which the soul falls under the influence of the curse of vampirism. The curse of lycanthropy is removed.

Bugs

  • If Hircine's ring is removed after using an additional transformation and put on it again, then the transformation will be available again. This allows an unlimited number of shape changes per day.
  • There is a reverse bug in which during the transformation into a beast, the effect of Hircine's ring is taken into account first. And since after the reverse transformation it appears in the inventory, it will be possible to change the shape only once a day.
  • Using the bug, you can make a fast journey when the character is in the form of a beast.
  • It happens that the character gets stuck in the form of a beast - the effect does not stop over time.
  • Decision: wait a long time (about seven hours). After a few seconds after a quick wait, normal form should be restored.
  • The wolf spirit may never appear during the cleansing ceremony, which will prevent healing from lycanthropy.
  • In-game statistics may continue to count down the days in the form of a werewolf, even if the character is already healed. Also, other characters will treat him like a werewolf, talking about a wolf grin and fur sticking out of his ears. In this case, all the effects of lycanthropy will disappear, as expected.
  • Decision: use console command Set PlayerIsWerewolf to 0. After that, the statistics will work as expected, however, the guards may still suspect that the character is a werewolf.
  • Sometimes, after re-infection with lycanthropy, the guard and some other characters will ignore Dovahkiin in the form of a beast. This can lead to such unexpected consequences as the attack of the guards on civilians who will attack the werewolf. The guards will seek to protect the player's character by killing the attackers.
  • Decision: use console command Set PlayerIsWerewolf to 1.
  • If the transformation into a beast was carried out in the water, then the equipped one-handed weapon can remain in the werewolf's paws. However, weapon damage and the effects of enchantments applied to it are preserved.
  • Sometimes, even in the case of transformation on land, the equipped one-handed weapon remains in the character's hands, but in this case it does not affect the damage.
  • If a torch or one-handed weapon with the effect of fire damage was equipped at the time of the transformation, the werewolf's tail may burn. This does not damage the character.
  • In older versions of the game (up to 1.3 inclusive), a bug is possible when rings and necklaces remain on the character after the reverse transformation, but the effects of enchantments applied to them cease to work.
  • Decision: remove decorations and equip them again.
  • In older versions of the game (up to 1.6 inclusive), a bug is possible, when using which, after clearing, you can save all the bonuses of lycanthropy and get rid of some disadvantages, such as not receiving the bonus to rest from sleep. To do this, you need to equip the Hircine ring on the character during the cleansing ceremony. At the end of the expulsion of the wolf spirit, the ring must be removed, while additional transformation from it will remain.
  • Sometimes after several attempts to sleep, a rest bonus can be obtained.
  • It so happens that the effect of 100% disease resistance ceases to work if the character is overloaded in the form of a beast. In such cases, he may contract some simple disease like stone gout. For healing, as usual, you can pray at the altar of one of the deities or take a potion of healing diseases.
  • If the character's race was changed using console commands, then after the reverse transformation it will change to the original one.
  • Sometimes the animation of finishing off the enemy does not start for 1-3 seconds, while the character is immobilized.
  • If the game is not turned off for a long time, the texture of the werewolf's skin in areas devoid of hair can become shiny.
  • Decision: restart the game.
  • If in the process of devouring a corpse you press the key for using Shout / talent, then the animation of the devouring process will be interrupted, which can be useful in battle.

Any psychotherapist or psychiatrist can answer the question of what lycanthropy is. It is a disorder of self-perception and behavior, suggesting that its owner considers himself an animal or exhibits his own habits. Banal persuasion does not work here, because the patient sincerely believes in his second "I", considering the "whistleblowers" to be liars.

In the Middle Ages, doctors refused to consider this obsessive syndrome a disease. The church was engaged in "treatment", suggesting imprisonment in a monastery or burning at the stake. This did not contribute to the study of the syndrome, so relatively little is known about it. The modern Groningen Institute in the Netherlands is studying this disorder and collecting all known cases.

