Posted by Lee MacOdrum | September 2, 2010, 10:25 (EST) | 8 Comments
Category: TV Series

Countdown to The Return is a series of guest posts by Vampire Diaries fans on topics they’re pondering as we head into Season 2. Blogger Lee MacOdrum looks at the history of werewolves in folklore and pop culture and ponders how Vampire Diaries will make its mark in lycanthrope legend.

In folklore, we know him as vaukalak, hombre lobo, lupo mannaro, loup-garou, lycanthropos. In pop culture, we know him as Lawrence Talbot, David Kessler, Will Randall, Lucian, Jacob Black, Alcide, George Sands. He is the lukos anthropos: the werewolf. And in a few short days, the names of Mason and Tyler Lockwood will be added to his legend. I can’t wait! Ever since Tyler’s wolf-tastic yellow eye peered up at that perplexed paramedic, this particular arc has had me on the edge of my seat in anticipation for Season Two to begin.

One of the things that initially drew me to The Vampire Diaries was the way in which the show’s writers cleverly combined traditional folklore and pop culture perceptions with a pinch of their own original spin to create the show’s vampire lore. Now they have the same opportunity with werewolves and I am stoked.

To date, we know our Lockwood lycanthropes will shift into “real wolf” forms (nod to folklore) and their change will be dependent on the full moon (nod to pop culture), but if the residents of Mystic Falls are going to make it out of this one alive (well, some of them anyway), two vital questions still need answering: How does one become a werewolf? And how does one kill a werewolf?

While we wait in fevered anticipation for The Vampire Diaries reveal, I thought it might be fun to take a quick look at how folklore and pop culture werewolf mythology has answered these questions before.

Let’s start with: how does one become a werewolf? According to folklore, a werewolf-wannabe has several popular options to choose from: donning a magic belt made of wolfskin, drinking an enchanted elixir, performing a ritual incantation, or rubbing one’s body with a magic salve of ingredients so shiver-worthy that I’m going to spare all our stomachs and not list them here. These methods often involve some sort of a deal with the Devil and folklore often attributes them to witchcraft and sorcery.

However, if black magic isn’t your cup of brew, fear not; the methods don’t stop there. You can also become a werewolf by sleeping outside on a designated summer night with the full moon in your face; drinking rainwater out of the footprint of a wolf; or drinking downstream where a wolf pack has drunk. Now these methods were for the wannabes; those that voluntarily become lycanthropes. But folklore also tells many tales of those who were forced to become werewolves – the involuntary lycanthropes, if you will. Being cursed by a priest, a witch, or a god; or being born on a full moon or a new moon was a common concept and of course there was always the hereditary quotient: if your parents were werewolves, guess what? Yes, Tyler Lockwood, I’m talking to you.

But wait! What about being bitten by a werewolf? That method, my little lupine fans, is where pop culture makes its mark on werewolf legend. From the original The Wolf Man to An American Werewolf in London to Harry Potter, the curse has been in the bite. In fact, it may surprise you to know that the idea of becoming a werewolf by surviving a bite from one is very rarely found in folklore at all.

Alright, now we know how one becomes a werewolf. But what if these lupine-lovelies get a little ruckus around town? Now we need to discuss: how does one kill a werewolf? Salvatore! Saltzman! Grab a pencil; Tyler, sorry dude, nothing personal. Now where were we? …Oh, right – ganking werewolves.

Folklore suggests one of the simplest, non-violent ways to defend oneself from werewolves is an herb called lycocotonum, better known as wolfsbane. Yes, for vampires it’s vervain; for werewolves, it’s wolfsbane. Cute. According to folklore, smelling, eating or wearing wolfsbane was fatal to a werewolf thus it was often planted around homes as a means of protecting against them. Coincidentally, wolfsbane is actually fatal to anyone who ingests it but that’s medieval ‘reasoning’ for you.

Wolfsbane not indigenous to your hometown? Again, fear not; plants are not your only option. You could always steal the werewolf’s magic wolfskin belt when he’s in human form. However, if you’re dealing with cursed, hereditary, or Devil-deal wolves, I’m afraid things are going to have to get a little messy. Decapitation or cutting out the heart of a werewolf were popular means of dispatching the troublesome stalkers; provided, of course, you manage to survive the subduing of the werewolf in the first place. To do that, according to folklore, almost any conventional weapon will do as long as it inflicts a fatal blow to the heart or brain. So don’t miss.

But wait! What about silver bullets? As with the bite factor, we can thank pop culture for this classic marker in the lore of the lycanthrope too. The werewolf’s vulnerability to silver is a popular weapon in modern tales: the vampires of Underworld couldn’t have tortured the Lycans so effectively without it; young Marty may never have bested Reverend Lowe without that trusty silver bullet in Stephen King’s aptly titled Silver Bullet; and can you imagine the havoc Karen White would have wreaked in that television studio and beyond in The Howling if Chris hadn’t dropped her with a silver shot? Actually, that might have been a better sequel. But I digress.

So now that we’ve taken a quick look at the popular perceptions of werewolf legend, which traditions from folklore and pop culture do you think the The Vampire Diaries writers will weave into Mystic Falls’ werewolf mythology? What new lore will they add to the legend of the lycanthrope? Were the Lockwoods cursed by a witch? Was it a bite that infected their patriarch and his progeny? If Mayor Lockwood had remembered his magic belt that fateful Founder’s Day, would he still be with us? And how will the human and vamp residents of our ill-fated town defend themselves against their new neighbours?

I know. I can’t wait either. Bring on September 9th and let the legend-making begin!

Lee MacOdrum, when not tweeting mayhem, defending Damon or plotting the next phase of her diabolical master plan, can usually be found writing, thinking about writing or dreaming about writing; drives her family nuts. She also has a profound penchant for Pink Floyd, red wine and supernatural folklore.

For more of her particular brand of mayhem, visit her blog at:
http://www.frommysideofthemoon.wordpress.com/

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