Shapeshifters: A History

This book is about the history & belief in werewolves, shapeshifters, which includes vampires.
One of the reasons that I bought this book is due to my interest in werewolves, shapeshifters & the historical belief & fear of them, I love werewolf lore, folklore, mythology.
The cover of the book was another reason that I bought this book, it has a beautiful cover, I love the medieval depiction of a werewolf that was used for the cover of the book, it's realistic of what a werewolf would look like devouring a helpless human being that is their prey.
Belief in werewolves, shapeshifters, were-animals has existed for various centuries & in various cultures. Were-animals aren't mentioned as much as shapeshifters, werewolves, shapeshifting Shamans, witches etc.. There are various types of were-animals that are believed to exist.
There are various cultures that believe in werewolves, shapeshifters, beings/entities that take various forms, including animals, they mimic humans and prey on humans in various ways.
There have been many sightings of bipedal (a animal that can walk upright on two legs)/quadrupedal (a animal that walks on four legs, or uses it's arms/legs to walk with all their limbs) dogmen, werewolves in England, America and various other places in the world.
In Ancient Rome, there is the legend of King Lycaon, he was cursed to take the form of a werewolf for testing Zeus' omniscience by serving the roasted flesh of his own butchered son Nyctimus.
He did this to see if Zeus really was all-knowing which he is, Zeus was obviously greatly offended and disgusted by this so he cursed King Lycaon to take the form of a wolf/werewolf.
Even if there are problematic, questionable things that some Deities have done, I still respect them & I respect their wisdom/guidance.
I'm not saying that a Deity taking the form of a animal to seduce & rape a mortal man or woman, is acceptable behaviour because obviously it isn't. It is seduction, rape & beastiality.
It must of been difficult for the Greek Gods/Goddesses to show themselves to the mortal humans that believed in them, worshipped them which is probably why they took the form of a animal, to show themselves to a mortal.
Their true form would be too immense, powerful for a mortal to see, so it was easier to seduce and mortal they were attracted to, felt lustful towards in a animal form.
Seduction & rape are too different things though.
Why is there so much seduction & rape in the Greek mythology?
It's a bit disturbing how frequently it happens.
King Arthur was a infamous Celtic warrior-king that was eventually sadly killed by the
Anglo-Saxons.
He killed mythological creatures, with his sword known as Excalibur, that the lady of the lake helped him to find & he pulled the infamous sword out of a stone.
Odin (The All-father is the father of the Norse Gods & Goddesses in the nine realms, he wanders the nine realms dressed like a wandering traveler, he is very wise, protective of his children.
Odin gave up one of his eyes for wisdom/knowledge and hanged himself from Yggdrasill
(the sacred world tree, the tree of life and death)
He has his pets ravens Huginn (thought) & Muninn (memory), his horse Sleipnir
(a eight legged horse) and his wolves Geri & Freki.
I always see Odin (the All-father) with his pets/companions when I have visions of him & Norse Gods/Godesses when i'm in a deep meditative state during meditation.
Odin is a comforting, wise & protective Norse Deity, you don't have to have Norse blood to be a Norse heathen/ Norse Pagan, but at least 6% of people in England have Norse blood.
Native American beliefs in shapeshifting witches, entities, beings, elementals, Shamans practicing witchcraft
(medicine men & women that helped the people in the tribe with spiritual sickness, they helped people in the astral realm as well) wearing animal pelts, taking on the traits or spirit of the animal or possessing animals has always interested me.
They believe in beings called a Wendigo (a cannibalistic being that can possess a human, then thy suffer from wendigo psychosis and feel compelled, a compulsion to consume human flesh.
If they consume the heart of a human being, then they become the Wendigo, but it is a being/entity that is cursed to never feel satisfied or full after eating, it's hunger is never satiated)
There is a well-known case of a man named Jack Fiddler, an Oji-Cree chief & shaman known for his powers at defeating Wendigos was living in a cabin with his family, they were low on food and starving, the man was suffering from Wendigo psychosis & cannibalized his family, there was a source of food not far away from where he was living sadly.
People engage in psychotic cannibalism, ritualized cannibalism.
There is also the Skinwalker (the Navajo, Algonquin/other tribes believe in) which is a shapeshifting, Shaman witch that takes the form of animals, mimics humans to lure them away from safety.
