Fact-checking Strange Facts

I chanced across this linked article, “Werewolves: 7 Strange Facts About These Mythical Creatures”. This could be fun. I like to, any time I encounter some article on werewolves or vampires or the like, check to see just how accurate they are—because lots of times, they aren’t. If I had a nickel for every time some yokel wrote about how Castle Bran in Romania was Dracula’s Castle…

Anyway, werewolves. What are these seven “strange” facts?

1. Are werewolves born or made?
Both. They got that part right. But then they proclaim that “There is, however, another way of becoming a man-wolf. If any of us were to get bitten by a lycanthrope after its transformation, we would get infected because of their bacteria-filled blood and we would turn into werewolves (provided we survive the savage bite).” Huh? Bacteria? Where’d they get that? And the bite as the transformative agent occurs mostly in the movies. It’s rarely seen in folkloric sources.

2. How to kill a werewolf
Silver bullets, they say. So they *are* basically going to go with “strange facts”—that they learned from the movies.

3. The werewolf disease
Schizophrenia, porphyria, or hypertrichosis. Check, check, and check. But no mention of rabies?

4. The power of the full moon
They get points for mentioning Gervase of Tilbury, but lose them again for not mentioning Curt Siodmak, who largely invented the whole “full moon” thing.

5. Is my neighbor a werewolf?
“The legend claims that these human-like beasts have a unibrow and curved fingernails.” True-ish. Which particular legend? And no mention of hairy plams.

6. Most famous werewolf movies
They claim that “[Larry] Talbot was the first actor to play a werewolf on screen in the movie THE WOLF MAN.” Nope. Not even close. Henry Hull in WEREWOLF OF LONDON got there first—and even that wasn’t the first werewolf movie. But at least they cite THE WOLFMAN as one of the most famous werewolf films.

7. Romasanta, the Spanish werewolf
“Out of all the documented cases of people who believed they were werewolves, the story of Spanish Manuel Blanco Romasanta stands out.” Does it really? More than Gilles de Rais, or Giles Garnier, or Peter Stubbe?

Overall, I’d give this one a B in terms of accuracy.

By The Evil Cheezman



2 replies on “Fact-checking Strange Facts”

Hello Mr Cheeseman I can’t tell you over years I’ve grown to appreciate your blogs stories and historical facts mythogy You have been right there for us through the years I. am Thankful keep doing what you & we enjoy

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