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Creature Feature: Werewolves in Romance Fiction

Some of you may notice that I’m recycling a few of my “creature feature” posts from the old Fantasy & Enchantment blog that’s now been folded into the Beyond the Veil blog. I figured since that other blog is now defunct, but these posts are still kind of interesting, I’d post a few here and there. Enjoy!

What is the mystique of werewolves? When I was growing up, they were scary creatures from old movies that would tear you to pieces and howl at the full moon. But today they’ve morphed (pun intended) into something more: romantic heroes who turn shaggy every once in a while. A pet, guard dog, and husband in one – what a time saver!

Here’s what Wiki has to say about the topic: “Werewolves, also known as lycanthropes, are mythological or folkloric people with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or wolflike creature, either purposely, by using magic, or after being placed under a curse. The medieval chronicler Gervase of Tilbury associated the transformation with the appearance of the full moon; however, there is evidence that the association existed among the Ancient Greeks, appearing in the writings of Petronius. This concept was rarely associated with the werewolf until the idea was picked up by fiction writers.”

Of course, I’m guilty of being one of the aforementioned ”fiction writers” who have “picked up” on the werewolf phenomenon. I’ve also read a lot of werewolf and shapeshifter romance books written by my contemporaries and there are subtle differences in the characterization of the affliction between one author and another, particularly in the way the shifters change. Some authors have the change be total, from human to wolf. Some go from human to some weird wolf-like creature, like the werewolves in most of those old movies. In my case, I have given my characters the ability to shift from human to wolf, but they can sort of pause in the middle to that half-formed creature that has the strength and senses of the wolf and the ability to talk and walk upright like a human. Of course, I didn’t make it easy for them to do it. (The details are in my book, Lords of the Were.)

So what’s the allure of the werewolf? Is the idea of magic made flesh? Is it the wildness of the untamed wolf mixing with our domesticated lives – spicing it up a bit, if you will? Is it the return of the Alpha Male and the desire for his dominance – if only in our escapist fantasies? I really don’t know, but I suspect it might be a little of all three and some other things I haven’t thought of besides. What’s your opinion?