Phrenology and Physiognomy

Due to the interchangeability of phrenology and physiognomy, I have elected to combine the two topics into one long section that I will cover for the next two weeks. At first, I had a hard time tracking down books on these subjects, particularly physiognomy. I think that because that it has been used to justify racism and certainly looks-ism, it has become scarce and some of the only remaining texts on it are those from the perspectives of rather ill personage. I did eventually find some, and now have a stack of books with extreme "character", and extensive use of Futura font. One book I have has a stamp from someone checking it out in 1910! (I had no idea books this old were able to be checked out from my local library.) I will post shortly some thoughts on these subjects once I'm using a computer that isn't as terrible as the one in my college's writing center.

the Curse of the Werewolf - werewolf as puberty - final post for werewolves

Werewolf week is ending, as the Google books preview is rather short, so I will make one short final post on werewolves.
I think one reason werewolves are usually male, is that the 'transformation' is symbolic of male sexual development. The development of secondary sexual characteristics and increased hormones and sexual desire in young men probably seems very disturbing to them. Girls of course have lots of disturbing problems in puberty, but they are not the ones writing this fiction. (Until recent times.)
In the Curse of the Werewolf, the author relates the "body horror" film genre of the 1980's to the werewolf. In these films, (such as ones by David Cronenberg,) the body undergoes terrifying changes, and this is the source of the horror. The changing of ones body in strange and horrible ways does seem a very primal feeling, because all of us have grown into adults, and had strange things happen to us. The graphic novel Black Hole is about a disease that affects only teenagers, turning them into mutated monsters physically, but does not change their minds. The werewolf rather neatly fits into this same idea, a physical change one is helpless over, that occurs at a certain time.
Also notable: on this page which recommends various modern werewolf books, it seems the vast majority have 'graphic sex' and rather sexual covers. Strangely these books seem marketed towards women mostly. (Though women read more books, and more 'romance' books, so this could be the reason.) Perhaps to werewolf fans, the 'beastly' nature includes less inhibited sexuality, and that is part of the appeal.

the Curse of the Werewolf - werewolf as the other

It seems that the werewolf could be a portrayal of xenophobia, at least, fear of people who are different from one's self. For example, fear of foreigners, women, people of different races and people from other classes.
In the Curse of the Werewolf, pg. 47, the werewolf in English literature is often portrayed as a continental European, often with an accent. This of course recalls the 'foreign' Count Dracula. The continental European is someone who is not utterly foreign to an Englishman, someone who looks Caucasian, and can speak at least a little English, but is still 'unknown' and 'mysterious.' Who knows what these strange foreigners are actually like?
In addition, the female werewolf became more well known in the later half of the 1800s, in timing with the suffragette movement, or the "New Woman" movement. Amusingly, the author quotes Werwolves here:

"Apparently women are more desirous of becoming werwolves than men, more women than men having acquired the property of werwolfery through their own act. In the case of women candidates for this evil property, the inspiring motive is almost always one of revenge, sometimes on a faithless lover, but more often on another woman; and when once women metamorphose thus, their craving for human flesh is simply insatiable - in fact, they are far more cruel and daring, and much more to be dreaded, than male werwolves."

These "new women" were unknown and un-understandable, who knows whether they might turn to cannibalism even! The Curse of the Werewolf goes on to say that the werewolf could also be a symbol of distrust of the poor and lower classes, and indeed many of the folk tales feature urban heroes traveling through a poor country town where they must stay the night with the 'town's people.' Of course werewolves can also be symbolic of people of other races and cultures, how many people of the world were dismissed by whites as "savages" and "animals?" It doesn't seem a large leap for one to write fiction in which they really are animals.

