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Shape Shifters
Were-Alligator/Crocodile
In the 1800's as Florida began to become settled more and more, hunters began to traverse the dangerous Everglades. Wildcats, alligators, crocodiles, snakes and of course the native americans the Seminole Indians inhabited this forbidding expanse of high razor edged grass and slowly flowing water. The white man were unwelcome in the home of the Seminole but the white man refused to heed the warnings of the indians. The hunters swarmed through the swamps in groups or alone and camps were set up here and there as sort of trading posts.
An old man came to one such trading post with a tale that none could believe. He and his friend had been hunting 'gators' in the swamps when his buddy had shot what they thought was an alligator. The men had pulled it ashore only to discover that it was a beast they had never seen before. It had the body and head of a gator but the arms and legs like that of a man. Shocked the two men dragged the carcass back to camp and skinned it to bring back, for they thought none would believe their tale without proof. That night as they sat around their fire they heard noises and the growling cry of the alligators approaching them. The noises became louder and then they heard splashing at the waters edge. The two men grabbed their firearms and waited in the darkness for whatever was approaching. Suddenly a cry rang out as if a man were screaming in some other language and the men were surrounded by great hulking beasts. The darkness made it difficult to see but the firelight shone off of scaly skin belonging to man shaped creatures. The man's friend fired his gun and shot one of the creatures and it let out a roar to shake the cranes from their nesting trees. The old man huddled in fear as his friend was grabbed by one of the creatures and another grabbed the skin of their comrad and they disappeared into the swamp.
The Seminole indians have legends and stories regarding the alligators that walk like men and guard their home and land from those that seek to do harm. They are said to be taller than an average man and walk upright like one. Their skin is thick and scaly and their arms and legs are heavily muscled. A long powerful tail helps them navigate the waterways of the everglades. Their heads can be that of a man or that of an alligator or somewhat in between. To kill one means death, to see one is a warning that you should leave before something bad happens. They are not indigenous to Florida alone but inhabit any swamp from Georgia to Louisianna and are supposedly related to the were-crocodiles of Africa. To this day there is no proof that there are these alligator men but hidden in the vast reaches of the swamps could be creatures that even the bravest of men should fear.
In the mid-sixties a story appeared in the New York Times telling about the conviction of a witch doctor in a newly emerged African nation. He had agreed to transform himself into a crocodile and devour the mother in law of his client. After the event had transpired the two had a falling out over the price. The matter reached the authorities and both were arrested. They went to trail where the were found guilty and sentenced to death. Their appeals were denied and it was made clear that the crime was not conspiracy to commit murder, but conspiracy to commit sorcery, and illegal metamorphosis into a crocodile leading to the death of a citizen.
Leopard Men
The Makanga of Central Africa still believe that witches are capable of transformations into leopards, crocodiles and hyenas. In the 1930's members of the Anyoto tribe belonging to a secret society of leopard men went on a killing spree in the Belgian Congo. Dressed in costumes of bark painted with black and yellow spots they stalked their enemies in the jungle slaughtering them with claw-shaped knifes.
In 1946 another group of leopard-men terrorized a village near Lagos and a year later stories appeared in London newspapers about a group of Lion-men in Tanganyika who had killed 50 victims before being captured.
Beast Of France
In 1764 an area of France was experiencing a rash of murders among sheep herders who worked in the desolate mountain pastures. Rumors began to surface about the "loup-garou". Witnesses claimed to have seen a creature with short red fur and a pig-like snout. The king of France sent soldiers to the area to kill the creature. Once there, the soldiers encountered and shot the beast. The wounded beast retreated into the heavy brush, and for a few months the killings stopped. Later that year the killings started again. A hunting party was formed to try to rid the area of this terror. One of the hunters, Jean Chastel, loaded his gun with silver bullets. He caught sight of the beast and shot it twice. The party then took the dead beast down to the town for display. It was buried in the town and Jean's gun is still on display in a local church.
The Gandillion Family
In the sixteenth century, there was a case of a whole family being accused of lycanthropy. The strange habits of the Gandillion Family were brought into the public eye after sister Pernette attacked two small children, killing one. Soon after, she was killed by an angry mob for her crime. A day later, her brother Pierre and her son Georges were both accused of witchcraft. They both admitted to being werewolves, transforming by using a magic salve. They were imprisoned, and were said to have acted like maniacs, their bodies covered with wounds and scratches, which suggested attacks by dogs and others during their late night excursions. Their inability to transform while in prison was rationalized by their inability to obtain the salve. Both Pierre and Georges, along with another sister named Antoinette were executed.