Lycanthropy disease

Clinical lycanthropy is caused by a malfunction of certain areas of the cerebral cortex responsible for movement and sensation. With the help of the sensory membrane of the brain, a person forms an idea of \u200b\u200bboth the world around him and himself. Sheath defects allow the owner of the syndrome to consider himself an animal and visualize his behavioral habits.

Mental illness lycanthropy

It is worth recognizing that lycanthropy in humans (from the Greek "lycos" - a wolf and "anthropos" - a person) is indeed a mental disorder. It has an indirect relationship to psychology: this disease cannot be a temporary imbalance due to stress or low self-esteem. “Werewolves” always have paranoid delusions, acute psychosis, bipolar personality disorder or epilepsy in their complex.

Lycanthropy - symptoms

The werewolf syndrome, due to its rarity and little study, has a vague list of symptoms that can easily be attributed to a whole list of mental deformities. As unique as lycanthropy is, its symptoms are similar to schizophrenia:

A specialized drug for lycanthropy has not yet been invented. Its symptoms are muted in the same ways that similar illnesses with distorted self-perception are treated. These include antidepressants of varying potencies, drugs for insomnia, and regular counseling with psychotherapists. Unfortunately, the disease can be stabilized, but not completely cured.

Psychiatrists are still familiar with all sorts of manifestations of lycanthropy, since it is no less diverse than the animal world. People-"werewolves" are encountered less and less often or avoid meeting with doctors, subconsciously guessing about the extraordinary nature of their disease. It is difficult to treat but is easily controlled by doctors.

Lycanthropy - myth or reality?

The debate about whether lycanthropy exists and how widespread it is is regularly held among physicians. In this she is similar to porphyria, a vampire disease caused by genetic abnormalities caused by marriages between relatives. It disrupts the production of hemoglobin, provoking rapid destruction of the skin under the influence of sunlight.

Porphyria and lycanthropy are similar in that they were previously considered traits of fairytale characters. With the development of medicine, it turned out that myths and children's "horror stories" exaggerated real health problems. Werewolf syndrome began to be considered a violation of psychology in 1850: since that moment, doctors have counted 56 people who consider themselves werewolves who can turn into a wild or domestic animal.

Lycanthropy - Real Cases Today

This unusual disease of lycanthropy, the real cases of which are not so common, makes people want to associate themselves with the wolf. Of the 56 cases, 13 were associated with the fact that the patient considered himself to be this animal and flatly refused to believe in his "human" origin. The rest of the "werewolves" were convinced that they were snakes, dogs, cats, frogs or bees. Doctors are surprised to admit that they were confident that they would have to face a large number of patients.

The most studied remains werewolf syndrome, which overtook the Spanish serial killer Manuel Blanco, who went to the doctors in 1852. He got the court to admit that part of the crimes were committed by the wolf, into which he turned. Trying to convince psychiatrists that he was right, he showed them imaginary fangs and demanded exclusively raw meat for dinner. When looking in the mirror, Manuel said that he saw a wolf there.

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Lycanthropy

A mythical disease, under the influence of which metamorphoses occur in the body, making a person a wolf. It should be noted that lycanthropy is not only mystical or magical. There is a mental illness called clinical Lycanthropy, in which case the patient is sure that he is a wolf, a werewolf, or some other animal.

The oldest texts contain descriptions of lycanthropy. In the seventh century, Paul Ogineta, a Greek physician, wrote about this, and he called bloodletting an effective treatment. This treatment was explained by the spread of the humane theory that one of four fluids always predominates in the body. These are mucus, blood, black and ordinary bile.

For each element there is a connection with a specific character. For mental and physical health, it is ideal that these four fluids are equally present. If one of them is present in excess, then an imbalance arises that can cause mental and physiological abnormalities.

It is recognized by all scientists that in lycanthropy, black bile is predominant, and with its excess, various mental disorders arise, including depression, mania, hallucinations, and insanity. As you know, over time, melancholy began to be called a pathological state of mind.

