It seems that the full moon, once again, is upon us--and you know what that means, right?
It’s time to rear our meta-transformative heads skyward and howl until our lungs give
in--but that's a poorly conceived lycan stereotype--and thankfully for us, the werewolves that make
their way onto this particular list are far more concerned with global domination than
they are with skulking away on a mountain-top, alerting vigilant villagers as to their existence.
These are finely tuned hunting machines!
And believe me--these lycanthropes could certainly give their blood sucking counterparts a run
for their money.
Let’s take a look.
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--Part 2.
Roll the clip.
For the curious amongst you, of course--that scene was from 2003’s Underworld--starring
Kate Beckinsale and Scott Speedman as both the hunter and the hunted respectively--and
as many of you will agree--is a downright awesome film whichever side of the eternal
divide you fall on.
It also leads us to an important point--I saw many, many suggestions in our last video--and
it’s safe to say that you lycan loyalists are incredibly passionate, shall we say, when
it comes to their literature.
And yes, there are some awesome novels deservedly--but what we’re concerned with, are the mechanics
of these werewolves--the stuff that gets us thinking.
Let’s begin.
Kicking off at Number 5--Wolfgang von Uberwald, Discworld
And it is music to my lowly ears to hear the name of the late, great--eternal imagination
of one of the most unique and wholeheartedly distinct writers of recent times, Sir Terry
Pratchett, right here on Top 5 Scary Videos.
And really--without detracting from the werewolf-ness of this list, it really is important to note
the creative achievements of this brilliant man--Discworld is one of the most unique series
ever created.
And of course, in tune with that uniqueness--we have one of the rare occasions where Discworld
got a none tongue-in-cheek dose of horror.
And how would Sir Terry do that?
Of course--Nazi Werewolves.
But, obviously, fantasy Nazi Werewolves.
You see, whilst we’ll touch on this later--there is a literary vein often mined by writers
when applied to lycanthropy--much similar to their vampiric counterparts.
If you’re an all-powerful beastial creature of myth and legend--more often than not, you
treat people like trash and you want to take over the world.
Go figure, right?
The City of Ankh-Morpork is central to the Discworld series--and it’s protection is
down to the City Watch.
One of those Watchmen, is Captain Angua--who just so happens to be a kind and noble werewolf.
His brother though--Wolfgang?
He’s a piece of work.
You see, the two of them are descendents of a long line of werewolves, and because of
that--Wolfgang believes in his divine right to superiority and domination.
He views anything other than a pure-blood werewolf such as himself as an abomination,
and so because of that--he believes it’s pretty much open season when it comes to feasting
on the peasantry.
In his family's ancestral seat of Uberwald, Pratchett’s home-county of everything horror--Wolfgang
steps up his master plan to take over Discworld in the most ruthless and relentless manner
possible.
During the events of The Fifth Elephant, Wolfgang reinstates the ancient rule of The Game--where
a human victim is chased for sport by a vicious and relentless pack of werewolves--although,
similar to the age-old tactics of aristocracy--Wolfgang’s version of The Game is rigged--and it’s
a pretty unsightly and unfair bloodbath.
However, I’ll leave you all to discover Wolfgang’s ultimate fate.
Swinging in at Number 4--Fenrir Greyback, Harry Potter
And you may be thinking--what the hell, Harry Potter?
Jack--come on dude.
But I’d say, hear me out--and tone it down a bit, because when you actually hold a lens
to this tooth and claw-ridden character in particular, Fenrir Greyback is messed up.
Put it this way.
To cut a long story short--this guy didn’t join Voldermort’s cause because he believed
in the Death Eater’s ideological stance on Wizarding superiority.
He joined for one reason.
If he allied himself with the Death Eater’s--Fenrir would have a larger pool of potential victims
to turn into other lycans--particularly children.
In his own words--bite them young, and raise them away from their parents--raise them to
hate normal wizards.
Fenrir Greyback is a werewolf, who is so bitter, twisted and corrupted by the fact that he
was infected with lycanthropy--that his sole purpose on Earth is to infect as many other
innocent people--particularly kids--and inflict them with the same pain that he feels.
