All language subtitles for Mythical.Beasts.2018.S01E09.720p.WEB.H264-JFF_track3_[eng]

Narrator: THE WEREWOLF...

A MERCILESS MONSTER,

BORN WHEN MAN
TURNS SAVAGE BEAST.

THEY COULD KILL PEOPLE,

RIP THEIR THROATS OUT.

Narrator: TODAY
THEY'RE THE STUFF OF MOVIES.

FOR OUR ANCESTORS,
THEY WERE VERY REAL.

Regal:
THE BEAST BEGAN RUNNING AROUND

WITH THIS UNCONTROLLABLE
NEED TO KILL.

Narrator: WHAT HAPPENED TO
INSPIRE SUCH TERRIFYING STORIES?

Pluskowski: THIS REALLY
DESCRIBES A DEMONIC WOLF

INTERESTED IN DEVOURING
THE FLESH OF PEOPLE.

Narrator:
WHY DID SO MANY PEOPLE THINK

THEY'D TRULY SEE A WEREWOLF?

ALL OF A SUDDEN, GLOWING BACK AT
YOU ARE THESE TWO BRIGHT EYES.

IT'S GONNA LOOK
PRETTY SUPERNATURAL.

Narrator: NOW INVESTIGATORS
USE THE LATEST SCIENCE

AND ARCHAEOLOGY...

REPORTS AT THE TIME
SAYING THE BULLETS

WERE JUST BOUNCING OFF IT.

Narrator: ...TO UNLOCK
THE HORRIFYING REALITY

BEHIND THIS NOTORIOUS CREATURE.

[ GROWLS ]

-- Captions by VITAC --
www.vitac.com

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY
DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

Narrator: FOR CENTURIES,
THE PEOPLE OF EUROPE

BELIEVED IN
A BLOOD-THIRSTY MONSTER --

THE WEREWOLF.

THIS HALF-MAN, HALF-WOLF BEAST
COULD TEAR ITS VICTIMS APART

WITH ITS FANGS AND CLAWS...

BEFORE TRANSFORMING BACK
INTO ITS ORIGINAL HUMAN FORM.

WEREWOLVES ARE KIND OF
THE ULTIMATE COMBINATION

OF THE HUMAN AND THE MONSTROUS.

Schwab:
IN ANCIENT TIMES,

PEOPLE WOULD HAVE HAD
SUCH A CONNECTION WITH ANIMALS

AND SUCH AN UNDERSTANDING
AND BELIEF

THAT THEY WERE AT THE SAME LEVEL

THAT IT WOULDN'T BE
TOO MUCH OF A STRETCH TO THINK

THAT SOMEONE COULD TURN
INTO AN ANIMAL OR VICE VERSA.

Narrator:
THE WEREWOLF IS FEATURED

IN MORE THAN 100 MOVIES,

BECOMING ONE OF HOLLYWOOD'S
MOST NOTORIOUS MONSTERS.

BUT BELIEF IN THESE KILLER
BEASTS BEGAN THOUSANDS OF YEARS

BEFORE THEY HIT
THE SILVER SCREEN.

STORIES ABOUT WEREWOLVES
HAVE BEEN AROUND

SINCE BEFORE THINGS
WERE WRITTEN DOWN.

IT'S AS ANCIENT AS IT GETS.

Narrator: ONE OF THE EARLIEST
REFERENCES TO THIS FUSION

BETWEEN MAN AND WOLF

APPEARS IN AN ANCIENT
GREEK MYTH.

IT TELLS THE STORY OF LYCAON,

THE TYRANNICAL KING
OF ARCADIA.

IN A PLAN TO CHALLENGE ZEUS,
THE KING OF GODS,

LYCAON DECIDES
TO KILL HIS OWN SON.

HE SERVES UP THE CHILD'S FLESH
AT A BANQUET

TO TEST IF ZEUS
IS REALLY ALL-KNOWING.

BUT ZEUS SEES THROUGH
THE HORRIFIC RUSE.

HE RESURRECTS THE SLAIN CHILD
AND TURNS LYCAON INTO A WOLF.

PUNISHMENT FOR LYCAON
IS THAT HIS OUTER FORM

IS MEANT TO MATCH
HIS INNER BEASTLY FORM.

Narrator: IN ANCIENT GREECE,

THE IDEA
THAT HUMANS COULD COMBINE

WITH OTHER SPECIES MAY
HAVE BEEN THE STUFF OF LEGEND.

BUT IN THE U.K.,

INVESTIGATORS HAVE UNCOVERED
STARTLING EVIDENCE.

IT REVEALS HOW,
RIGHT ACROSS EUROPE,

PEOPLE REALLY BELIEVED
THAT DIFFERENT BEASTS

COULD MERGE TOGETHER.

ARCHAEOLOGIST MILES RUSSELL
AND HIS TEAM

DIG A 2,000-YEAR-OLD SETTLEMENT.

THEY'VE UNEARTHED THE BONES
OF 50 ANIMALS AND 55 HUMANS.

BUT MANY WERE ARRANGED
IN AN UNEXPECTED WAY.

WHAT WE GOT HERE IS A COW SKULL
THAT'S BEEN DETACHED

FROM THE BODY OF THE COW,
THE JAW HAS BEEN WRENCHED OFF,

AND THEN IT'S BEEN PLACED

DIRECTLY ON TOP
OF THIS HORSE JAW.

THESE TWO ARE BEING ADDED
TOGETHER TO CREATE

THIS VERY REAL,
PHYSICAL, SUPERNATURAL BEING.

Narrator: THIS COMBINATION
OF TWO REAL SPECIES

INTO ONE FANTASTICAL BEAST

IS DISTURBINGLY SIMILAR TO THE
HYBRID WEREWOLF FROM THE MYTH.

INCREDIBLY, MILES FINDS THAT
HUMAN SKELETONS

ALSO APPEAR TO BE
MERGED WITH OTHER SPECIES.

BONES FROM DIFFERENT ANIMALS

SEEM TO MIRROR THE FORM
OF A YOUNG WOMAN.

SKULL WITH SKULL, TORSO WITH
TORSO, LIMB WITH LIMB.

THEY'RE DISMEMBERING
THESE TWO ANIMALS

AND REASSEMBLING THE BODY PARTS
IN A ROUGH ANATOMICAL ORDER,

AND THEN SHE IS BEING
ROLLED ACROSS

SO THAT HER HEAD MEETS
WITH THEIRS.

Narrator: STRANGER STILL,

THERE'S EVIDENCE
THAT SHE DIDN'T DIE NATURALLY.

SHE WAS SACRIFICED.

Russell: WE NOTICED THAT,
ACROSS THE COLLARBONE,

THERE WAS A DEEP NICK,

SO I THINK THAT
WHAT WE'RE SEEING HERE

IS SOMEBODY WHO'S HAD
THEIR THROAT CUT.

