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Sign up for our mailing list! We also have t-shirts and mugs with our logo!\n\nHappy Halloween! Let's learn about some shapeshifters of folklore, including the werewolf and kitsune (thanks to Joel, Pranav, and Emma!), and a real-life shapeshifter.\nDon't forget the Kickstarter, as if I'd let you forget it: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kateshaw/beyond-bigfoot-and-nessie\nFurther reading:\n\nFolklore and Mythology\n\nBreeding Butterflies\n\nFurther listening:\n\nMonsterTalk (note: sometimes there's adult language or really scary themes)\n\nSandman Stories Presents podcast\n\nA death's head hawkmoth, looking spooky:\n\n\n\nA death's head hawkmoth caterpillar, not looking spooky at all:\n\n\n\nShow transcript:\nWelcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I\u2019m your host, Kate Shaw.\nIt\u2019s Halloween week and that means we need to talk about a truly spooky monster! Both Joel and Pranav suggested the werewolf a while back and Emily suggested the kitsune [kee-tsoo-neh], so let\u2019s learn about shapeshifters and were-animals of all kinds. \u201cWer\u201d is an Old English word that just means \u201cman,\u201d and just to get confusing, the word \u201cman\u201d used to refer to any person. The word \u201cwif\u201d referred to a woman, with wifman actually meaning woman. From those words we get the modern uses of wife, woman, and man, while \u201cwer\u201d is obsolete except in werewolf.\nLet me derail myself from talking about language by reminding you about our Kickstarter! It ends pretty soon, on November 5, 2021, so if you\u2019ve been thinking about backing the project this would be a great time. It\u2019s to help me publish a book all about mystery animals, called Beyond Bigfoot and Nessie: Lesser-Known Mystery Animals from Around the World. The book has a foreword by Blake Smith of MonsterTalk, the science show about monsters, and if you don\u2019t already listen to that podcast, it\u2019s a whole lot of fun and informative too. Thanks to everyone who has already backed the project!\nNow, Happy Halloween and on to the spookiness!\nThe important first question we need to answer is if werewolves really exist.\nNo. They do not exist outside of folklore and fiction, and I\u2019ll explain why later so you don\u2019t ever have to worry about werewolves or any other shapeshifters. But first, let\u2019s learn what werewolves and kitsunes are.\nWerewolves are supposed to be people who can turn into wolves. Depending on the story, this can happen when the person wants to turn into a wolf or it can happen during the full moon whether the person wants to be a wolf or not. Sometimes the person has a magical wolfskin or some other item that they put on in order to transform. Sometimes they have to cast a magic spell, but sometimes it\u2019s a curse that someone else has inflicted on them. Some stories say that the only way to kill a werewolf is by shooting it through the heart with a silver bullet, especially one that\u2019s been blessed by a priest.\n The werewolf is mainly from European folklore, where for many centuries all werewolves were also supposed to be witches. Until about the 18th century in some areas, if someone accused you of being a werewolf, you could be put on trial as a witch. Lots of people were convicted of witchcraft and killed during waves of witch-hunts in various parts of Europe. Most of the people accused were women, especially elderly women, especially women who were widowed or single, especially women who owned land that someone else wanted. Hmm.\nThe kitsune is a creature of Asian folklore, especially from Japan, that\u2019s basically a fox that can work magic. It\u2019s sometimes said that all foxes can turn into humans if they want, especially older foxes. The older and more powerful a kitsune is, the more tails it\u2019s supposed to have, up to nine. Kitsunes sometimes play tricks on people but they can also act as guardians and friends.\nAbout the same time that old ladies were being accused of being werewolves in Europe, though, around the 15th to the 18th centuries, something similar happened in Japan.