Metaphors aside--I should reiterate that this is a children’s book.
Yeah.
And it doesn’t stop there, because it gets personal.
As the series explains, Remus Lupin, the kind and noble protector of Harry Potter throughout
the later novels--who just so happens to also be a lycan, was in turn, infected by Fenrir.
But do you know why?
It wasn’t just a chance occurrence that Mr. Lupin was a lycan--it was because when
he was a kid, Remus’ father, Lyall Lupin--who was an employee at the Ministry of Magic,
publicly stated that werewolves deserved nothing less than death following the murder of two
innocent muggle children at the hands of Fenrir and his werewolf pack.
When he heard those remarks, you know what Fenrir Greyback did?
He didn’t get revenge on Lyall.
He waited--bided his time, and on Remus’ fifth birthday--he snuck into his bedroom,
attacked him--and bit him--infecting him as a werewolf for the rest of his life.
He infected the guys infant child on his birthday.
Yeah, I mean, it’s pretty clear that Fenrir Greyback is an evil and vile werewolf that
holds a grudge--but compared to some of the most evil of his literary counterparts, this
guy makes it personal.
Next up at Number 3--The Howling
And yeah, I mean the whole novel--because although there are a few terrifying individuals
in particular--the entire village of Drago, California deserves it’s spot on this list--and
we’re also going to slap on The Howling II on this list--because Gary Brandner’s
series only proves to get groser and groser the more Lycan scar tissue that’s added.
And it’s a little bit confusing really, because it’s important to note that the
third entry of The Howling Series, 1985’s Echoes--completely rewrites the events of
the first two books--which is an odd thing for an author to do, but forget about that--we’ve
got Roy and Marcia to contend with--and they’re angry.
First released in 1977 and written by Gary Brander--in some sense, The Howling is perhaps
the most tame depiction of lycans on this list--but it’s in the savagery and innate
will to commit violence, far removed from the rationale of the human mind, that allows
it to earn it’s spot here.
There is no humanity left behind in this series--just the primal hunger of the beast.
It’s a difficult trait to pull off, but when it’s done right--it’s certainly effective.
You see, other than some pretty painful transformations--the werewolves in The Howling series are pretty
cut and shut.
For the most part, they’re wolves--not at all like their depiction in the 1981 movie
of the same name, which you may or may not be aware of.
And yeah, side note--that movie’s awesome.
But despite that, these wolves are phenomenally written--aptly taking their literary space
as completely different creatures.
You see, part of the curious allure of lycanthropy is the humanoid remnants left behind--that
otherwise human form--albeit far more toothy--and far more hairy.
In Brander’s novel, however--all of that is done away with--and in the wild, particularly
in the mountain region of Drago, California--the howling heard on the edge of town could be
man or wolf alike--and that’s exactly where they want you.
Also, that’s without detailing the bleak tragedy told throughout the events of the
first novel--which is pretty far flung from the events of the film, and you should certainly
give it a read if you haven’t.
But, it’s in the second novel where Brandner really takes a terrifying turn into the mechanics
of these visceral werewolves--and no spoilers, but if you were waiting for some kind of anthropomorphics--yeah,
The Howling II has… a sort of version of that?
Pretty gross.
Coming in at Number 2--Lycanthrope Wamphyrii, Necroscope
And yeah--I’m not entirely sure what else to call them, because if you were expecting
this list to be exclusively non-vampire, I hate to break it to you--but Brian Lumley
has something to say on the matter.
And, admittedly, whilst it may be a little sacrilege to honor the Crimson Lords here--The
Necroscope version of lycanthropy, truly--is something else entirely.
As a brief overview to Brian Lumley’s phenomenal horror fantasy series--vampires in Necroscope
are a species known as the Wamphyri--and ancient species of creature from an alien dimension
known as Starside/Sunside--who have existed on our world for millennia through the use
of two interdimensional portals.
Their vampirism is bestowed up them by a sort of leech-like parasite that forms a symbiotic
bond--grand them an infinite lifespan, untold powers--and the need to sustain it all by
means of blood.
Pretty cool, right?
