Fables and Folklore

The first documented werewolf attack was in Germany in 1591. Dogs were sent upon a 'wolf' that turned out to be a man named Peter Stubbe. He was tortured until he confessed to the murder of sixteen people. He even confessed to murdering his own son in his thirst for human flesh and was put to death.

Most legends have had some basis in fact, and the legend of the werewolf is no exception. However the werewolf of popular fantasy/horror novels and films is an imaginary beast, based on extravagant interpretations of past superstitions.

Wolves have been both feared and worshiped by past civilizations. The Ancient Egyptians feared the wolf god Ap-uat, who was associated with the Lord of the Dead. Ancient Greeks believed that wolves were sacred to Apollo and Ares, and a bronze statue of a wolf ornamented the oracle at Delphi. The legend of the founding of Rome is well known, with the abandoned twin babies Romulus and Remus being saved and succored by a wolf. Being suckled by a wolf is a notion that persisted into the Celtic civilisations, a legendary King of Ireland supposedly nurtured in this way. One Irish tribe claimed to be descended from a wolf.

The werewolf story has roots at least as far back as the Ancient Romans. One of Ovid's shape-shifting stories tells of a King of Arcadia who turned into a wolf. This was a punishment because he tried to trick the god Jupiter into eating human flesh. Other ancient Greek writers including Herodotus and Pliny wrote about shape-shifting human/wolves.

What could have led to such stories in the first place? There are various theories. The legend is too widespread and has been so for too long a time to have no basis in fact at all.

A rare genetic mutation can produce excessive body hair, in females as much as males. Varieties of this disorder were probably responsible for the unfortunate 'bearded ladies' and 'wolfmen' in traveling freak shows in less enlightened times than ours. It is a mutation of the X chromosome so can be passed to future generations by either parent. It is easy to see how such conditions could have frightened people in past centuries, especially in remote country areas (where inbreeding could have led to an intensification of the disorder).

Lycanthropic Disorder is a mental illness which causes the victim to believe that they are actually a werewolf. If someone truly believes that they turn into a werewolf under the full moon, they may be capable of committing crimes consistent with this delusion - thus perpetrating the werewolf legend into modern times.

Ergot, the fungus which frequently affected the grains that were used to make bread throughout Europe for many centuries, is well known for its hallucinogenic properties. In a modern case in France in 1951, over 100 people suffered from ergot poisoning after eating bread made from infected rye. Many of them suffered from hallucinations about being attacked by or turning into wild animals. Such poisoning could have been another cause for the development of the werewolf myth.

One final possibility lies in the diseases Rabies and Porphyria. Rabies, however, only lasts for a short while once the symptoms have developed, and then the victim dies. Rabies might have caused victims to briefly take on the appearance of a mad beast, but they would not lived to attack beyond this short timeframe. Porphyria, if untreated, leads to extreme sensitivity to light and degredation of the skin, thus producing a victim who rarely ventures out before nightfall and whose physical appearance is sinister. Mental disturbances accompany the physical symptoms. This disease is also genetic and therefore could have given rise to the notion of cursed families, as it often does not manifest until an age whereby the victim would have reproduced.

There have been a few celebrated cases of feral children, such as inspired Mowgli in The Jungle Book. Many cases have been reported over the centuries but there is little documentary evidence for most of them. However some have been documented, in which children have been found in the depths of the jungle or forest, apparently having been raised by wolves, and then returned the human civilization (usually by missionaries or other religious people). These children seen to have retained a propensity to run on all fours rather than walk upright, to eat raw meat rather than cooked meals, and have extreme problems learning any human language. It is difficult to say whether the children already had a mental disorder, whether one was induced by their upbringing, or anything else about them. But they undoubtedly add another thread to the enduring notion of the werewolf.

Just how enduring this legend is can be well born out by the proliferation of popular novels, films and television programs about werewolves. And a quick Internet search on werewolves throws up a wide variety of sites, some dealing with legends and possible causes such as outlined above - and some apparently written for werewolves, by werewolves!

You cannot prove something does not exist. You can only prove that things do exist. It is called the paradox of negative evidence.

However, one piece of evidence that mermaids cannot exist is that the last common ancestor of humans and modern fish lived nearly 400 million years ago, and traits that are identifiably human developed independently of any aquatic species. Thus it would be a contradiction of biology for there to be something that is half human and half fish.

There are lots of folk-tale type stories; more than could be given causally. But I'll start the list off * The Adventures of Tom Sawyer * HuckleBerry Finn * Last of the Mohicans * The Deer Slayer * Jerimiah Johnson * Little Big Man * Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

If you believe in luck you would think breaking a mirror is bad luck. But most people agree that breaking a mirror is not true. There are other crazy things that people say about bad luck. Like opening an umbrella in a house, putting your shoes on the table, walking past a black cat and walking under a ladder is all bad luck. These are all myths. And not many people believe in all of this. So no, it is not true that breaking a mirror is bad luck.

I guess you never have looked at the full moon. Are you a mermaid now? Mermaids are not real and people can not turn into one. It is all make believe and if you want to pretend to be one go buy a costume.

The question is misleading.

The defining trait of a vampire is the ability to steal life-force from other living things.

You can have this ability while alive (such is the condition of a Dhampir) but you have no need to employ it as the condition of being alive is a self-perpetuating state. It is only when you die that you feel (a real) need to employ this ability and consequently this is only when the distinction of being a vampire is applicable.