It is spiritually harmful, it doesn't have good intentions & it's predatory.
It isn't spoken about, because it draws it's attention to you & brings it into your life, it is a being/entity, powerful Shaman witch that should be feared if you believe in them, weather you are a Native or not.
The Native Americans believe in animal spirit guides, animal totems as a protective symbol, animals have significance in various ways in Native American culture, they can be symbolic, a warning, or omen, or a sign from their Deities, like the Coyote spirit, or Mother/Father Deity they believe in.
Native Americans believe in shapeshifting, evil entities, beings, elementals, nature related spirits that protect the land.
I really hate how the author keeps referring to shapeshifters and Native American Shamans as just male, since shapeshifters are also female, a Native American Shaman can be a man or a woman.
The Japanese/Korean Kitsune is a female shapeshifter, some female Deities take the form of a animal. The author seems a bit sexist, in my opinion. Goddesses are just as important as Gods.

The Berserkergang behaviour of the Norse Berserkers after consuming a hallucinogenic fungi, is similar to possession in my opinion, due to their strength, rage, violence that takes over them, then they are enfeebled for one or several days afterwards.
The Berserkers wore the animal pets of wolves, bear and other ferocious animals to absorb the traits of those animals, I believe they were possessed by the animals they wore the animal pelt of, or the Norse Gods/Goddesses possessed them during battle.
There are various types and races of Aliens, but their shapeshifting abilities aren't really mentioned much. Angels, demons and entities also have shapeshifting abilities/powers, which can be used to deceive, trick people, to harm them, or to intervene and help or protect someone that is vulnerable, in need or in spiritual or physical danger.
One of the aspects of this book that I really like it is it includes various pantheons, from different countries/cultures, the European belief in werewolves, shapeshifters or their own version of a werewolf like the Southern American Cajun belief of the Rougarou, or the French Loup-garou.
The lore, mythology, folklore of werewolves has existed in the world, and in various countries/cultures for centuries.
I wish more books were like this book and included various pantheons, or the European belief, lore, mythology, folklore & the spiritual practices, occult related beliefs/practices related to werewolves, shapeshifters.
It's very interesting to me, a lot of urban legends, folklore, mythology, fables, fairy tales has a moral lesson, that is still relevant in the modern world.
I wish there was a similar book to this about Vampires, Witches, Warlocks etc..
One aspect of shapeshifting that probably won't be mentioned in this book is the spiritual aspect of transformation & shapeshifting in the astral realm, you can have a animal form, or any form you choose in the astral realm.
If you have the bones or pelt (skin/fur of a animal) you can absorb the traits of the animal, obtain the spirit of the animal or become possessed by it in human form during a ritual.
Shapeshifters can take any animal, human form or the form of a inanimate object so they can trick humans, deceive them easily.

I really like the descriptions of what people experienced, felt and saw when various people encountered a shapeshifter(s), there are various cultures/countries that believe witchcraft is real, that different types of magick are real. The description of the cannibalistic shapeshifter was really creepy. I don't think most people would be able to discern the difference between a human being and a shapeshifter that took the form of a human being, but one thing that would seem of about the shapeshifter is the way it behaves, because it mimics a human being.
The Skinwalker is a good example of that.
Various cultures/countries have their own version of a Shaman witch, that can physically or astrally shapeshift, they take on the traits o the animals and they ae possessed by them, in the same way any practitioner of witchcraft becomes possessed by a Deity during a ritual dance, celebration, spellwork/ritual. They obtain knowledge directly from the divine Deities they believe in and worship.
There are different ways to shapeshift, astrally, you can shapeshift and take the form of a animal, physically you can summon the spirit of the animal, and physically take their form while they possess you, and internal, psychological transformation/shapeshifting.
Shaman witches wear animal pelts, take on the traits of a animal, so that is a physical and internal psychological transformation/shapeshifting, either they are possessed by the animal they take the form of or they channel the energy of the animal during meditation and sacred rituals.
Shapeshifters are real, there have been hundreds of sightings of them throughout the world in various countries/cultures throughout history and in the modern world.