Symptoms

At different times, the description of lycanthropy was not presented in the same way, for example, in the work of Aetius, written at the beginning of the sixth century. It is said that with the onset of February, a person runs away from home at night, wanders around the cemetery. There he howls, digs out the bones of the dead from the graves, and then walks with them through the streets, terrifying everyone. Who will meet on the way. Such melancholic personalities have pale faces, poorly seeing sunken eyes, a parched tongue. They constantly have a need to spit, also with lycanthropy, there is thirst, there is an acute lack of moisture.

Some doctors considered the basis of the humoral theory to explain lycanthropy. In addition, it was believed that the devil is hunting for melancholic, while he is able to distort their perception of the surrounding reality.

Descriptions of lycanthropy, vivid and vivid, were compiled by the historiographer Gular, the basis of such descriptions were medical stories taken from the works of Donatus, Aetius, Aegineta, Boden, and others. Analyzing his research, he made the appropriate conclusion. For example, if the human brain is only "spoiled", then he suffers from melancholy. Others, imagining themselves werewolves, were "weakened" people, afflicted by Satan.

In addition, Gular mentions mass lycanthropy. There is a known case in Livonia when people were beaten by thousands, they were forced to join the actions of the lycanthropes and their sado-mahochistic entertainments. They persecuted their tormentors and took part in orgies, while the behavior was at an animal level.

Features of the behavior of lycanthropes

While in a trance, people suffering from lycanthropy are sure that the body has changed, it has reincarnated. Further, having come to their senses, the sick did not doubt that with the help of Satan they left their bodies in order to inhabit the wolves. This was always followed by lycanthropic demonic rampages. According to patients, the onset of the attack was marked by a slight chill, which quickly turned into a fever. The condition was accompanied by a severe headache, there was a strong thirst.

Other signs included difficulty in breathing, severe perspiration. The arms became longer, they were swollen, the skin on the limbs and face became blurred, became rougher. The toes were strongly curved, their appearance resembled claws. It was difficult for the lycanthrope to wear shoes, he got rid of them in every possible way.

There were also changes in the consciousness of the lycanthrope, he began to suffer from claustrophobia, that is, he was afraid of closed rooms, so he tried to leave the house and be on the street. After that, there were stomach cramps, nausea appeared. The lycanthrope man had a pronounced burning sensation in the chest area.

At the same time, speech became slurred, the throat emitted a guttural muttering. This phase of the attack is characterized by the fact that the person tried to throw off all his clothes, got up on all fours. The skin began to darken, matte hair appeared. Coarse hair grew on the face and head, so the person looked like an animal.

After such changes, the werewolf was wildly thirsty for blood, and this desire was impossible to overcome, the lycanthrope rushed in search of the victim. The palms and soles of the feet acquired amazing hardness, the werewolf easily ran over sharp stones, and at the same time absolutely without harm to himself.

The attack was carried out on the very first person who could be met. Using sharp teeth, the wolf-man bit through an artery in the neck area, drinking blood. After the thirst was satisfied, the werewolf fell asleep exhausted on the ground until the morning, the transformation into a human took place at dawn.

The secrets of lycanthropy

Throughout the history of this mysterious disease, lycanthropes have often confessed to using drugs, rubbing their bodies with special ointments that promote transformation. Obviously, in such cases, they experienced an expansion of consciousness, there was a feeling that they were incredibly strong, both physically and mentally.

In real life, such sensations are not available to a person. Modern psychiatrists use the term lycanthropy to denote a form of delirium when a patient considers himself an animal. Psychiatric practice knows many examples of lycanthropy, when people consider themselves not only wolves, but also cats, bears, and so on.

Lycanthropy is quite rare in modern industrial society, so doctors dealing with such cases have to turn to ancient medicine for descriptions, predictions, and even remedies. At present, psychotherapeutic techniques, hypnosis, and sedatives are used to treat lycanthropy from modern means.

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Each person has its own werewolf! How do you become one?

