Taber’s Medical Encyclopedia defines Lycanthropy as “mania in which a patient believes himself a wild animal, especially a wolf”.

In today’s society, we see Lycanthropes all the time. The following shows what

a Lycanthrope is.

According to “The Book of Werewolves”, belief in

transformation among North American Indians is widespread.

The following is a shortened version of a story from that

book.

Another type of shape-shifter is the Wendigo. The idea behind Wendigo’s are seen in the

Algonquion nation.

Wikipedia defines a Wendigo as “a malevolent cannibal spirit into which humans

could transform”.

All cultures in which the Wendigo is present believe that humans could be

transformed into a Wendigo if they ever resorted to cannibalism.

The Wendigo has also become a stock horror character (like the

vampire or werewolf). This is what some believe a Wendigo looks like.

Not all North American Indian shape-shifters are scary.

Not all North American Indian shape-shifters

caused harm to humans. The following are some of

those examples.