Werwolves - final thoughts

Something I discovered while studying werewolves, was how similar this idea is in some ways to that of witches. It might be thought of as the male counterpart, though the actual creature is very different. Supposedly witches were choosing to be them, while werewolves have no choice. In both cases people were murdered for 'being' them, and it was used as a tool of persecution. I wonder what it says that the usually female 'witch' has been thought to have chosen her supernatural affliction while the man was simply cursed. In the highly patriarchal world that persecuted these people, was it thought that men were more helpless of any problem because they were more understandable by other men, while women must have been calculating because their 'motives' were not understood. Of course plenty of women were murdered for being werewolves despite that not being very accurate to the legend.
If the 'curse' of being a werewolf has to do with sexual aggression, no wonder it is applied to men more in fiction, but women could be accused of it in real life. Most of the tales we read now are adaptations of stories that were told by word of mouth, so they have been adapted to modern audiences. The author would change details that might be too strange, such as a female werewolf. People would find it hard to accept a female sexual predator, not only because it happens less often in real life, but common thought still does not think that women have much of any sexual desire, let alone enough to become a 'monster' over it.
So why did women get accused of being werewolves in real life then? In mob behavior people are somehow more able to believe things they would find impossible in fiction, particularly if it matches a belief they already have, like not liking the person accused. Witches were often accused of having sex with demons or the devil himself, any aberrant sexual behavior in women, (or behavior at all), was not acceptable, so it was a good way to get someone burned at the stake.
Because my books of physiognomy lateness at the library have delayed that topic, I am going to read more about werewolves by briefly reading over a book called the Curse of the Werewolf: Fantasy, Horror and the Beast Within by Chantal Bourgault Du Coudray. (Available here on Google Books.)

Werwolves - My favorite ritual

I would have loved to performed this ritual on someone, but I don't think I would get away with it.

"First of all, a night when the moon is in the full is selected. Then at twelve o'clock the werwolf is seized, securely bound, and taken to an isolated spot. Here, a circle of about seven feet in diameter is carefully inscribed on the ground, and in the exact centre of it the werwolf is placed, and so fastened that he cannot possibly get away. Then three girls--always girls--come forward armed with ash twigs with which they flog him most unmercifully, calling out as they do so:--

"Greywolf ugly, greywolf old,
Do at once as you are told.
Leave this man and fly away--
Right away, far away,
Where 'tis night and never day."

They keep on repeating these words and whipping him; and it is not until the face, back, and limbs of the werwolf are covered with blood that they desist.

The oldest person present then comes forward and gives the werwolf a hearty kick, saying as he (or she) does so:--

"Go, fly, away to the sky;
Devil of greywolf, thee we defy.
Out, out, with a howl and yell,
'Twill carry thee faster and surer to hell."

Every one present then dips a cup or mug in a concoction of sulphur, tar, vinegar, and castoreum, just removed from boiling-point, and, forming a circle round the werwolf, they souse him all over with this unpleasant and painfully hot mixture, calling out as they do so:--

"Away, away, shoo, shoo, shoo!
Do you think we care a jot for you?
We'll whip thee again, with a crack, crack, crack!
Scourge thee and beat thee till thou art black;
Fool of a greywolf, we have thee at last,
Back to thy hell home, out of him fast--
Fast, fast, fast!
Our patience won't last.
We'll scratch thee, we'll prick thee,
We'll prod thee, we'll scald thee.
Fast, fast, out of him, fast!"

They keep on shouting these words over and over again till the liquid has given out and the clock strikes one; when, with a final blow or kick at the prostrate werwolf, they run away.

The evil spirit is then said to leave the man, who quickly recovers his proper shape, and with a loud cry of joy rushes after his friends and relations."

My favorite part is when everyone cries in joy after beating their friend or relation to death, probably.

Physiognomy preview

I am not quite done with werewolves, but just wanted to mention that I was going to move on to physiognomy this weekend, but locating books is tough! I will keep working on werewolves for the moment until my holds come through at the library, or I may postpone that topic for a bit and go on to something different. At any rate, more occulty/pseudosciencey goodness to come!

Werwolves - real people

A large portion of Werwolves is devoted to 'real life cases' in various locations. It seems safe to assume that very little of this is based in fact. However, there were supposed 'werewolves' of history.
A very extensive page on werewolves.
There is a sad story that is not told behind the real people killed for being werewolves. People admitting to eating children, and supposedly with wounds that matched an attacked wolf. It's impossible to know how much of this is made up, but it's easy to imagine someone creating an elaborate story designed to rid themselves of someone they didn't like. Many of these people were women, (which seems to go against the folk tale tradition,) children, 'feeble minded,' and elderly. Perhaps children were actually killed by wild animals, and the blame had to be put on someone to make the village feel that justice was served.
This seems further evidence that the story was created to explain behavior that was not understood at the time. It's also very similar to the Salem witch trials and other supernatural related persecution of these time periods.

