Ten Real-Life Werewolves in Human History

Let’s admit that we’ve all heard stories about werewolves and have been scared breathless in our childhoods. Now that we are all grown up we know they don’t exist but we have seen then in movies, read novels about them. They are pretty cool. I believe that humans tend to be very ignorant at times and we simply deny the existence of things that our mind cannot comprehend. Same is the case with werewolves. Just because the entire phenomenon seems a bit farfetched and we haven’t seen them with our own eyes, we blindly trust that these creatures do not exist. But are we doing the right thing in trusting that? Read on to find out.

10. GILLES GARNIER

In the sixteenth century, in a town of Dole, the residents were permitted to hunt and kill the werewolf that had been haunting the village. A group of villagers, walking in the forest, heard the screams of a little child. Upon arriving at the source of the screams, the villagers witnessed a child trying to fend off a monstrous wolf, later identified as Gilles Garnier. He confessed of being a werewolf and was later burnt.

9. GREIFSWALD WEREWOLVES

The records say that in 1640, the German city of Greifswald was raided by werewolves. Their population was so huge that any human who walked the streets after dark was considered to be a werewolf. All the silver in the town, the plate and goblets were melted to form bullets. They hunted down the wolves and they freed themselves of this misery. They could roam the streets at night, fearless as ever, once again.

8. WEREWOLF OF ANSBACH

The Bavarian town of Ansbach was being terrorized by a wolf in 1685. It was said that the wolf was actually the town’s dead mayor. The wolf was killed and the carcass was dressed to resemble the mayor. It was put on in the town square and was later transferred into a museum.

7. KLEIN-KRAMS WEREWOLF

Many hunters gathered at the thick forests in around the area of Klein-Krams. The forests were filled with different animals to hunt and people from all over Germany gathered here to hunt their own game. These hunters started reporting sightings of a wolf, a wolf that would mock them by stealing their game and disappearing into the woods. One day, a young cavalry officer saw a group of people running out of a house, screaming. There was no one chasing them. So the officer stopped a child and asked him exactly what was going on. He told him that the youngest son of the Feeg family is alone at home and it was his custom to transform into a wolf and therefore they were running because they didn’t want to get bitten. The officer thought the child was joking, however, moments later he saw a wolf in the house and soon after that a boy in its place.

6. WEREWOLF OF PAVIA

The story dates back to 1541 in Italy. A farmer killed many men in the form of a wolf. He was caught of course. The difference between normal wolves and him was the hair. In a normal wolf, they would grow outward however with him the hair grew inward. He was accused of being a wolf, and because of that his arms and legs were cut off. The farmer died of mutilation.

5. WEREWOLF OF CHALONS

This particular werewolf is also known as the Demon Tailor. His real name is not known. He was accused of horrible murders in Paris in the year 1598. All the documents regarding his trial were burnt. No records remain. He used to trick children into his shop and then he would slice their throats of. He would roam the woods in the shape of wolf and attach the passers-by. Many bones were found in the cellars of his shop. He died unrepentant.

4. CLAUDIA GAILLARD, WEREWOLF OF BURGUNDY

Claudia was brought to trial by the witch-hunter Henry Boguet. She was accused of being a werewolf. There were witnesses who reported that she was often seen behind a bush in the form a wolf without a tail. She was tortured because of this accusation. It is reported that she never even shed a tear and she was later burned to death. No tears huh? That’s certainly interesting.

3. MICHEL VERDUN, WEREWOLF OF POLIGNY

Philibert Montot, Pierre Bourgot and Michel Verdun were tried in 1521. They were accused of having made a pact with the devil and the practicing lycanthropy. The trial happened because a man was attacked by a wolf. He was able to wound the wolf forcing him to retreat. Following his tracks, he came upon a hut where he found Michel Verdun and his wife who was treating his wound. The man reported this to the authorities. Verdun confessed that he was a werewolf and he also spilled the names of the other two accomplices.

2. BERNANDANTI WEREWOLVES

The story dates back to 1692 and involves a man called Thiess. He confessed that he was werewolf. This story involves an epic battle between the witches and werewolves, where the werewolves tried to keep the witches from performing magic that would stop the crops from growing. During the battle, Thiess broke his nose. Iron bars were used by the wolves where the broom handles were used by the witches. Thiess said that the werewolves where the ‘hounds of Gods’. You can see how the stories today took shape with the iron and brooms and all.

 1. JEAN GRENIER

Terror spread across the St. Sever districts (France) in the year 1603. From the villages, many children began to disappear. There was no trace of the attacker and there was no explanation of these incidents. Rumors spread of man-eating wolves in the region. Soon, there appeared a witness – a thirteen year old girl. She swore that she had been attacked by a monster resembling a wolf during the full moon and if it weren’t for her iron stick that she used to ward of the wolf, she would have been dead. Jean Grenier, confessed that he was the one who attacked the little girl has a wolf and was also responsible for the disappearance of other children.

The mere age of these stories make me believe in them. Why don’t you enlighten us with what you believe in the comments?