How to become a werewolf in real life? Can we argue that this is impossible, given that any person has his own innate beast, which is not controlled by the mind and at some point he can wake up? Let's take a closer look at this issue.

What is a werewolf?

Werewolves are mythological creations that do not outwardly differ from humans and only under the cover of night transforms into a fierce beast. They are bloodthirsty and vicious, lonely passers-by and lost travelers become victims of their attacks. Sometimes a werewolf can be recognized in human form, the signs of the beast are densely fused eyebrows, pointed ears and increased hairiness.

There are several types of werewolves, depending on what kind of animal a person acquires. The most common transformation is the acquisition of a wolf likeness. Such werewolves are called a werewolf. Other werewolves are also found in the legends of different peoples, for example: in Japan, they mention the existence of a kitsune - a werewolf of a fox, in Asia there are aniot people transforming into a leopard, and in Greenland, silk in the form of seals.

Many mythological stories talk about the possibility of turning a person into a beast and vice versa. Even in Russian legends there are some werewolves, for example: our heroes could turn into a falcon, and the serpent Gorynych often reincarnated into a handsome young man, and the immortal koschey also took the form of any animal. Note that there is a difference in the traits of a werewolf:

Some people with the characteristic signs of werewolf can have a disease called Lycanthropy. This type of people cannot control their transformations and most often do not even suspect that during the full moon they commit brutal attacks on people in the guise of an animal.

Others were given the opportunity to convert of their own free will. Such people turn into a monster at any time using magical abilities. They completely control the process of transformation and the subsequent actions of their bestial nature.

Werewolf Legends?

All peoples suffering from wolf attacks have their own legends about werewolves. Some of them tell that some of the werewolves are people who survived a terrible tragedy. According to legends, such a person becomes a wolf every night and expects his death in order to alleviate his human fate. Exploring medieval writings, a story was found about a werewolf who pounced on a hunter in the form of a wolf. However, the brave man was not taken aback and cut off the limb of the beast and put it in his bag. Having come home from a hunt and looking into his backpack, instead of the limb of the beast, he saw a hand with a ring on his wife's finger, and rushing into the bedroom, he found his wife bleeding.

There are a lot of such stories in the history of our great planet. But all the legends claim that werewolves are not from hell, unlike devils, demons and vampires. Werewolves are earthly entities, which, according to old beliefs, could be all who contracted a certain ailment. Without knowing the cure for this disease, all those infected were brought to justice and then burned at the stake.

In Russian narratives, a werewolf was called an evil spirit, which appears as a harbinger of misfortune and rushes between the legs of a person. Unlike Western legends, in Russian stories, a werewolf turns not only into a beast, but also into a ball indicating the way, into any stone or a shock of hay, and always strikes the ground to transform.

Lycanthropy is ...?

Lycanthropy is a disease of werewolves. Doctors believe that this disease causes various mental disorders. Symptoms of the disease are a weakening of visual function, pallor of the skin, lack of fluid in the human mucosa and intense thirst. The patients described the moment of their transformation in this way:

“At first it’s a slight chill in the skin, which sharply turns into a strong fever, then it becomes difficult to breathe and a terrible headache. During the transformation, the limbs lengthen and swell, and the fingers take the form of claws. This is followed by nausea and a burning sensation in the chest, and all the skin is covered with coarse hair. All this is happening so quickly that it is impossible to do anything. "

In modern times, such a term as "lycanthropy" is often used in psychiatry, this disease defines one of the types of delirium in which a person presents himself as an animal. And this disease is also attributed to people who use drugs. And since lycanthropy has not yet been thoroughly studied, people are placed in psychiatric clinics to treat this disease.

How to become a werewolf in real life?

If, having identified the symptoms of werewolf and having learned how the transformation process goes, you have not changed your mind about becoming a werewolf, you should know that there will be no turning back. And if you are not afraid of loneliness and the life of a hermit, because human society will never accept a human beast, here are some ways to become a werewolf.

