Full Moon Fever*

In 1998 researchers conducted a study on maximum-security prisoners at Armley prison, Leeds, England. The results of the three-month psychological study on 1200 inmates showed a significant rise in violent incidents during the first and last quarter of the lunar cycle, the days either side of a full moon.

Other studies shows an increase in criminal activity on full moon nights, with most researchers attributing this simply to the full moon providing more light by which to commit crimes. As a werewolf aficionado, I have to ask if there’s another, more primal explanation. Does the full moon call to some deeply buried, instinctive part of our nature, bringing out the beast in us?

I’m not suggesting people can literally be turned into wolves by the light of the moon, but lets face it: human beings are weird creatures and the brain is a powerful organ. Powerful emotions such as rage can override our common sense, making us capable of inhuman acts of violence and destruction. And the wolf, having long (and wrongly) been a symbol of fear and darkness, is an ideal avatar for the manifestation of these less-than-human traits.

In medieval Europe, countless people were burned at the stake, tortured and persecuted for witchcraft and, more importantly to me, for being werewolves. What could have caused such widespread belief and panic? Could it possibly be the knowledge that beneath our civilised masks lurks something deadly and untamed? Something more beast than man?

In honour of my obsession with the wolf within, I’m dedicating this blog to werewolves and shapeshifters, both fictional and real. Real, you ask? Stay tuned…

*Reposted from the Lunatic Horizon 03/07/07