Werewolves: A Brief History of Lycanthropy

We have tales of humans turning into wolves that go back 4,000 years. They may go back further, but we don't have written accounts. Originally, it was all the fault of a woman, because just a woman's presence can turn a man into a beast. Over time, those stories got a bit fancier, and the werewolf legend became associated with cannibalism and murderous rampages as a way to make some kind of sense of horrific crimes, whether they were committed by a man or an actual wolf. In the 20th century, the pop culture concept of a werewolf gradually added new details, each of which can be associated with some real life concern of its time period. We know all about werewolves, because we've seen the movies. But when you dig deeper into the mythology, the steps along the way tell us surprising things about the evolution of society in general.