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The Book of Were-Wolves
With the shocking histories of ten famous cases, this classic blends science, superstition, and fiction to tell the full story of the werewolves among us. The Book of Werewolves was the first serious academic study of lycanthropy and "blood-lust" written in English. Combining a vast body of observation, myth, and lore, it explores the tradition of werewolves as a widespread and persistent theme throughout history.
Sabine Baring-Gould, a prominent Victorian theologian, was a gifted and original thinker who possessed a vast knowledge of folklore and mythology. He draws upon his impressive store of scholarship to trace lycanthropy among the ancients and onward through medieval and latter-day Europe. His real-life case studies examine the bloody deeds of cannibals and grave desecrators, including an extended treatment of the crimes of Gilles de Retz, the notorious associate of Joan of Arc, who was convicted and executed for necrosadistic crimes. One of the most oft-cited references, this book is an essential and primary document on the subject of lycanthropy.
Sabine Baring-Gould, a prominent Victorian theologian, was a gifted and original thinker who possessed a vast knowledge of folklore and mythology. He draws upon his impressive store of scholarship to trace lycanthropy among the ancients and onward through medieval and latter-day Europe. His real-life case studies examine the bloody deeds of cannibals and grave desecrators, including an extended treatment of the crimes of Gilles de Retz, the notorious associate of Joan of Arc, who was convicted and executed for necrosadistic crimes. One of the most oft-cited references, this book is an essential and primary document on the subject of lycanthropy.
198 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1865
345 people are currently reading
2669 people want to read
About the author
Sabine Baring-Gould
888 books69 followersSabine Baring-Gould was born in the parish of St Sidwell, Exeter. The eldest son of Edward Baring-Gould and his first wife, Sophia Charlotte (née Bond), he was named after a great-uncle, the Arctic explorer Sir Edward Sabine. Because the family spent much of his childhood travelling round Europe, most of his education was by private tutors. He only spent about two years in formal schooling, first at King's College School in London (then located in Somerset House) and then, for a few months, at Warwick Grammar School (now Warwick School). Here his time was ended by a bronchial disease of the kind that was to plague him throughout his long life. His father considered his ill-health as a good reason for another European tour.
In 1852 he was admitted to Cambridge University, earning the degrees of Bachelor of Arts in 1857, then Master of Arts in 1860 from Clare College, Cambridge. During 1864, he became the curate at Horbury Bridge, West Riding of Yorkshire. It was while acting as a curate that he met Grace Taylor, the daughter of a mill hand, then aged fourteen. In the next few years they fell in love. His vicar, John Sharp, arranged for Grace to live for two years with relatives in York to learn middle class manners. Baring-Gould, meanwhile, relocated to become perpetual curate at Dalton, near Thirsk. He and Grace were married in 1868 at Wakefield. Their marriage lasted until her death 48 years later, and the couple had 15 children, all but one of whom lived to adulthood. When he buried his wife in 1916 he had carved on her tombstone the Latin motto Dimidium Animae Meae ("Half my Soul").
Baring-Gould became the rector of East Mersea in Essex in 1871 and spent ten years there. In 1872 his father died and he inherited the 3,000 acre (12 km²) family estates of Lew Trenchard in Devon, which included the gift of the living of Lew Trenchard parish. When the living became vacant in 1881, he was able to appoint himself to it, becoming parson as well as squire. He did a great deal of work restoring St Peter's Church, Lew Trenchard, and (from 1883 – 1914) thoroughly remodelled his home, Lew Trenchard Manor.
In 1852 he was admitted to Cambridge University, earning the degrees of Bachelor of Arts in 1857, then Master of Arts in 1860 from Clare College, Cambridge. During 1864, he became the curate at Horbury Bridge, West Riding of Yorkshire. It was while acting as a curate that he met Grace Taylor, the daughter of a mill hand, then aged fourteen. In the next few years they fell in love. His vicar, John Sharp, arranged for Grace to live for two years with relatives in York to learn middle class manners. Baring-Gould, meanwhile, relocated to become perpetual curate at Dalton, near Thirsk. He and Grace were married in 1868 at Wakefield. Their marriage lasted until her death 48 years later, and the couple had 15 children, all but one of whom lived to adulthood. When he buried his wife in 1916 he had carved on her tombstone the Latin motto Dimidium Animae Meae ("Half my Soul").
Baring-Gould became the rector of East Mersea in Essex in 1871 and spent ten years there. In 1872 his father died and he inherited the 3,000 acre (12 km²) family estates of Lew Trenchard in Devon, which included the gift of the living of Lew Trenchard parish. When the living became vacant in 1881, he was able to appoint himself to it, becoming parson as well as squire. He did a great deal of work restoring St Peter's Church, Lew Trenchard, and (from 1883 – 1914) thoroughly remodelled his home, Lew Trenchard Manor.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 166 reviews
March 28, 2023
Since this was a non fiction from 1865 this has some not quite great way to describe people and culture and such but that's pretty much expected from classics books in general.
The information was very mixed, from older folk tales about werewolf like people, to cases that's not always seemed to be clear in the werewolf side. It was overall an interesting read but now I'm craving a more modern werewolf nonfiction.
The information was very mixed, from older folk tales about werewolf like people, to cases that's not always seemed to be clear in the werewolf side. It was overall an interesting read but now I'm craving a more modern werewolf nonfiction.
April 24, 2008
Sabine Baring-Gould’s Book of Werewolves (which was recommended to me by several people here) was originally published in 1865. Baring-Gould treats the phenomenon of the werewolf as a psychological aberration, as essentially a delusional state. He also relates it to cannibalism, and seems to see at lest some of those so afflicted as being what we today would call serial killers. He also links it to the behaviour of the notorious Norse berserkers, who would suffer from an insane battle rage. His speculations on the origin the various names by which werewolves were known in different European languages is intriguing, especially the idea that the term may derive from a word for an outlaw, a man condemned effectively to run with the wolves. He has plenty of interesting Scandinavian folklore and legends on the subject in the book, and also a chilling account of the career and crimes of the infamous Gilles de Retz (or Gilles de Rais), the 15th century French nobleman who murdered hundreds of children. I’m not sure exactly how he saw the connection between de Retz and werewolves, but it’s interesting anyway. A fascinating little book.
March 21, 2012
The structure and topics are uneven, which makes the title a bit misleading. First the author lists different mythologies and folklore (the most interesting part), but then he somehow connects Gilles de Rais to the werewolf myth without ever explaining why he chose this particular historical figure. There's very little of the author's original thoughts or arguments among the recounts of folklore and criminal cases. As interesting (and disgusting) as these cases of cannibalism and corpse mutilators are, some of them are quite a stretch to be linked to the werewolf myth. However, as a reference book this is quite useful and a must read for everyone interested in werewolves.
October 22, 2017
Many thanks to the ardent readers at librivox.
This book is not a novel. If it weren't for the werewolves, I'd class it as a historical overview. For it is a collection of myths, folklore and cases surrounding the werewolf.
As werewolves get a lot less coverage than vampires for being less glamorous, I was very happy to have discovered this.