Narrator: THESE MARKS SUGGEST
THIS ANCIENT TRIBE

BELIEVED MIXED-SPECIES CREATURES
COULD BE BROUGHT TO LIFE.

Russell:
HER BLOOD IS POURING OUT

ON TO THE TOP
OF THIS HYBRID ANIMAL.

HER LIFE, HER FORCE IS SHIFTING

INTO THAT OF
THE HYBRID CREATURE BENEATH.

Narrator: 2,000 YEARS AGO, THESE
PEOPLE KILLED ONE OF THEIR OWN

TO HONOR A MUTANT BEAST
THEY BELIEVED WAS DIVINE.

IF THEY ARE WORSHIPPING
A HYBRID ANIMAL,

IT IS THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE.

IT'S THE ULTIMATE OFFERING,

TO GIVE ONE OF THEM
TO THIS GOD OR GODDESS.

♪♪

Narrator: BUT THIS IDEA DIDN'T
DIE OUT IN ANCIENT TIMES.

OVER 1,000 YEARS LATER,

VIKINGS WANTED
TO MERGE THEMSELVES

WITH ONE SPECIES
IN PARTICULAR...

...THE WOLF.

♪♪

ARCHAEOLOGIST ALEKS PLUSKOWSKI
HAS COME

TO THE FORESTS OF SWEDEN
TO FIND OUT WHY.

HE BELIEVES THE ANSWER COULD LIE
WITH A 900-YEAR-OLD RUNE STONE

JUST OUTSIDE
THE VILLAGE OF SHELBIE.

Pluskowski: WE CAN SEE HERE
THIS SPECTACULAR FIGURE

THAT'S GOT THE LEGS OF A HUMAN,

BUT THE UPPER HALF
IS ANIMALISTIC.

IT APPEARS TO BE
THE UPPER PART OF A WOLF.

Narrator: ALEKS THINKS THIS
CREATURE COULD BE

A FEARSOME TYPE OF VIKING
KNOWN AS A WOLF WARRIOR.

WE CAN SEE HERE HUMAN HANDS
WITH CLEARLY DEFINED FINGERS

HOLDING SOME SORT OF WEAPON
OF SOME KIND.

THIS TELLS US WE ARE DEALING
WITH A WARRIOR.

THE WOLF WAS A POWERFUL ANIMAL

THAT WARRIORS WOULD SEEK
TO EMULATE IN BATTLE AND BEYOND.

Narrator: MANY BELIEVED
THESE SUPER SOLDIERS

WERE MORE THAN JUST MEN.

STORIES FROM THE VIKING WARS

SUGGESTED THEY WERE
THOUGHT OF AS SHAPE SHIFTERS,

ABLE TO PHYSICALLY
TRANSFORM INTO WOLVES.

ON HIS CONQUEST OF NORWAY,

VIKING LORD HARALD FAIRHAIR
FACED ARMIES OF THOUSANDS,

BUT HE TOOK THEM HEAD ON WITH
A GROUP OF LEGENDARY WARRIORS.

THEY WORE NO ARMOR,

ONLY A WOLF SKIN THAT
GAVE THEM SUPERNATURAL POWER.

IN THE HEAT OF BATTLE,

THEY WERE BELIEVED TO BE ABLE
TO MORPH INTO WOLVES

AND CHANNEL
THEIR PREDATOR SPIRIT.

THIS MADE THEM INVINCIBLE AND
ABLE TO KILL WITH A SINGLE BLOW.

LEGEND SAYS THAT WITH THESE WOLF
WARRIORS BY HIS SIDE,

HARALD CONQUERED NORWAY.

Nubia: IN THE PAST, WARRIORS
WOULD TAKE ON AN ANIMAL FORM

TO MAKE THEMSELVES
STRONG IN BATTLE.

A ZULU WOULD THINK OF THEMSELVES
AS A BUFFALO

TO BECOME LIKE A BUFFALO,

AND EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE SHOT
MANY TIMES,

THEY JUST KEPT COMING.

Narrator: BUT WHY WERE
THE VIKINGS SO IN AWE

OF HALF-WOLF, HALF-MAN BEASTS?

IN ANCIENT GREECE, BECOMING
A WEREWOLF WAS A PUNISHMENT,

NOT A BLESSING.

COMPARATIVE ANATOMIST
DR. JOY REIDENBERG INVESTIGATES.

Dr. Reidenberg:
THIS IS A WOLF SKULL,

AND IT'S ACTUALLY
QUITE INTIMIDATING TO LOOK AT.

IT'S GOT LOTS OF SHARP,
POINTY TEETH.

THE JAWS ON THE WOLF
ARE REALLY POWERFUL,

MANY TIMES THAT OF A DOG.

YOU COULD SEE THAT THE EYES
WOULD BE FACING

STRAIGHT OUT TOWARDS YOU,

WHICH IS SOMETHING YOU SEE
IN PREDATORS

THAT REALLY NEED TO JUDGE DEPTH.

SO, I COULD SEE HOW WARRIORS
WOULD LOOK UP TO THE WOLF

AND CHANNEL
THE WOLF'S ENERGY,

STRENGTH,
SUPERIOR HUNTING ABILITIES.

IF YOU WERE A WARRIOR,
THIS WOULD BE YOUR ICON.

Narrator:
FOR MANY OF OUR EARLY ANCESTORS,

THE FUSION OF MAN AND BEAST

WAS CLEARLY A FEAT TO ADMIRE.

BUT IN EUROPE
JUST 500 YEARS LATER,

THESE TRANSFORMATIONS
WERE FEARED,

HATED, AND DESPISED.

SO MUCH SO THAT
MANY WERE PERSECUTED

AND BURNED AT THE STAKE.

WHAT HAPPENED TO TURN
THE VALIANT WEREWOLF WARRIOR

INTO A FIGURE OF PURE EVIL?

[ GROWLS ]

Narrator: THE WEREWOLF...

A TERRIFYING HALF-MAN,
HALF-WOLF MONSTER.

IT WOULD HUNT OUT HUMAN FLESH
AT NIGHTFALL.

IN THE MIDDLE AGES,

WHY DID IT GO
FROM BEING THE ULTIMATE WARRIOR

TO A CREATURE
OF UNIMAGINABLE EVIL?

IN LAMBETH PALACE, LONDON,

ARCHAEOLOGIST ALEKS PLUSKOWSKI
INVESTIGATES.

THIS ANCIENT LIBRARY HOLDS
A 500-YEAR-OLD DOCUMENT

THAT SHOCKED EUROPE.

IT DETAILS THE TRIAL OF A MAN
NAMED PETER STUMPP...

AND REVEALS WHY OUR ANCESTORS
BECAME TERRIFIED OF THIS BEAST.