To turn into a beast, you can find a practicing magician and order a special potion from him. The ingredients of this potion are bat blood, opium, and red fox hair. During the manufacture of a magic potion, the magician must recite special spells. After preparing the potion, strip naked and smear yourself with a magical liquid, then stand in the light of a full moon and scream with a wild beast. Before morning, the potion cannot be washed off. But since there is no reverse spell, think carefully before deciding on such an action.

First of all, transformation requires psychological preparation, because an animal already lives in every person, you just need to be able to properly release it. Being in a common society, we suppress most of our desires, so as not to be condemned by human society. However, our essence is animal and should not be suppressed. You are greatly mistaken if you think that only a person who leads an animal lifestyle can become a werewolf. Only highly spiritual people who have reached a high level of development can use transformation.

Develop your psychological thinking, for this it is good to visit places where there was a big adrenaline rush of a hunter or victim, these can be places of murders or mass fights. You need to feel the fear that the victims of the attack felt, close your eyes and let into your subconscious the horror that the victim felt. When you can feel all the horror of what is happening there, take the side of the hunter, imagine yourself as a beast that instills fear in anyone who gets in your way. If you do everything correctly and really feel like a beast on a subconscious level, then soon you will be able to go through the process of transforming your bodily state.

How to become a werewolf in real life? Summing up the above, we can say that any person can be a potential werewolf. After experiencing a big emotional blow in a person, civilized qualities perish, and at such moments, true animal instincts wake up and who knows what a person can reach in such a state. Be careful what you want and try not to cross the line of common sense. Take care of yourself!

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by The Wild Mistress's Notes

Werewolf... What horror emanates from this word! Much has been forgotten by people, but dark legends about werewolves have come down to our days. Why? "Superstitions are tenacious," some say. "Form werewolf so long does not leave humanity due to the fact that people from ancient times are afraid of each other, following the saying "Man is a wolf to man", - others are sure. We are talking about a rare congenital disease - there is such a theory. In the northern regions of France, namely in these deserted places, characterized by harsh nature, most of the legends are still told ...

Once his friend Monsieur Ferol came to the castle of Monsieur Sanrosh and invited the owner to hunt. But he declined the invitation. He had a business meeting. Monsieur Ferolle went out to track the deer alone. However, quickly finishing all the cases, Mr. Sanrosh got bored. Going into the rooms of his lovely wife, he learned that she was not at home. And then he decided, so as not to while away the time alone, to meet his friend, who, apparently, is already returning with the booty.

Soon, on the hill, he saw his friend moving quickly towards him. Ferol almost ran, And when the friends met, Sanrosh was amazed: the hunter's cloak was torn and splattered with blood, and the look was completely killed. Some time passed before he, barely catching his breath, told what had happened to him.

Tracking down the prey, Ferol did not notice how he wandered into the thicket of the forest. Through the gap between the trees he saw a clearing with deer on it. Throwing the musket from his shoulder, the hunter prepared to shoot at one of them, but a terrible growl that sounded nearby literally pinned him to the spot for a moment. Fortunately, it was just a moment - Ferol was saved from instant death by the reaction of an experienced hunter.

When a huge wolf jumped at him in a frantic dash, he kicked the beast away with a blow of the butt. This helped Ferol win an instant. He wound the cloak around his left hand, and when the wolf repeated his attempt to grab the hunter's throat, he deftly thrust it into the mouth of the beast, trying to strike with the right hand with a dagger clamped in it.

In mortal combat, they rolled on the ground. Ferol, next to him, already saw bloodshot and frenzied eyes. Having contrived, he cut on the paw raised above his face. With a howl, the beast threw the lying Ferol and disappeared into the thickets ...

Of course, there could be no question of any further hunting. Ferol hurried home, especially since the hills were already pink from the setting sun.

“Isn't it incredible? But I have proof. I took the wolf's paw with me. God knows, even in a terrible dream I could not have dreamed of such a huge and ferocious monster! " - with these words Ferol unbuttoned his bag, and his face became white as chalk.