Well, that same leech--in several cases throughout the Wamphyrii’s history--has a tendency
to infect non-human creatures--often wolves or foxes--which, in the technicalities of
this list, certainly adhere to the principles of lycanthropy.
You see, in several cases--these Wamphyri wolves can assume a human-esque form to lure
pray toward them--to infect and further spread their leech--as is seen with The Dweller.
However, in other cases--true Lycan’s have been bred purposefully--by means of infecting
a Wamphyrii egg with the vampiric disease of lycanthropy--in most cases, to horrific
and immensely powerful results.
One of those resulting Vampire Werewolf hybrids, was Radu Lykan--the Dog Lord--who was exiled
from Sunside/Starside to Earth--where he resigned himself, in classic werewolf fashion--to dominating
the planet, and spreading his unique Wamphyrii leech to a new, unified empire of Werewolf
Vampires.
Now, whilst Radu is an acception--as well as several other minor characters--it’s
also important to note that Lycanthropy in this series--more often than not--goes wrong,
and the results are--well, completely and utterly horrifying.
And also disgusting.
I hope you’re sensing a theme here.
And finally, coming in at our Number 1 spot--The Garou, World of Darkness
And, you know what guys--I saw so many of you passionately advocating for this entry
to make our list--and I’ll hold my hands up and admit.
I’m sold.
I’m completely sold.
After delving into the inner workings of Werewolf: The Apocalypse and Werewolf: The Forsaken--I’m
relatively certain that The Garou are some of the most complete and utterly compelling
monsters of horror ever penned.
And I say penned in the loose term, because although there are a vast wealth of novels
written in this universe--the bulk of World of Darkness is based upon a fantasy tabletop
series, which you may be familiar with, particularly if you’re a fan of Vampire: The Masquerade--but
that’s by the by, because I’m fairly certain that we can all agree on one thing.
Tabletop is literature.
If it’s of a written form--it’s literature, it doesn’t have to be a novel penned in
1887 for it to be worthy of merit--it just has to be good.
And believe me, The Garou certainly earn their place at the top of the pile.
Although relatively difficult to get a hold of now, the subsequent Werewolf novels of
the series detailed the origin of the titular Garou--and conceptually speaking, it bites
a little bit closer to the bone.
As told in Garou oral history, this secret civilization of Lycans have always existed--clawing
on to their existence by means of their eternal duty to Gaia--maintaining the balance of nature.
Essentially, what sets the Garou apart--as that they are the arbiter of humanity.
If human civilization gets too out of control--the Garou sweep in and cull an out of control
population.
In its purest form--World of Darkness lays out the true meaning of the Lycan and their
Human counterparts.
The Hunter--and The Hunted.
And not only that, but these eternal predators have established complete mastery of their
transformation--harnessing the ability to pretty much appear as any werewolf that you’ve
ever seen in fiction.
Their tribes are numerous--they have complete and utter domination over their planet--and
in the truest terms, The Garou are a literal force of nature.
Well, there we have it horror fans--our list for the Top 5 Scariest Werewolves in Literature--Part
2.
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 todays video though, let’s first take a quick look at some of
your more creative comments from over the past few days.
First up.
Mimi Katzen says--
Where’s my popcorn!
This is gonna be good!
What’s your favorite literary monster, Jack?
---Hey Mimi!
And I’m glad you’ve got the popcorn confidence--but sheesh--that is a difficult question.
Oh man.
There are so many to pick…
You know what, I’m gonna stick with the classic and say Frankenstein’s Monster.
And finally, peaceturtleinfinity says--
Jack, can you introduce yourself as Sir Weird Beard in your next video?
-- …. Ermmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Well, I guess I could outroduce myself as that?
Sure.
Why not.
Well, unfortunately, that’s all we’ve got time for in todays video--cheers for sticking
around until the end.
If you were a fan of this video, or just Top 5 Scary Videos in general--then please, be
a dear, hit that thumbs up button, and I’ll be seeing you in the next one.
As per usual, I’ve been your horror host--Sir…
Weird Beard, I guess--you’ve been watching Top 5 Scary Videos, and until next time, you
take it easy.