Howling Down the Moon: A Look at Werewolf Syndrome and Its Effects on Werewolf Lore

 

Figure 1: Hypertrichosis on a young boy (Image Source: Prime Health Channel)

 

Werewolves have made a small and short lived comeback in popular culture (partially overshadowed by vampires, zombies, and mummies), but werewolf mythos has existed cross-culturally for centuries.  The earliest mention of werewolves can be found in the Epic of Gilgamesh, an important ancient Mesopotamian text, and most recently with the upsurge in popularity of the Twilight books and movies and television show spin off, Teen Wolf.  But for some people werewolves are not fantasy but reality as they either know or are one of the less than 100 people in the world (and throughout history) who have “werewolf syndrome”.  Today’s blog post will explore what werewolf syndrome is, how individuals come by having it, and how it may account for some of the (historic and present) werewolf mythos.

Werewolf syndrome is the common name for what is medically referred to as hypertrichosis (Figure 1).  It is also sometimes referred to as “Ambras Syndrome”.  The origin of this name comes from the collection of paintings of the Gonzales family.  Several members of the Gonzales family had hypertrichosis, and because they were favored by the French royal family their portraits were commissioned and hung in the Ambras Castle, hence the name.  While the history of the popular terminology for hypertrichosis is interesting these terms will not be used and the formal term, hypertrichosis, will be used throughout the remainder of this blog post.

Hypertrichosis is a genetic syndrome that causes excess hair growth throughout the entire body.  It is not clear what specifically causes this genetic syndrome, although many medical professionals believe that it is a mutation on the 8^th chromosome that leads to the syndrome.  There does seem to be some inheritance of the trait based on it being passed on to several generations of the Gonzales family and other families throughout history, but there are also isolated incidences of congenital hypertrichosis that have been reported.  Therefore its exact cause remains unknown, but the symptoms are not.

There are two types of congenital hypertrichosis: congenital hypertrichosis lanuginosa and congenital hypertrichosis terminalis.  Congenital hypertrichosis lanuginosa is a condition where an individual is born with excessive long, fine hair over one’s face and head, whereas congenital hypertrichosis terminalis, which is associated with werewolves, is the growth of excessive hair all over the body.  In either case individuals who are able and inclined manage their conditions through shaving, bleaching, waxing, or chemically or electrically removing the excess hair.  These treatments can be very costly and time consuming, and some people may not have the means or desire to undergo them.

Hypertrichosis is associated with being one of the causes of werewolf syndrome, but as less than 100 cases have been reported throughout history (from the Middle Ages to today) it may not be the sole culprit for such mythos.  Native Americans tell tales of humans being able to turn into a variety of creatures, including coyotes, and these stories have a long history, dating back to the earliest times.  As previously mentioned the Epic of Gilgamesh, which dates back to Mesopotamian cultures (~2000 B.C.), describes a werewolf as one of the characters was able to take on wolf form by donning a cloak.  Medieval lore claims that individuals could become werewolves by making pacts with witches or the devil, sleeping outside under a full moon, or by rubbing certain salves and herbs onto one’s body.  While it historical reports of hypertrichosis date back to the Middle Ages it does not mean that there were not cases before then, so hypertrichosis could be part of the origin of these myths, especially as it continues to support the myths proliferation today.

While the exact origins of the werewolf mythos are unclear it is certain that individual can and are afflicted by a congenital condition, hypertrichosis, which make them resemble a werewolf.  Medical professionals are still unsure the cause of this condition, though.  With answers come more questions when it comes to werewolves, which may be why this is yet another myth that resurfaces every few years. 

References

Curtin, S.  2011.  “The Pre-Modern Werewolf.”  Chronicles of an Anthropology Nerd.  http://anthrobum.blogspot.com/2011/02/pre-modern-werewolf.html

Gudi, Sai & Tiwari, Komal & K, Sumathi. (2017). WEREWOLF SYNDROME –An Orphan Genetic Disorder. International Journal of Pharma Research and Health Sciences. 5. 1623-1626. 10.21276/ijprhs.2017.02.03.

Lewis, R.  2012.  “The Curious Genetics of Werewolves.”  DNA Science Blog.  PLOS.  http://blogs.plos.org/dnascience/2012/12/27/the-curious-genetics-of-werewolves/

Ngan, V. and Oakley, A.  2016.  “Hypertrichosis.”  Derm Net, New Zealand.  https://www.dermnetnz.org/topics/hypertrichosis/

No Author.  No Date.  “Legend of the Werewolves.” History’s Mysteries. History Channel, A&E Television Networks.

