Werewolves!
We love them, don’t we?
And I’m not sure whether it’s far to posit the question--are you a werewolf person, or
are you a vampire person--because as horror fans, we don’t have to choose, do we?
The truth is, similar to their cinematic counterparts, werewolves in literature have also had a bum
deal when compared to the vast abundance and intricacies of vampires in literature.
I mean--it’s the age old battle for a reason, right?
HOWEVER--thankfully for us, compared to their silver screen companions, werewolves of the
page have seen a myriad of hidden gems--some of which may take you by surprise.
So let’s take a look, shall we?
Hello horror fans, what’s going on--and once again, welcome back to the scariest channel
on YouTube--Top 5 Scary Videos.
As per usual, I’ll be your horror host Jack Finch--as today, we curiously take a look
at the Top 5 Scariest Werewolves In Literature.
Roll the clip.
Ahhh!
Damn I love that movie--and for the curious amongst you, that clip was from 2004’s Van
Helsing, starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Beckingsale--and you know what?
I don’t care what anybody says, that movie was awesome.
Also, it’s absolutely insane how good the werewolves were in that movie--they well and
truly nailed it, from both the physicality of how they moved--and their primal half-man
half-wolf homogoney.
Yeah, so there we have it.
Van Helsing--oh yeah, and then there’s the whole Dracula thing--but you know that already.
Anyway, on with the show.
Kicking off at Number 5--The Pack from…
The Pack
And yeah--’cos I’m not sure what else we should exactly call them.
The thing is, I think it’s best that we kick off this list with an otherwise undiscovered
gem, because for the most part when it comes to werewolves in literature, you have to do
a little digging to find anything that's worth its salt.
Or--fur.
I guess.
In The Pack, written by Paul Hinton and released back in 2013, werewolves--although still depicted
in their traditional form, kind of--are an entirely different force of nature.
If you’d like an idea as to the bones of this novel--picture 30 Days of Night, but
put werewolves in it--and then stick it in a small town in England.
The Pack tells the tale of a fictional town called Whitchurch, tucked in the idyllic landscape
of rural England.
However, in this little town--it has a very bizarre history, soaked in blood and the misfortune
of an ancient curse.
You see, every fifteen years--a vicious pack of werewolves--that are genuinely terrifying
in parts may I add--are unleashed upon Whitchurch to feast upon the locals.
And yeah--as you may imagine, that’s exactly how this novel kicks off.
Listen--I can’t exactly heap a huge amount of praise on the actual technical construction
of this novel, because for the most part--Hinton’s style is incredibly simplistic--and the dialogue
heavy nature of the novel is dragging in parts--BUT!--honestly, the werewolves in this novel are awesome,
and it’s worthwhile just to experience them.
They’re unlike pretty much every other werewolf in literature--they’re like a force of nature--more
akin to the vampires of 30 Days of Night than anything else.
Also, if you enjoyed Neil Marshalls awesome movie, Dog Soldiers, then you will adore this
book.
It’s got the same British charm to it--and a similar set of true Grit characters.
Yeah.
The Pack--it’s worth a read.
Swinging in at Number 4--Reverend Lowe, The Cycle of the Werewolf
And yeah, we can’t really make this list without giving reference to the main main
himself, Stephen King.
You see, out of all of the entries on this list--Stephen King’s The Cycle of the Werewolf
is perhaps the most traditional depiction of lycanthropy.
And yet--I’m not exactly sure how he does it, because much like with the vampires in
Salem’s Lot--King manages to turn such a traditional horror trope into a completely
different vessel for fear.
But hey, I guess that’s why he’s the King of horror, right?
For those of you that haven’t yet read The Cycle of the Werewolf--please do--it’s a
fantastic read, it’s short enough to get through in a single sitting--and conceptually
speaking, it’s the definition of what being a werewolf is.
Also, yes--this is the King novel that 1985’s Silver Bullet starring Corey Haim was based
upon--so if it seems familiar, that’s why.
Written by Stephen King and illustrated by Bernie Wrightson, The Cycle of the Werewolf
is told across 12 chapters--each of them depicting a month of the calendar in the small town
of Tarker’s Mills, Maine.
The story is told through the eyes of a 10 year old boy, Marty Coslaw--who is paraplegic
and wheelchair bound--and also, the only one in his town who knows that a ravenous werewolf
is murdering people every full moon.
It doesn’t take him long to realise that the werewolf is none other than Reverend Lester
Lowe--the towns priest, although he himself isn’t exactly aware.
The thing is, the story is actually really sad--and King manages to walk a fine line
between the beastial rage of the werewolf--and the tragic realisation of Reverend Lowe’s
curse.
The origin of his lycanthropy is never explained--and that serves to hammer home the tragedy of
his affliction--juxtaposed by the genuinely gut-wrenching physicalities of his killing
spree.
Yeah.
This is werewolf 101.
Next up at Number 3--The Lupine Theriomorph, The Dresden Files
And yeah--something that isn’t werewolf 101 at all--because who better to completely
reinvent the werewolf on several different levels, than Jim Butcher himself.
Now, listen--you may be aware that we’re big fans of The Dresden Files over here at
Top 5 Scary Videos--but if you know, then you know, because the Theriomorphs of The
Dresden Files are awesome--and also, we have to hammer down the specifics here--because
there’s quite a few versions of the traditional werewolf as far as Butcher is concerned--much
like with his varying depictions of vampires, as is the case with the Four Courts.
In the world of Harry Dresden, there are several types of werewolves--otherwise known as lupine
theriomorphs.
There are the classic werewolves, which function exactly as they do in gothic literature--terrible
magic curse, you get the drift.
But then there are the Hexenwolves--a type of lycan magic that allows a person to transform
into a wolf-like beast through the use of a magical talisman imbued by another user.