This book is not a novel. If it weren't for the werewolves, I'd class it as a historical overview. For it is a collection of myths, folklore and cases surrounding the werewolf.
As werewolves get a lot less coverage than vampires for being less glamorous, I was very happy to have discovered this.
April 28, 2016
A frustrating read. Not so frustrating as to make me tear off my clothes and howl wildly at the moon, but frustrating nonetheless.
Sabine Baring-Gould relates various werewolf tales from myth and legend, and then fits into a 19th century idea of mental illness. It’s a good idea, disproving supernatural werewolves while still bringing together every single werewolf story to exist in Europe. That’s called having your unsuspecting traveller under the moonlight, and devouring him. But it doesn’t quite work. No matter who the writer, werewolf tale next to werewolf tale next to werewolf tale is going to become wearing, and Baring-Gould – even in one volume – proves himself to be a distinctly variable writer. When he gets her teeth into a tale he really can make it scary and dramatic and truly gripping, Unfortunately, he only manages to land his teeth on a few stories here and the rest are averagely and even flatly told – or quoted at length from other sources – and so the whole becomes a disjointed mess.
There is some interesting stuff here, but this is frequently not a particularly interesting book.
Sabine Baring-Gould relates various werewolf tales from myth and legend, and then fits into a 19th century idea of mental illness. It’s a good idea, disproving supernatural werewolves while still bringing together every single werewolf story to exist in Europe. That’s called having your unsuspecting traveller under the moonlight, and devouring him. But it doesn’t quite work. No matter who the writer, werewolf tale next to werewolf tale next to werewolf tale is going to become wearing, and Baring-Gould – even in one volume – proves himself to be a distinctly variable writer. When he gets her teeth into a tale he really can make it scary and dramatic and truly gripping, Unfortunately, he only manages to land his teeth on a few stories here and the rest are averagely and even flatly told – or quoted at length from other sources – and so the whole becomes a disjointed mess.
There is some interesting stuff here, but this is frequently not a particularly interesting book.
August 4, 2014
I don't really have much of an interest in the supernatural. I do, however, have an intense interest in others who have an intense interest in the supernatural. A meta-interest, I suppose. I'd love to get to know someone who thinks that the Earth is a hollow shell with spaceships inside. Or someone who believes that there are aliens living in our bodies, causing us pain that can be extracted with an electronic device. Or someone who claims to have exorcised thousands of demons and keeps a possessed doll in his living room and writes terrible books about it all.
So I started reading this as a piece of curio. I thought that Baring-Gould actually believed in werewolves, and for awhile it really seemed that he did. He made statements that "like the dodo or the dinormis, the werewolf may have become extinct in our age, yet he has left his stamp on classic antiquity, he has trodden deep in Northern snows, has ridden rough-shod over the mediævals, and has howled amongst Oriental sepulchres." How fascinating would it be to read a 19th century academic study of werewolves by a man who truly believes in them?
Alas, he doesn't really. He pulled a fast one on me. Baring-Gould is a rationalist, one of the ultra-serious, ultra-scientific men of curiosity. His goal here is to examine all of the appearances of the werewolf in literature and recorded culture and provide a rational explanation. His thesis is that, like all myths, the werewolf is the imaginative explanation for natural phenomena. When our unenlightened, unintelligent forefathers (he doesn't actually use phrases like that, but it's very much implied) saw certain heinous crimes, the only explanation they could come up with is that they were committed by animal-like men.
He makes a good analogy. When we say that we hear thunder rolling, we mean it figuratively. We mean only that the sound of thunder is somewhat like the sound of something rolling. (Honestly, I'm not sure I hear the resemblance, but the point is, it's figurative language.) Our pagan ancestors meant it literally. When they heard thunder, they knew it was because the chariot of the gods was rolling by in the sky above. Werewolves are a similar phenomenon. When we hear of a hideous murder, especially one involving something so horrid as cannibalism, we may liken the murderer to a wolf. Our predecessors, however, lacking psychological or any other explanation for such an atrocity, may theorize the literal transformation of the murderer from human to wolf.
His research is quite impressive. The first half of the book is an exhaustive record of werewolf myths throughout the world. (It's also the most interesting part of the book.) He traces them through ancient Indian, Nordic, Greek, and medieval European cultures. And he did so in 1865, twenty-five years before James Frazer's The Golden Bough, from which he certainly could have gleaned all of his information if it had existed.
The first two-thirds of the book is fairly riveting. However, in the final part, he investigates contemporary murders and explains how they could be interpreted as the crimes of a werewolf. He gets bogged down in specifics and it becomes a tedious affair.
I'd recommend a perusal of the early parts of this book simply for its curiousness. I've never read anything quite like it.
So I started reading this as a piece of curio. I thought that Baring-Gould actually believed in werewolves, and for awhile it really seemed that he did. He made statements that "like the dodo or the dinormis, the werewolf may have become extinct in our age, yet he has left his stamp on classic antiquity, he has trodden deep in Northern snows, has ridden rough-shod over the mediævals, and has howled amongst Oriental sepulchres." How fascinating would it be to read a 19th century academic study of werewolves by a man who truly believes in them?
Alas, he doesn't really. He pulled a fast one on me. Baring-Gould is a rationalist, one of the ultra-serious, ultra-scientific men of curiosity. His goal here is to examine all of the appearances of the werewolf in literature and recorded culture and provide a rational explanation. His thesis is that, like all myths, the werewolf is the imaginative explanation for natural phenomena. When our unenlightened, unintelligent forefathers (he doesn't actually use phrases like that, but it's very much implied) saw certain heinous crimes, the only explanation they could come up with is that they were committed by animal-like men.
He makes a good analogy. When we say that we hear thunder rolling, we mean it figuratively. We mean only that the sound of thunder is somewhat like the sound of something rolling. (Honestly, I'm not sure I hear the resemblance, but the point is, it's figurative language.) Our pagan ancestors meant it literally. When they heard thunder, they knew it was because the chariot of the gods was rolling by in the sky above. Werewolves are a similar phenomenon. When we hear of a hideous murder, especially one involving something so horrid as cannibalism, we may liken the murderer to a wolf. Our predecessors, however, lacking psychological or any other explanation for such an atrocity, may theorize the literal transformation of the murderer from human to wolf.
His research is quite impressive. The first half of the book is an exhaustive record of werewolf myths throughout the world. (It's also the most interesting part of the book.) He traces them through ancient Indian, Nordic, Greek, and medieval European cultures. And he did so in 1865, twenty-five years before James Frazer's The Golden Bough, from which he certainly could have gleaned all of his information if it had existed.
The first two-thirds of the book is fairly riveting. However, in the final part, he investigates contemporary murders and explains how they could be interpreted as the crimes of a werewolf. He gets bogged down in specifics and it becomes a tedious affair.
I'd recommend a perusal of the early parts of this book simply for its curiousness. I've never read anything quite like it.
October 17, 2015
Cuando llevas pocas páginas te preguntas ¿Por qué esta en Valdemar Gótica? Pues es un ensayo del hombre lobo, debería haberlo metido en Intempestivas. Error.
