Err.. Rommy I'm assuming that this werewolf talk is not meant literally.
(...)
The werewolf phenomenon is quite well documented - many people has witnessed and described the transformation from man to wolf with greath accuracy!
The cause of the phenomenon is actually purely biological...
In the middle ages - especially in a time known as "the little ice age" the summer temperature was quite lower than normal, and the amount of rainfall in summer and early fall was above normal.
This produced a set of conditions which were perfect for the fungus known as Claviceps Purpurea.
This fungus produces a toxin - namely an alkaloid called ergotamine.
Claviceps Purpurea attacks a diverse number of plant species, but especially rye.
This toxin is quite dangerrous for humans!
In the middle ages they had to rely on sun heat to dry the grains before storage. During the "Little Ice Age" there wasnt enough sun hours that the farmers could fully dry the harvested grain. Furthermore the amount of harvested produce were already lower than normal - because of the changed weather patterns. Therefore the farmers had no other choice than to use the grain - even if it was infected with fungus.
During that time there were no established knowledge as to the precise effects of the fungus, even though monks from the "Order of Saint Anthony" were somewhat succesfull in treating people who had developed poisoning symptomes.
Ergotamine can cause a lot of different symptomes in a human being, but one of the effects - when the toxin attacks the CNS - is hallucinations.
It is therefore no coincidence that all the legends and myths regarding werewolfs has their origin in this rather short timespan.
At the same time, this provides the reason for the many written accounts by otherwise respectable people who had witnessed the transformation of a human to a wolf-like creature. These people were fully convinced that they were acutally describing the truth as they saw it - which is one of the reasons that the myth became so well known.
By the way, lysergic acid diethylamide (maybe better known by its short-name LSD) is actually quite similar to ergotamine, and the key components from LSD is derived from ergotamine.
Ergotamine and LSD has been used in quite many ways.
CIA even contaminated a whole french city - to observe the effects on the general populace. This story is documented by a journalist named Albarelli. The Telegraph has a short explanation of the CIA-operation:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/7415082/French-bread-spiked-with-LSD-in-CIA-experiment.html
So, of couse werewolfs dosent exist in an objective sense, but there are certainly people who truthfully can say that they have witnessed such a creature.
This is just one of the reasons that observational reports and "sigtnings" of supposed supernatural phenomenons are of very little use in a scientific enviroment. Doubt everything. Even doubt that everything should be doubted....
//Kim Horsevad
Best regards, Geoff.
