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, ideas,
Speaker 1: and monsters in time. I need not describe for you
Speaker 1: the horrors of the werewolf, for this particular monster lurks everywhere.
Speaker 1: It waits in the folkloric dark, it leaps off the
Speaker 1: cinematic screen. The werewolf is the human who became a wolf,
Speaker 1: and yet is neither a cannibal and murderer. The bestial
Speaker 1: nature of man overriding the safeguards of society and culture.
Speaker 1: You are all too familiar with this monster already, and
Speaker 1: you're also quite familiar with the most popular versions of
Speaker 1: the curse itself. In some werewolf stories, the curse may
Speaker 1: be the result of past crimes or the viral of
Speaker 1: another werewolf. In many cases, the full moon is to
Speaker 1: blame for drawing out the wolf form and drowning the
Speaker 1: countryside in blood. Other times, the transformation might be the
Speaker 1: result of a potion or rain water consumed from the
Speaker 1: footprint of an animal. Other times, however, the curse of
Speaker 1: the werewolf depends on a curious leather strap. Consider the
Speaker 1: boxing wolf, a particular variety of werewolf native to the
Speaker 1: Schomberg region of Germany. As Brad Steiger relates in The
Speaker 1: Werewolf Book, if one makes a pact with the devil,
Speaker 1: the devil provides a leather strap that, when worn around
Speaker 1: the waist, transforms the individual into a mighty, murderous wolf.
Speaker 1: There are other variations of the tail for other reasons
Speaker 1: that don't involve the direct presence of the devil. Sometimes
Speaker 1: a king is tricked into wearing the strap. Other times
Speaker 1: a child discovers the cursed strap of a parent and
Speaker 1: wears it. In at least one tale, as are counted
Speaker 1: 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: in October. As always, you can email us at contact
Speaker 1: at stuff to blow your Mind dot com. Stuff to
Speaker 1: Blow your Mind is production of I heart Radio. For
Speaker 1: more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i heart
Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
Speaker 1: favorite shows.