Page 104 - Encyclopedia of the Unusual and Unexplained Vol. 3

84 Mysterious Creatures

wolf, the court was quick to decree that he
should be executed and his body burned and
reduced to ashes.

The infamous werewolf Peter Stubbe of
Cologne revealed that he possessed a magic
belt that could instantly transform him into a
wolf. To return to human form, he had but to
remove the belt. Although the authorities
never found his magical werewolf belt, they
beheaded him for his crimes in 1589.
According to testimony in the case against
Jacques Roulet in 1598, a group of hunters
came upon two wolves devouring the body of
a 15-year-old boy. Since they were well-
armed, the men pursued the wolves and were
astonished to see the pawprints slowly becom-
ing more humanlike. At last, they tracked
down and apprehended a tall, gaunt man with
long matted hair and beard, barely clothed in
filthy rags, his hands red with blood and his
long nails clotted with human flesh. The
loathsome creature identified himself as a
vagabond named Jacques Roulet, who with his
brother and a cousin possessed a salve that
enabled them to assume the form of wolves.
Together, the three werewolves claimed to
have attacked, killed, and eaten many chil-
dren in various parts of the countryside.
Sometimes it becomes difficult to establish
the line of demarcation that separates leg-
A werewolf from the several individuals so accused were tortured
endary accounts of werewolves and other
1980 film “The Howling.” and burned in Basel; but the inquisitors in
wereanimals devouring human victims from
(THE KOBAL COLLECTION) France have the dubious distinction of record-
the early historical records of savage human
ing the most cases of werewolfism in all of
predators ambushing their victims by night. In
Europe—30,000 between 1520 and 1630. The
the Middle Ages, large bands of beggars and
werewolf trials began at Poligny in 1521
brigands roamed the European countrysides
when, after enduring the torture chamber,
after dark, often dressed in wolfskins and
three men admitted to consorting with she-
howling like a pack of wolves on the hunt. In
wolves and demons in order to gain the power
the rural areas of France, Germany, Lower
to transform themselves into wolves—then
Hungary, Estonia, and other countries, these
they confessed to having killed and devoured
nocturnal marauders were called “were-
many small children over a 19-year period.
wolves.” The old Norwegian counterpart to
They were summarily burned at the stake.
werewolf is vargulf, literally translated as
The famous case of Gilles Garnier, who “rogue wolf,” referring to an outlaw who sepa-
was executed as a werewolf at Dole, France, in rates himself from society. In addition to these
1573, provides grim details of attacks on human wolf packs that preyed upon isolated
numerous children, in which Garnier used his farmers and small villages, historical records
hands and teeth to kill and to cannibalize his are replete with illustrations of ancient war-
young victims. In view of the heinous crimes riors who went into battle wearing the skins of
and Garnier’s confession that he was a were- wild animals, hoping that the ferocity and

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