Topics

Topic #1: The Werewolf and The Devil
Comments: I am interested in all types of werewolves, but after reading my biblical texts last week I also find the character of the Devil interesting. There are legends that werewolves are men who have sold their souls to the Devil. I think it'd be interesting to explore and combine these topics.

Possible Stories:  I know that were are lots of texts for the Devil so I don't think I'd have any trouble finding information on him. There is less information on the Devil being involved with werewolves, but I found some on Pitt.edu in their electronic folklore site. I'd like to do a story that involved a man making a deal with the Devil. 

Sample Story Comments: When I searched through the Pitt.edu site I found quite a few stories that involved people either making deals with the Devil to become a werewolf or in this story's case, being cursed when given a wolf strap (that transformed them into a wolf).

Bibliography Information:
Sample Story: Der Werwolf
Book Title: Sagen und Erzählungen aus dem Kreise Kolberg-Körlin
Book Author: F. Asmus and O. Knoop
Year: 1898

Also 

Sample Story: Israel and the Enemy

Book Title: The Golden Mountain

Book Author: Meyer Levin

Year: 1865

Topic #2: The Female Werewolf
Comments: I think that the viewpoint and history of female werewolves would be interesting to explore. There are many accounts of men being werewolves, but not nearly as many of women.

Possible Stories: I think it would be interesting to depict the life of a woman as a werewolf. Either her on her own and trying to fit into society or her place in a pack. In my novel I have a pack that is matriarchal rather than patriarchal, which I think could be an interesting concept to explore. 

Sample Story Comments: I like this story because it gives light to what might happen in a female werewolves life. A man traps her as a human, but eventually she frees herself. But not before having two kids with the man. I think this gives a realistic view into the mind of a she-wolf. 

Bibliography Information:
Sample Story: The She-Wolf
Book Title: Sixty Folk-Tales from Exclusively Slavonic Sources
Book Author: A. H. Wratislaw
Year: 1889

Topic #3: Different Types of "Weres"

Comments: I think it's interesting that there are stories of humans not only turning into werewolves, but also other creatures. When I watched Teen Wolf they had humans that turned into lizards and coyotes. 

Possible Stories: I think it'd be interesting to use different animals to represent the different personalities of characters. I also like the idea of a rag-tag pack that is made up of different types of "weres." 

Sample Story Comments: This story is about a girl who turns into a werecat. Like many stories her family believes her transformation to be a curse. The story has a sad ending and never really explores the origin of her affliction, but it's an interesting look at another type of "were." 

Bibliography Information: 

Sample Story: Lusus Naturae

Book Title: Stone Mattress

Book Author: Margaret Atwood

Year: 2014

Topic #4: Werewolves Through The Ages: Ancient and Modern

Comments: Werewolves have evolved throughout history. I think it would be interesting to look as the different ways they are represented. They have moved from a horrible beast to a more romantic representation. 

Possible Stories: I would like to do a stories of different werewolves from different time periods. They would be representative of the way people looked at werewolves during that time. The more modern wolf story would probably be like a Young Adult fiction story. 

Sample Story Comments: In Ovid's Metamorphoses, he describes how King Lycaon is turned into a wolf.

Zeus Turning King Lycaon Into A Wolf
(Engraving by Hendrik Goltzius
Source: Wikipedia Commons)

This is one of the early stories the gave birth to the legend of the werewolf. This story is an example of how I would tell an ancient story of werewolves. My first story would probably involve gods and describe how werewolves came to be. It would be a launching board for the rest of my stories, which would probably take place in medieval and modern times. 

Bibliography Information:

Sample Story: Book I Ln: 199-243

Book Title: Metamorphoses 

Book Author: (Original: Ovid) Translation: A.S. Kline

Year: 2000 (Kline version)

Essay: How Origin Stories Explain Our World

Unit: Adam and Eve

I think creation stories are crucial to understanding a society. Creation stories are a foundation for explaining the way the world operates. I focused on The Creation story of the Bible this week.

The creation and depiction of Lilith and Eve gives insight into how the men of the Bible view women. Lilith was Adam's first wife, made out of the very same dirt as he. But unlike Eve, she was equal to him and would not submit. When she abandoned Adam, God created Eve to replace her. This seems like an obvious sign to women that they need to submit to their husbands to be accepted.

The Punishment especially shows why a lot of things are the way they are today. Eve was punished with harsher childbirth and given an enmity between her and the serpent. She was also told she would now be under man's authority. This explains the patriarchal society that we have lived in for centuries.

Man was also punished. God said to him, "[Your] children [will] wander from land to land; [your] body [will] to exude sweat; [you will] have an evil inclination; in death [your] body [will] be a prey of the worms." These curses show the daily struggle of man and why he has to deal with them.

(Rebuke of Adam and Eve, Domenichino)

In my Storytelling post this week I wrote a creation story for the novel that I'm writing. This provides insight and explanation for the rifts and divides between the different races.

Human are still disgusted by werewolves just as Adam was in the beginning. The fairies are still elusive to man and man is still easily charmed by fairies. Vampires cannot give birth to children and the reasoning behind that is part of their punishment from the creation story. It may very well be for a biological reason, but the creation story is a way for humans to explain what they don't fully understand. My creation story will give my readers greater understanding into the psyche of my characters.

Storytelling for Week 2: History of the Supernatural World

In the beginning the god of Life created earth and sky. He set the planets in motion and filled the earth with every kind of animal. However, He wanted to put someone in charge of his creation so he created the Father of Humankind, Adam. God raised man from the dirt and breathed life into him, but after a time, Adam complained of being lonely in his duties. In an effort to please the god of Life, the other gods and goddesses offered up suitable mates for Adam.

