Larry Talbot: Wolfman or Werewolf?

[McDougals House of Horror]

Jerod, that's my all time favorite image of Chaney as the Wolf Man, who I prefer as well.

This has always been one of my favorite Wolf Man shots because it features those classic foggy moors along with the empty gypsy cart & lantern (I wonder what might have happened to the travelers?)...

[zombiehorror]

This has always been one of my favorite Wolf Man shots because it features those classic foggy moors along with the empty gypsy cart & lantern (I wonder what might have happened to the travelers?)...

Isn't that Maleva's cart!?  She's probably behind the tree taking a pee.  Hey, she's old, she can't travel as far as she used to without added potty breaks!

[zombiehorror]

Also shouldn't the thread be "Larry Talbot: Bipedal or Quadrupedal?" as a wolfman and a werewolf are the same thing?!

[jerod]

Also shouldn't the thread be "Larry Talbot: Bipedal or Quadrupedal?" as a wolfman and a werewolf are the same thing?!

Per my understanding, a "wolfman" and "werewolf" are both variations of lycanthropy with the later being more wolf-ish and quadrupedal (then again, I'm no cryptozoologist so I may be mistaken). I'd also say that the Chaney monster is a wolfman.

[aura of foreboding]

Technically speaking, there really is no difference between a werewolf and a wolf man.  They are both lycanthropes -- and there is a lot of room to play in that particular legend.   

"Wolf Man" is just something Universal made up.  Really...  There were a lot of issues with the title "Werewolf."  It was the middle of World War II.  It had already been done before.  "Wolf Man" was something Universal could own.  There's also a little bit of Freudian history with the term and an earlier (silent) film with the same title...  (Who knows if either had anything to do with Universal's selection...)  Anyway, Universal popularized the term "Wolf Man" for its werewolf character, and it is not an actual distinction between types of lycanthropes.   

[Haunted hearse]

Technically speaking, there really is no difference between a werewolf and a wolf man.  They are both lycanthropes -- and there is a lot of room to play in that particular legend.   

"Wolf Man" is just something Universal made up.  Really...  There were a lot of issues with the title "Werewolf."  It was the middle of World War II.  It had already been done before.  "Wolf Man" was something Universal could own.  There's also a little bit of Freudian history with the term and an earlier (silent) film with the same title...  (Who knows if either had anything to do with Universal's selection...)  Anyway, Universal popularized the term "Wolf Man" for its werewolf character, and it is not an actual distinction between types of lycanthropes.

We'll, the way I see it, since Universal coined the word for the Lon Chaney film,  a Wolf Man would be used to describe the Talbot style Lycanthorpe, and let Werewolf describe the ones on four legs.

[zombiehorror]

We'll, the way I see it, since Universal coined the word for the Lon Chaney film,  a Wolf Man would be used to describe the Talbot style Lycanthorpe, and let Werewolf describe the ones on four legs.

But Universal already had its own "wolfman" with the bipedal Werewolf of London.......so wouldn't Larry's style of werewolfism actally be a Glendon style Lycanthrope?!

[Haunted hearse]

But Universal already had its own "wolfman" with the bipedal Werewolf of London.......so wouldn't Larry's style of werewolfism actally be a Glendon style Lycanthrope?!

Of course "Werewolf of London" predated "The Wolfman", so Universal hadn't coined the term yet.  However, the lycanthropes in that film are similar enough to Talbot, that I think the term "Wolfman" could be applied to them as well.

[aura of foreboding]

It's all marketing, folks! 

Wolf Man, werewolf, lycanthrope...  It's all the same "disease."  And, like many diseases, it affects its victims differently.  So, if calling a two-legged monster a "wolf man" floats your boat, feel free.  Personally, I like the term "werewolf" -- not all lycanthropes are men, now are they?     Anyway, I prefer to reserve the Universal title for Universal's werewolf.  It separates him from the rest of the pack, so to speak.  The Wolf Man is the king of the werewolves, whether they be on two legs or four!

[mjaycox]

Not to further muddy the waters, but Stephen King in his great non-fiction work "Danse Macabre", put forth the notion that there are basically only 3 archetypes of monsters:

1) The vampire-- the creature that drains you of life parasitically
2) the thing with no name (man made monsters like Frankenstein etc)
3) the werewolf (monsters that started human, but transform into beasts)

Using this definition, he considered characters like Mr. Hyde to be a werewolf tale. Cat People as well.

I tend to agree with him. So, for instance, I see "The Hideous Sun Demon" as a werewolf movie, just served up a little different.

Man into beast are my favorite types of horror tales. The Wolf Man is my favorite monster. "St Peter's Wolf" by Michael Cadnum is my favorite werewolf novel.

Matt

[Mord]

Where do the Creature, The Mole People etc. land?

[Zackuth]

Where do the Creature, The Mole People etc. land?

Jeff's addition to Stephen King's observation:
4)  Nature gone mad-- These are a "naturally" occuring monster without any outside influence such as radiation, chemicals, etc.

[zombiehorror]

Not to further muddy the waters, but Stephen King in his great non-fiction work "Danse Macabre", put forth the notion that there are basically only 3 archetypes of monsters:

1) The vampire-- the creature that drains you of life parasitically
2) the thing with no name (man made monsters like Frankenstein etc)
3) the werewolf (monsters that started human, but transform into beasts)

Matt

So shouldn't werewolfism just be a part of number 3 and the archetype be transformation!  And although some zombies fall into category 2 there have been others that were not man made, thus there must be at least a fifth category of supernatural, this would also include ghosts, demons, etc!    Though succubus and vampires could fall into both 1 and the unnumbered supernatural category.  1 could/should be parasites instead of vampires.

[Haunted hearse]

Jeff's addition to Stephen King's observation:
4)  Nature gone mad-- These are a "naturally" occuring monster without any outside influence such as radiation, chemicals, etc.

Finally, an explanation for the Kardashians!

[Zackuth]

Finally, an explanation for the Kardashians!

Yeah, it does apply!!