[HPforGrownups] SPOILER: FB & Werewolves

[Amanda Lewanski]

No: HPFGUIDX 14822

pbnesbit at msn.com wrote:

> Got my books on Monday (finally!) & I'm one happy camper.  But, as I
> read, I noticed something...
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> ...that *nowhere* in the entry on werewolves does it say *anything*
> about silver being fatal to them. Is this something Hollywood made
> up?  The Encyclopaedia Mythica doesn't mention silver either.

I refer you, and all the newcomers to the list who haven't heard this
before, to a wonderful book called "Vampires, Burial, and Death" by
Paul? Barber. It's a pretty comprehensive look at, well, what happens to
bodies after you die, and how observation of the process has given rise
to some form of undead/vampire legend in pretty much all cultures.

Werewolves in folklore are often closely associated with vampires, and I
think he discusses the silver thing (I've lent out the book, sorry).
Anyway, it's a fascinating book and gives a good grounding in what
vampires and other nocturnal pests were, pre-Bram Stoker and Anne Rice.

--Amanda


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