Werewolf Romances

[Tory Richards]

Okay, I'm serious about this.  I've read a couple werewolf romance novels and have been wondering about this for a long time. When humans change into a werewolf is it the wolf animal they're changing into, or the wolf man? The stories I've read aren't clear enough and I get the impression that it could be either.

 

If that's the case, which one do you prefer?

 

Tory

[Enbrethiliel]

+JMJ+

It really depends on the writer! I know that Kresley Cole is very clear that her "Lykae" grow bigger and become more lupine in appearance, but don't grow fur. There is even a scene in one of her novels in which a Lykae who has been locked up for several hundred years is appalled at the portrayal of werewolves in movies. LOL

On the other hand, I think Donna Marie Summer has one character who turns into a wolf rather than some hybrid "wolfman." (I wonder, though, whether he would then be considered a shape-shifter rather than a werewolf. I think the traditional stories are clear that a werewolf is pretty much a hybrid of human and wolf, rather than a human who turns into a wolf.)

[melydia]

Traditionally, werewolves turn into wolfmen. However, in more recent years the term "werewolf" has evolved to also include shapeshifters - that is, people who turn into full-fledged wolves. I would not be surprised if the Twilight books have something to do with this, as its "werewolves" turn into actual wolves, not wolfmen (though it is clarified in the fourth book that they are actually shapeshifters).

When I'm feeling like a purist, I prefer the werewolves be wolfmen, but personally I like the shapeshifter more than the traditional werewolf. Wolves are neat animals.