Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of
Speaker 1: My Heart Radio. Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and
Speaker 1: this is The Monster Fact, a short form series from
Speaker 1: Stuff to Blow Your Mind, focusing in on mythical creatures,
Speaker 1: ideas and monsters in time. I need not describe for
Speaker 1: you the horrors of the werewolf, for this particular monster
Speaker 1: lurks everywhere. It waits in the folkloric dark, it leaps
Speaker 1: off the cinematic screen. The werewolf is the human who
Speaker 1: became a wolf, and yet is neither a cannibal and murderer.
Speaker 1: The be steal nature of man overriding the safeguards of
Speaker 1: society and culture. You are all too familiar with this
Speaker 1: monster already, and you're also quite familiar with the most
Speaker 1: popular versions of the curse itself. In some werewolf stories,
Speaker 1: the curse may be the result of past crimes or
Speaker 1: the viral bite of another werewolf. In many cases, the
Speaker 1: full moon is to blame for drawing out the wolf
Speaker 1: form and drowning the countryside in blood. Other times, the
Speaker 1: transformation might be the result of a potion or rain
Speaker 1: water consumed from the footprint of an animal. Other times, however,
Speaker 1: the curse of the werewolf depends on a curious leather strap.
Speaker 1: Consider the boxing wolf, a particular variety of werewolf native
Speaker 1: to the Schomberg region of Germany. As Brad Steiger relates
Speaker 1: in The Werewolf Book, if one makes a pact with
Speaker 1: the devil, the devil provides a leather strap that, when
Speaker 1: worn around the waist, transforms the individual into a mighty,
Speaker 1: murderous wolf. There are other variations of the tail for
Speaker 1: other reasons that don't involve the direct presence of the devil.
Speaker 1: Sometimes a king is tricked into wearing the strap. Other
Speaker 1: times a child discovers the cursed strap of a parent
Speaker 1: and wears it. In at least one tale, as they're
Speaker 1: counted by Michael Sumpson in The Werewolf in nineteenth century Denmark,
Speaker 1: the strap is used defensively. Leave it in front of
Speaker 1: your door, and should someone try to enter in the night,
Speaker 1: the mere act of stepping over the cursed object will
Speaker 1: transform them into a were wolf. Now, personally, I have
Speaker 1: questions regarding how this protects you in your home. It
Speaker 1: seems like you would not want to transform potential trespassers
Speaker 1: into were wolves. But we have to trust the wisdom
Speaker 1: of this previous age. Now, the notion of the transformative
Speaker 1: strap might seem counterintuitive, but it connects quite strongly to
Speaker 1: global traditions of where wolves where creatures and monstrous transformations
Speaker 1: in general, because in some cases the strap of the
Speaker 1: boxing wolf is said to be made of wolf leather,
Speaker 1: and numerous tales from around the world speak of humans
Speaker 1: donning the hide of an animal and using it to
Speaker 1: magically transform into the creature, or otherwise being overtaken by
Speaker 1: the beastial nature in the pelt. In some cases, this
Speaker 1: vile garment must be hidden during the day and then
Speaker 1: worn at night. Far from a simple monster, the werewolf
Speaker 1: resonates with numerous complex properties of the human condition and
Speaker 1: human history, animosity towards and fear of wolves, accounts of
Speaker 1: fur clad invaders, the recognition of our animal nature's, the
Speaker 1: reality of psychopathy, and the fear of the unknown. It
Speaker 1: is probably best not to accept anything from the Devil
Speaker 1: should you have the chance to meet him, but certainly
Speaker 1: refuse any straps he might offer you. You may find
Speaker 1: it very difficult to take back off again. Tune into
Speaker 1: additional episodes of the Monster Fact each week incept him
Speaker 1: or in October. As always, you can email us at
Speaker 1: Contact at Stuff to Blow Your Mind dot com. Stuff
Speaker 1: to Blow Your Mind is production of I heart Radio.
Speaker 1: For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i
Speaker 1: heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
Speaker 1: your favorite shows.