IT'S ONE OF THE MOST GRUESOME
ACCOUNTS OF WEREWOLF

THAT WE HAVE FROM EUROPE.

THIS IS NOT A STORY.

IT'S A REAL TRIAL WHERE STUMPP
WAS ACCUSED, TRIED,

AND EXECUTED FOR CRIMES
COMMITTED AS A WEREWOLF.

Narrator: IN 1589,

A STRING OF MURDERS HAUNTED
THE GERMAN TOWN OF BEDBURG.

13 CHILDREN AND 2 PREGNANT
WOMEN WERE MAULED TO DEATH.

THE PRIME SUSPECT WAS
A LOCAL FARMER, PETER STUMPP.

ON TRIAL, HE CONFESSED TO BEING
A WEREWOLF,

GUILTY OF THE KILLINGS.

PUNISHMENT WAS BRUTAL.

THE EXECUTIONER STRAPPED STUMPP
TO A WHEEL AND TORE FLESH

FROM HIS BODY
WITH RED-HOT PINCERS.

HE BROKE HIS LIMBS,
BURNED HIS BODY,

AND STUCK HIS HEAD ON A STAKE
AS A WARNING.

IN THE 1500s, WEREWOLVES WERE
AT THE SAME STATUS

AS WITCHES AND DEMONS.

THEY WERE SOME OF EUROPE'S
MOST FEARED VILLAINS.

Li:
THE 16th AND 17th CENTURIES

WERE A TIME OF GREAT
RELIGIOUS FEAR IN EUROPE.

GETTING A LOT OF UPHEAVAL
IN THE CHURCH,

AND ALONGSIDE THAT,
IS RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION.

Narrator: PETER STUMPP WAS JUST
ONE OF MANY PEOPLE

ACCUSED OF TRANSFORMING
INTO WEREWOLVES.

HUNDREDS WERE CONVICTED,
TORTURED,

AND KILLED
FOR THIS SUPPOSED CRIME.

TRIAL RECORDS REVEAL THAT
THE WEREWOLF PEOPLE FEARED

AT THAT TIME WAS
VERY DIFFERENT TO THE HALF-MAN,

HALF-WOLF BEAST
OF HOLLYWOOD FILMS.

Pluskowski: YOU CAN SEE ALMOST
A HYBRID IN THIS FIRST IMAGE,

BUT THIS IS SHOWING
METAMORPHOSIS,

AND THEN HE ASSUMES A COMPLETE
TRANSFORMATION INTO A WOLF.

BUT HE RETAINED HIS SENSES,
HE RETAINED HIS MIND,

AND THAT IS WHAT MADE HIM
A WEREWOLF.

IT WAS LESS OF A FANTASTIC
CREATURE

AND SOMETHING THAT COULD EASILY
BE PROWLING IN THE WOODS

AND IN THE WILDERNESSES
AROUND YOUR TOWNS AND VILLAGES.

IF YOU THINK
ABOUT CONTEMPORARY FILMS

LIKE THE "UNDERWORLD" SERIES,

THE WEREWOLF THERE
CAN STAND UPRIGHT

AND HAS HUMAN CHARACTERISTICS.

BUT IN MEDIEVAL TIMES,
YOU DIDN'T HAVE THIS NOTION OF,

YOU KNOW, THE WOLF BODY
AND THE HUMAN BODY BEING MIXED.

IT WAS LITERALLY YOU BECOME THIS
FEROCIOUS,

HUGE, INCREDIBLY POWERFUL WOLF.

Narrator: BUT THERE WAS ONE
FEATURE IN PARTICULAR

THAT OUR ANCESTORS
THOUGHT DISTINGUISHED

THESE DEMONIC BEASTS
FROM NORMAL WOLVES --

THEIR EYES.

Pluskowski:
IT SPECIFICALLY STATES,

"PETER WAS TRANSFORMED
INTO THE LIKENESS OF A GREEDY,

DEVOURING WOLF
WITH EYES LARGE AND GREAT,

WHICH IN THE NIGHT,
SPARKLED LIKE BRANDS OF FIRE."

THIS REALLY DESCRIBES
A DEMONIC WOLF

THAT WOULD BE INTERESTED
IN NOTHING MORE THAN ATTACKING

AND DEVOURING
THE FLESH OF PEOPLE.

Narrator: COMPARATIVE ANATOMIST
DR. JOY REIDENBERG

INVESTIGATES
WHY PEOPLE MIGHT HAVE BELIEVED

THEY'D SEEN THE EVIL EYES
OF A WEREWOLF.

Dr. Reidenberg: AT NIGHT, IF YOU
SHINE A LIGHT AT A WOLF,

YOU'LL SEE EYE SHINE
COMING BACK AT YOU,

AS IF THE EYES ARE GLOWING.

ALL YOU SEE ARE THE EYES,

AND THAT MYSTERY MAKES IT
EVEN MORE TERRIFYING.

Narrator: WOLVES
HAVE INCREDIBLE NIGHT VISION.

JOY DISSECTS THE EYE OF A SHEEP
TO REVEAL

HOW THE EYES OF SOME ANIMALS
APPEAR TO LIGHT UP AT NIGHT.

Dr. Reidenberg:
IT'S A REFLECTIVE SURFACE.

IT'S A VERY BLUE-GREEN
PEARLESCENT COLOR,

AT THE VERY BACK AND THE SIDE,

AND THAT IS REFLECTING
THE AMBIENT LIGHT

THAT COMES INTO THE EYE.

WE DON'T HAVE THAT
REFLECTIVE LAYER.

THE HUMAN EYE REFLECTS
A LITTLE BIT

BUT NOWHERE NEAR AS MUCH
AS THESE ANIMALS.

Narrator: THIS RARE NIGHT-VISION
FOOTAGE OF A WILD COYOTE

EXPOSES THE EFFECT.

Dr. Reidenberg: RIGHT THERE.
SEE THAT?

THOSE ARE THE EYES
OF THE COYOTE SHINING.

IT'S THAT SAME EYE SHINE
FROM THE BACK OF THE EYE,

REFLECTING THE LIGHT.

YOU IMAGINE YOU'RE HOLDING UP A
LANTERN BACK IN THE MIDDLE AGES

WHERE THEY DIDN'T UNDERSTAND
HOW THE EYE WORKS.

AND ALL OF A SUDDEN,
GLOWING BACK AT YOU

ARE THESE TWO BRIGHT EYES.

THEY WOULD THINK THAT THIS
ANIMAL HAD SUPERNATURAL POWERS.

Narrator: ALEKS PLUSKOWSKI
THINKS IT WAS MORE

THAN JUST THE WEREWOLF'S EYES
THAT MADE IT EVIL.

