How The Werewolf Changed Its Shape

Are you hungry like the wolf? In the last of our Halloween triple bill, Gillian tells Emma all about the centuries long history of the werewolf, tracing the development of this supernatural creature from ancient origins to the silver screen. They discuss the various ways that werewolves have been thought to change their shape (curses, spells, magic belts, the moon), the werewolf trials of the early modern period, whether all werewolves are bad, and where tropes like the silver bullet come from. And they consider whether werewolves reflect our fear of the other – or of ourselves. So what was the twelfth-century werewolf Renaissance? Did Twilight and Buffy get anything right about these creatures? And how do werewolf myths relate to the real-life wolves that used to roam Europe?

Unruly History is the podcast that blows apart the historical canon. This episode was hosted by Dr Gillian Kenny and Dr Emma Nagouse, and produced by Dr Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow. We are a completely independent production, so please consider subscribing at patreon.com/unrulyhistory for all kinds of exciting bonus content.

Our cover art is by the supremely talented Aaron Kite, https://itsakite.com/

Sources:

Daniel Ogden, The Werewolf in the Ancient World (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021).

Roger Bartra, The Myth of the Werewolf (Springer Nature Switzerland, 2024).

Renée Ward, The Werewolf in Medieval Romance (Palgrave Macmillan, 2025).

Fergus Kelly, A Guide to Early Irish Law (Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1988).