Es cierto que el autor hace un recorrido por distintas épocas y zonas. Y nos muestra que el concepto es distinto según siglo o latitudes. Pero aquí viene lo interesante: nos narra historias por la que se llego a ese concepto de “Hombre Lobo”.
Estos relatos breves son terroríficos y aún más sabiendo que no es ficción del ator, sino que es la información que ha recopilado por distintos medios. Encontramos desde personas que desmiembran, coleccionan seres humanos. Vampiros-hombres lobos. Asesinos en serie.
Nunca me ha resultado terrorífico este monstruo, un perrito grande llega al punto de ternura por muy rabioso que sea. Pero vete a otras leyendas, y luego échate a dormir.
Es cierto que el autor hace un recorrido por distintas épocas y zonas. Y nos muestra que el concepto es distinto según siglo o latitudes. Pero aquí viene lo interesante: nos narra historias por la que se llego a ese concepto de “Hombre Lobo”.
Estos relatos breves son terroríficos y aún más sabiendo que no es ficción del ator, sino que es la información que ha recopilado por distintos medios. Encontramos desde personas que desmiembran, coleccionan seres humanos. Vampiros-hombres lobos. Asesinos en serie.
Nunca me ha resultado terrorífico este monstruo, un perrito grande llega al punto de ternura por muy rabioso que sea. Pero vete a otras leyendas, y luego échate a dormir.
September 30, 2019
Fantasy, myth, and religious scholars probably know of Sabine Baring-Gould’s work. He was prolific in his day, specifically in writing hymns. The Book of Were-Wolves is a fascinating read on many levels. First, it shows a lot of the transition of literary styles from the late 1800s to today. Second, it is a real attempt at unbiased scholarship by someone whose biases show up in everything else.
I enjoyed it as research reading, as histories of shapeshifting from a wide variety of cultures (Baring-Gould cites everything from North American to South American to Asia to Africa and back up to Europe for examples). He also attempts to explain shapeshifting as any number of things; is it psychosis? Is it real? Is it magic? Is it biologic? Is it culture-based (this section alone is worth the read).
He spends some time reviewing cases of ghoulism - eating the dead - as were-activity, also worth the read.
All in all good research for those looking for late 1800s lore, or for that era’s beliefs about the lore as far back as the first millennium.
I enjoyed it as research reading, as histories of shapeshifting from a wide variety of cultures (Baring-Gould cites everything from North American to South American to Asia to Africa and back up to Europe for examples). He also attempts to explain shapeshifting as any number of things; is it psychosis? Is it real? Is it magic? Is it biologic? Is it culture-based (this section alone is worth the read).
He spends some time reviewing cases of ghoulism - eating the dead - as were-activity, also worth the read.
All in all good research for those looking for late 1800s lore, or for that era’s beliefs about the lore as far back as the first millennium.
January 7, 2023
Two and a half stars. Not a bad book. It has some interesting stories and if you are curios about the history of lycanthropy I recommend it. There are some parts from historical documents that are pu in the book but not translated, I thought that was a waist of time. Most of the book reads like notes but at the end are two interesting stories.
December 12, 2008
Written in the 1860's but still holding up to the test of time this book ranks as a classic of European lore on lycanthropy/shapeshifting in particular pertaining to werewolves. Worth its weight in gold just for the two chapters on Scandinavian wolf lore, and the idea that the viking berserkers were werewolves/shapeshifters. But besides that there is plenty of folklore on werewolves/shapeshifting in eastern Europe, France, and various other places in Europe. Also historical documentation of medieval serial killers who were alleged to be werewolves is recounted, as well as Baring-Goulds own encounters with local werewolf legends that had people in fear to go in the woods alone in various locales in France that he visited. The only fault I see with this book is that even though for a book written when it was it really covers a lot of bases the vast amount of Celtic shapeshifting/werewolf lore that exists is not included. Regardless this book still remains a timeless classic work.
February 21, 2015
The first serious academic study of lycanthropy and "blood-lust" written in English, this book rocks. Written by the same guy who wrote one my of favourite hymns "Onward Christian Soldiers". I found it, along with the seminal work on vampires, among a pile of dusty books left, along with memorial trowels, in an lost cloister somewhere behind the cathedral - it seems that vampires and werewolves are the proper province of priests.
May 19, 2023
Interesante recorrido por el mito del hombre lobo a lo largo del tiempo. El análisis del mito en las sagas nórdicas es una delicia, aunque de esto tiene poca culpa el autor porque todo lo que tiene que ver con las sagas nórdicas es una delicia. Me quedo con el siguiente párrafo, que considero muy acertado:
Se puede admitir como axioma que no hay ninguna superstición aceptada de forma general que no posea un fundamento de verdad y si descubrimos que el mito del hombre lobo está ampliamente extendido, no sólo en Europa, sino en todo el mundo, podemos estar seguros de que hay un sólido núcleo de realidad, en torno al cual ha cristalizado la superstición popular; y esa realidad es la existencia de una clase de locura durante cuyos accesos la persona afec tada cree que es un animal salvaje y actúa como un animal salvaje.
Como punto negativo, me sobran ejemplos de casos en los que se ha creído estar delante de un hombre lobo y me faltan análisis de las diferentes formas que toma el mito así como el análisis de los puntos en común de todas estas historias.
Se puede admitir como axioma que no hay ninguna superstición aceptada de forma general que no posea un fundamento de verdad y si descubrimos que el mito del hombre lobo está ampliamente extendido, no sólo en Europa, sino en todo el mundo, podemos estar seguros de que hay un sólido núcleo de realidad, en torno al cual ha cristalizado la superstición popular; y esa realidad es la existencia de una clase de locura durante cuyos accesos la persona afec tada cree que es un animal salvaje y actúa como un animal salvaje.
Como punto negativo, me sobran ejemplos de casos en los que se ha creído estar delante de un hombre lobo y me faltan análisis de las diferentes formas que toma el mito así como el análisis de los puntos en común de todas estas historias.
October 13, 2008
The main problem with this book is that is horribly misnamed. It should be called "The Book of Cannibals". I was looking for some werewolf mythology maybe some background and origins and instead I get this detailed account of historical cannibals.
In the beginning there are a few instances where the cannibal in question believed or was believed to be a werewolf or at the very least, a shapeshiter of some sort. But by the end of the book there is three chapters in one man who liked to chop up little children because he read somewhere that certain Roman Caesars use to engage in the activity. What does that have to do with werewolves? Nothing.
The author believes that lycanthropy, as a sickness of the mind, is real. That some people are deluded enough to believe they are werewolves. He also believes that folklore has been exaggerated or misinterpreted. I can accept that point of view. But this book is about cannibals. Some of those cannibals believed to be werewolves, others had no association to the word whatsoever.
In the beginning there are a few instances where the cannibal in question believed or was believed to be a werewolf or at the very least, a shapeshiter of some sort. But by the end of the book there is three chapters in one man who liked to chop up little children because he read somewhere that certain Roman Caesars use to engage in the activity. What does that have to do with werewolves? Nothing.