HE BELIEVES THAT CHURCH
PLAYED A KEY ROLE

IN THE BEAST'S TRANSFORMATION
FROM NOBLE WARRIOR

TO DESPISED,
DEMONIC MONSTER.

THIS WALL PAINTING BEHIND US
IS OVER 800 YEARS OLD,

AND IT SHOWS YOU SCENES
FROM HELL

AND THE SOULS OF THE DAMNED
BEING TORMENTED

BY THESE GIANT,
MONSTROUS DEMONS.

HERE, WE HAVE THE MOST
INTERESTING FIGURE

BECAUSE IT'S THE ONLY ANIMAL
THAT WE SEE IN HELL,

AND IT IS A WOLF,
AND IT IS GRASPING A WOMAN,

GNAWING AWAY AT HER HAND.

Narrator: FOR ALEKS,
THE SCENE REVEALS

HOW CHRISTIANITY SPREAD THE WORD

THAT THE WOLF WAS THE MOST
HEINOUS OF ALL CREATURES.

THE FACT THAT THE PAINTERS
CHOSE TO USE THE WOLF

AND NO OTHER ANIMAL TELLS US
THAT IT'S THE MOST POTENT SYMBOL

OF THE DEMONIC

THAT THE CONGREGATION
WOULD HAVE RECOGNIZED.

Narrator:
THE CHURCH PURSUED SINNERS

WHO WERE THOUGHT TO BE IN LEAGUE
WITH THE DEVIL

WHEN THEY BECAME WEREWOLVES.

BUT HOW DID PEOPLE BELIEVE
THIS GRUESOME TRANSFORMATION

ACTUALLY TOOK PLACE?

REMARKABLE DOCUMENTS
FROM THE TIME

SUGGEST MAGIC POTIONS
PLAYED A ROLE.

WHAT INGREDIENTS WERE SUPPOSED
TO TRIGGER

THIS KIND OF METAMORPHOSIS?

AND WHAT DID THEY REALLY DO
TO THOSE WHO TOOK THEM?

Narrator: 500 YEARS AGO,

WEREWOLF HYSTERIA
GRIPPED EUROPE.

IN A SERIES OF SHOCKING TRIALS,

HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE
WERE FOUND GUILTY

OF TURNING INTO THESE MONSTERS.

MANY WERE BURNED AT THE STAKE.

GRAPHIC PERSONAL TESTIMONIES
HELPED FUEL A BELIEF

IN THIS DEMONIC,
MUTANT CREATURE.

Li: WHAT WAS UNUSUAL ABOUT
THESE CONFESSIONS

IS THAT THEY PROVIDED
A HUGE AMOUNT OF DETAIL

ABOUT WHAT IT WAS
LIKE BEING A WEREWOLF

AND HOW THE FLESH THAT THEY ATE
WAS PARTICULARLY SWEET

OR THE BLOOD WAS VERY RICH.

Narrator: PROSECUTORS OBTAINED
MANY CONFESSIONS

LIKE THIS THROUGH TORTURE.

BUT WHAT DID THEY AND THE PUBLIC
BELIEVE WAS GOING ON?

HOW DID THEY THINK THESE
TRANSFORMATIONS TOOK PLACE?

ONE FRENCH TRIAL ACCOUNT
FROM 1521 PROVIDES A CLUE.

PIERRE BOURGOT
WAS A SHEPHERD CONVICTED

OF ATTACKING PEOPLE
WHILE IN WOLF FORM.

BOURGOT CLAIMED HE'D BEEN
TENDING HIS SHEEP

WHEN THREE RIDERS
DRESSED IN BLACK APPEARED.

THEY OFFERED TO PROTECT
HIS FLOCK IN RETURN

FOR SERVING THE DEVIL.

BOURGOT CLAIMED HE WAS GIVEN
A DEMONIC OINTMENT

THAT TRANSFORMED HIM INTO A WOLF
AND SENT HIM ON A KILLING SPREE.

BUT BACK IN HUMAN FORM,

BOURGOT WAS CAUGHT WITH BLOOD
ON HIS HANDS

AND ENDED UP BURNING
AT THE STAKE.

A MAGIC OINTMENT IS MENTIONED
IN SEVERAL ACCOUNTS

FROM THE WEREWOLF TRIALS.

ALEKS PLUSKOWSKI WANTS
TO FIND OUT

IF REAL SUBSTANCES COULD
BE BEHIND THESE CONFESSIONS.

HE EXAMINES A BOOK OF POTIONS
BY AN AUTHOR BANNED

FROM THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.

WE HAVE A PASSAGE ON HOW TO MAKE
A MAN BELIEVE HE WAS CHANGED

INTO A BIRD OR BEAST,
SO ALL OF THE INGREDIENTS APPEAR

TO CREATE
A HALLUCINOGENIC SUBSTANCE

THAT WOULD ALTER THE STATE
OF YOUR MIND

AND CONVINCE YOU THAT YOU HAD
TRANSFORMED INTO ANOTHER ANIMAL.

Narrator: POTIONS ALONE
ARE UNLIKELY TO ACCOUNT

FOR WHY SO MANY PEOPLE BELIEVED
THEY HAD TURNED INTO WEREWOLVES.

ALEKS SUSPECTS THERE WAS
ANOTHER FACTOR ALSO AT PLAY --

A DEADLY POISON KNOWN AS ERGOT

THAT COMES
AS A FANG-SHAPED FUNGUS.

Pluskowski: IN GERMAN FOLKLORE,

A SUBSTANCE
KNOWN AS WOLF'S TOOTH

WAS SAID TO GROW
IN THE RYE FIELDS.

WE KNOW THIS SUBSTANCE
AS ERGOT --

A FUNGUS --
AND THIS MAY HAVE BEEN LINKED

TO ONE OF THE MOST
FEARED FOLKLORIC CREATURES

THAT HAUNTED THE RYE FIELDS --
THE SO-CALLED RYE WOLF.

Narrator:
ACCORDING TO LEGEND,

THE RYE WOLF IS A GRAIN DEMON
THAT TAKES THE FORM OF A WOLF.

IT LURKS IN RYE FIELDS,

WAITING FOR THE FARMER
TO HARVEST THE CROP.

AS THE RYE WOLF SILENTLY STALKS
ITS PREY

AND PREPARES TO STRIKE,

THE RYE WOLF ATTACKS --
BITING THE FARMER --

NOW CURSED TO TRANSFORM
INTO A WOLF HIMSELF.

♪♪

RYE FARMERS REPORTED
HOW THEIR SKIN DARKENED,

THEY BECAME RAVENOUSLY HUNGRY,

AND EXPERIENCED
VIOLENT CONVULSIONS.