Sanrosh also looked into the bag. What he saw hit him like thunder. At the bottom, instead of a shaggy paw, lay an elegant hand. She was studded with rings. One of them Monsieur Sanroche recognized at once: it was decorated with a large blue topaz. This ring belonged to his wife ...

Sanrosh did not remember under what pretext he took his terrible trophy from Ferol, who had barely come to his senses and, wrapping it in a scarf, brought it home. He asked if his wife had returned. He was told that, yes, she returned, but she was unwell and asked not to disturb her. She lay on the bed in a semi-conscious state, and a brown stain spread over the blanket. With a quick movement, Sanrosh threw back the covers and saw a bloody stump. The called doctor managed to stop the blood and thus prolong the life of the beautiful mistress of the castle. But not for long ...

This story, with minor changes, was repeated in many medieval papers, and then migrated from century to century. But it is only a small part of the legendary information that mankind has accumulated about werewolves. In Russia, there was a legend, in many ways similar to the adventures of the poor hunter Ferol. She talked about the love of a young boyar for the miller's daughter ...

It was a sad place — by an old, creaking mill near a forest backwater. Both horse and foot walked around her a mile away. But the beauty of the miller's daughter, which once struck the young boyar, made him give up on rumors, and he, every evening, visited his dear.

In vain, the girl, intercepting the frown of her father, whispered to persuade her heartfelt friend to forget the way here. "What am I not a groom?" - the young man wondered and kept asking the miller's daughter why her father did not like him so much, why she trembles and grows numb when he throws up sharp, not old eyes at her. And they laid down to meet at the old oak ...

Once, having said goodbye to a young beauty, the young man, having jumped on a horse, went home. Could he have thought that death had already lurked in the twilight of an extinguished day and was waiting for him behind a huge boulder covered with moss? Another moment, and a huge gray shadow darted from behind the stone. Wolf! Eyes flashed with fury, and fangs opened, in a hurry to dig into the victim. If it were not for the horse rearing up and exposing his chest to the warrior, there would be trouble. But at that moment the boyar pulled out a saber and hit the beast on the paw entangled in the horse's mane. The wolf howled wildly and, rushing, disappeared into the bushes,

Barely catching his breath and calming the horse, the boyar decided to return and check whether the girl got home safely: is it a joke, what kind of wolf is prowling around. Galloping to the miller's hut, he saw that the door was ajar. He went in and could not believe his eyes: blood was dripped from the threshold, a miller was sitting on the bench, leaning back and breathing heavily, and his daughter was bandaging the wound on his arm with a white rag. I turned around, saw the boyar and fell unconscious ...

As you can see, rumor attributes the terrible property of turning into a beast to a man and a woman, a rich man and a commoner. Werewolves, it was believed, could become voluntarily and involuntarily, under the influence of witchcraft. The second was extremely feared by the decent inhabitants. A neighbor or an accidental oncoming person on a country road, a traveler knocking on the window asking for an overnight stay, and even a close relative could not only take their lives, but also, which was even more terrible for many, spoil them, infect them with the terrible property of turning into an animal.

That is why the restless gaze was looking among strangers, and, under some circumstances embarrassing the soul, and among acquaintances, the face of the one who betrayed a wolf in himself. Every very thin and pale person with deeply sunken luminous dark eyes aroused suspicion. It was believed that the legs of a werewolf were covered with scabs or scabs, his palms were covered with wool, and his index fingers were longer than average. A terrible detail was conveyed in a whisper: with the coming month, a secret sign appears on the werewolf's thigh. The werewolf was said to carry a shaggy wolf tail with him. He could betray himself with an unquenchable thirst.

And if these external signs were absent? All the same, in, say, Russian villages, people knew who was who. If in doubt, there was a way to "figure out" the werewolf. For example, guests gather in the hut, and among them the alleged werewolf. The owners are already on their guard: they will put a broom upside down, and a needle will be stuck into the lintel. After the feast, everyone will calmly disperse to their homes, and the werewolf is seen in front of the door, but does not dare to cross the threshold.

