Werewolf Priest

The Werewolf Priest is one of a number of urban legends that has persisted throughout most of recorded history. Although never as well known or as widely discussed as other popular myths, the Werewolf Priest has nevertheless become entrenched in the fringe of modern culture.

The story of the Werewolf Priest can be found throughout Western society, from the United Kingdom to Australia, The Americas and even Sweden. Its simple story usually follows a conventional pattern, regardless of setting, and offers a commentary on the spiritual struggle between good and evil.

Story
The Werewolf Priest is a man, usually residing in a small village, usually impoverished. The Priest himself (and sometimes the village at large) suffer from a crisis of faith, brought about by some recent tragedy. Despite this, the Priest is a kind man and does good work in the community.

The location of the village in the story is usually remote and the Priest is required to travel some distance to service all his parishioners. On one such trip, the Priest is forced to camp overnight in a forest. During the night, he is attacked and bitten by a wolf. The Priest manages to fight the wolf off and returns to his village the following day. His wound is not severe and soon heals.

Soon afterwards, the Priest becomes plagued by strange dreams in which he transforms into a wolf and roams the local countryside. The dreams become steadily more vivid and violent; the Priest sees himself attacking local livestock and then people.

In his waking life, the Priest is suddenly re-energised and tackles his preaching duties with renewed vigour. He inspires the village and helps them overcome the recent tragedy, leading to a kind of spiritual rebirth for the local population.

The Priest then has a dream of himself killing a prominent local citizen (sometimes a woman the Priest loves). When this crime is replicated in real life, the Priest realises his dreams are real and he is cursed. At the same time, the newly inspired villagers embark on a religious crusade to hunt down the evil that has killed one of their own.

The story usually concludes with the Priest being killed by a local mob (although in some variants he commits suicide). In death, the terrifying wolf is transformed back into the beloved Priest, and the villagers weep as they realise who they have killed.

And thus the priest was no more but there are myths of his spirit still haunting the very village that killed him.

Origins
The most probable origin for the Werewolf Priest is an Irish story that dates from the twelfth century. Here a traveling Priest spends a night in a forest and is accosted by a talking wolf. Although terrified, the Priest is quickly disarmed when the wolf offers praise to God and supplies correct Catholic answers to the Priest's questions. The wolf explains that he and his wife are cursed and "compelled every seven years to put off the human form and depart the dwellings of men. Quitting entirely the human form, we assume that of wolves." The wolf then explains that his wife is dying and impels the Priest to administer the last rites. Stunned, the Priest does so. The female wolf does indeed pass away, uttering as she does so, 'Now, though my body dies in its present form, my immortal soul shall be with God.' The male wolf spends the night with the Priest and, in the morning, leads him out of the forest, thanking him profusely. Later, the Priest has a crisis of confidence about what has occurred, providing holy sanction to an accursed creature and seeks absolution from the Pope.

Development
The story survived and spread in the oral tradition. In the Middle Ages, the parallel and complementary myth of Werewolves arose. Werewolves were evil creatures that attacked and killed without mercy, although werewolves themselves could often be decent, upstanding people that had been corrupted. The parable of the werewolf, like much of the mythology of the time, was to underline the prevailing religious dogma that evil was the undoubted consequence of straying from Christianity.

Werewolves - terrifying, unpredictable, fantastic - quickly exerted a grip on the popular imagination, particularly in Eastern Europe. A number of well known stories from the period were adjusted to include this mythic creature. Among these was the Werewolf Priest.

In this strain of stories the wolf became an evil entity, corrupting the Priest. Any subtlety or explanation of motivation for the wolf's character was removed. Often the character of the Priest was similarly corrupted, with the wolf attack portrayed as a consequence of an earlier crime or sin.

After the Renaissance, the story was rediscovered and changed again. As Europe modernised, philosophical debate arose around the nature of good and evil, human nature, sin and mortality. Scientific enquiry began to probe the mysteries of nature and pose questions about the fundamentals of life. Again to suit the times, the character of the Priest was transformed, this time into that of an innocent man forced unwillingly into battle with something inexplicable, supernatural and beyond his control. His character is split into two halves, one good and one evil, that then struggle over the character's destiny. The villagers assume a more prominent role in the story, ultimately deciding the Priest's fate. Although the moral of the story is unclear, it avoids simple explanations and leaves the audience with questions.

The story has remained in this form, more or less, to this day. It spread with the mass emigration of Europeans in the latter half of the twentieth century.

Modern Folklore
In the current era, urban legends have assumed an important place in contemporary culture once again. Their modern usage is prosaic, although they often still have an underlying moral element. The Werewolf Priest is still noted in discussion of urban legends, although it is no longer one of the more popular or commonly told stories. The essential component religion plays in the story - far less central to daily life than was the case a few hundred years ago - may count against it. As does the more nuanced nature of the resolution.

A modern occurrence of this urban legend can be found in Middletown, Rhode Island in the United States. In the small St. Columba cemetery there exists a gravestone with no name upon it. The legend inscribed on the stone reads "Pray for the soul of a priest whose body lies here." A fierce-looking wolf's head with a serpent's tongue coming out of its mouth appears above the inscription on the stone. Local urban legends claim the priest was a werewolf and that the name was left off the grave to protect his identity. This legend was seemingly debunked with a bit of research. According to the priest's family he had asked to be buried with no name on the grave. The wolf's head is purported to be an old family crest.

Also, the Werewolf Priest mythology is revisited in Stephen King's novella entitled "Cycle of the Werewolf", as well as the subsequent film adaptation, Silver Bullet.

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