I can't come to work today because ... werewolves

I usually love the full moon. I always make a point to stare at it and try to communicate: "Hello Moon. Goodbye Moon." Riveting stuff, to be sure. At the very least, I try to be inspired by it's white, full face and the moon-kissed landscape it paints.

But this last full moon, the February "snow moon"? Nope.

I woke up multiple times because of bad dreams. I was sick. I saw ... something, large and dark, cross the road in front of me in the early morning darkness. Even though my lights were on it, I couldn't make it out. So naturally, given the timing, it was definitely a werewolf. The Moon seems to have it out for me this month. FA-Q Moon.

I'm also having a rough time due to self-inflicted frustration. Damn you, resistance. I can't seem to find the time to do anything I want to, not that this is anything new. But my want for what I want to do is greater, thus the dissonance greater, thus the frustration even greater. Due to my schedule and my family, I'm putting myself last, and that's just how it has to be. And Trump? Don't even get me started. Ain't nobody got time to complain about Trump. Well, I don't. Apparently there's plenty of people out there who do have time, which is good, because someone needs to.

Back to werewolves. I think I've seen it all, through books, movies, TV shows, etc. I particularly favor the werewolves in the Underworld series. Their history and demeanor (scary as shit) are convincing. But let's do an internet search and see what happens.

One of the earliest stories comes from Ancient Greece. Metamorphoses, written by Ovid in 1 A.D., tells the story of King Lycaon, who offended Zeus by serving him human flesh. As punishment, he was turned into a werewolf so he could continue his cannibalism.

Later, in the 16th century, there were werewolf hunts and trials, similar to the witch hunts we are all familiar with. Several high profile cases were recorded, interestingly, many of those were found to be serial killers, some with the nasty habit of cannibalism. The first of these was Peter Stubbe in Germany, whose crimes included rape, murder and mutilation. He drank blood and ate human flesh. His punishment was torture and decapitation.

Wait ... Little Red Riding Hood was about a werewolf? It makes so much more sense now!

Gosh. I feel like I learned something today. This is so much more interesting than politics!

J. L. Dodd

Links:

http://www.historicmysteries.com/history-of-the-werewolf-legend/

http://mythicalrealm.com/mythical-creatures/werewolf/

http://alam25.tripod.com/first.htm