Welcome to Oaktober Fest, our annual celebration of spooky season lasting the entire month of October!

In this episode we cover stories of lycanthropy, the belief that one can transform into a wolf. Before the Salem Witch trials, the Werewolf Trials were paving the way across Europe. 

Lycanthropy is not a new concept but was originally in the works as early as 2,100 BC. The true werewolf hunt, though, began in earnest in the 15th and 16th centuries. We will cover the historical lives, trials and punishments of Peter Stump, Gilles Garnier, and a more recent case of Manuel Blanco Romasanta who became Spain’s first documented serial killer known as the Werewolf of Allariz.

Sources:

Werewolf Legends. (2017, August 23). HISTORY. https://www.history.com/topics/folklore/history-of-the-werewolf-legend

Florence, M. M. (2022, October 13). Under torture, Peter Stumpp confessed to savage crimes—leading to perhaps the harshest trial during Germany’s werewolf panics. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/history-and-civilisation/2022/10/a-german-werewolfs-confessions-horrified-1500s-europe

Koosmen, T. (n.d.). The ancient origins of werewolves. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/the-ancient-origins-of-werewolves-104775#:~:text=The%20earliest%20surviving%20example%20of,ethnographic%2C%20poetic%20and%20philosophical%20texts.

Moonlight. (2010). The Many Ways To Become A Werewolf | Werewolves. Werewolves. https://www.werewolves.com/the-many-ways-to-become-a-werewolf/

Tietz, V. a. P. B. T. (2021, October 28). Peter Stumpp – The Werewolf of Bedburg | SCIHI Blog. http://scihi.org/peter-stumpp-werewolf/

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This episode of The Dark Oak was created, researched, written, recorded, hosted, edited, published, and marketed by Cynthia and Stefanie of Just Us Gals Productions with artwork by Justyse Holmes and Music by Ryan Creep