The author believes that lycanthropy, as a sickness of the mind, is real. That some people are deluded enough to believe they are werewolves. He also believes that folklore has been exaggerated or misinterpreted. I can accept that point of view. But this book is about cannibals. Some of those cannibals believed to be werewolves, others had no association to the word whatsoever.
October 25, 2015
Europeans who believed they could shape-shift, generally ate children when in proper form, and were often hanged and burned when found out. Really good stuff.
“Job Fincelius relates the sad story of a farmer of Pavia, who, as a wolf, fell upon many men in the open country and tore them to pieces. After much trouble the maniac was caught, and he then assured his captors that the only difference which existed between himself and a natural wolf, was that in a true wolf the hair grew outward, whilst in him it struck inward. In order to put this assertion to the proof, the magistrates, themselves most certainly cruel and bloodthirsty wolves, cut off his arms and legs; the poor wretch died of the mutilation. This took place in 1541. The idea of the skin being reversed is a very ancient one: versipellis occurs as a name of reproach in Petronius, Lucilius, and Plautus, and resembles the Norse hamrammr.”
April 3, 2021
My blog post about this odd book (Sects and Violence in the Ancient World) focuses primarily on the problems with this edition. Here I’ll try to say more about the content. Sabine Baring-Gould was an eccentric polymath, writing several books and having an obvious interest in the unusual. The Book of Were-Wolves is a strange collection of folklore and much of it focuses on what we would today term serial killers, rather than lycanthropes.
Generally regional, and broadly chronological, his treatment begins in antiquity with accounts from classic writers. He then turns attention to the lore of various northern peoples, including the Scandinavian and other Germanic traditions. This could have been included in the following chapter on the Middle Ages, in terms of chronology. The Medieval Period seems to be the timeframe of the classic development of the werewolf. A number of the accounts read with the vague place and time associations of folklore, and indeed he dedicates a chapter to the werewolf in such folklore, after examining some famous cases. He discusses causes of lycanthropy before moving on to the mythic origins of the idea.
The latter part of the book is really about disturbing cases of mass murder, mostly by titled nobility with a penchant for cruelty and bloodlust. These tales are told without any transformation of human to wolf, but betray the then popular fear of wolves before they were driven to near extinction in many locations. Primarily focused on Europe, the book does take a few detours to outside cultures, but the reader is left wishing for a more systematic, and perhaps disciplined approach to the subject. Nevertheless, there is quite a lot of information in this brief book.
Generally regional, and broadly chronological, his treatment begins in antiquity with accounts from classic writers. He then turns attention to the lore of various northern peoples, including the Scandinavian and other Germanic traditions. This could have been included in the following chapter on the Middle Ages, in terms of chronology. The Medieval Period seems to be the timeframe of the classic development of the werewolf. A number of the accounts read with the vague place and time associations of folklore, and indeed he dedicates a chapter to the werewolf in such folklore, after examining some famous cases. He discusses causes of lycanthropy before moving on to the mythic origins of the idea.
The latter part of the book is really about disturbing cases of mass murder, mostly by titled nobility with a penchant for cruelty and bloodlust. These tales are told without any transformation of human to wolf, but betray the then popular fear of wolves before they were driven to near extinction in many locations. Primarily focused on Europe, the book does take a few detours to outside cultures, but the reader is left wishing for a more systematic, and perhaps disciplined approach to the subject. Nevertheless, there is quite a lot of information in this brief book.
October 6, 2020
A nonfiction overview that attributes werewolves not to magical transformation but to insanity and violence which convinces individuals that they've become beasts and/or is so monstrous that it's described in inhuman terms. It holds together as an argument but not especially well as a book. I wish it asked why wolves in particular reoccur as a symbol of the dehumanized man; it shows its age in arguments such as "obviously, they weren't transforming--they were just possessed, but the prevalence of baptisms has since solved that problem"; the second half covers infamous or interesting murders, notably multiple chapters on Gilles de Rais, and while these cases are suitably monstrous they aren't, as far as I know or the text acknowledges, attributed to or framed in the language of werewolves.
But these issues don't impede the text's baseline readability. It's approachable, short, engaging. The breadth of research is impressive given that this was published in 1865. And insofar as it's one of the classic werewolf texts, its holds up--not for being especially good, but for being satisfying: the obvious, diverse love of the subject matter from ancient Norse mythology to contemporary folklore; the reasonable skepticism that wraps back around to a macabre and borderline-unjustified (in context, that is) fascination with monstrous acts. It feels right, regardless of objective quality.
But these issues don't impede the text's baseline readability. It's approachable, short, engaging. The breadth of research is impressive given that this was published in 1865. And insofar as it's one of the classic werewolf texts, its holds up--not for being especially good, but for being satisfying: the obvious, diverse love of the subject matter from ancient Norse mythology to contemporary folklore; the reasonable skepticism that wraps back around to a macabre and borderline-unjustified (in context, that is) fascination with monstrous acts. It feels right, regardless of objective quality.
October 7, 2025
It’s not necessarily a good book, but it is fun to read inasmuch as you feel like a character in a werewolf story who has found an ancient tome about lycanthropy, even though it’s only from the 1800s. Being that it’s from the 1800s and written by the guy who composed “onward Christian soldiers,” it’s not exactly progressive by today’s standards, but that’s almost not worth commenting upon. Let’s put it at Paul Simon’s “world music” output on the offensiveness continuum (personally I find all his output offensive, musically). The chapters on Nordic sagas in the beginning are the strongest, but once he runs out of folklore, myth, and armchair anthropology content, he mostly starts talking about noted child molesters, eaters, of yore. There are several chapters on Gilles de Rais, which is arguably a bit of a digression from werewolves, but the sensibilities of the time keep Sabine Baring-Gould from getting into the gory details of all that. Being Christian, there are also points where it seems like he might actually believe werewolves are real just because he alludes to diabolical possession. All that being said, i think the anecdote about a guy in the French military who dug up corpses to eat them(again, a stretch to call him a werewolf) was a source for Guy Endore’s A Werewolf of Paris, which, awful title aside, is an awesome horror novel.
July 15, 2022
Not so much about werewolves as we'd know of them from pop culture but rather almost the illnesses behind perceived 'werewolves', or as close as they could get in the 1800's. But hey, if you're into stories of historical cannibalism and awful child murders written in 1865 then this is the awful little book for you. Three stars because Baring-Gould clearly did a lot of research for this, and I mean A LOT.
April 9, 2018
This was quite a trip. Winding and occasionally racist, and it likely didn't help that the free edition I downloaded from the B&N nook store was poorly formatted. It's interesting, and I appreciated several key things about it--its age, its statements as to what educated people believed at the time of the writing, the fact that most original texts were presented alongside their translations.
It might be short, but it's a slog and it's not for the faint of heart. The last quarter of the book is only tangentially about werewolves. I wouldn't have gotten all the way through it if I didn't need to for grad school.
It might be short, but it's a slog and it's not for the faint of heart. The last quarter of the book is only tangentially about werewolves. I wouldn't have gotten all the way through it if I didn't need to for grad school.
August 27, 2022
I loved everything about the book.
