Eldritch: Lineage 023

Did you know that some say that werewolves, like witches, cannot cry? (Please see Montague Sumer’s Werewolves of Lore and Legend.)

Guys, I’m tired.  Long, early days.  Lots of holiday stuff to get done.  So… eh, forget it, I’m gonna post this, update a couple of other things, and take the best nap ever.

Eldritch: Lineage 022

Hey everyone, I’m back from my time unplugged!  The break from the internet was very nice.  So, it’s now midnight(ish) on the 21^st, and here’s the update, juts like I promised. :3

Ahh, so maybe there’s more to this guy’s desire to have her as part of the team than it first appeared… or, perhaps he’s still an arrogant nutjob in a position of power.

Also, I know, I know, Jack the Ripper is an obvious kind of guy to be a bad-guy werewolf, given the brutality of his crimes, and admittedly is kind of cliché.  But I like it anyway. 

However, I suspect what more of you may be curious about is the mention of the Rake.  Yes, I do mean THAT Rake.  It was some time after my initial designs were done for the benandanti werewolves that I came across this particular creepypasta character, and personally didn’t file it under ‘werewolf’ stuff until later when I came across a description that read “sitting and facing away from us, there was what appeared to be a naked man, or a large hairless dog of some sort” (from http://creepypasta.wikia.com/wiki/The_Rake)  Given how the majority of the Benandanti werewolves I’ve shown could match this description, I couldn’t resist mentioning it; especially since I find this new form of urban legend to be fascinating.

You see, in nearly all other cases, urban legends spring up in a particular area, and spread by word of mouth, then sometimes print.  However, today, with the internet, people from around the world can exchange these campfire stories instantly, and then add to and embellish them through a variety of creative means, be it written word, audio, visual art, film, and even games.  Never before has this happened, and it opens up so many possibilities.  I can’t wait to see how these change and evolve over the coming years, and I wanted to indicate that even the most modern of urban legends can be canon for this universe.

And yes.  That means that Slenderman just might be lurking around in the Eldritch universe somewhere.

Eldritch: Lineage 021

So, I’m sure you folks are wondering what on earth the Eldritch update is doing on the cusp of Saturday and Sunday… well, truth is, I’m gonna be gone on Wednesday. In fact, I think I’m going to be gone for a week. Maybe a little more. I’d been planning a trip to see some family and get away for a bit, but in light of some of the more recent stuff I’m dealing with, I’ve decided to also outright unplug and spend some time completely away from the internet. So, I’ve been busting my butt-- (which is why I’ve been falling behind on comments so much lately… I have read most of them, but I’ve had no time to reply. I’ll try my best to get to as many of them as possible before I leave.) --to make sure that I was set to post an early update, as well as have an update ready for whenever I get back. I’ll be doing some replies tonight and tomorrow, but after that, you may not see me until the 21st. I just need some time to recharge.

So, with that out of the way, um, more folkloric stuff! Our raving friend here may or may not have all of his facts straight, but it is still derived from my studies…

Saint Ronan of Locronan stands out due to his connection with wolves… and the accusation of lycanthropy lodged against him. A woman named Keban, whose husband often listened to the saint’s gospels, claimed that Saint Ronan could take the form of a wolf! In this shape, she said, he terrorized the countryside, prowling about and going after livestock. She even claimed that her little girl had fallen victim to his lupine appetite. She pointed to his ability to pacify wolves as proof of his lycanthropy, however, the saint convinced others that this was not true, and forgave Keban for her accusations.

Saint Christopher’s folklore is complex, and I cannot do him justice in the small space I’ll have here… But, some things say he was a sort of giant, some say he was a cynocephali, some indicate he was more normal… my way of handling this is by treating him as a shapeshifter (This isn’t too unheard of, really… Saint Guinefort is said to have been a dog at first, but then changed into a man by God). Saint Christopher, while not acknowledged by the Vatican, is one of a couple cynocephalic saints, the other being Saint Andrew Cynocephali. Regardless, Saint Christopher was the patron saint of travelers, which is interesting when also viewed along with Wepwawet.

Wepwawet was the wolf-headed god of Egypt. He was something of a war deity, however, he was “the opener of ways” and is said to have opened the way for victory… He also, it is said, was able to guide the souls of the dead through the Duat (a place sort of like purgatory). His guide-like associations are mirrored in Christopher’s position as the patron saint of travelers, and his association with the realm of the dead is also relevant in the context of in the Hounds of God’s ability to travel down to hell. (As well as the funerary benandanti’s ability to commune with the dead, but that’s a story for another time.)

Also… yeah, the whole thing about the sphinx? It’s actually a proposed theory; a book was written on it. Trippy.

Take care guys, and have a gander at these books:
The Werewolf in Lore and Legend --Montague Summers
Werewolves --Dr. Bob Curran
The lives of the British Saints; the Saints of Wales, Cornwall and Irish Saints V 4 -- S. Baring-Gould and John Fisher
Village France -- Automobile Association (Great Britain)
The Sphinx mystery: the forgotten origins of the sanctuary of Anubis--
Robert Temple, Olivia Temple
The Night Battles --Carlo Ginzburg
Myths of the Dog-Man --David Gordon White

There are probably some problems in this that I’ll have to fix later.  But life’s been a little hard on me, and I’m kind of dragging.  Just… people have been very demanding, and work’s been hard, and blah blah blah.  *Chuckles* Truth is, I’m still happy to HAVE a job.  But things have been a little tough.

So… about some of the things stated here… first off… I don’t mean any disrespect to the political figures mentioned here by indicating that in this universe, they were werewolves.  They’re included mostly because I think they’re cool.  And, truth is, there is very little that is werewolfy about Lincoln, save for how, in this, the bullets were silver.  Theodore Roosevelt, however, is a tad more werewolfy, despite his nickname “The Bull Moose.”  He supposedly has an interest in Bigfoot, after coming across a site where a trapper was found half-eaten.  While footprints indicated that Bigfoot was the culprit, the scene seems much more werewolfy to me.  However, more importantly, like many political figures, someone once attempted to assassinate him.  Roosevelt was shot just prior to giving a speech… and rather than seek medical attention, he stood up and spoke to the people anyway.  Super hardcore.

Also… yeah, Romulous and Remus were supposedly suckled by a she-wolf.  There’s a lot to say about that, but  I’ll talk more on it another time.

Now… as for the fennel and iron and such… here’s the stitch:  Fennel was most commonly associated with the Italian Benandanti, who weren’t werewolves, but sort of like good witches.  There were a couple varieties of them, but that will be covered later.  However, the Benandanti did use bundles of fennel stalks to fight.  The Hounds of God (who, while did not use the term Benandanti, since they spoke a different language, still followed the same basic principles, leading to their occasional classification as Benandanti werewolves) were not inclined towards fennel, but instead used iron bars, according to some sources. 

Please read:
The Beast of Bray Road --Linda Godfrey

Witches Werewolves and Fairies --Claude Lecouteux

The Encyclopedia of Vampires, Werewolves and Other Monsters --Rosemary Guiley

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Werewolves --Nathan Brown (Okay, maybe not this one ;3)

The Beast Within --Adam Douglas

Real Wolfmen True Encounters in Modern America –Linda Godfrey

The Night Battles --Carlo Ginzburg

Werewolves -- Zachary Graves

Apollo the Wolf-God --Daniel Gershenson

The Werewolf Handbook -- Dr. Robert Curran

Werewolves: The Occult Truth -- Konstantinos