WEREWOLVES: The REAL History Behind the Legends, Lore, and Lycanthropy
Weird Darkness: Paranormal & True Crime Stories
Darren Marlar
4.6 • 4.1K Ratings
🗓️ 28 September 2025
⏱️ 71 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
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IN THIS EPISODE: The idea of the werewolf has been with us for a long time – the first mention of a werewolf that we know of is over two thousand years ago. We’ll look at the origins of the werewolf, look at whether they are actually real, and if so, how one goes about becoming one, and some of the cures believed to release the man from the beast. Of course, it’s not always the Wolf-Man… sometimes it’s the Wolf-Woman. We’ll look at the most fearsome lady werewolves throughout history! I’ll tell you about the trials and punishments of those convicted of being werewolves – many probably wish they’d have confessed to being witches instead! Plus, what if I was to tell you that werewolves truly ARE real – and that a small village has been terrorized by them for decades – right up to modern day? There is convincing evidence to back up my claim! All of this and more werewolfism can be found in this episode!
CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…
00:00:00.000 = Lead-In
00:02:57.556 = Show Intro
00:04:50.336 = Ancient Origins of Werewolves
00:26:04.006 = Who’s Afraid of Virginia Werewolf?
00:35:55.899 = The Werewolf Trials
00:48:53.940 = The Lycanthrope Metaphor
00:54:10.432 = Lycans of Cannock Chase
01:02:35.974 = Little-Known Lycan Lore
01:05:35.605 = Show Close
SOURCES AND RESOURCES FROM THE EPISODE…
BOOK: “Giants, Monsters and Dragons” by Carol Rose: https://amzn.to/36k0VW0
BOOK: “The Werewolf Delusion” by Ian Woodward: https://amzn.to/2Sa74LV
BOOK: “The Book of Werewolves” by Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould: https://amzn.to/3jgTLp5
EPISODE: “The Werewolf Panic of the 1970’s”: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/48s5bbkk
EPISODE: “Werewolves of Central England”: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2vpt52rn
EPISODE: “Werewolf In The Bronx”: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/y3auryjk
EPISODE: “A Summer of Werewolves”: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p875ynn
EPISODE: “Planet Werewolf”: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/yb6ck67a
EPISODE: “The Beast Of The Land Between The Lakes”: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/5n8jcczz
EPISODE: “The Beast of Barmston Drain”: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/mrs9j8xu
EPISODE: “The Ohio Dogman”: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p8rc5su
EPISODE: “The Skinwalker Ranch, Home To Real Werewolves”: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p975j56
EPISODE: “Hairy Humanoids of Texas”: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/yckkfhun
EPISODE: “Skinwalkers and Shapeshifters”: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/mr2w57xr
VIDEO: “A Brief History of Horror – Werewolves”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBLcGH1MpRg
VIDEO: “Legends of the Werewolves”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCHZjU7Hi0w
“The Origins and Lore of Werewolves” from History Daily: https://tinyurl.com/y4l7ytmk, Tanika Koosmen for The Conversation: https://tinyurl.com/y5jy9uog, Benjamin Radford for Live Science: https://tinyurl.com/yclcqmqp, and Ella Talkin for Ranker: https://tinyurl.com/yy55wq9q
“The Werewolf Trials” by Inigo Gonzalez for Ranker: https://tinyurl.com/y2qmp4n2
“The Lycans of Cannock Chase” by Hugh Landman for Ranker: https://tinyurl.com/s6h83am
“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Werewolf?” by April A Taylor for Ranker: https://tinyurl.com/y3qz82on
“How Werewolves Work” by Tracy V.V. Wilson for How Stuff Works: https://tinyurl.com/y3oe9bte
“Little-Known Lycan Lore” by Jonathan Gordon for History Answers: https://tinyurl.com/y3jb5scq
=====(Over time links may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.)= = = = ="I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46= = = = =WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2025, Weird Darkness.=====Originally aired: September 30, 2020
EPISODE PAGE at WeirdDarkness.com (includes list of sources): https://weirddarkness.com/werewolves
ABOUT WEIRD DARKNESS: Weird Darkness is a true crime and paranormal podcast narrated by professional award-winning voice actor, Darren Marlar. Seven days per week, Weird Darkness focuses on all thing strange and macabre such as haunted locations, unsolved mysteries, true ghost stories, supernatural manifestations, urban legends, unsolved or cold case murders, conspiracy theories, and more. On Thursdays, this scary stories podcast features horror fiction along with the occasional creepypasta. Weird Darkness has been named one of the “Best 20 Storytellers in Podcasting” by Podcast Business Journal. Listeners have described the show as a cross between “Coast to Coast” with Art Bell, “The Twilight Zone” with Rod Serling, “Unsolved Mysteries” with Robert Stack, and “In Search Of” with Leonard Nimoy.DISCLAIMER: Ads heard during the podcast that are not in my voice are placed by third party agencies outside of my control and should not imply an endorsement by Weird Darkness or myself. *** Stories and content in Weird Darkness can be disturbing for some listeners and intended for mature audiences only. Parental discretion is strongly advised.
#Werewolves #TrueCrime #Paranormal #MedievalHistory #Cryptozoology
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This episode is sponsored by Awful Movie Reviews on YouTube. |
| 0:03.6 | I've been a fan of awful movie reviews for a couple of years now, and I never miss an episode. |
| 0:08.8 | Every Friday, you get a new comedic video covering a gosh, awful, horrible, terrible, wretched, |
| 0:13.9 | or just plain boring movie in the horror or sci-fi genre. |
| 0:17.6 | B-monster movies, films directed by notorious names like Ed Wood or Roger Corman, |
| 0:22.4 | flicks made on budgets lower than your monthly grocery bill, special effects you'd swear |
| 0:26.6 | were created by someone who's colorblind, cinematography so shaky, you'd swear a three-year-old |
| 0:31.0 | was trying to hold the camera, audio recording in the film that, well, you see where I'm going |
| 0:35.6 | here. They even take requests for awful movies you'd like to see them review in the future. You'll probably learn about flicks you've never even heard of while laughing along with the host. You can find awful movie reviews on YouTube by simply searching for awful movie reviews. I've also placed a link to them on my sponsors page so you can find them easily. And if you're like me, at the end of each awful movie review, you'll be saying it aloud |
| 0:56.6 | with the host, what an awful movie. |
| 1:00.5 | Hey, weirdos, as we get closer to Halloween and our 10-year anniversary of this podcast, |
| 1:05.5 | I'd love to get your opinions on how I'm doing, what you like, what you don't like, |
| 1:09.9 | what you'd like to see more of, what you'd change if you don't like, what you'd like to see more of, |
| 1:11.5 | what you'd change if you were in charge, well, you get the idea. |
| 1:15.2 | I have a new Weird Darkness survey on the website so you can send me your opinions, |
| 1:19.1 | and it's completely anonymous, so you can be completely honest. |
| 1:23.0 | This is a new survey, so even if you did give your opinion before, you can do so again. |
| 1:27.7 | And I'd appreciate you doing so. |
| 1:29.5 | Visit weirddarkness.com slash survey. |
| 1:32.6 | That's weirddarkness.com slash survey. |
| 1:36.0 | Hi. |
| 1:37.2 | I'm Darren Marler, host of the Weird Darkness podcast. |
... |
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