All the mythology, etymology of some words such as the great compendium about people who thought they were werewolves, furthermore the case of Gilles de Retz is one of the creepiest stories I’ve ever read.
All the mythology, etymology of some words such as the great compendium about people who thought they were werewolves, furthermore the case of Gilles de Retz is one of the creepiest stories I’ve ever read.
October 16, 2024
A very interesting Halloween read. I learned quite a bit and particularly enjoyed the recounts of the investigations and trials at the time.
June 6, 2012
Sabine Baring-Gould is by no means a celebrity today, but in the 19th century he brought a modern sensibility to an ancient body of superstitions: werewolf lore.
I first came across his name thanks to A Very Special Christmas, of all things. On the 1987 compilation album, among the carols recorded by the then-current crop of rock stars was "Gabriel's Message," by Sting. The liner notes credited S. Baring-Gould as the composer.
Born in 1834, the Rev. Sabine Baring-Gould was a prolific writer, composer and collector of folklore. Among his scores of published works are a multi-volume Lives of the Saints, hymns including "Onward, Christian Soldiers," and The Book of Were-Wolves, a classic survey of werewolf folklore first published in 1865.
For fans of gothic literature, the first chapter alone makes the book worth picking up. As the introduction in the edition I have puts it, Baring-Gould's account of his stumbling across pervasive belief in werewolves while on holiday in France is worthy of a Victorian novel.
After a day visiting the site of supposed druidic stones near Champigni, Baring-Gould notes the light was fading. "A small hamlet was at no great distance, and I betook myself thither, in the hopes of hiring a trap to convey me to the posthouse."
Unfortunately, he was out of luck -- there was no cart available, not even a horse. Resigning himself to walking back to Champigni, he was surprised at the reaction of the local priest and the hamlet's mayor.
"Out spake then the mayor — 'Monsieur can never go back to-night across the flats, because of the — the —' and his voice dropped; 'the loups garoux.'" The villagers agree it's an insurmountable conundrum — no one will escort him back because they are too afraid of the werewolves, "as big as a calf," they might face.
Baring-Gould shrugs it off and says he will go alone. "Il est Anglais [He is English]," the villagers say, shrugging at his obstinance — likely relieved, notes the writer, that he has effectively absolved them of any responsibility should he be devoured.
It's a refreshingly firsthand account of belief in werewolves, but the rest of the book is fascinating as well.
As a collection of European (and some world) folklore on werewolves, it's impressive; it's made all the more so by the clear-headed presentation of many aspects of lycanthropy. He delves into its etymologically Greek origins with the tale of Lycaon, but also explores Scandinavian and French traditions.
It helps if the reader is as conversant in multiple languages as the author. Baring-Gould often leaves block quotes from his sources in their original Greek and Latin, though he's kind enough to translate the Old Norse passages.
One interesting diversion is his consideration of the Nordic berserker as a lycanthropic entity — siding with Sveinbjörn Egilsson's etymology of the word as having its roots in "clothed in bear skin" not "bare of clothing" (as the berserkers were reputed to have charged into battle wearing little but their fury).
The book is more than an assorted collection of superstition.
Significantly, he looks at documented cases of lycanthropy through the centuries and after cataloguing a few notable, he later examines them as representing a serious, verifiable mental illness.
Another effect his presentation has, to a modern reader, is an overview of werewolf lore uncluttered by Hollywood notions of full moons, silver bullets, and many of all the tropes we now take for granted. His examples and sources are much closer to "real" werewolves than most of what is embedded in pop culture today, and it's both refreshing and sobering.
For the serious devourer of lycanthropic lore, it's a fascinating and provoking read.
Originally posted on As You Were, June 6, 2012
http://www.davidjonfuller.com/2012/06...
I first came across his name thanks to A Very Special Christmas, of all things. On the 1987 compilation album, among the carols recorded by the then-current crop of rock stars was "Gabriel's Message," by Sting. The liner notes credited S. Baring-Gould as the composer.
Born in 1834, the Rev. Sabine Baring-Gould was a prolific writer, composer and collector of folklore. Among his scores of published works are a multi-volume Lives of the Saints, hymns including "Onward, Christian Soldiers," and The Book of Were-Wolves, a classic survey of werewolf folklore first published in 1865.
For fans of gothic literature, the first chapter alone makes the book worth picking up. As the introduction in the edition I have puts it, Baring-Gould's account of his stumbling across pervasive belief in werewolves while on holiday in France is worthy of a Victorian novel.
After a day visiting the site of supposed druidic stones near Champigni, Baring-Gould notes the light was fading. "A small hamlet was at no great distance, and I betook myself thither, in the hopes of hiring a trap to convey me to the posthouse."
Unfortunately, he was out of luck -- there was no cart available, not even a horse. Resigning himself to walking back to Champigni, he was surprised at the reaction of the local priest and the hamlet's mayor.
"Out spake then the mayor — 'Monsieur can never go back to-night across the flats, because of the — the —' and his voice dropped; 'the loups garoux.'" The villagers agree it's an insurmountable conundrum — no one will escort him back because they are too afraid of the werewolves, "as big as a calf," they might face.
Baring-Gould shrugs it off and says he will go alone. "Il est Anglais [He is English]," the villagers say, shrugging at his obstinance — likely relieved, notes the writer, that he has effectively absolved them of any responsibility should he be devoured.
It's a refreshingly firsthand account of belief in werewolves, but the rest of the book is fascinating as well.
As a collection of European (and some world) folklore on werewolves, it's impressive; it's made all the more so by the clear-headed presentation of many aspects of lycanthropy. He delves into its etymologically Greek origins with the tale of Lycaon, but also explores Scandinavian and French traditions.
It helps if the reader is as conversant in multiple languages as the author. Baring-Gould often leaves block quotes from his sources in their original Greek and Latin, though he's kind enough to translate the Old Norse passages.
One interesting diversion is his consideration of the Nordic berserker as a lycanthropic entity — siding with Sveinbjörn Egilsson's etymology of the word as having its roots in "clothed in bear skin" not "bare of clothing" (as the berserkers were reputed to have charged into battle wearing little but their fury).
The book is more than an assorted collection of superstition.
Significantly, he looks at documented cases of lycanthropy through the centuries and after cataloguing a few notable, he later examines them as representing a serious, verifiable mental illness.
Another effect his presentation has, to a modern reader, is an overview of werewolf lore uncluttered by Hollywood notions of full moons, silver bullets, and many of all the tropes we now take for granted. His examples and sources are much closer to "real" werewolves than most of what is embedded in pop culture today, and it's both refreshing and sobering.
For the serious devourer of lycanthropic lore, it's a fascinating and provoking read.
Originally posted on As You Were, June 6, 2012
http://www.davidjonfuller.com/2012/06...
January 2, 2014
This is probably the most famous of Sabine Baring-Gould’s many nonfiction books. While many of the others cover esoteric topics of local folklore and Church history, it is no surprise that this one still attracts modern readers. It is one of the first and still one of the best books on the topic, and is such a standard reference that many later books on werewolves and lycanthropy owe a great deal to his work. In fact the Wikipedia article on werewolves appears, to me, to paraphrase a fair amount of Baring-Gould’s exposition on werewolves and lycanthropy in Scandinavian sagas as well as the paragraphs on werewolves and vlkodlak in Hungary and the Balkans.