PLANT PATHOLOGIST ANNA GORDON
WANTS TO FIND OUT

IF WEREWOLF HALLUCINATIONS
COULD SOMETIMES ALSO BE

THE DIRECT RESULT
OF ERGOT POISONING.

SHE EXAMINES AN INFECTED RYE
PLANT IN A SECURE LABORATORY.

Gordon: IN PLACE OF A GRAIN,
WHAT CAN YOU SEE

IS THIS BLACK FUNGAL STRUCTURE.

WE CALL THAN AN ERGOT,
AND THAT'S THE THING

THAT IS PACKED FULL OF THESE
RATHER DANGEROUS CHEMICALS.

Narrator: IF INGESTED,
JUST TWO PIECES OF ERGOT

CAN HAVE A DEVASTATING EFFECT
ON THE HUMAN BRAIN.

500 YEARS AGO,
ITS DANGERS WERE UNKNOWN.

THIS FUNGUS WOULD BE GROUND UP
WITH A RYE GRAIN,

POISONING ENTIRE
BATCHES OF BREAD.

A 3-D SCAN OF A PLANT
INFECTED WITH ERGOT

REVEALS
THE DEADLY MATERIAL INSIDE.

Gordon: THE FUNGUS
IS THIS BLUE MASS HERE.

THESE CHEMICALS WOULD BE
TAKEN INTO YOUR BRAIN,

AND THEY WOULD HAVE
QUITE A RANGE OF SYMPTOMS,

AND ONE OF WHICH
WOULD BE CAUSING

QUITE POWERFUL
HALLUCINOGENIC EFFECTS.

Narrator:
HUNDREDS OF YEARS AGO,

PEOPLE WOULD MUCH MORE LIKELY
HAVE SEEN A WILD WOLF FOR REAL.

DID THIS INFLUENCE
THEIR HALLUCINATIONS?

Gordon:
IF SOMEBODY'S INGESTED ERGOT,

THEN IT'S LIKELY THAT THEY COULD
PERCEIVE THEMSELVES

AS BEING SHAPE-SHIFTING
OR BELIEVING

THAT THEY'RE
BECOMING A WEREWOLF.

Narrator:
ERGOTISM MAY EXPLAIN

WHY SOME PEOPLE CONFESSED
TO BEING WEREWOLVES

WHEN BROUGHT TO TRIAL.

BUT WHY DID OTHERS CLAIM TO HAVE
SEEN THESE PEOPLE AS WOLVES?

♪♪

Narrator: INVESTIGATORS HUNT
FOR REAL-LIFE EVIDENCE

BEHIND THE WEREWOLF MYTHS.

DEADLY PSYCHOACTIVE POTIONS
AND FUNGI

MAY EXPLAIN WHY
SOME PEOPLE BELIEVED

THEY COULD TRANSFORM
INTO WOLVES.

BUT THEY CAN'T ACCOUNT FOR WHY
SO MANY CLAIM

TO HAVE ACTUALLY SEEN
THESE DEMONIC BEASTS.

SOME EXPERTS NOW THINK PEOPLE
LIVING AT THE EDGES OF SOCIETY

MAY HAVE HELPED TO FUEL
THE WEREWOLF MYTH.

A 500-YEAR-OLD TRIAL ACCOUNT
PROVIDES CLUES.

GILLES GARNIER LIVED IN
THE FOREST OF EASTERN FRANCE

IN THE LATE 1500s.

HE WAS AN OUTSIDER WHO DIDN'T
MIX WITH THE TOWNSFOLK.

IT WAS HIS UNKEMPT HAIR
AND LARGE BEARD

THAT WITNESSES CLAIMED THEY SAW
IN THE WOODS ONE NIGHT

AT THE SIGHT OF A BRUTAL
WOLF ATTACK ON A LITTLE GIRL.

ON TRIAL, GARNIER CONFESSED
TO KILLING CHILDREN

WHILE IN THE FORM OF A WOLF.

THE COURT FOUND HIM GUILTY
OF SHAPE-SHIFTING --

THE MOST EVIL OF CRIMES.

INSTEAD OF GOING TO PRISON,
GARNIER WAS BURNED AT THE STAKE.

AS SOCIETY MOVES FORWARD,

IT OFTEN LEAVES WILDERNESS
MEN BEHIND,

LIKE THE MOUNTAIN MEN
IN AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY.

THEY LOOK LIKE GRIZZLY BEARS,

THEY EAT IN THE SAME
ENVIRONMENT,

THEY HUNT LIKE THE GRIZZLY BEAR.

Narrator:
ARCHAEOLOGIST ALEKS PLUSKOWSKI

THINKS ANCIENT IMAGERY

COULD PROVE THAT OUTCASTS
PLAYED A KEY ROLE

IN THE WEREWOLF LEGEND.

HE'S COME TO CHALDON CHURCH
IN ENGLAND

TO EXAMINE A FADED MURAL
PAINTED 700 YEARS AGO.

IT SHOWS A GROUP OF HUNTERS
APPROACHING A MAN

WHO LOOKS LIKE A WILD ANIMAL.

Pluskowski: YOU CAN SEE
THIS WEIRD, SHAGGY FIGURE

WITH HALF-HUMAN,
HALF-BEAST APPEARANCE

WALKING ON ALL FOURS
WITH THICK HAIR,

IN A MANNER OF A BEAST
ALMOST LIKE A WOLF.

Narrator: THIS PAINTING DEPICTS
THE STORY OF A HERMIT

CALLED THE HAIRY ANCHORITE.

HE IS AN EXILE --
AN OUTCAST FROM HUMAN SOCIETY

LIVING AT THE FRINGES
OF CIVILIZATION.

WE KNOW THAT MANY HERMITS LIVED
IN THE FORESTS OF EUROPE

AND WOULD'VE CROSSED
THAT PHYSICAL-VISUAL LINE

INTO THE BEAST,
INTO THE ANIMAL.

THESE PEOPLE WOULD BE VIEWED
WITH SUSPICION,

THEY WOULD BE FEARED.

THAT KIND OF UNUSUAL APPEARANCE,
LIKE, THE NOT SHAVING,

HAVING LONG HAIR
WOULD MAKE THAT PERSON A TARGET

FOR BEING BRANDED
AS AN OUTSIDER,

BRANDED AS SOMEBODY
THAT YOU CAN'T TRUST

THAT ISN'T REALLY HUMAN.

THAT BEAST-LIKE APPEARANCE
PROBABLY CONTRIBUTES TO A NOTION

OF WHAT A WEREWOLF
WOULD HAVE BEEN.

Narrator:
DR. JOY REIDENBERG THINKS

THAT ANOTHER
PHYSIOLOGICAL FACTOR

MAY HAVE PLAYED AN EVEN
MORE IMPORTANT ROLE

IN THE WEREWOLF MYTH --

BAFFLING MEDICAL CONDITIONS.

