Episode 3: Werewolves of the Big City

Thomas Hobbes said, "Homo homini lupus" and he knew quite well what he was talking about. After all, there is a reason why the wolf man myth came to being as early as the first recorded civilizations and became a staple of European folklore. Let's face it: we're all split personalities to some extent, divided between our civilized ideals and the animal within. The human kind knew this long before Freud decided to show up and tag the wolf man with definitions of his own. Just ask Little Red Riding Hood.

On April 24th, Danse Macabre devoted an entire episode to the wolf man, quoting passages from literature and mighty werewolf's Wikipedia. Special attention was given to the origin of werewolf beliefs and how this tied with the stories about werehyenas and werejaguars in places where the wolf is not a common predator. The biggest discovery, however, was the technique of changing into a werewolf, which apparently differs significantly from one place to another. The most pleasant act of shape shifting has been described by the 16th century Swedish writer Olaus Magnus according to whom the Livonian werewolves were initiated by drinking special beer and repeating a chant - like football hooligans, really.

Download the full playlist HERE.

As you'll notice in the list, we gave our kudos to our Japanese brethren, Guitar Wolf and Boris which never seem to slow down, trading the safe and serious for pure wildness, just like real wolf men. It is to them that I devote the two best werewolf transformation scenes of all time. Enjoy!

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