The Truth Behind Europe's Brutal Werewolf Trials
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By Becki Robins/Feb. 16, 2021 12:09 am EDT
You've heard of the Salem Witch Trials and the Spanish Inquisition, but did you know that people who lived circa 400 years ago (give or take a hundred years or so) not only believed that infidels should be burned at the stake and witchcraft was a thing, they were also pretty sure that some human beings possessed the ability to transform into animals? And this wasn't just a weird metaphor or like scary stories to make their children behave, either, they for real thought that some people could become wolves (and occasionally also cats). Unlike most of the witch trials and most of the Spanish Inquisition, though, some of the people accused of werewolfery were bona-fide bad guys, because regular people couldn't wrap their heads around the idea of a serial killer, and it was just easier to say that those types must have had some animal instinct compelling them to do horrible things.