Oldridge, Darren.  2005.  Strange Histories. London and New York: Routledge.

South, Malcolm, et al. 1987.  Mythological and Fabulous Creatures: A Source Book and

Research Guide. New York: Greenwood Press.

Birth of a Monster: The Symbolism of the Chupacabra

Figure 1: Chupacabra (Google Images)

 

You may or may not have heard of the Chupacabra (Figure 1), but it actually one of the newest monsters to arrive on the monster mythos scene.  It was first conceived of in March 1995 when Madelyne Tolentino reporting seeing the creature near her home in Puerto Rico.  Coined the “Chupacabra,” or literally goat sucker, the creature apparently sucked animals dry of their blood.  The story of the Chupacabra spread quickly across Latin American countries, transforming within five years to accommodate the needs of ranchers and farmers who claimed that they had killed Chupacabras that had attacked their livestock.  Although it has since been revealed that these creatures are actually dogs, coyotes, and raccoons suffering from mange, a parasitic infection, the legend persists, but where did it come from and why?  Those are the questions that will be focused on in today’s blog post.

The first mention of the Chupacabra was from Puerto Rico in March 1995.  At that time the citizens were distressed by both natural and social disasters.  Hundreds of Puerto Ricans had died as a result of diseases, a large-scale drought was affecting the agriculture industry, and Puerto Rico was in the path of a hurricane that meant to devastate the island further.  Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States, and many Puerto Ricans have never been happy about that, leading to anti-American sentiments felt at varying degrees by many Puerto Ricans.  It is these circumstances that provided the ideal conditions for creating the Chupacabra mythos.

According to interviews conducted by Benjamin Radford many Puerto Ricans claimed to have seen the Chupacabra, and they all reported similar depictions of the creature, which matched the one of Madelyne Tolentino, the first reporter.  She claimed that the Chupacabra was a large creature with long claws, red eyes, leaping legs, and spikes running down its back.  Radford believes that these depictions are actually the result of Tolentino’s active imagination as this creature closely resembles the monster in the movie Species, a movie about an alien-human hybrid created by human scientists, that debuted around the same time as the first sightings. 

There are definitely similarities between Tolentino’s description and the monster in the movie, which also may account for some of the origin stories of the creature.  One such story claims that the creature was released by extraterrestrials to terrorize unsuspecting humans.  Another story states that the Chupacabra was an escaped science experiment commissioned by US forces who had a secret laboratory deep in the Puerto Rican jungles (which matches closely with the plot of the movie).  A final story claims that the creature is the product of the Devil and that all should repent in order to save themselves from the creature.

While these origin stories do vary they ultimately meet social and cultural needs of the Puerto Ricans, as well as other cultures that eventually adopted the myth.  For the conspiracy theorists the Chupacabra supports their beliefs that aliens exist, as well as supports Radford’s hypothesis that Tolentino was influenced by the movie Species.  The anti-American sentiment felt by Puerto Ricans could be channeled into this tale, which fostered a negative outlook on the American control of the island country and blamed them for the creature's creation and release.  Lastly, the link between the Devil and the creature assisted the Church in converting more people to the faith, while also satisfied present believers’ ideas about the power and influence of the Devil.  Overall, the creation of this mythos was to satisfy the needs of the Puerto Rican people.

This may also in part explain its spread among other Latin countries.  The internet and world wide broadcasting allowed the story to diffuse quickly among Latino populations across North, Central, and South American cultures, and the myth morphed according to the needs of the people.  It was particularly prevalent in the face of unknown and thereby unexplained phenomenon, such as the loss of livestock.  This trend has existed and continues to occur whenever people are faced with challenging and unexplained events, so as long as people are stressed new myths are sure to come.

References

Gabbatiss, J.  2016.  “The Truth About a Strange Blood-sucking Monster.” BBC.  http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20161109-the-truth-about-a-strange-blood-sucking-monster

Radford, B.  2011.  “Tracking the Chupacabra: The Vampire Beast in Fact, Fiction, and Folklore.”  University of New Mexico Press: Albuquerque.

Radford, B.  2012.  “Chupacabra: Facts About the Mysterious Vampire Beast.”  Live Science.  https://www.livescience.com/24036-chupacabra-facts.html

Than, K.  2010.  “Chupacabra Science: How Evolution Made a Mythical Monster.”  National Geographic.  http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/10/101028-chupacabra-evolution-halloween-science-monsters-chupacabras-picture/

Meat & Greet: Cannibalism Among Our Hominid Ancestors

Artistic rendition of Homo antecessor practicing cannibalism at Sima de los Huesos.