For anyone that doesn't know David Icke is a holocaust denier, I don't trust or want to to know the opinion of someone that denies that a disturbing amount of European Jewish people, including German-Jewish people, (500000) Roma (Romani) and Sinti were murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators, the mentally/physically disabled, mentally ill, P.O.W'S, African American people or anyone gay were tortured and murdered. The Gypsies that were murdered is rarely ever mentioned.
It's disgusting to deny it actually happened, when it did happen sadly.
The portion of chapter 3 about Psychology and Cal Gustav Jung was really interesting, I wish there was a book about the psychological aspects of clinical Lycanthropy, shapeshifters and internal mental/physical transformation/shapeshifting.
Psychology has always been really interesting to me.

The chapters about the Fae/Faeries, Japanese shapeshifters/demonic beings or human spirits that became shapeshifters is interesting, there are various types of shapeshifters, beings, entities, elementals that can transform their form into a person, animal, or inanimate objects.
This is sometimes done to trick humans into helping them with a task, for them to be freed or because they had the evil intention to murder the human that helped them, to consume them.
They were lured by the shapeshifter in a attractive, appealing form to the human they attempt to gain the trust of.
Rarely is the ability of Vampires to transform/shapeshift into the form of a animal or the psychic powers & elemental powers they have.
Some Vampires were thought to rise from their grave via astral projection to feed on the blood & energy of the living while they were asleep, people are most vulnerable then, to psychic & astral attack while they sleep.
I really like the description of spirits, demons, shapeshifters from Japanese mythology & folklore, it's really interesting that various countries, cultures and pantheons have their own version of a spirit, being, entity, demon, or shapeshifter that can take the form of a person, animal, or inanimate object.
They have various purposes, motivations and the origin of their existence is sometimes unknown.
Norse, Greek, Japanese mythology, folklore is my favourite mythology, folklore about shapeshifters and werewolves, or beings & entities that can shapeshift into the form of a human, animal or inanimate object.
This is the only book I have read so far that says about the shapeshifting abilities of werewolves & vampires. I wish there was a book that would explain the supernatural, psychic and elemental powers/abilities that werewolves & vampires have.
Vlad Tepes (Vlad the impaler) the Romanian Wallachian prince was a hero/tyrant too his own people he is revered and hated by some people, but he will forever remain a iconic person in Romanian history.
Vlad and his brother Radu were given to the Ottoman turks, they were raped, so Vlad impaled his enemies which included his own people as a act of revenge, or when his sense of honesty, sexual morality was betrayed or he felt people in general were immoral in a sexual context.
While imprisoned Vlad the impaler impaled spiders, he always had the compulsion for impalement, but there s no historical evidence that he was a vampire or that he consumed blood.
He was decapitated, his head was taken to Constantinople as proof that he was dead, the rest of his body is buried at Lake Snagov near Bucharest or in a tomb in Italy, bur it hasn't been officially confirmed, though there is speculation about this.
He probably wouldn't have approved of the Hungarian Countess Elizabeth Bathory then, torturing, mutilating the victims in various ways which included biting the victims, bathing in their blood & murdering the virgin servant girls that were peasants and eventually the virginal female children of Nobility.
This continued until, Elizabeth Bathory was tried and convicted in 1611 of the torture, mutilation, murders of the virginal peasants/young women that were the children of Nobility.
Her intention for biting her victims, consuming their blood, bathing in the blood of virgins was to preserve her youth & beauty, I don't understand why she never tried to gain immortality, because she was vampiric, it always seemed to me like she would have wanted to be a vampire, or to be immortal.
There is lot of speculation about the number of victims, due to there being no official, accurate historical record of what Elizabeth Bathory did to her victims, but she shall remain infamous forever. She was walled up in her castle, and left there to die as a punishment, for what she did to her victims.
As a long-term fan of vampires, werewolves i'm offended by the author comparing Anne Rice's iconic character Lestat De Lioncourt to Twilight?
Your comparing Lestat to emotionally stunted, moody teenage vampires that can't even express their emotions properly and the sparkle in the sunlight?
They aren't even real vampires, they don't sparkle in the sunlight, they live a undead existence and the blood, energy or sexual energy from a living soul, a living person sustains them & their existence.
How are even in the same leagues as each other? Thee is no comparison at all.
I'm actually offended as a fan of Anne Rice, I think it's disrespectful, since Anne Rice sadly passed away.
How do you have the audacity to compare Lestat to fucking Twilight characters?