Baring-Gould attempts at least three tasks: to summarize folklore and beliefs about werewolves and related phenomena; to collect specific cases from ancient, medieval, and modern histories; and to explain the origins of the beliefs and demythologize the superstition. (It’s kind of surprising that feels the need to argue the point, but he published this book in 1865 and there were still records of werewolves in living memory at that time; indeed he recounts being warned against werewolves during his own travels in France.)
These tasks do not entirely determine the structure of the book -- he also attempts to give the legends in chronological order, so that the first third of the book looks at linguistic/philological evidence to understand the legends, and also gives a fairly exhaustive report of instances of men and women assuming the shapes of animals in European literature as well as briefer accounts of similar stories from around the world. He includes stories of physical transformations alongside stories of metempsychosis (the transmigration of the soul into another body) as well as legends where the transformation is only illusory. Baring-Gould gives particular attention to the Scandinavian sagas and mythology, devoting two whole chapters on them. I found a lot of interesting stuff there.
The next third of the book, covering the middle ages and more modern times, focuses on the details of how one becomes a werewolf, how they can be identified, and how the affliction might be cured. Various legends of skin-changers, shape-shifters, and the like are mentioned, with a fair amount of detail on North American native legends, as well as a few legal/criminal cases in early modern times and the reports of witch-finders like Bodin.
The final third of the book is devoted to the “natural” causes of beliefs in lycanthropy, an inventive theory tying lycanthropy legends to legends of ogres and dragons and the meteorological origins of all three(!), and finally longer accounts of cannibalism and serial killing. This book is also thought to be the first to articulate the idea that werewolf legends arose from incidents of serial murders. (However Baring-Gould is writing at a time before “serial killers” were identified as a kind of pathological type, and he just sees sociopathy as part of a continuum of human cruelty and violence -- we all have cruel, violent impulses and some people just act on the worst impulses while most others do not. Maybe the fact that he was an Anglican priest led him to the view that all people are equally capable of sin and evil?) Baring-Gould gives what he says is the first English account of the horrible crimes of Gilles of de Rais, expurgated of the most heinous details. While later writers have sometimes attempted to exonerate Gilles de Rais, it is hard not to conclude that he was what we’d call a serial killer today; it is especially disturbing that the power, wealth, and prestige he wielded allowed him to carry out his crimes so openly for years. More stories of cannibalism and murder are presented to give further credence to Baring-Gould’s theory that the werewolf legends were simply an attempt to explain the most horrible acts of men.
Baring-Gould attempts at least three tasks: to summarize folklore and beliefs about werewolves and related phenomena; to collect specific cases from ancient, medieval, and modern histories; and to explain the origins of the beliefs and demythologize the superstition. (It’s kind of surprising that feels the need to argue the point, but he published this book in 1865 and there were still records of werewolves in living memory at that time; indeed he recounts being warned against werewolves during his own travels in France.)
These tasks do not entirely determine the structure of the book -- he also attempts to give the legends in chronological order, so that the first third of the book looks at linguistic/philological evidence to understand the legends, and also gives a fairly exhaustive report of instances of men and women assuming the shapes of animals in European literature as well as briefer accounts of similar stories from around the world. He includes stories of physical transformations alongside stories of metempsychosis (the transmigration of the soul into another body) as well as legends where the transformation is only illusory. Baring-Gould gives particular attention to the Scandinavian sagas and mythology, devoting two whole chapters on them. I found a lot of interesting stuff there.
The next third of the book, covering the middle ages and more modern times, focuses on the details of how one becomes a werewolf, how they can be identified, and how the affliction might be cured. Various legends of skin-changers, shape-shifters, and the like are mentioned, with a fair amount of detail on North American native legends, as well as a few legal/criminal cases in early modern times and the reports of witch-finders like Bodin.
The final third of the book is devoted to the “natural” causes of beliefs in lycanthropy, an inventive theory tying lycanthropy legends to legends of ogres and dragons and the meteorological origins of all three(!), and finally longer accounts of cannibalism and serial killing. This book is also thought to be the first to articulate the idea that werewolf legends arose from incidents of serial murders. (However Baring-Gould is writing at a time before “serial killers” were identified as a kind of pathological type, and he just sees sociopathy as part of a continuum of human cruelty and violence -- we all have cruel, violent impulses and some people just act on the worst impulses while most others do not. Maybe the fact that he was an Anglican priest led him to the view that all people are equally capable of sin and evil?) Baring-Gould gives what he says is the first English account of the horrible crimes of Gilles of de Rais, expurgated of the most heinous details. While later writers have sometimes attempted to exonerate Gilles de Rais, it is hard not to conclude that he was what we’d call a serial killer today; it is especially disturbing that the power, wealth, and prestige he wielded allowed him to carry out his crimes so openly for years. More stories of cannibalism and murder are presented to give further credence to Baring-Gould’s theory that the werewolf legends were simply an attempt to explain the most horrible acts of men.
February 13, 2017
First published in 1865, this really interesting study on the werewolf is notable for what it doesn't show. Ask a random person on the street today what they know about werewolves, and the answer will generally involve silver bullets and a full moon, but the mythos of earlier centuries is very different indeed.
Baring-Gould's assessment of the phenomenon comes from a place of rationalism - it is clear he ascribes symptoms of lycanthropy to mental illness rather than supernatural effect. However the folklore, legends and myths of lycanthropy - and how they appear in history (in the recorded criminal trials of those affected, for example) - describe populations and cultures where this rationalism was very far from a satisfactory explanation for the people involved.
Baring-Gould's assessment of the phenomenon comes from a place of rationalism - it is clear he ascribes symptoms of lycanthropy to mental illness rather than supernatural effect. However the folklore, legends and myths of lycanthropy - and how they appear in history (in the recorded criminal trials of those affected, for example) - describe populations and cultures where this rationalism was very far from a satisfactory explanation for the people involved.
November 12, 2018
It’s easy to “poo-poo” were-wolves as superstitious just-so stories, invented by our ignorant ancestors.
Baring-Gould, while not convinced human beings physically transform into wolf bodies, nevertheless has taken a scholarly, detailed, and anecdote-filled look at this phenomenon. Along with his scientific, 18th-century respect for facts, he brings the Christian insight into human nature to his subject (he’s more famous for writing "Onward Christian Soldiers").
The resulting book is fascinating, profound, and sometimes disturbing…both by what it says about were-wolves, and by what it says about ourselves.
A Personal Touch
Mr. Baring-Gould begins his work by explaining why were-wolves came to be of such interest to him. He describes a personal experience in an isolated village in France, where the local villagers were deathly afraid of crossing the heath at night, for fear of the loup-garou.
Baring-Gould poo-poos the idea of supernatural beings (although he provides himself with a cudgel for use against actual wolves). He says that the persistence of the belief in were-wolves – even into his own time – inspired him to study the phenomenon in depth.