There have been incidences where a Dhampir has been very sick, near dying, and has awakened his/her life-stealing abilities to ward off impending death. Most of these become abhorred to discover what they are and either destroy themselves or abstain from the practice and become vampire hunters. Once incidence that I know of concerns a young girl who was informed of her true heritage when it became necessary to rescue her from a fatal illness and became addicted to the practice of stealing life-energy. Fortunately her real father (one of the undead) was recruited to help manage her and reformed her from the practice.

Well it depends, if you mean what would they be called then there are a number of possibilities:

Vampwolf

Werepire

Werevamp

Wampire

Vamwolf

And the list goes on.

If you are talking about how they would look, then you should let your imagination run wild!

If you want an example then write in the search engine in deviantart: THATCHES SON, to see what a vampire and a zombie's son would look like.

( whoever edited my answer before- why did you delete my helpful example? what was wrong with it? plz dont do it again)

There is no place on earth where there are mermaids. Mermaids are not real and are only in stories, film and myth. They do not exist. just kidding they are real not fake if u belive they are real then if u were really really lucky you can find one in the ocean swimming or along the beach

A legendary horse, an off-spring of Poseidon and Demeter.

think about that question do they swim? do they have fins?

yes by the way they do

Legend

A mix of a werewolf and a vampire is known as a hybrid. I've researched and this mix is known as a hybrid vampire.

Fables, unlike parables, feature animals, plants and other non-human characters that are anthropomorphized (given human qualities) to illustrate the lessons (morals) of the stories.

Aesop chose fables for his lessons because listeners of his stories could enjoy and learn from them without seeing themselves or someone else they knew in the different characters. It is a non threatening strategy, a way of keeping the reader interested without making them put up any barriers.

People in Aesop's time in ancient Greece lived more closely with nature than we do today. They understood nature's ways and that wolves, as well as people, ate sheep to survive, for example, so it was less scary to use the wolf in the story of "The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing" than to make it a story of a bad person being deceitful. It still allowed the moral to be taught without triggering undue fears in the process. Animals were thought to be lesser (utilitarian, food sources) in the society's hierarchy in Aesop's time so he could use them as an example to show ignorance or silliness without being directly degrading to people. These sides of being human and making mistakes could be suggested through an animal's character without being as insulting as it might be to someone who identified with the position in which the character was found.

Not scientifically speaking, but this question is really a matter of belief. Some only believe what is set in stone and proven by all means, some believe in a variety of things, and then there are some who believe in every creature there ever was in myths and legends.

The Legend of the Pineapple is about a spoiled, lazy little girl named Pina. She was an only child and her mother gave her everything she wanted and she had no responsibilities at all. One day her mother fell ill and needed Pina to cook for her. After her mother begged repeatedly, Pina went downstairs to cook, but couldn't find the ladle. She was too lazy to look for it and her mother yelled that she hoped she grew a thousand eyes so she could see. The house fell silent, and finally the neighbors came to care for the mother. Pina was no where to be found. After the mother regained her strength, she was in the yard and saw a strange looking yellow fruit the size of a child's head. It had a thousand black eyes. The mother realized it was her precious Pina. She planted the seeds and gave away the fruit they produced so that Pina could become generous to others.

The rigid definition of a vampire requires them to be dead. However there are people (and things) that have the potential to become vampires and some that have even employed this ability before they died. Persons that are half-vampires, or the child of a vampire are called Dhampirs. Usually they do not employ their vampire abilities until after they are dead as there is no good reason to do so unless you need to steal life-energy. (If you're already alive you create your own life-energy (which is of higher quality than stolen) so you have no need to steal any.) In fact most Dhampirs are vampire hunters. There is the story of Margot Seevel who (supposidly) was the grandchild of a full vampire. As a young child she was dying of small-pox and her parents (by some ritual) awakened the vampire potential in her so she could take life-energy (via blood consumption) to sustain her through the course of the disease. She survived (albeit scarred) and lived an otherwise ordinary life, married and mothered four children. When she died however her body was burned so she wouldn't awaken to become a true vampire.

No, fables are not all about talking animals. Fables are usually to entertain or to teach a lesson. IT depends if the author wants the fable to have talking animals in it, but the actual fable should not really be about talking animals.

No one will ever know that exept Santa Himself

The sample Filipino Fables are like folktales with a moral attached to each of them.If you want to read some or download some visit the link given below in the 'Related Links'.

Way back, when the human race was young and still used loincloths, people didn't have the advanced technology to show them how the world worked. So, they made up stories to explain the unexplained. Personally, I do not include anything Biblical in the made-up stories category.

A story with fanciful elements, which may or may not be historically verifiable, that has been passed down by word of mouth for many generations.

Psychological studies have shown that the number 7 is chosen as a â??favorite numberâ?? more often than any other number. Associated with the â??seven deadly sinsâ?? and â??seventh heavenâ??, 7 is considered a mystical number. Its positive view may be due to how frequently it occurs in the world. There are 7 continents, 7 colors of the rainbow, 7 seas and 7 days of the week.

You can't be a mermaid. They aren't real and it is impossible for people to change shape or become something else. If you think logically about this you know that people can not mix a fish with a human. It would be a real mess. You can pretend to be a mermaid by buying a costume.

In myths and fairy tales, yes. In real life, no.