Vampires, Werewolves and Other Mythical Creatures

All of us are God's creatures... just some are more creature than others. - Anonymous

How would you answer anyone who asked whether you'd ever seen vampires, werewolves and other mythical creatures? You want to say "No", but a mischievous voice at the back of your mind prods you to say "Yes". Using your fertile imagination to weave a plausible story will not be a tough job, after all you've read, say The Griffin from Grimm's Fairytales in your childhood or the previous night! Mythical creatures (or monsters) figure in many mythologies and folklores of civilizations the world over. People residing in any country relate to their mythology as it is linked to their origin, gods, ancestors or iconic men and women. Mythology are a collection of myths about these mythical or magical creatures that may have lived in water, on land or in the air; some are portrayed as shy or gentle, while others, dangerous and powerful. Whatever their form or manner, mythical creatures have managed to capture the attention of each successive generations of mankind without exception.

Legends of Vampires, Werewolves and Other Mythical Creatures

Mythical or folkloric creatures are depicted either as half human-half animal, or a combination of two or more animals, or in full human form i.e. resembled human beings. Let's just go over some examples, so we can understand better. Mermaids were first mentioned in British folklore. Even today, seeing this half fish-half human creature is considered a forewarning of doom or disaster at sea. The unicorn, another mythical creature, is described as a horse with a long single horn in the center of its forehead. According to belief, the unicorn could counteract any type of poison with its horn. A phoenix is a mythical bird described as having gold and red feathers. According to ancient Egyptians, tears of the phoenix had the power to heal wounds. Cyclops mentioned in ancient Greek mythology, was a powerful giant with a single round eye in the center of his forehead. Sometimes, Cyclopes (spelled with an 'e') was described as a race of giants. These mythical creatures are unique to the folklore of their place of origin. However, unlike these and many other mythical creatures, vampires and werewolves, on the other hand, have the distinction of being mentioned in folklore of almost all countries. They are both favorite Halloween characters. Is belief in vampires and werewolves found all over the world? Yes, and the powerful werewolf has only one rival as regards popularity and that is the vampire.

Vampires vs Werewolves

The werewolf origin myth is about King Lycaeon, the King of Arcadia, an ancient Greek kingdom. When gods visited him he slighted them by serving them human flesh in a banquet in their honor. When they found out, they changed him into a werewolf so he could relish human flesh as wolves do. The vampire origin legend, on the contrary, goes like this: Lilith the first woman created by God did not like the idea of being dominated by Adam, left him and went out to the Red Sea where after bargaining with the Angels, she became a witch and Mother of all Demons. In the meanwhile, God made Eve for Adam. Their son Cain was cursed by God for killing his brother Abel and was forced to live on the edges of civilization, terrified of daylight and hungry for blood. The vampire legends continue on about how he meets Lilith by the Red Sea and their progeny of vampires and demons.

Vampires and werewolves have been made popular through books, movies, etc. The first possible vampire literature in English was The Skeleton Count published in 1828 by Elizabeth Grey. The oldest known literature about werewolves is probably an ancient poetry The Epic of Gilgamesh, written in 2700 BC. Vampire and werewolf tales became household stories perhaps due to pop culture. The Werewolf was the first silent movie made in 1913, followed by the first talkie on werewolves Werewolf of London in 1935. You must have also read about or seen the movie Dracula. Both the creatures of the night have peculiar physical features and traits which are discussed in the vampire vs werewolf comparison. So let's go over them.

A normal person can become a vampire after being bitten on the neck by another vampire, whereas a scratch or bite from a werewolf, even a dead one, would be enough to turn a person into a werewolf.

Werewolves live normal lives during daytime, unlike vampires who cannot go out during daytime.

The werewolf curse works only on a full moon night, so they are normal human beings on other days of the month.

Vampires are cold to touch, while werewolves have hot burning skin. Vampire skin can only be penetrated by vampire teeth and the teeth and claws of a werewolf. When wounded as a werewolf, the human form will carry the scar.

Werewolves are hollow eyed, have fangs sticking out from their lower lip, and hair grows on their palms and sole. Some werewolves are known to have a tail. They use their fangs and claws. Vampires have sharp fangs which they sink into their victim's throat to drink blood.