This personal touch persists throughout. The book is stuffed with examples and anecdotes of vicious men, men (and women) who turn into beasts (not limited to wolves), accounts of diabolic interference, and other strange circumstances.
It is now over a hundred years since Baring-Gould composed his work, and yet the intimacy and authority of his source material brings the subject uncomfortably close to home.
Legend – Near and Far
Baring-Gould also strives to include a diverse selection of material. He tells of the savage berserkr in the Norse lands…of a shunned class in North Africa who can take the shape of hyenas…a North American Indian tribe who began when a litter of puppies took off their dog-skins to play as children, and the skins were burnt…and, of course, he brings in the idea of reincarnation from India and other Buddhist lands, where a “human” soul may inhabit several different animal bodies on its metaphysical journey.
Baring-Gould is also very clear about the theological significance of each culture’s story. The Eastern peoples believe that the soul is the true person, and the body is simply its “housing”…thus to exchange one living quarters for another is no big deal.
In contrast, the Catholic peoples of Europe were more likely to ascribe were-wolves to the Devil. Several men convicted of being were-wolves admitted – and indeed, claimed – to be in service to “Satan”, and several accounts describe how a salve transformed them into wolves during their Black Sabbath celebrations.
A scholarly treatise anyone can read.
It’s true Baring-Gould often quotes from his sources in their original languages – Greek, Norse, French, etc.
However, he brings enough humor and a conversational tone to the subject that it’s never too dry (although it’s sometimes too unnerving).
Too Close to Home
If you wanted some quaint yet spooky fire-side tales from silly, superstitious people long ago, you’ll probably get more than you bargained for.
Does the Devil have the power to turn men into wolves, the better to rend their fellow humans? Is it solely the result of mental illness, where men either believe themselves responsible for the work of normal wolves – or believe themselves transformed into wolves, and so act according to their new nature? Is it a self-fulfilling prophecy, where people who believe in were-wolves imagine any violent, vicious man to be actually transformed into a wolf?
I imagine the truth is some balance between these possibilities, but there’s no denying the final factor: ordinary human evil.
Mr. Baring-Gould makes this point emphatically. The examples he gives are horrific, while not being explicit or gory.
Without sensationalizing, he lets the facts speak for themselves as he describes historical, document-able cases of cannibalism, torture, or sadism…with no excuse of physical transformation or diabolic possession.
Respectable is not Holy.
The most obvious example is Gilles de Laval, Maréchal de Retz, Marshall of France. Although a war hero to his country, rich beyond imagination, and an advisor to his king, he was not satisfied.
When he read of the cruelties of some of the Roman emperors, he was so thrilled that he determined to imitate – and even surpass – their wickedness.
In 1440, he was arrested, tried, and condemned for kidnapping, torturing, murdering, and beheading over a hundred children (most of them seem to have been about ten years old).
What madness possessed this noble of France? What excuse could possibly be given for this horrific practice? None. He did it because it was FUN — and admitted as much as his own trial.
Now, he also protested repentance, begged to be sent to a monastery to purge his soul, and sermonized at his own execution about the forgiveness of God.
Was he sincere? Only God can know. But as Mr. Baring-Gould sagely points out, “‘If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments,’ said our Lord. How many hope to go to heaven because they have pious emotions!”
The Were-Wolf In Our Hearts
While first published in 1865, this book rang true and relevant to me today. How easy it is to relegate savagery and cannibalism and child sacrifice to the heathens of long ago! But these evil impulses still lurk among us today…they lurk in my heart, and in yours.
What would it take to bring them to the surface?
Do a web search for “man eats girlfriend”. You’ll find a slew of news stories from this very year. Just reading the preview text is probably enough to make your stomach turn.
But it’s important to face these issues and think about them. Because, if we ignore and deny the wickedness in our own hearts, we’ll never think we need the Cure.
(Five words: Planned Parenthood sells baby parts.)
Onward, Christian soldiers! Lord, forgive me, a sinner!
The Book of Were-Wolves is in the public domain and available on Project Gutenberg. Please check the copyright laws in your own country.
Sabine Baring-Gould was an Anglican priest, hagiographer, antiquarian, and writer of several hymns in the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries.
[Review originally published at KimiaWood.com]
Baring-Gould, while not convinced human beings physically transform into wolf bodies, nevertheless has taken a scholarly, detailed, and anecdote-filled look at this phenomenon. Along with his scientific, 18th-century respect for facts, he brings the Christian insight into human nature to his subject (he’s more famous for writing "Onward Christian Soldiers").
The resulting book is fascinating, profound, and sometimes disturbing…both by what it says about were-wolves, and by what it says about ourselves.
A Personal Touch
Mr. Baring-Gould begins his work by explaining why were-wolves came to be of such interest to him. He describes a personal experience in an isolated village in France, where the local villagers were deathly afraid of crossing the heath at night, for fear of the loup-garou.
Baring-Gould poo-poos the idea of supernatural beings (although he provides himself with a cudgel for use against actual wolves). He says that the persistence of the belief in were-wolves – even into his own time – inspired him to study the phenomenon in depth.
This personal touch persists throughout. The book is stuffed with examples and anecdotes of vicious men, men (and women) who turn into beasts (not limited to wolves), accounts of diabolic interference, and other strange circumstances.
It is now over a hundred years since Baring-Gould composed his work, and yet the intimacy and authority of his source material brings the subject uncomfortably close to home.
Legend – Near and Far
Baring-Gould also strives to include a diverse selection of material. He tells of the savage berserkr in the Norse lands…of a shunned class in North Africa who can take the shape of hyenas…a North American Indian tribe who began when a litter of puppies took off their dog-skins to play as children, and the skins were burnt…and, of course, he brings in the idea of reincarnation from India and other Buddhist lands, where a “human” soul may inhabit several different animal bodies on its metaphysical journey.
Baring-Gould is also very clear about the theological significance of each culture’s story. The Eastern peoples believe that the soul is the true person, and the body is simply its “housing”…thus to exchange one living quarters for another is no big deal.
In contrast, the Catholic peoples of Europe were more likely to ascribe were-wolves to the Devil. Several men convicted of being were-wolves admitted – and indeed, claimed – to be in service to “Satan”, and several accounts describe how a salve transformed them into wolves during their Black Sabbath celebrations.
A scholarly treatise anyone can read.
It’s true Baring-Gould often quotes from his sources in their original languages – Greek, Norse, French, etc.
However, he brings enough humor and a conversational tone to the subject that it’s never too dry (although it’s sometimes too unnerving).
Too Close to Home
If you wanted some quaint yet spooky fire-side tales from silly, superstitious people long ago, you’ll probably get more than you bargained for.
Does the Devil have the power to turn men into wolves, the better to rend their fellow humans? Is it solely the result of mental illness, where men either believe themselves responsible for the work of normal wolves – or believe themselves transformed into wolves, and so act according to their new nature? Is it a self-fulfilling prophecy, where people who believe in were-wolves imagine any violent, vicious man to be actually transformed into a wolf?
I imagine the truth is some balance between these possibilities, but there’s no denying the final factor: ordinary human evil.