To transform, a person makes use of a talisman, which can be worn and activated--and then,
yeah--instant werewolf.
Usually it’s a wolf-hide belt, which are a pretty important resource in the world of
Harry Dresden.
Then there are the Loup-garous--which are also incredibly similar to the classic werewolves--but
instead are created by a much more powerful type of magic, and are reliant on the old
adage of the silver bullet variety.
The Loup-garous are essentially the resulting creation if you make enemies with really powerful
sorcerers.
And then--there are the lycanthropes--which are essentially the anamorphic feather in
Butcher’s werewolf cap.
As depicted in Fool Moon, lycanthropes are not born--but created, and for all intents
and purposes, are perhaps the most powerful lycans in the series.
However--we’re irking on spoilers here, but there are a few more versions of were-things
in Butchers series--which, you know, is reason enough to give it a read.
Coming in at Number 2--The Wulfen, Warhammer 40K
Okay guys.
Talk about diverging from the path of classic werewolfism.
Of course, it had to be the staggering canon of the grim darkness of Warhammer 40K to deliver
us a completely insane depiction of the stereotypical werewolf.
Because what happens when you cross an ancient race of lycan-men with a space marine?
Yeah.
The Wulfen.
That’s exactly what you get--and if you know anything about the vast lore behind Warhammer
40K--you’ll know that these guys are one of the most savage and frighteningly efficient
fighting forces in the whole of the Space Marines.
And also, the creation of The Wulfen is something else entirely--so much so, that I’m pretty
sure there is nothing else like it in werewolf fiction.
Although, it is kind of close to the Trial of the Grasses in the Witcher series--which
is pretty cool, actually.
As described by texts of the Terran Empire--The Wulfen are members of the Space Wolves Chapter,
who have succumbed to the Curse of the Wulfen and thus transformed into savage, malformed
lupine mutants.
Genetically engineered creations, within every Space Wolf’s gene seed is a specific genetic
sequence known as the Canis Helix--which unleashes the acute predatory sense of race of creatures
known as Fenrisian Wolves, the native species of the Wulfen’s homeworld--Fenris.
Yeah, exactly--because how do you get an army of genetically engineered and technologically
superior Werewolf Soldiers in the Warhammer Universe?
You create an entire planet of them.
Now, obviously, if you’re familiar with the series--you’ll know that the Space Wolves
are an incredibly powerful sect of Space Marines--and by extension, a critical arm of the Empire--but
in this case, Space Wolves is very much indeed taken literally.
Space Werewolves.
There we have it.
And finally, coming in at our Number 1 spot--Carcaroth, The Silmarillion
Because yes--there is one werewolf that all others tremble at the very mention of.
And surprisingly enough, it comes from an incredibly well known series that isn’t
exactly renowned for its depiction of gothic horror tropes.
J.R.R Tolkein’s legendary work of fantasy, The Lord of the Rings, was built upon by a
very important side-compendium, his 1977 posthumous novel, The Silmarillion--and we have that
to thank for fully fleshing out Tolkein’s world of Arda, and the incredibly rich and
in depth lore of the First and Second Age.
In many ways, The Silmarillion is considered to be the Prose Edda or the Bible of the Lord
of the Rings--and any such creation story, in turn needs to have it’s villain.
That villain is a figure known as Morgoth, the progenitor of all evil in Arda--and the
one responsible for creating some of the most vile evils in the whole of Middle Earth.
One of those is Ungoliant, the Giant Spider and mother of Shelob--and the other is Draugluin--the
first of the werewolves.
But in this case, they both pale in comparison to the power of Carcharoth, offspring of Draugluin
and the greatest and most powerful werewolf to have ever lived.
Otherwise known as the Red Maw and the Jaws of Thirst, his eyes burned like red coals--and
his teeth were poisoned as the spears of the Orcish legions.
He was reared by Morgoth as a line of defence against Huan--the white wolfhound of the Valar,
and was charged with defending the gate of Angband--where he eventually went on a madness
induced warpath--slaying everything and anything that stood in his path.
You see, the thing is--although Tolkein’s depiction of werewolves aren’t exactly in
line with many of the other mechanics of the creatures--they are the literal definition
of the primal rage and beastial wrath that werewolves represent.
These werewolves aren’t trapped men--but instead they’re servants of evil itself,
bred by Morgoth from wolves--and then inhabited by spirits of pure evil.
And Carcharoth?
Yeah, he’s the baddest of them all.
Well, there we have it horror fans, our list for the Top 5 Scariest Werewolves In Literature.
What did you guys think?
Do you agree?
Disagree?
Have any more to add to this list?
Then let us know your thoughts down in the comment section below, as well as any choice
picks of your own.
Before we depart from today's video though, let’s first take a quick look at some of
your more creative comments from over the past few days.
First up, Matthew Peyton says--
Hey Jack, I grew up in a town called Rawlins, Wyoming.
In that town a Horror B Movie was bad there.
It’s called Prison and it stars Viggo Mortensen.
Give it a watch!
-- Hey Matthew!
You know what, that sounds absolutely awesome.
Growing up in small towns.
Viggo Mortensen.
Yeah, I’m sold.
Also, anything with Viggo in has got my vote.
And finally, Michael Burke says--
Jack Finch looking sharp with a fresh cut.
Keep up the good work guys.
Your fans really appreciate you.
-- Hey!
You know what Michael Burke, thanks buddy.
You gotta keep it as fresh as possible, right?
Much appreciated my man.
You have a great day.
Well, on that note--unfortunately, that’s all we’ve got time for in today’s video--cheers
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As per usual, I’ve been your horror host Jack Finch--you’ve been watching Top 5 Scary
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