The Werewolf Book: The Encyclopedia of Shape-Shifters and Lycanthropes

(Paperback, 3rd New edition)

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Shape-shifter. Dogman. Humanoid with the head of a massive wolf and equally huge fangs! Take a historic, folkloric, supernatural tour of the shape-shifting, human and lupine mix with this hair-raising guide to werewolves!

From today's lycanthropic creatures found in pop culture such as Dracula, Twilight and An American Werewolf in London to the earliest mentions in folklore of the shape-shifting legend, Werewolf Stories: Shape-Shifters, Lycanthropes, and Man-Beasts is an eye-opening tour through the ages of all things werewolf. Along the way, readers land at the doorstep of creatures like hirsute mass-murderer Albert Fish, serial killer Fritz Haarmann, Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of Rome, shapeshifters of all kinds and sizes, and even a spell to repel werewolves. This fascinating tome provides 140,000 years of blood-pounding evidence of strange and obsessional behavior. It tells of stories of becoming a werewolf and the intricacies of slaying the beast. A true homage to the creature, it includes full moon of topics such as

Fenrir, the wolf child of the giantess Angrboda and the god Loki, from the Old Norse myth Ragnarok

Coyote people, tricksters, and were-animals of Navajo legend

Leopard creature-men and the deadly cult whose members expressed their were-leopard lust for human blood and flesh that has been in existence in West Africa for several hundred years

Serial killer Michael Lupo, who took great delight in the fact that his last name in Italian meant wolf and boasted that he truly was the Wolf Man

Beauty and the Beast

, the most famous of the ancient beast marriage tales that have long been popular in folklore in many cultures throughout the world

Chupacabra (goat sucker), the deadly night-stalker from Puerto Rico that has been credited with the deaths of thousands of animals, ranging from goats, rabbits, and birds to horses, cattle, and deer

Information from ancient guides that offer various suggestions to detecting a werewolf, including weak vision; looking for an absence of tears or saliva, making the eyes and tongue very dry; excessive thirst; eyebrows that meet in the center of the forehead; the extreme length of the index finger or ring finger; the deep purple of their urine; and many more telltale signs

Enkidu, perhaps our earliest written record of a man-beast that appears on a Babylonian fragment circa 2000 BCE and tells the story of King Gilgamesh and his werewolf-like friend in The Epic of Gilgamesh

And much, much more werewolf and shape-shifter information, history, folklore, tales, and man-beasts in pop culture.

Noted cryptozoologists and paranormal researchers Nick Redfern and Brad Steiger share personal stories and encounters with werewolves in Werewolf Stories. They take a deep dive into the legends, the history, the pop-culture take on the man-beast. It's a wild and weird road-trip into the mystery-filled domain of the disturbingly real world of shape-shifters and werewolves!

Author Bio

Nick Redfern is the author of numerous books on conspiracies, the paranormal, and unexplained mysteries, including Visible Ink Presss The Monster Book, Monsters of the Deep, The Bigfoot Book, The Alien Book, Area 51, and Runaway Science: True Stories of Raging Robots and Hi-Tech Horrors. He has appeared on more than 70 TV shows, including the Travel Channels In Search of Monsters; BBCs Out of This World; the SyFy Channels Proof Positive; the History Channels Americas Book of Secrets, Ancient Aliens, and UFO Hunters; Sciences The Unexplained Files; and the National Geographic Channels Paranatural. Originally from the United Kingdom, Nick lives on the fringes of Dallas, Texas. Award-winning writer Brad Steiger devoted his life to exploring and examining unusual, hidden, secret, and otherwise strange occurrences. Steiger first began publishing articles on the unexplained in 1956; since then, he wrote more than 2,000 paranormal-themed articles. He authored more than 200 titles with over 17 million copies in print, including Real Monsters, Gruesome Critters, and Beasts from the Darkside; Real Encounters, Different Dimensions and Otherworldy Beings; Real Aliens, Space Beings, and Creatures from Other Worlds; Real Visitors, Voices from Beyond, and Parallel Dimensions; Real Ghosts, Restless Spirits, and Haunted Places; Conspiracies and Secret Societies: The Complete Dossier of Hidden Plots and Schemes; and many more. He is survived by two sons, three daughters, and ten grandchildren, who miss him greatly.