 
The field of paleoanthropology is rife with controversies, but one has recently been laid to rest based on extensive study and evidence.  Scholars have uncomfortably admitted that our human ancestors did indeed participate in cannibalism, the act of consuming the flesh of individuals of the same species, but the motivations for these practices are not completely known at this time.  There are several ideas, though.  This blog post will explore the paleoanthropological evidence that demonstrates the existence of cannibalism among hominids and the potential motivations for why these incidences occurred.

The earliest evidence that supported the hypothesis that hominids were potentially cannibals was from the Sima de los Huesos site.  Homo antecessor remains from 800,000 years ago provided evidence that scholar supposed demonstrated cannibalism, but many were unconvinced.  It was over the next few years that more evidence surfaced, changing the tide of opinion among paleoanthropologists.  Additional evidence of cannibalism turned up but not just among H. antecessor.  Sites featuring Homo neanderthalensis remains began demonstrating similar evidence of cannibalism.  More and more evidence turned up for both species, and eventually it became clear that cannibalism was not just a Homo sapiens phenomenon, but one that has a long history in the human lineage.

Once scholars came to grips with acknowledging that cannibalism did occur among our human ancestors the next question that had to be addressed was why?  By analyzing the evidence it was clear that cannibalism occurred, and studies of cannibalism among modern humans and primates could be used to answer this new question.  It appears that one of three motivations may have been at play regarding why cannibalism occurred:

1. Cannibalism to meet nutritional needs: The evidence of cuts and breaks of the bones do point to cannibalism occurring among hominids to meet nutritional needs.  While other meat sources were available for consumption among hominids eating other hominids was definitely convenient, although the consumption of others may have been done out of necessity when food supplies were low.
2. Cannibalism to protect and affirm territories: The composite of the samples studied demonstrate individuals of all ages, including children, were consumed for cannibalistic purposes.  Observations of chimpanzees show similar tendencies when territorial borders are threatened.  In these situations, when an opposing group gets too close to another group’s territory they will attack the weakest members of the group, who most often are women and their children.  The same could have been done among our hominid ancestors.  It is one of the prevailing theories for why it occurred among Neanderthals as DNA analysis of cannibalized remains demonstrate they belong to nonrelated outsiders.
3. Ritualized cannibalism to honor the dead: Based on studies of cannibalism among humans there are a few scholars who believe that our hominid ancestors may have consumed the flesh of the deceased as a means of honoring and remembering them.  Many modern human groups will consume the ashes of the deceased for these purposes as they believe that consumption of the dead will incorporate their bodies and spirits into the living.  While very little evidence has been brought forward to support this idea it is one that carries merit since the origins of the practice among humans is unknown and may be deeply rooted in our hominid ancestor’s own motivations.

In conclusion, we know that humans will turn to cannibalism for various reasons, which may be tied to the practices that occurred among our hominid ancestors.  Starting 800,000 years ago cannibalism became a common trend among hominids.  While the motivations are not known they were most likely as complex as the reasons that exist among H. sapiens today. 

References

Carbonell, E.; Caceras, I.; Lozano, M.; Saladie, P.; Rosell, J.; Lorenzo, C.; Vallverdu, J.; Huguet, R.; Canals, A.; Bermudez de Castro, J.M.  2011.  “Cultural Cannibalism as Paleoeconomic System in the European Lower Pleistocene.”  Current Anthropology 51: 539-549.

Hood, M.  2017.  “For early humans, cannibalism more than just a meal.”  Phys.org. 

Raff, J.  2016.  “Cannibalism and Human Evolution.”  Social Evolution Forum.  https://evolution-institute.org/blog/cannibalism-and-human-evolution/

Rougier, H.; Crevecoeur, I.; Beauval, C.; Posth, C.; Flas, D.; Wißing, A.F.; Germonpre, M.; Gomez-Olivencia, P.S.; Semal, P.; van der Plicht, J.; Bocherens, H.; Krause, J.  2016.  “Neandertal cannibalism and Neandertal bones used as tools in Northern Europe.”  Nature 6: 1-11.

Tutt, C.  2003.  “Cannibalism Among Fossil Hominids: Is There Archaeological Evidence?” Totem: The University of Western Ontario Journal of Archaeology 11:  113-120.

Wayman, E.  2012.  “Early Cannibalism Tied to Territorial Defense?”  Smithsonian Magazine.  http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/early-cannibalism-tied-to-territorial-defense-25950664/