Or here: yesterday, for no apparent reason, a pig chased someone with a stick on the back, and then they see how the neighbor's grandmother barely came out onto the porch, groans, clings to her lower back. And already at the sight of her, word spread throughout the village ... How to be here? In Russia, the peasant in such a case resorted to the help of holy water. She not only protected him from the influence of the dark force, but if you sprinkle it on the clothes of a person disguised as a skin, then it was believed that he would forever remain a beast.

They believed that the wolf is by no means the only animal that a person can turn into. He could take the form of another predator. But still, traditionally in India, a werewolf preferred the skin of a tiger, in Africa - a leopard and a hyena, in South America - a jaguar. In Central and Eastern Europe, in addition to the wolf, a person endowed with this satanic ability took on a feline appearance. In the old days, a cat that fell under suspicion was immediately sent to the fire, so that living in close proximity to a person could not cause him special harm.

In Serbia, wishing to protect the house from werewolves, they rubbed it in the cracks with garlic. In many localities it was believed that this evil spirits neither a knife, nor a club, nor an ordinary shot. And you need to go out to a duel with her, driving a bullet of pure silver into the barrel.

It was believed that people who had ruined their souls and wished for unpunished terror over, once, their own kind, went to voluntary werewolves. At first, "volunteers", according to legends, met somewhere in the wilderness of the forest, swamp swamps, dead places, bypassed by travelers, arranged wild orgies, leaving scraps of hair, skin, drops of blood. In gratitude for these offerings of human flesh, the devil gave everyone an ointment composed of parts of a toad, a snake, a hedgehog, a fox and, of course, a warrior. On the full moon and, as a rule, in February - the favorite month of werewolves - candidates replenished the army of monsters, taking on a bloody business,

The testimony of a resident of France Garnier (they were recorded in 1574) is still freezing blood in my veins, very reminiscent of what our press wrote about modern maniacs. Garnier, who confessed under torture to his crimes, according to his contemporaries, was a man who entered into a deal with the devil.

Once he met him in the forest, he, in exchange for his soul, learned a potion that could turn him into a wolf.

Old engravings depict Garnier on all fours and with a stolen child in his teeth. On the account of the wolf-man, according to the investigation, there were nightmarish crimes: he eaten cannibals, raped women, gnawed genitals from the corpses of the men he killed, and killed children.

It was believed that a woman who became pregnant from a werewolf was doomed to give birth to a child-beast (what to say about a werewolf woman!). It was also believed that one can get infected by contact with a werewolf: a cut on the skin, where his saliva got into, is enough.

In West Africa, sorcerers established a direct connection with the animal world: they took blood from the ear of the beast, from the vein of their own hand and, as it were, “changed” it. In Normandy and Britain, they thought that wearing a wolf's hide was enough to become completely like him after a while. In Scandinavia, the shortest path to the werewolves was considered to be the sins of the church in excommunication.

One can shudder at the pages of ancient treatises that describe in detail the scene of the transformation of a man into a beast. At first, the candidate for wolves began to beat a slight chill, turning into a fever. My head ached, I was tormented by the strongest thirst. (Let's recall the signs by which the werewolf was "calculated".) The limbs began to "break." They swelled up. The foot could no longer bear the shoes. The fingers on them, as well as on the hands, were bent and acquired extraordinary tenacity.

These external metamorphoses entailed internal changes as well. The one who said goodbye to the human appearance could no longer stand the confined space of the house. He was irresistibly drawn out. He refused to perceive familiar objects yesterday. No longer a man, but not yet a beast, this strange creature was experiencing, as it were, a clouding of mind. The tongue did not obey, the sounds emanating from the larynx were something between the muttering of a drunk and growling.

Having got out of the dwelling, the doomed one finally threw off his clothes. Now he did not need it - the head, face, body were covered at first with soft, but quickly acquiring stiffness and a specific animal smell, wool. The soles of the feet no longer felt the pricks of sharp stones and thorns.