Werwolves - the goods

Of course, everyone is wondering, how does one become a werwolf? (Besides hereditary misfortune and a certain bite.) Look no further:

"The locality chosen, our candidate must next select a night when the moon is new and strong. He must then choose a perfectly level piece of ground, and on it, at midnight, he must mark, either with chalk or string--it really does not matter which--a circle of not less than seven feet in radius, and within this, and from the same centre, another circle of three feet in radius. Then, in the centre of this inner circle he must kindle a fire, and over the fire place an iron tripod containing an iron vessel of water. As soon as the water begins to boil the would-be lycanthropist must throw into it handfuls of any three of the following substances: Asafoetida, parsley, opium, hemlock, henbane, saffron, aloe, poppy-seed and solanum; repeating as he does so these words:--

"Spirits from the deep
Who never sleep,
Be kind to me.

"Spirits from the grave
Without a soul to save,
Be kind to me.

"Spirits of the trees
That grow upon the leas,
Be kind to me.

"Spirits of the air,
Foul and black, not fair,
Be kind to me.

"Water spirits hateful,
To ships and bathers fateful,
Be kind to me.

"Spirits of earthbound dead
That glide with noiseless tread,
Be kind to me.

"Spirits of heat and fire,
Destructive in your ire,
Be kind to me.

"Spirits of cold and ice,
Patrons of crime and vice,
Be kind to me.

"Wolves, vampires, satyrs, ghosts!
Elect of all the devilish hosts!
I pray you send hither,
Send hither, send hither,
The great grey shape that makes men shiver!
Shiver, shiver, shiver!
Come! Come! Come!"

The supplicant then takes off his vest and shirt and smears his body with the fat of some newly killed animal (preferably a cat), mixed with aniseed, camphor, and opium. Then he binds round his loins a girdle made of wolf's-skin, and kneeling down within the circumference of the first circle, waits for the advent of the Unknown. When the fire burns blue and quickly dies out, the Unknown is about to manifest itself; if it does not then actually appear it will make its presence felt."

- Werwolves by Elliott O'Donnell

Sadly I will never know if this ritual works, because right off the bat I'm not sure I can find opium, and I'd rather not 'freshly kill' a cat. I still find it peculiar that there is no explanation as to why a person might be "desirous of acquiring the property of lycanthropy." It does seem unusual that it is totally conceivable for a person to find all these items, and cast this spell. Yet, we should presume it wouldn't work? There is another stipulation early on:

"(The desirous person) should be in earnest and a believer in those superphysical powers whose favour he is about to ask.

Assuming we have such an individual he must, first of all, betake himself to a spot remote from the haunts of men. The powers to be petitioned are not to be found promiscuously--anywhere. They favour only such waste and solitary places as the deserts, woods, and mountain-tops."

I suppose if the ritual did not work, one could think that they had not believed hard enough, or hadn't chosen the right location. How many people are this "desirous" of becoming a monster anyway?
Postscript - for the curious, asafoetida.

Werwolves - lunacy

I began wondering how much of the myth of werewolves is built around explaining mental illness. In older times I can imagine it would be totally baffling as to why someone would be sane acting sometimes, and suddenly have a problem. Now that we know that the human mind is very complex, there are lots of explanations for why things go wrong. But to people who have 'normal' minds, it might have seemed impossible to imagine why their neighbors or family would act strangely.
I found an interesting article on "lunacy."
Please don't mind the comical animated GIF on top.
Lunacy of course coming from the idea that people go crazy when the moon is at certain stages. Even into recent times people believe that a full moon makes people act strangely, though apparently this has not held through testing. If it were true, would it be because people might see the full moon and think they might be allowed to be a little less inhibited?
Another very good article about lunacy.
Could the myth of the werewolf partially be an archaic explanation for the behavior of the mentally ill, developmentally disabled, or alcoholic? Either to soothe the mind of the family, (seems difficult to imagine you'd rather your family member be possessed than afflicted by nature,) or a reason to persecute someone who is not understood by the community.
No one can easily look outside themselves, or imagine what another person's mind is like. People's behavior can seem so strange that they must surely be under some supernatural influence, because, why else would they act that way? I can understand why this sort of thing might be a popular belief.