SHE INVESTIGATES HYPERTRICHOSIS,

A DISEASE ONCE KNOWN
AS WEREWOLF SYNDROME.

Dr. Reidenberg:
THIS IS A CONDITION

WHERE THERE'S TOO MUCH
HAIR GROWTH,

AND IF WE LOOK CAREFULLY
AT THEIR FACES,

YOU CAN SEE WHAT LOOKS LIKE FUR,
EVEN THOUGH IT'S ACTUALLY HAIR,

ROLLING DOWN FROM THEIR CHEEKS

ALL THE WAY DOWN
ACROSS THEIR NECK AND CHEST.

YOU CAN SEE HOW EASILY
SOMEONE COULD ASSOCIATE

SOMEONE WITH HYPERTRICHOSIS
WITH BEING A WEREWOLF.

IN LESS-ENLIGHTENED TIMES,
LIFE WOULD BE VERY DIFFICULT

FOR SOMEONE
WITH THIS CONDITION.

YOU WERE MORE LIKELY TO SEE THEM
IN A CIRCUS

THAN YOU WOULD JUST WALKING
AROUND ON THE STREET EVERY DAY.

Narrator:
IN 1868, THE FAMOUS SHOWMAN

P.T. BARNUM
HAD A FATHER AND SON ACT

BOTH WITH HYPERTRICHOSIS
IN HIS NEW YORK CIRCUS.

THE CHILD WAS A HIT
WITH STUNNED AUDIENCES

AND ROSE TO FAME
AS THE DOG-FACED BOY.

IN MEDIEVAL EUROPE,
THIS IS A CULTURE

THAT BELIEVES IN
A LITERALLY REAL WEREWOLF.

SO IF SOMEONE WAS FOUND
TO HAVE HYPERTRICHOSIS,

THIS IS GONNA REINFORCE
THAT BELIEF AS FACT AND PROOF.

Narrator: ABNORMAL HAIR GROWTH
WASN'T THE ONLY DISORDER

THAT COULD'VE MADE THE MYTH
SEEM MORE REAL.

SCIENTISTS HAVE CONNECTED
A SKIN DISEASE

CALLED PORPHYRIA
WITH STORIES OF STRANGE,

NOCTURNAL BEHAVIOR IN HUMANS.

Dr. Reidenberg:
PORPHYRIA'S A CONDITION

OF INTENSE SENSITIVITY
TO SUNLIGHT.

SO MUCH SO THAT THE SKIN
WILL BLISTER.

IT'S LIKE HAVING
EXTREME SUNBURN.

THE SKIN HAS RIPPED OPEN
AND THEN HEALED BACK AGAIN.

THIS CONDITION WOULD MAKE IT
VERY PAINFUL

FOR SOMEONE TO BE OUT
IN BRIGHT DAYLIGHT.

SO IF THEY WANTED TO WALK AROUND
OUTSIDE,

THEY WOULD DO IT AT NIGHT.

AND REMEMBER, THERE'S NO STREET
LAMPS BACK IN MEDIEVAL TIMES,

SO THE BEST CHANCE OF SEEING

WHERE YOU'RE GOING
IS ON A FULL MOON.

THAT'S VERY SUSPICIOUS BEHAVIOR

IF YOU'RE ONLY WALKING AROUND
ON FULL MOONS.

Narrator: THIS COULD EXPLAIN
WHY FULL MOONS

BECAME AN INTRINSIC PART
OF WEREWOLF LEGENDS.

Kamil: IN ROMAN MYTHOLOGY,

YOU HAVE A STORY ABOUT A MAN
TURNING INTO A WOLF,

AND WHAT'S INTERESTING
IS THAT IN THIS STORY,

YOU HAVE THE FULL MOON,

WHICH IS A DETAIL WE STILL GET
IN STORIES ABOUT WEREWOLVES.

AND IT SAYS THAT, "THE MOON
WAS SHINING AS IF IT WERE NOON."

REALLY BRIGHTENING UP THE NIGHT.

IT'S VERY LIKE THE STORIES
WE GET ABOUT WEREWOLVES TODAY.

Narrator: DRUGS, DISEASE, AND
GENETIC MUTATIONS MIGHT EXPLAIN

WHY PEOPLE THOUGHT
THEY HAD SEEN A WEREWOLF.

BUT SOME OF THOSE ON TRIAL
FOR BEING A WEREWOLF

WERE ACCUSED OF REAL KILLINGS.

WHAT WAS ACTUALLY BEHIND
THESE DEATHS?

AND WHY DID PEOPLE THINK
A WEREWOLF

COULD ONLY BE KILLED
WITH A SILVER BULLET?

Narrator:
THE MONSTROUS WEREWOLF...

A MYTHICAL BEAST THAT TERRIFIED
OUR ANCESTORS.

BUT THE NUMBER OF FATALITIES
ATTRIBUTED TO WEREWOLVES

FROM THE 1500s ONWARDS SUGGESTS
THERE WAS FAR MORE TO THIS TALE

THAN MYTHS ALONE.

WAS A REAL MONSTER
BEHIND THESE ATTACKS?

A CLUE COULD LIE WITH A SERIES
OF GRIZZLY DEATHS

THAT SHOCKED FRANCE
250 YEARS AGO.

IN 1764, THE FRENCH PROVINCE
OF GéVAUDAN

WAS THE EPICENTER OF
A MONSTROUS KILLING SPREE.

MORE THAN 100 PEOPLE DIED --
THEIR THROATS RIPPED OUT

BY A MYSTERIOUS WOLF-LIKE BEAST.

THE KING SENT 30,000 SOLDIERS
TO TRACK DOWN THE CREATURE.

SOME OF THEM CLAIMED
THEY'D SHOT IT,

BUT THEIR BULLETS HAD NO EFFECT.

THE HUNTERS BUTCHERED
HUNDREDS OF WOLVES,

BUT THE GHASTLY KILLINGS
CONTINUED.

MYTH HAS IT THAT WHAT FINALLY
BROUGHT DOWN THE BEAST

WAS A SILVER BULLET FIRED
BY A LOCAL HUNTER JEAN CHASTEL.

THE GéVAUDAN STORY COULD BE
INSPIRED BY ACTUAL EVENTS.

SEVERAL HUNDRED PEOPLE ARE DEAD
AND HAVE BEEN ATTACKED

BY SOME KIND OF WOLFY CREATURE.

Narrator:
WOLF EXPERT GARRY MARVIN

HAS STUDIED THE CASE
OF GéVAUDAN.

HE WANTS TO FIND OUT WHY PEOPLE
THOUGHT THE BEAST

WAS IMPERVIOUS
TO REGULAR LEAD BULLETS.

WAS THIS AN ORDINARY,
EVERYDAY WOLF

OR WAS IT ACTUALLY
A SUPER-PREDATOR,

OR SOMETHING EVEN MORE SINISTER?