The man-beast, having dropped to all fours, with his feet, can move on them as easily as it once was on the floorboards of his native Don, who now became unnecessary and even hostile. Forest paths, valleys flooded with moonlight - now the one who once feared this desertion became their sovereign master. And a triumphant wild howl rushed into the night sky ...

This is how the process of transformation of a person into a beast is described by experts on this mysterious topic, people who are not scared away by the words "incredible", "impossible." They are conscientiously trying to discover that invisible, almost elusive line where reality turns into fiction, and vice versa.

It's easier for writers, of course. They are more concerned with the question of amusement. It cannot be said that masterpieces were created in the literature about werewolves, although such masters as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Walter Scott, Jonathan Swift and Alexander Dune looked into this “hole of the Great Unknown”. But on the other hand, what a lure cinema has found for the audience!

The start was taken in 1913, and until now the werewolf has not left the cinematic distance. It was the terrible moment of the rebirth of the human face that brought the authors of the film "American Werewolf in London" the most prestigious award - "Oscar" in 1981.

But the truly bestial moment of birth - and this is evident from literally every legend - could take place only when the werewolf quenched his thirst with human blood. This thirst suppressed all other feelings. And did they stay? The former man felt like only a beast. And woe to the one who, in the blue light of the moon or on a sunny day, met with a werewolf. If an ordinary wolf could be content with any prey, the werewolf needed only a man. Biting through the cervical arteries, tearing apart the body, he found peace. How much? For a day? For a week? ..

It was believed that several options are possible here. It was possible to become a werewolf forever. In the legends of France, the duration of werewolves was determined by seven to ten years. Greek myths said that people became wolves who settled on a special island among the deep swamps and ate food from wolf and human entrails. They, however, could return to their former life, having climbed back through the swamps.

But there is also a completely different statement, according to which the transformation of a person into a beast is not associated with any supernatural forces, but, in fact, is a rare disease that has its own name - lycanthropy. Lycanthropy, which in Ancient Greece was called "wolf rabies" - a kind of madness when a person imagines himself a wolf and becomes capable of any atrocity. Doubt is appropriate here. You can imagine anything: for example, consider yourself Napoleon or a raven. But physical transformation? Wool? Fangs? Howl?

The ancients expressed doubt about the existence of such a disease. In the modern medical encyclopedia, the term "lncanthropy" is completely absent. And yet, nevertheless ... The ancient Roman poet Marcellus Sidet wrote about lycanthropy as a misfortune, the symptoms of which are: terrible ferocity and a gigantic appetite. Those who had the misfortune of falling ill with lycanthropy, as it seemed to the supporters of the "lycanthropic" version, move away from people, to wastelands, abandoned cemeteries and wait there for their victim.

However, among the lycanthropes there were those who were not thirsty for blood. Expecting an attack with horror, the patient took all measures not to take sin on his soul, locked himself in the room, threw the keys out and tied himself to the bed. Researchers of this topic argued that sometimes special bolts were used, with which a person could cope, and unbearable for the beast. It was not only a natural moral feeling that compelled lycanthropic patients to fight a terrible attack alone. Another thing is undoubted: they were possessed by a wild fear.

The question of what part of human memory is retained in the memory of a werewolf during transformation has no unambiguous answer. Although in essence a werewolf is a wolf, while in wolf form, he nevertheless retains human abilities and knowledge that help him kill. It is possible that after the transformation, vague memories remained in the werewolf's memory, causing some kind of emotional assessment, which, being perceived by the wolf's consciousness, leads to the manifestation of aggression towards such people.

The image of a werewolf lycanthrope appeared in legends and beliefs long before many other creatures, but even despite the fact that the recent discovery of the genetic "lycanthropy syndrome" destroys the mystical charm of ancient legends, a person still wants to believe in the existence of mysterious and powerful wolf people chasing their prey by the light of the full moon.

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