Lycan Lore

As the students of my 10am mythology class take their seats, I decide to steer the day's curriculum away from Greek and dive into a Western European discourse on the misaligned beliefs of the Werewolf. A tale of truth or fiction. No one really knows.

***

"Good morning, future Alumni. Is everyone settled?

"Charice, please collect the student's assignments including yours and place them in the tray on my desk. Thank you...

"Today, we're going to take a little detour. I promised we were going to learn about Poseidon and Khione, the daughter of Boreas. But I decided to put that on hold for a bit so we can tackle, or shall I say, present little known and misconstrued facts about the existence of the Lycanthrope. Canis Hominiformis. Or, simply put, the Werewolf."

Light chatter can be heard throughout the lecture hall. I can't be sure if it's welcoming or deterring. But they do seem excited. I'm excited with them.

Last year I changed the program to include this section as a way for students to weigh the power of information.

"Shall we begin?"

I clear my throat, place my readers on and arrange my notes at the podium. Sixty pairs of speculative eyes are all on me. I begin.

"Mankind loves to take an idea or occurrence and twist it along the way until the original details become quite a different story altogether. Similar to how a rumor circulates.

"For a brief stretch, let's go back in time when nonexistent fields such as psychiatry led men to label crafty and or dangerous behaviors as evil. This deeming resulted in the burning of so-called witches at the stake and locking the allegedly insane away from society, among other unnamed tortures devised by cultures. There were simply no other applicable methods during early times to define the many actual and potential abnormalities of human conduct.

"This brings us to the wolf and how a beautiful predator with a keen sense of smell, became one of the world's most-feared creatures resulting from its inclusion in folklore.

"Many tales exist of how men and women crossed over into the life of gruesome monstrosities through an otherworldly transformation.

"Legends state that a simple man can transform into a maniacal beast whose insatiable lust for killing rivals that of a blood-starved vampire.

"If one scratch or viscous bite from a contagious carrier doesn’t kill you, you inherit the ability to summon the darkest reaches of hell to earth. But did everything happen the way it was told in the beginning? Time to consider a critical fallacy behind the deadly hybrid tale.

"I could surely list different aspects of the story and do my best to dissect them all but one thing I know for sure, the moon had nothing to do with it.

"It was never the moon!

"How dare early writers and historians turn a celestial titan, tame as a summer's breeze, into the ringleader of their blasphemous slander.

"The moon may be the cause of tidal friction, lover's unity and irrational superstitions but should never be assumed to have taken part in the manifestation of evil. Leave that to the Jekylls and Hydes of the world.

"What was never understood, is that the transformation was caused by an extremely rare genetic disorder similar to Hypertrichosis—the overproduction of hair that covers most of the body including the face. But since laymen didn't have access to science, they needed a scapegoat to explain the catalyst for transformation. Thus, our own galactic neighbor entered the tale.

"Witnesses claimed that every sighting of a Werewolf happened during a full moon. If true, sheer coincidence? I don't know what else to call it.

"What is it about the moon being full, I ask? Why not a crescent or a half-moon? Is it the intensity of the light beams? Or some ancient curse that required the lunar landscape to be shone in its entirety?

"The answer to both is no.

"Transformation came in secretion cycles. Not because of a certain alignment of the moon with the sun.

"What actually happens inside the body of a mature carrier, is the gene, lycanismorphogen or LMG, causes the pituitary gland to secrete invasive chemicals into the bloodstream that react with hormones in the body—testosterone in men and estrogen in women. This reaction creates a gradual imbalance. When this imbalance becomes too turbulent, it overwhelms the bodily systems and a horrid transformation occurs. Follicles and keratin become overactive. Canine teeth increase in size dramatically, and bones reassemble themselves into a lupine beast. A hybrid. Half man, half wolf. When these chemical imbalances return to normal, so does the host return to their former selves. Until it happens again.

"Obviously, the gene has been eradicated naturally over time. But the evidence is still there. Modern science has found the tell-tell signs of the gene in patients who were born with Hypertrichosis. Growing hair all over the body is as far as the transformation goes. But don't get too comfortable. The gene could one day mutate back to its original form and become infectious...

"For now, we can only experience the savage life of the Werewolf through film and literature. Which the vast majority of, include our dear moon...

"And yes. A timeline can be traced.

"The Werewolf first surfaced in the Epic of Gilgamesh— a Mesopotamian text from around 2100 BC. It also makes an appearance in Greek mythology in Legend of Lycaon—where Zeus transforms a simple man into a wolf. And we cannot dismiss their appearance in Sagas of Volsungs— A Norse Saga where the inclusion of wolf-skinned transformations is quite evident.

"Move forward in time to where the Western Europeans take hold of the legend and create the classic version of the Lycanthrope as we know today... It's a shame they thought to include the moon as a culprit. The original occurrences did not call for this catalyst.

"As hard as it would be for societies across the globe to unlearn this part of the tale, I feel it will forever be attached to this Western blunder... Does the lunar presence make the tale more plausible? I can't say with certainty. What it does is conditions the mind to be weary of full moons.

"I had the pleasure of seeing one of the brightest ones in a long time the other night and heard a distant howl. The next time you do the same, think what you will of the source. Take cover it satisfies you. It's more than likely not coming from a transformed beast seeking to destroy anything that moves. But perhaps, a random wolf admiring the moon's beauty...

"Martin, you have a question. I see quite a few of you have questions. Martin?"

"Yes sir. So, what you're saying is, the werewolf lived in real life for real?"

"I never said that. It's whether you believe it or not. Well, the part about the werewolf's genetic makeup that is. Everything I said about the moon is correct.

How about we write down all questions on a piece of paper. I will review them and we can have an open discussion about this important exercise at the end of class.

That's it for now everyone. Let's take a quick 10-minute break then dive right into Poseidon's lair."

A/N: I, in no way disapprove of the moon being part of the story. I actually enjoy it. It's Professor Shaw who has the issue.