Were-Bears
The concept of shapeshifting begins before History itself. Primitive man donned masks of animals they wished to emulate in the hunt. Shamans and medicine men gained the wisdom of the spirit animals or companions through ritual, dream-states or the use of certain hallucinogenic plants. In many traditional cultures, the shapeshifter or animal spirit is a benevolent or, at worse, ambiguous figure who represents the changing relationships between man and nature. A wide variety of animals are involved in shapeshifter legends around the world. The bear, for instance, has a positive image in many Native American societies.
Yuki shamans of California who could transform into a bear were called "bear doctors." Among the Haida of the Pacific Northwest, there are tales of a chief's daughter who married into a tribe of bear shapeshifters and bore children with their father's powers.
Were-Jaguars
In Central and South America, jaguar shapeshifters have great significance. Jaguars were considered sacred animals representative of the gods. The pre-Aztec Olmec culture left giant stone statues of "were-jaguars." Even the word "shaman" is the same as the word for "jaguar" in some Indian languages. It's hardly any wonder that men sought to become jaguars, supreme hunters of the forests and jungles.
There are stories that tell of the Jaguar men of the jungle, warriors that were chosen by the gods themselves to become more than mere mortal men. These warriors were taken to the temples and underwent cleansing and purification before scared rites were performed over them. They were then given the power to transform into powerful beasts. Some became huge jaguars while others walked on two legs but had the strength and power of the great cats. Some went so far as to stay in their jaguar forms and take mates from the jaguars that lived in the jungles. Some of these, having offspring that looked human, would take their children to villages and leave them to be raised among people.
There were also legends that spoke of Jaguars that would steal children from the villages and raise them as their own to protect them from humans. These children were said to be fully human but with the ferocity and viciousness of the great cats. We have only crumbling temples and faded inscriptions to tell us of these creatures and there is no verification that they ever existed, but the stone carvings that remain lie as a testament to possibilities.
Were-Seals/Selkies
Seals may seem unusual animals for shapeshifting candidates, but Celtic legend is full of tales of the Selkies, men and women who take on seal shape in the water and must preserve the seal skin on land in order to return to the sea (as in the film The Secret Of Roan Innish. The Shetland Isles tell stories of the Finn Folk, gardeners of the sea bottom, who make use of fairy medicine and take the form of seals. Traditional Scottish legends say that a weeping woman can lure a male Selkie onto land with her tears, and if they marry, their children will be born with webbed fingers and toes. The appeal of the selkie lies in its mastery of both land and sea, two very different worlds.
Were-Birds
As with selkies, the appeal of the bird shifter is its mastery of two worlds: earth and sky. The dream of flight has been with mankind for centuries. Birds also have the power to commune with the spirits as no other creature can do, and in many traditional societies the bird is associated with the soul. One of the most familiar bird-shifter stories is that of Swan Lake, in which a princess is forced to take the form of a swan through the enchantment of an evil sorcerer. A more modern interpretation can be found in the movie Ladyhawke, in which a woman must where the form of a hawk by day and ride on her lover's arm. (He, in turn, becomes a wolf by night). Raven, a trickster archetype among many Pacific Northwest cultures, also transforms himself into a man when involving himself in the affairs of humans.
Were-Horse
Horse shifting is less common, but it can be found in the Celtic legends of the Pooka or Puca. Deer transformation is part of Native American belief, and common in Celtic tales of the fairy folk and Tuatha De' Danaan. In every culture where animals form an important part of daily life, shapeshifter legends abound.
Ethiopia, Morocco and Tanzania The boudas is a sorcerer/blacksmith that can change into a werehyena. It often wears an ornament from its human form, by which it can be recognized.
Other Shifters
In other parts of the world can be found werefoxes (Japan), wereleopards and werehyenas (Africa) and weredragons.
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Copyright © 2000-2004
LV426, All Rights Reserved
(Information provided by Time Life Books:Mysteries of the Unknown, Transformations 1989, Baring-Gould: The book of Werewolves,Cohen, Daniel: Werewolves,Daniel Cohen Douglas, Adam: Beast Within, Adam, Douglas Otten, Charlotte: Lycanthropy Reader: Werewolves In Western Culture, Pijoan, Teresa: White Wolf Woman and other native America transformation myths.
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