Several terms redirect here. For other uses, see Werewolf (disambiguation), Wolf man (disambiguation), Lycanthrope (disambiguation) and Lycanthropy (disambiguation).

Werewolf

Werwolf.png

Woodcut of a werewolf attack by Lucas Cranach der Ältere, 1512

Grouping	Mythology

Other name(s)	Lycanthrope

Part of a series on the

Paranormal

Main articles

Skepticism

Related

Parapsychology

vte

In folklore, a werewolf[a] (Old English: werwulf, "man-wolf"), or occasionally lycanthrope /ˈlaɪkənˌθroʊp/ (Greek: λυκάνθρωπος lukánthrōpos, "wolf-human"), is a human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolflike creature), either purposely or after being placed under a curse or affliction (often a bite or scratch from another werewolf) with the transformations occurring on the night of a full moon. Early sources for belief in this ability or affliction, called lycanthropy /laɪˈkænθrəpi/, are Petronius (27-66) and Gervase of Tilbury (1150-1228).