Narrator:
GARRY THINKS A CLUE LIES

WITH THE WEAPONRY OF THE TIME.

AT ENGLAND'S ROYAL ARMORIES,
HE MEETS JONATHAN FERGUSON,

KEEPER OF ARTILLERY
AND FIREARMS.

THEY TEST A MUSKET SIMILAR
TO THOSE USED AT GéVAUDAN

TO INVESTIGATE
WHY HUNTSMEN CLAIMED THEIR SHOTS

WERE USELESS
AGAINST THE MONSTER.

IS THERE ANYTHING
ABOUT THIS WEAPON

WHICH WOULD BE INEFFECTIVE
IN THIS CONTEXT?

Ferguson: YOU COULD BE
AN EXPERT SHOT,

ESPECIALLY AGAINST
A MOVING TARGET,

COMPARED
TO A MODERN FIREARM,

AND YOU GOT EVERY CHANCE
OF MISSING WITH THIS

JUST BECAUSE
IT'S INHERENTLY INACCURATE.

JONATHAN FIRES A 3-QUARTER-INCH
LEAD SHOT AT A TARGET

DESIGNED TO SIMULATE THE BEAST.

THE GEL MOLD MIMICS ITS FLESH,

COMPLETE WITH REPLICA BONES
SET INSIDE.

♪♪

WE'VE MANAGED TO HIT THE TARGET,
BUT ONLY JUST.

IT'S A FLESH WOUND.

BONE'S NOT BEEN STRUCK,
SO THE THING IS STILL RUNNING,

BUT IT'S NOT GOING
TO STOP THE BEAST.

18th-CENTURY MUSKETS WERE
POWERFUL BUT WILDLY INACCURATE.

EVEN THE BULLETS THAT DID HIT
THE BEAST

MAY HAVE ONLY GRAZED ITS SKIN.

ALTHOUGH HUNTERS WERE
APPARENTLY HITTING THE CREATURE,

IT WOULD SEEM TO BE IMPERVIOUS
TO BULLETS AND LIMP OFF

INTO THE WOODS
TO ATTACK AGAIN.

SO, PEOPLE BEGAN TO THINK THAT
THERE'S SOMETHING SUPERNATURAL,

SINISTER ABOUT THIS CREATURE.

Narrator: THE IDEA OF A SILVER
BULLET BEING THE SOLUTION

TO BRINGING DOWN THE BEAST
IS HIGHLY IMPROBABLE.

SILVER IS A LIGHTER METAL

AND WOULD'VE BEEN
EVEN LESS EFFECTIVE.

HISTORIANS THINK IT WAS ADDED
TO THE LEGEND

ALMOST 200 YEARS LATER

BECAUSE OF SILVER'S
MAGICAL REPUTATION.

Regal: SILVER HAD THESE KIND OF
CHARACTERISTICS

OF A RELIGIOUS PURITY
THAT BY INTRODUCING THIS ELEMENT

INTO THE BODY
OF THE EVIL WEREWOLF,

IT WOULD NEUTRALIZE THE EVIL
INSIDE THE WEREWOLF.

Narrator: GARRY THINKS

THE DIFFICULTY
IN LINING UP A KILL SHOT

WAS THE REAL REASON
WHY PEOPLE CONSIDERED

THIS BEAST INVINCIBLE.

REAL WOLVES REMAIN THE
PRIME SUSPECT FOR THESE DEATHS,

NOT A SUPERNATURAL PREDATOR.

PEOPLE BEGAN TO THINK
THAT THIS MUST BE THE WORK

OF ONE INDIVIDUAL
MONSTROUS CREATURE --

THE BEAST OF GéVAUDAN,

WHEREAS IT IS MORE LIKELY
THAT THEY WERE SIMILAR ATTACKS

ON DIFFERENT PEOPLE
BY DIFFERENT WOLVES.

Narrator:
DETAILED RECORDS OF THE ATTACKS

WERE KEPT AT THE TIME.

THEY COULD BE THE KEY
TO CRACKING THIS CASE.

GARRY PLOTS THEIR LOCATIONS
ON A MAP.

HE SPOTS 2 KILLS ON THE SAME
DAY, 50 MILES APART.

NO ORDINARY WOLF
WOULD WALK THAT FAR

TO MAKE ANOTHER KILL LATER
IN THE DAY.

THIS IS NOT WHAT YOU WOULD
EXPECT FROM AN INDIVIDUAL WOLF.

Narrator: GARRY EXAMINES FOOTAGE
OF WOLVES ATTACKING A CARIBOU

TO SEE HOW PACKS
OF THESE ANIMALS

COULD HAVE BEEN
BEHIND THE MANY DEATHS.

ONE JUVENILE BOLTS
BUT AWAY FROM THE HERD.

IT'S GOT NO PROTECTION NOW,
AND THEN THE SECOND WOLF CHASES,

AND THEY BOTH MEET
IN THE PINCER MOVEMENT.

BROUGHT DOWN A YOUNG,
VULNERABLE CREATURE THE SAME WAY

AS YOUNG, VULNERABLE PEOPLE
WERE TAKEN DOWN IN GéVAUDAN.

THERE IS THE STRONG POSSIBILITY
THAT THESE WERE ACTUAL,

REAL WOLVES COMING IN
AND PERPETRATING THE KILLINGS.

Narrator: THE TERROR TRIGGERED
BY HUNDREDS OF REAL WOLF ATTACKS

PLAYED A KEY ROLE
IN OUR ANCESTORS' FEAR

OF SUPERNATURAL WEREWOLVES.

THE WOLF EMBODIED, YOU KNOW,

KIND OF THE WORST
AND THE SCARIEST OF NATURE.

CERTAINLY IN EUROPE
FOR CENTURIES,

THE WOLVES LIVED IN PACKS
ON THE EDGES OF TOWNS,

AND THAT IS YOUR CLASSIC STORY
OF THE DANGER OF NATURE

CROWDING AROUND
HUMAN CIVILIZATION.

Narrator: BUT WHAT LAY BEHIND

THIS SURGE IN WOLF ATTACKS
ON HUMANS?

THEY ATTACK WITH SHARP CLAWS
AND SHARP TEETH.

AND THEY ARE RELENTLESS AND
THEY ARE STRONGER THAN WE ARE.

Narrator:
THE ANSWER COULD REVEAL

WHY WEREWOLF HYSTERIA

REACHED FEVER PITCH
IN THE 1500s

AND THE REAL REASON WHY
WEREWOLF TERROR CAME TO AN END.

Narrator:
FOR OVER 1,000 YEARS,

THE WEREWOLF HAS HAUNTED
OUR IMAGINATIONS.