(Creation of Eve, Orvieto cathedral)

The Moon goddess was the first to offer her own mate for the man. She offered up the wolf. The wolf was strong, cunning, and fiercely loyal. However, the wolf could not communicate with the man so the goddess allowed the wolf the ability to change into a human. Thus, the first werewolf was created.

Adam lay with the werewolf because she was beautiful and he was lonely, but in the morning she had returned to her wolf form and he was disgusted. Adam sent her away, but there was already a baby boy growing in her stomach.

After the Moon's failed attempt, the goddess of Earth also offered up her own mate to Adam. She created her offering from the trees. Her creation was imaginative, creative, and powerful. Her creation was able to manipulate the elements around her to harness the energy of earth and perform  magic. She is the mother of all fairies.

Adam lay with the fairy because she was exotic and she performed magic that enchanted him. But after a time the fairy grew tired of Adam and she longed to return to the forest. So one night she slipped away and was never seen by Adam again. But like the werewolf, she too was already carrying one of Adam's children.

Lastly the god of Death decided to offer his own creation to life — the vampire. The vampire matched forms with man and they complimented each other perfectly. However, the vampire was only satisfied by blood. She could not give life. She could only take.

But Adam lay with her and was satisfied. In the middle of the night he awoke to a pain in his neck. The vampire was sucking his blood. Adam threw her off and ordered her away. For attempting to kill Adam the god of Life cursed the vampire to be forever barren. That is why to this day vampires cannot give birth to new life.

When all the other gods had failed, the god of Life took it upon himself to prepared a mate for Adam. He put Adam in a deep sleep and removed one of his ribs. From that rib, He created the first woman, Eve. She was made to compliment Adam in every way.

Adam and Eve were fruitful and multiplied many times over. Where their parents were disgusted and wary of the other races (werewolves, fairies, and vampires), their kids were fascinated. Adam and Eve's children fell in love with the other races and they had children of their own. But that is a story for another time.


Author's Note:

I chose the Adam and Eve unit for my reading this week. This unit interested me because in high school I had a class where we studied the different interpretations of the creation story — mainly whether or not it was literal or allegorical. For my story I drew inspiration from the story of Creation in the Bible and the stories of Eve and Lilith from the Legends of the Jews.

Eve appears in the Bible and is the wife of Adam that most people recognize. But in Jewish folklore, Adam had a first wife named Lilith. For various reasons their union didn't work out. Instead of giving Adam two human wives, I decided to throw supernatural creatures into the picture. Also in the original story there is only one god, whereas I decided to involve multiple deities.

I chose to tell the story like someone would tell a story around a campfire because I wanted it to be read like an oral legend. For the novel that I'm writing I have werewolves and fairies and vampires. I think this story would be interesting to add so the readers have a little bit of history/lore for the world they're reading about.

The Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg (1909).

King James Bible (1611): Genesis 1-2.

Reading Diary B: Adam and Eve

(Garden of Eden, by Jacob Savery)

Reading B of Adam and Eve:

Entering the Cave of Treasures - I like origin stories. I think it is interesting to see where people believe we came from. The fact that moments in the origin story will reflect and explain the time in which we live is a concept that I'd like to emulate. I think I would like to write an origin story about the characters I'm going to be using in my novel, in particular the werewolves.

The Darkness - I like this quote that explains darkness: "'O Adam, so long as the good angel was obedient to Me, a bright light rested on him and on his hosts. But when he transgressed My commandment, I deprived him of that bright nature, and he became dark. And when he was in the heavens, in the realms of light, he knew naught of darkness. But he transgressed, and I made him fall from heaven upon the earth, and it was this darkness that came upon him." It shows that darkness truly is the absence of light. God took Satan's light away when he fell from Heaven. 

I really like this quote too: "Then Adam and Eve wept and sorrowed by reason of God's word to them, that they should not return to the garden until the fulfilment of the days decreed upon them, but mostly because God had told them that He should suffer for their salvation." This quote shows another aspect of Adam and Eve. They feel bad for more than themselves, which makes me respect them more. It also makes them more complex characters. 

These passages have given me ideas for my creation story that I'm going to due on Wednesday. 

Reading Diary A: Adam and Eve

(The Fall, by Michelangelo)

Reading A of Adam and Eve:


The Fall of Satan - This story interests me because it's a view of Satan and Adam that I haven't seen in the Bible. I like the character of Satan because I think there's a little bit of him in every one of us. The part of us that doesn't want to submit. The part of us that longs to stand above the rest. However, he also represents the consequences of such aspirations and actions.  I could see myself writing a dynamic character like Satan who the reader knows is in the wrong, but they still kind of want to see him succeed.

The Fall of Man - I am once again struck and intrigued by the serpent (or Satan). I think that he is a very interesting character. I don't really like how the author portrays women. The story makes Eve seem very naive. I would be more interested in the story if she was more witty and clever.

The Punishment - I liked the line "for the serpent is a villain, and the wicked are good debaters." I have always liked the prediction in the Bible that serpents and women will have enmity between them. It just seems fitting.

I also liked how the author characterized the sun and the moon and the earth. In particular this passage about the moon: "The moon alone laughed, wherefore God grew wroth, and obscured her light. Instead of shining steadily like the sun, all the length of the day, she grows old quickly, and must be born and reborn, again and again." I find it very clever to find the naturally observable things around us and creating stories to explain them.