Did you know that sleeping under the glow of a full moon was once thought to transform the person into a werewolf? Sheesh! Does that mean camping under the stars is out? Or how about taking a sip of water from a wolf track? Yep, another strange and ill-tasting belief. The number one most common belief on becoming a werewolf was to be bitten by one and…survive. I guess no one has invented a vaccine, yet. What about being born into the curse? My characters in my novel Freaksville are born Lycans. How would you like that for Parental DNA? More on Lycans later.
Hairy eyebrows or uni-brow were once considered a sign that the person was indeed a werewolf. That’s a case for waxing if I ever heard one. “Spa appointment for one please. Can you fit me in before the next full moon?” Hollywood put a more supernatural spin on things and the pentagram and hairy palms became a dead give-a-way of our furry friends. “If your palms are hairy… then you might be a werewolf. Hey Jeff Foxworthy, I think I’m on to something.
Once bitten the remedies for Lycanthropy were few and far-out. A shot through the heart with a silver bullet would slay your hairy beast. Silver deemed a magical metal of purity in any form, should be avoided by most Weres— as if it was the Black Death or flea dip. For werewolves inclined to a more spiritual path, some believed praying to St. Hubert would break the curse.
If howling at the moon and running through the forest or the streets of London, while furry and on all fours sounds like a peachy keen good time. Then being a werewolf might be for you. Like any supernatural being, there are some downfalls to being well, wolfy. (That movie freaked the beejesus out of me when I was a kid. I saw American Werewolf in London, again a few years ago and found it incredible funny… The difference? Age and a well-lit room stocked with silver. Ebay anyone?)
There’s a wonderful piece of literature, which focused on the down side of being a werewolf. Marie de France wrote it in or around 1160, I think. I’m awful with names and dates. I’ll paraphrase it in modern terms. The husband was a Knight that turned furry once a month and his cunning wife…thought she’d trade up.
“Hubby where do you disappear to at night?”
“I turn into a werewolf and frolic in the forest with my furry friends.” Okay he didn’t say all that, but it’s my retold tale!
She listens to him then pulls out the twenty questions and asks him whether he goes clothed or not. The Knight is a little dense and answers.
“I go completely unclothed.” Duh! Wolves don’t have pockets…or do they? That’s my next blog Fashion of the Furry and Famous.
“Where do you leave your clothes?” The wife asks.
“I can’t say. Because if my duds were snatched. I’d be stuck as a wolf forever…or until my clothes were returned to me.” Could you imagine what would happen if the Dry Cleaner lost his shirt or if the dryer ate his sock? Millions of werewolves worldwide must be stuck as wolves because of hungry dryers or clerk errors. So sad! Anyhow, back to the story.
Here’s the depressing part, the wife with the help of her boyfriend, snatched her husband’s clothes. And he was stuck as a wolf forever. Poor Schlub.
So there’s lots of nifty tales about werewolves out there. I, of course, had to totally twist everything inside out and backwards and make up my own? Why? I never liked things to be easy.
Freaksville as the name implies, is full of freakish things. Oh and one very big sixteen-year-old-drama-queen, Kasey Maxwell. My heroine. She pulled the short straw in the DNA department. Women of the Maxwell family have the gift of sight. But that’s not all…nope. Poor Kasey is part Lycan. What’s a Lycan? Well, hold on to your knicker’s I’m almost there. She doesn’t really know the cause of her freakish gifts, visions, seeing ghosts, attracting British hotties. But she learns. She’s also half Valkyrie. Wait. Whoa! Valka-what? That’s a whole other blog.
Below are some notes that, two characters from Freaksville threw together. Kasey Maxwell and her BFF Gillie Godshall. Hopefully, this will shed some light on Lycans.
Kasey and Gillie's Notes on Lycans
Lycans: [lahy-kan]
Canis Lupus Supernaturalise
A race of supernatural beings that look human but can shapeshift into a wolves. The name comes from the word Lycanthropy. [lahy-kan-thruh-pee]
Lycans start to have the ability to shift in their teens. Lycan never shift into half-man, half-wolf. The moon rules them, forcing young Lycans to shift forms. Lycans are larger than the average wolf. {Need more data.} Increased sense of smell, sight, and hearing has been documented. They are not to be confused with werewolves. {I 've never met a werewolf} Werewolves, the word
Were comes from the Greek or old English word for man. Werewolves are half-man and half-beast.
See: Canis Lupus = wolf
Also See: Canis Lupus Boyfriendiais {Further study is needed Lycan males are hotties !!! }
So you want more wolfy tales? You came to the right place. Freaksville is coming soon from The Wild Rose Press, Climbing Rose Line. And my sister in wolfy tales, Judith Graves has a book Under My Skin coming out, too. Her wolves are Wolvens…a whole other furry freak.
Kitty Keswick
Tag:
Freaksville is the first in a new YA Paranormal series from The Wild Rose Press. It is told through the sixteen-year-old heroine's blog.
Blurb for freaksville:
Add visions, ghosts and four-legged monsters into the mix…you’ll get FREAKSVILLE.
Maxwell women have premonitions. A talent sixteen-year-old Kasey would gladly relinquish. A vision about Josh Johnstone, the English exchange student, leads Kasey into new waters— a haunted theater, and her first kiss. Yet, Kasey and Josh have secrets lurking…
Kasey’s Blog:
Ack! I’m in Freaksville! On my sixteenth birthday what did I get? A car? A pony? No. I got the gift of sight. Soooo not fair! It’s a gift I totally wish I had a receipt for…I’d return to sender. I didn’t ask to be freak girl. The kicker is if I touch something I get visions. Now why couldn’t I turn invisible? That’s a gift I could use. Sheesh. If it wasn’t for my BFF Gillie I’d go insane. That was until I touched a pencil belonging to Josh-Hottie-Foreign-Exchange-Student-from-England. He’s sooo cute, jet-black hair, bright blue eyes…whenever I’m around him my stomach does backflips.
Kasey’s Fab Five Favs
1. The British accent…and snogging. It sounds gross, but believe me it isn’t.
2. Cute guy in English class. (Josh)
3. Snogging…again, believe me, it rocks!
4. Shopping ’til I melt into the mall. (A given.)
5. Oh yes and snogging, smooching, kissing Josh!
XOXOX - Kasey
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