Werwolves - first impressions

One aspect to this book that I love, is O'Donnell's flowery writing style. To a child this gave the book an air of authenticity, (which keep in mind, my copy did not have this stylish cover to the left, but rather had a completely plain one.)
For example, what is a werwolf one may ask?

"...when asked to describe a werwolf, or what is generally believed to be a werwolf, one can only say that a werwolf is an anomaly-sometimes man, sometimes woman (or in the guise of man or woman); sometimes adult, sometimes child (or in the guise of such)-that, under certain conditions, possesses the property of metamorphosing into a wolf, the change being either temporary or permanent."

Another wonderful quote from the introduction:

"Humanity, they say, has ever been the same; and any fresh idea-no matter how bizarre or monstrous, so long as it is monstrous enough-has always met with support and won credence."

Perhaps a good quote to bear in mind for my entire project!

Some initial ideas I've been getting about 'werwolfery:' (as O'Donnell puts it.)
There is interest in people transforming into animals, as it is very easy and interesting for a person to imagine what it would be like to become an animal. It is appealing to think of changing one's form into a seemingly more ideal body, and certainly a more novel one. A person transformed into an animal would lose all responsibility and ties, and be 'free' as an animal is. When the concept of lycanthropy is used for persecution or other negative connotations, it is implying the afflicted person cannot control themselves. In polite society one must not be like an animal, and control their impulses and emotions. The afflicted person is seen as perverse and wild, though somewhat blameless due to a curse. Their animal-like freedom is cut short by society's rules. It is probably appealing to imagine being able to go crazy and act like a wild person with no direct responsibility. It is perhaps the reason that in western culture, werewolves are almost always men, who have more impulse control problems than women as a whole. Also, the fantasy is designed with men in mind, and they would rather identify with the werewolf than imagine a woman with the same problem. (Perhaps impossible for men of the past to imagine a woman having any desires at all.)

Werewolves

My celebratory first real post to this blog will cut straight ahead to my first topic: werewolves. I will be reading the book Werwolves by Elliott O'Donnell. I wanted to buy this book but it is currently comically overpriced on Amazon, so I will be reading it for free off of Project Gutenberg. Werwolves on Project Gutenberg.
I first read this book in fifth grade. I found it in the stacks of my school library, next to the other books about ghosts and aliens, a well frequented section by only me. This book had a bland picture-less cover, and looked "really old." (It was re-published in 1965 on the author's death. The original came out in 1912.) At the time I was always trying to find a magical book that would make something exciting happen to me, and of course this was a good candidate. It did not transport me to a magical world, but I found a book I would remember for many years. I was amazed that inside, there were no hints that werewolves were not real. There were documented cases of actual adults encountering werewolves, and even rituals to cure people of 'lycanthropy' and how to become a werewolf yourself. (Though no explanation for why one might do such a thing.) I thought, "This doesn't belong in a children's library!", and checked it out frequently.
I recently found it again online, and was amazed that my memory was accurate. My impressions as a ten year old seemed to hold true. I will post again shortly with some initial thoughts.

Introduction

I eagerly begin this blog, where I hope I will be able to record some interesting thoughts about these fantastic topics. I am fascinated with credulity and belief, because I find it difficult to believe in things myself. I am most looking forward to conducting experiments, which I hope I will do shortly. For a preview of things to come, here are the topics I hope to cover in the following weeks:
Werewolves, physiognomy, vampires, humorism, magic, alchemy, ghosts, phrenology, demons, astrology and perhaps more. As for experiments I hope to cast a spell, read a fortune, use a Ouija board for a séance, read the lumps on my head and attempt to summon something. (For starters...) This blog will update at least twice weekly. So, welcome!