Mr. Baring-Gould makes this point emphatically. The examples he gives are horrific, while not being explicit or gory.
Without sensationalizing, he lets the facts speak for themselves as he describes historical, document-able cases of cannibalism, torture, or sadism…with no excuse of physical transformation or diabolic possession.
Respectable is not Holy.
The most obvious example is Gilles de Laval, Maréchal de Retz, Marshall of France. Although a war hero to his country, rich beyond imagination, and an advisor to his king, he was not satisfied.
When he read of the cruelties of some of the Roman emperors, he was so thrilled that he determined to imitate – and even surpass – their wickedness.
In 1440, he was arrested, tried, and condemned for kidnapping, torturing, murdering, and beheading over a hundred children (most of them seem to have been about ten years old).
What madness possessed this noble of France? What excuse could possibly be given for this horrific practice? None. He did it because it was FUN — and admitted as much as his own trial.
Now, he also protested repentance, begged to be sent to a monastery to purge his soul, and sermonized at his own execution about the forgiveness of God.
Was he sincere? Only God can know. But as Mr. Baring-Gould sagely points out, “‘If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments,’ said our Lord. How many hope to go to heaven because they have pious emotions!”
The Were-Wolf In Our Hearts
While first published in 1865, this book rang true and relevant to me today. How easy it is to relegate savagery and cannibalism and child sacrifice to the heathens of long ago! But these evil impulses still lurk among us today…they lurk in my heart, and in yours.
What would it take to bring them to the surface?
Do a web search for “man eats girlfriend”. You’ll find a slew of news stories from this very year. Just reading the preview text is probably enough to make your stomach turn.
But it’s important to face these issues and think about them. Because, if we ignore and deny the wickedness in our own hearts, we’ll never think we need the Cure.
(Five words: Planned Parenthood sells baby parts.)
Onward, Christian soldiers! Lord, forgive me, a sinner!
The Book of Were-Wolves is in the public domain and available on Project Gutenberg. Please check the copyright laws in your own country.
Sabine Baring-Gould was an Anglican priest, hagiographer, antiquarian, and writer of several hymns in the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries.
[Review originally published at KimiaWood.com]
October 27, 2019
Very good. A scholarly approach to the legend (mythology and folklore) and reality (anthropological and psychological) of the lycanthrope. Published in 1865, it features that classical Victorian writing style that frequently often does not feel the need to translate chunks of Greek or Latin text because it assumes the reader will be familiar with both languages. Footnotes and documentation of source material are somewhat irregular. Much of this book focuses on Scandinavian (Norse mythology and assorted sagas) and French (folklore as well as legal trials from the late Middle Ages and Early Modern periods) werewolves, but touches on many other peoples, including the ancient Greeks, Indians, Persians and Native Americans. Other shapeshifters in myth and legend are also briefly addressed (including hares, cats, dogs, and bears). Baring-Gould discusses serial killers (although he obviously doesn’t call them that) cannibals (from cultures that do NOT normally engage in anthrophagy), and people who feel a compulsion to mutilate corpses. The book also contains a fairly detailed account of the investigation, trial and execution of Gilles de Rais ("Bluebeard"). Goodreads note: The book description that appears above is NOT for this book; I assume it’s for another Baring-Gould book – evidently about sorcerers.
June 8, 2011
This is a very dry read, and you have to really want to know about werewolves to slog through it, but it is full of some very gruesome stories, indeed. Of course, "gruesome" is in the eye of the beholder. The author wrote this at around the time of the civil war in the United States, and what was considered too horrible to be printed then would be put in children's books now. (I exaggerate, but only just.)
I read this book for reference, and will probably refer to it as a source for werewolf and other were-animal stories when the fancy strikes.
If you can find an actual written copy, you'd be better off. The e-book is riddled with transcription errors that probably occurred when the original was scanned using OCR. It often turns 'e' into 'a' or 'o', as well as making other strange substitutions. Which is sometimes easy to catch when the author is writing in English, but almost impossible to catch when he is writing in German, Greek, French, or Latin.
If nothing else, I've found a treasure trove of names, dates, places, and events to research separately.
I read this book for reference, and will probably refer to it as a source for werewolf and other were-animal stories when the fancy strikes.
If you can find an actual written copy, you'd be better off. The e-book is riddled with transcription errors that probably occurred when the original was scanned using OCR. It often turns 'e' into 'a' or 'o', as well as making other strange substitutions. Which is sometimes easy to catch when the author is writing in English, but almost impossible to catch when he is writing in German, Greek, French, or Latin.
If nothing else, I've found a treasure trove of names, dates, places, and events to research separately.
September 23, 2017
I decided not to finish this book, despite being the kind of person that will always finish a book regardless of how boring it is. This book was certainly not boring, however.
I was expecting a book about the origins of werewolves. What I got instead were continuous cases of cannibalism and torture with only a few of them actually relating to werewolves (usually people dressed in wolf skins or diseased in their mind to truly believe they were wolves). If these cases had all related to werewolves then I might have finished, but this was not the case. Morbid curiosity might have driven me to finish, but it got to the point that I was actually feeling physically sick from the book because these cases are a part of human history and I no longer felt it was worth continuing. Maybe one day I'll finish it, maybe. But I wouldn't count on it. This is not something I want to learn to stomach. If you want to hear a history on cannibalism and torture, I recommend this book. Otherwise, I suggest not...
I was expecting a book about the origins of werewolves. What I got instead were continuous cases of cannibalism and torture with only a few of them actually relating to werewolves (usually people dressed in wolf skins or diseased in their mind to truly believe they were wolves). If these cases had all related to werewolves then I might have finished, but this was not the case. Morbid curiosity might have driven me to finish, but it got to the point that I was actually feeling physically sick from the book because these cases are a part of human history and I no longer felt it was worth continuing. Maybe one day I'll finish it, maybe. But I wouldn't count on it. This is not something I want to learn to stomach. If you want to hear a history on cannibalism and torture, I recommend this book. Otherwise, I suggest not...
January 8, 2018
Baring-Gould gives us a study of lycanthropy, focusing on how the legends connect to legal cases and other experiences that could explain what it is. He concludes (as he mentions at the beginning, so not a spoiler) that were-wolves are actually mad-men who develop a taste for human flesh. He includes many anecdotes, one of which is personal, and has an engaging writing style (especially for the time period). It probably helps to know French, and would have been even better if my Latin and Greek were stronger. The author was quite a linguist.
He manages to convey the horror of this passion for human death, suffering and flesh without getting too gory, but it may still be strong for many readers.
He manages to convey the horror of this passion for human death, suffering and flesh without getting too gory, but it may still be strong for many readers.
February 16, 2012
Baring-Gould spends too much time discussing "straight" serial killers of antiquity (related to his thesis that some werewolf legends were simply started by what we would today call bloodthirsty sociopaths), but this survey of the common threads of werewolf legends -- that they were evil people and devil worshipers who were granted the ability to transform at will -- is a necessary corrective to both the Hollywood notion of the infected man who is a slave to the full moon, and the current urban fantasy conception of lycanthropes as a distinct shapeshifting species.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 166 reviews