Vampires need blood as nourishment and though they live on both animal and human blood, they are unable to survive without human blood. Werewolves, on the other hand, live on flesh of dead or living human beings, especially children and animals, and can survive without their food for a long time.

Vampires do not enter a house unless invited, when invited they come and go as they please. Werewolves mostly stay around the edge of forests. Vampires prefer to move around in dark, shadowy places. Werewolves have a heightened sense of smell, sight and hearing and increased physical strength, and use these to spread evil.

Both vampires and werewolves have the ability to move fast. However, werewolves are faster than vampires and move on all fours and hind legs. Vampires are strong, run fast almost like flying, leap high and can walk on vertical surfaces.

Vampires are known to be more intelligent than werewolves. Werewolves are said to be less intelligent when not in their human form. According to some legends, they can be reasoned with, unlike vampires.

Both vampires and werewolves do not age. Vampires are immortal and remain the same age as when they turned vampire, though they lose their supernatural powers at daylight. Werewolves cease being immortal, once they stop changing to a wolf.

What scares them off? Well, in the case of vampires it's a wooden stake or a rose or religious symbols like a crucifix, holy water, garlic, grains and knots. Nothing is known to stop werewolves, except a quicksilver bullet.

One can kill a vampire by putting a wooden stake into his heart. But be sure that you also cut off the vampire's head and burn him. Hammering silver nails on his coffin during daytime is another way. Werewolves, on the other hand, are hard to kill as they heal quickly from any type of cut from sharp objects, however, they can be killed with a quicksilver bullet.

If a werewolf is injured, he bears the scar on his body even after changing into normal man. When dead, a werewolf changes back into a man. If a vampire goes out in daytime, he turns to dust and disappears.

Facts about Vampires and Werewolves

The English word 'vampire' was borrowed from the Slavic 'vampir' or 'upir' by the French; while the origin of the word 'werewolf' is traced to the French 'loup-garou' meaning a wolf who has savored human.

According to legend, vampires hunt at the night; and sleep in their coffins with their left eye open during the daytime. Werewolves change into the wolf form only on a full moon night and turn back to their human form at daylight, provided they are able to wear their clothes. The full moon night legend describes a werewolf as a howling wolf-man in torn clothes.

Vampires cannot walk into a holy place or on a water body. There is no such instance regarding werewolves.

If you see a human being with both eyebrows meeting at the nose bridge or having a swinging stride, low set ears and curved fingernails, you'll know that he is a werewolf. He will also have fangs coming out from the lower lip. Another sure sign to look for is when he suffers a cut in the human form, you'll find hair growing under his wound. Some legends state that after being bitten the vampire is a boneless, blurry shape, with glowing red eyes and a snout in place of a nose which he uses to suck blood. Only if he survives for 40 days, he develops bones and becomes dangerous and difficult to kill.

A vampire supposedly has control over the animal world and can turn into a bat, rat, owl, moth, fox, or wolf. A werewolf is also known to be able to change form at will.

If you see a group of vampires, what would you call them? Well, you would call them a clan, brood, clutch, pack or a coven of vampires. Werewolves, on the contrary, are not at all social monsters and therefore you would never see two or three of them together. However, if you do chance upon them, you can call them a were-pack or just a pack or route of werewolves.

Are Werewolves and Vampires Real?

Not many may know that a disease called porphyria causes symptoms that resemble the traits of vampirism like sensitivity to sunlight, reddish-brown teeth and madness. Werewolfism, however, is linked to lycanthropy, a type of delusion or psychosis wherein the person thinks that he has become a wolf. A werewolf is often called a lycanthrope or a lycan. In medieval times, people suffering from hypertrichosis, a rare condition wherein there is excessive hair growth on the body, have been called werewolves.

It's true that through the ages, belief in vampires, werewolves and other mythical creatures has not lessened. Sightings of the Abominable Snowman, the Loch Ness monster and Big Foot, in modern times, may only add credence to the popular myths about vampires and werewolves. I'll let you to decide for yourself whether vampires and werewolves are real or not. In the meanwhile, you can watch one of the latest horror flicks on vampires or werewolves.