This Codex is an attempt to present information on shapechangers, shapeshifters and werebeasts, including the werewolves, werecats and other were-animals of folklore from around the world, continued sightings of such things in modern times, and people who claim to be were-creatures today in the modern world.
You might think you know something about werewolves, but how many holes exist in the information you now have? After all, you came here for a reason. This Codex is the first step on your journey to get rid of those annoying holes in your werewolf knowledge. 
Learn about werewolves, wereleopards, weredogs and other shapeshifter creatures as they appear in the realms of history, anthropology, folklore, mythology, medicine, psychology, cryptozoology, fantasy fiction, the occult, and even learn about packs of real-life werewolves.
Yes, your next door neighbor might be a secret werewolf (or a "shifter" or "therian" as the politically correct terms creep into every area of life). I am not speaking of role-players here, or kids who pretend to be werewolves. I am talking about sober, sane, middle-aged people who claim that they "shift" into wolves or other animals. This claimed transformation can be mental, physical or quasi-physical, and there are large groups of these "werewolf people" out there. For more details, see the relevant link in the table of contents below.
If you have no interest in real-life werewolves of that type, then there is still plenty of stuff in the Codex to interest werewolf and transformation fans. Check out the latest werewolf sightings, keep track of werecat novels, or delve deeply into the realm of folklore and mythology. Whether it's from Native North America or the depths of the African rainforest, the folklore enthusiast will find much of interest here.
In my opinion, the countless books and articles which have examined lycanthropy myths from the standpoint of "this can't possibly be true" are repetitive and boring. It's much more fun to examine the myths from the standpoint of "much of this could be true". So, that is what this Codex does. If it offends your sense of reason to read a website that looks at werewolf legends as if they might be real, then go read some other website that won't ask you to stretch your imagination. Yes, the Codex is out there, living large and not caring about offending the closed-minded humans.
So, have you ever thought about the possibility of the existence of real werewolves, werecats, werebears, werefoxes, and other such creatures? Can creatures who shift their physical body from human to animal and back exist?
Known by the names werewolf, werwolf, veerwolf, ulfhedhnar, guerulfus, oberoten, encantados, loup-garou, versipelles, mactire, werecat, turn-skin, bisclaveret, varulv, swanmay, wendigo, kelpie, cynocephalus, kitsune, pouka, botu, selkie, and many others, shapeshifters of many types definitely exist in folklore.
But could shapeshifters of any type exist outside the realms of mythology? Looking at things from a scientific viewpoint, it is easy to see that
rearranging the proteins, fats, and various cells and substances of the human body into a wolf body would violate no particular scientific law, it would simply be very difficult to do. Whether it was done with biology alone or with technological help, it would be one hell of an organizational task. Modern medical technology would probably have to advance for another thousand years before it would be capable of creating a scientific werewolf, and it would probably involve microsurgery done by nanotechnology on a massive scale. Because known biological mechanisms for various types of metamorphosis are generally one-way and take a long time, scientists seriously doubt that nature has managed to create shapeshifters on her own, at least on this planet. Who knows what alien biology might have come up with?
In the realm of magic and mystical powers, shapeshifters would be able to exist, provided that two things turn out to be true. First, the supernatural would have to truly exist, an idea that is disputed by science in general. Next, there would need to be some part of the supernatural that is capable of changing a human body into an animal body. Powers of that sort are rarely reported in paranormal literature. Even those who believe in things like telekinesis, poltergeists and ESP are unlikely to think that one thing can transform into another, regardless of whether you are talking about alchemy or werewolves. Paranormal investigators have never managed to get someone to change lead into gold in a lab setting, nor have they managed to get someone to transform into an animal in a lab setting. Therefore, there is a distinct lack of good, documented evidence for werewolves or anything at all like them. Physical matter has a stubborn tendency to remain what it is.
Despite this lack, there are plenty of people out there who believe that werewolves and shapeshifters exist, in one way or another. Some of these people reason that werewolves are rare enough to have escaped notice, or that some conspiracy protects werewolves from the public eye. Many believers think that werewolves and werebeasts are different enough from the usual explanation that they will always elude those who look for the usual sort of werewolf or werebeast.
And then, there are the afore-mentioned people who believe in shapeshifters because they are "shapeshifters", at least according to their own definitions. Personally, I prefer to believe that werewolves and other werebeasts exist. They must exist. Perhaps they do not change literally, but they transform into animals all the same. I have studied them for too long, I have seen too much not to believe. But I will leave your belief up to you. I will present some information about real-life werewolves, shifters and therians in this Codex, along with much information on mythology, folklore and modern sightings. You can look over all of it and believe what you like. But I am not making any of this up. Every bit of information here comes from somewhere. It might be a book, a conversation with a "real werewolf" or someone else's Internet pages. But it is not fake.
The truth is that were-creatures do exist today (a lot more than you would think) and have existed in the past in every society, every culture, every people. Not only have they existed but the patterns are the same over too many various cultures that couldn't easily have influenced each other's folklore. Also, the modern people who feel they are werewolves and were-creatures fit the same patterns found in folklore the world over, NOT the current "mythos" of werewolves that is based entirely on movies and books and is far removed from modern day real sightings and ancient folklore.
If these people who think they are were-creatures are simply catching onto a cultural icon, one would not expect were-creatures to conform in their "hallucinations" to ancient, little known folklore instead of the current media image. Yet most real werecreatures are probably not like what you picture when you think of them. That is because most people picture the bloodthisty furry person that is the werewolf of modern "myth", the fictional creatures that stalk through hordes of movies. Most were-creatures are very different from that, in many ways. In fact, most do not physically change.....yet.
And don't be frightened, were-creatures are mostly a pretty nice bunch of creatures; they are NOT mentally ill, dangerous, lusting after the taste of human flesh, or anything like that. The best way to picture werewolves are closer to something like your cats, (Dogs are tame animals, hardly any wild left in them, cats are wild still and fairly wolflike) things that are harmless and friendly, yet wild with a nightlife all their own, and a few disgusting but harmless habits like constantly dragging dead rabbits into the house as loving gifts to win your approval.
Disclaimer: The ideas on this website are opinions and speculations. When you are dealing with an elusive subject like werewolves and shapeshifters, there is little that is firm fact. Ironicly, the most reliable sources of information are found in folklore and mythology, not a very good source for facts. This page should be viewed only as philosophical, speculative, and opinion in nature. It is certainly not advice, and I am not responsible for anything that anyone might do because they read these pages, or anything linked to them. If you have different opinions than mine, feel free to plagiarize this website, change the details to reflect your own conclusions, and put it online!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A Short History of Werewolves
People Who Think They are Werewolves
What is NOT True About Werewolves
and Other Shifters
Werecats and Other Non-Wolf Shapechangers
Finding Answers About Werewolves and Shapeshifters
Odds and Ends: Strange Bits of Werewolf Knowledge
About the Codex: 10-Year Anniversary Edition Updates
"We humans fear the beast within the wolf because we do not understand
the beast within ourselves"---Gerald Hausman
"Believe those who are seeking the truth; doubt those who find it"--- Andre Gide
"The Truth knocks on the door and you say "Go away, I'm looking for the truth," and so it goes away. Puzzling."---Robert Pirsig
"Real curiosity now gets little chance to develop- it's smothered with information before it can draw a natural breath."--- Larry McMurtry
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