INVESTIGATORS THINK THAT PACKS
OF REAL WOLVES

MIGHT HAVE BEEN BEHIND
SOME OF THE DEATHS ATTRIBUTED

TO THIS MYTHICAL BEAST.

WHY WERE WOLVES ATTACKING
SO MANY HUMANS,

AND HOW DID PEOPLE FIGHT BACK?

ARCHAEOLOGIST ALEKS PLUSKOWSKI
HAS COME

TO THE FORMER VIKING FOREST
OF SWEDEN TO FIND OUT.

Pluskowski: SO, I'M PRETTY SURE
IT'S OVER HERE.

NOT EASY TO SEE.
THE FOREST IS PRETTY DENSE.

Narrator: THIS IS ONE
OF HUNDREDS OF STONE PITS

BUILT TO TRAP AND KILL WOLVES
IN THE LATER MIDDLE AGES.

THIS IS PROBABLY THE ONLY
PHYSICAL EVIDENCE

THAT'S LEFT OF
THE INTENSIVE WOLF HUNTING

THAT HAPPENED IN EUROPE,

WHERE THOUSANDS OF WOLVES
WOULD'VE BEEN KILLED

IN MASS HUNTS
AND IN INTENSIVE TRAPPING.

Narrator: AT 12 FEET DEEP
AND 17 FEET WIDE,

THIS IS ONE OF THE LARGEST
WOLF PITS EVER FOUND.

THE BASE WOULD'VE ALMOST
CERTAINLY HAVE HAD WOODEN STAKES

OR SPIKES EMBEDDED INTO IT

SO THAT THE WOLF WOULD FALL
IN AND IMPALE ITSELF.

IT IS A TESTIMONY
TO THE INTENSITY

AND THE HATRED FELT
FOR THE WOLF AT THAT TIME.

♪♪

Narrator: ALEKS THINKS
THE PITS WERE BUILT

AS A PART OF A TURF WAR
BETWEEN MAN AND WOLF.

Pluskowski:
THE POPULATION OF EUROPE

FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE TRIALS

OVER A PERIOD OF ABOUT 200-250
YEARS WOULD HAVE SHOT UP,

ESSENTIALLY DOUBLING AND PUTTING
IMMENSE PRESSURE ON THE WOLF.

AND BECAUSE PEOPLE
WERE ENCROACHING

ON THE WOLF'S HABITAT,

THIS BROUGHT THEM INCREASINGLY
INTO CONTACT WITH THE WOLF.

Narrator: HUNTING PARTIES KILLED
OFF THEIR NATURAL PREY,

FORCING THE WILD WOLVES
OF EUROPE

TO LOOK FOR FOOD
IN NEW PLACES.

WOLVES CHANGED
THEIR HUNTING PATTERNS

AND STARTED GOING
AFTER LIVESTOCK

AND, ULTIMATELY, AFTER PEOPLE.

[ GROWLING ]

Narrator: IN RESPONSE

TO THOUSANDS OF REPORTED
WOLF ATTACKS,

THE MOST INTENSE ANIMAL
HUNTS IN HISTORY BEGAN.

AUTHORITIES OFFERED LARGE SUMS
FOR KILLING WOLVES,

AND THOUSANDS OF HUNTERS
ANSWERED THE CALL.

THEY COPIED HUNTING TACTICS
FROM WOLVES,

ENCIRCLING THEIR PREY,
CUTTING OFF ITS ESCAPE.

SOME CONCEALED THEIR TRAPS
AND BAITED THEM WITH FOOD.

WOLVES WHO COULDN'T RESIST
TEMPTATION MET A GRIZZLY END.

IT TOOK JUST TWO CENTURIES
FOR HUNTERS

TO DECIMATE
THE EUROPEAN WOLF POPULATION.

AS THE WILD WOLVES DISAPPEARED,
SO, TOO, DID THE SIGHTINGS

AND THE ATTACKS BLAMED
ON WEREWOLVES.

Pluskowski: INTERESTINGLY,
AROUND THE SAME TIME

AS THE WOLF IS BEING HUNTED
TO EXTINCTION IN EUROPE,

THE WEREWOLF TRIALS
COME TO AN END.

TO HAVE CREDIBLE AND SUSTAINABLE
WEREWOLF TRIALS,

YOU NEED WOLVES
IN THE LANDSCAPE.

YOU NEED TO SEE THEM ATTACKING,

OR YOU NEED
TO SEE THEIR VICTIMS.

Narrator: IN 1720, THE LAST
WEREWOLF TRIAL TOOK PLACE.

AFTER 300 YEARS,

THE HYSTERIA
HAD FINALLY COME TO AN END.

Schwab: A LONG TIME AGO,
WHEN PEOPLE WERE HUNTERS,

PRIMARILY, THEY REVERED THE WOLF
AND ITS ABILITY

TO BE ABLE
TO SEE THINGS IN THE FOREST.

BUT ONCE HUMANS GROW,
WOLVES BECOME AN ADVERSARY,

A PROBLEM,
AND EVENTUALLY, A MONSTER.

Narrator: BUT THE DEATH
OF THE MEDIEVAL WEREWOLF

DIDN'T SPELL THE END
FOR THE MONSTER ITSELF.

THE CREATURE WAS REDISCOVERED
AND PUT BACK IN THE SPOTLIGHT

DURING THE GOTHIC HORROR
REVIVAL OF THE 19th CENTURY.

IN THE 20th CENTURY,

THE WEREWOLF JOINED
CINEMA'S HALL OF HORRORS

ALONGSIDE DRACULA, FRANKENSTEIN,
AND THE MUMMY.

Li: THE WEREWOLF STILL
VERY MUCH SURVIVES TODAY

IN POPULAR CULTURE.

IF YOU LOOK AT COMIC BOOKS,
ON TV, ON MOVIE SCREENS,

WE SEE WEREWOLVES EVERYWHERE.

AND I THINK THAT'S PARTLY
BECAUSE

IT STILL REPRESENTS
THIS FASCINATION WE HAVE.

LURKING INSIDE EACH OF US,
WE HAVE THIS KIND OF BESTIALITY,

WE HAVE THIS KIND OF
VIOLENT NATURE

THAT WE CAN'T REALLY CONTROL.

THAT INNER BEAST COULD MAYBE
BREAK OUT AT SOME POINT.

Narrator: THE WEREWOLF HAS GONE
FROM HERO TO VILLAIN,

REVERED IN THE EYES OF WARRIORS.

IT WAS TRANSFORMED INTO
A DEMONIC MONSTER

BY THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.

FOR CENTURIES,
IT TERRIFIED MILLIONS.

TODAY, THIS HORRIFYING, MYTHICAL
BEAST LIVES ON IN OUR NIGHTMARES

AND ON OUR SCREENS.

[ GROWLS ]

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