Why the werewolf is always ignored in favor of the vampire?

[Sage]

If this is the wrong section to post such a thread, I ask that it be transfered to the appropriate one.

So, I was reading some books about lycanthropy and shapeshifting through history(how cultures in the past saw it, general beliefs, etc.) and it got me thinking...
Ever since humans learned to hunt, they always competed with others animals for prey, but mostly they competed against wolves.Humans always considered wolves excellent hunters and even tried to gather their strength, endurance and ferocity by wearing their pelts, their teeth, using their blood or their bones, basically doing any and everything to get into the "mind of a wolf", if not actually become one.

Humans wanted to be like wolves, that is unquestionable.The amount of stories, art and such speaking of that(even to this day) is proof of it.

If there were indeed people that physically shifted into a hybrid of man and wolf, or into a full wolf shape is highly debatable and not the subject here.

The image of the werewolf, the human that turns into a wolf or even of the wolfman is one linked to beastial vitality, wildness, freedom(depending on the story), strength beyond human comprehension and being able to sense the physical world in a deeper way.
It is an image that is very popular in fiction, considering the amount of shows, movies and books that were and still are being made about the person that either becomes or discovers themselves to be such being.The lack of games about it though is higly disappointing...

Yet...yet, for some odd reason, the vampire is the one always trumping the werewolf, both in terms of popularity and power.How come the idea of an undead being needing to feed on the blood/life force of others, that only has as a differential the fact that they keep their youth(or become frozen in time by the time they change), be considered "better" than our lifelong companion of hunt and survival?
Why is it that even though the werewolf is revered by what it represents, it always seems to lose to the vampire(at least for the majority of interactions as I've seen so far both on the internet and in real life, with people prefering the vampire)?

What are your thoughts on that?

 

[Malvo]

Well according to common myth, besides sunlight, wooden branches, garlic, and the need for blood, the vampire can pretty much anything, including shapeshift. To peoples eyes, it simply is more powerfull, and people crave power, regardless of what they say.
Also as a vampire, you are in control of your capabilities,and the fact they are mostly portrayed as irresistible and beautiful seems to help.

As for the Werewolf, again, according to common myth, you can't control when or how you shift, and can't seem to control the animal aspect of the transformation.

I believe those are the main reasons people simply think or claim that vampires are simply more powerfull.

As for "reality" i once met a fellow who told me and taught me a few things, and claimed (take that with a large pintch of salt) that he knew, and saw someone shapeshift, but the change was not phisical, besides something in the persons eyes, he remained human, but could do inhuman things, light run very fast, jump really high, and climb with ease and incredible speed. Also claimed that the persons senses where greatly amplified (vision, smell and earing).

 

[8Lou1]

You know, idk. Ive noticed over the years that every now and then a divide and conquer takes place. Depending on the country and higher echelons, beings get played out against each other.

The last thing i remember from 16 years ago, is that in spiritual warfare at that time, the only option to survive while wyrd webs were falling to earth, was landing yourself as wolf.

Later i read mindwar, mindfar and mindstar by aquino and his letters to Steve brown and then it made more sense in combo with the times we live in now.
So looking tru the looking glass i saw usa setting up a new web-based system. I think mr. Musk is bussy with it. Just like zuckerbot.
Whether it is a good thing or not is to me not the point, but i think lycantropy is prefered as it is a pack animal with a hierarchy.

So in this day and age, id say it was time for spirit wolf to have its say in the world and used aquino for it. Due to his position in the normy and occult world aquino was able to create way more in our face, then we could ever imagine.

Only thing, aquino was a bad man(know your media) and this is were a vampire still can have respect and a werewolf attacks. So thats prob why people have such preferences.

 

[KjEno186]

Yesterday, on the day of the full Moon, John Michael Greer posted his commentary on Chapter 14 of The Doctrine and Ritual of High Magic by Eliphas Lévi (aka Transcendental Magic translated by Waite).

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'Lévi brings our attention, first of all, to several interesting points. The first is that werewolves are, or at least in early modern France were, not merely a matter of fables and delusions. People saw them, chased them, killed them and were killed by them. Serious scholars, judges, and government officials headed inquiries into local accounts of werewolf activities and decided that there really was something to it. It’s easy for readers now, three and four centuries after the fact, to insist that everyone in early modern France must have been a superstitious fool, but that’s simply a way of dodging uncomfortable evidence. Something really was happening. ...

'Even in those distant times, the wolf-cult was on the fringes of tribal society; it’s doubtless no accident that the same word means “wolf” and “outlaw” in Indo-European languages as far removed as Old Norse and Ancient Hittite.'

Perhaps it had something to do with the association of vampires to royalty? James Dean notwithstanding, the appeal of the "outlaw" is probably not as attractive as that of being rich and young forever...

 

[Ancient]

Last winter I read a version of Bram Stoker’s Dracula that had a truly impressive commentary throughout by this edition’s author. Took me months to get through, as it was so thorough there may have been more footnote text than actual story.

One thing noteworthy I came across there was that not long ago vampires and werewolves were actually considered the same creature. Mr. Stoker describes Dracula as being quite hairy, especially on the palms, and being rather beast-like in other aspects. The author’s note stated that the divergence into two separate monsters is largely a result of pop culture over the last few hundred years. It certainly makes sense in recent times. Vampires are sexy, classy, and charismatic. That sells much better to the youth than drooling, furry beast-men.

 

[KjEno186]

Dracula as being quite hairy, especially on the palms

 

[Öwnchef]

1538: loup-garou « esprit qui fait peur aux petits enfants...

Translates to: Werewolf << a shithead that scares little children.

 

[Vandheer]

One is just portrayed as sexy in hollywood and the other one is a gross animal. Thats all there is to it imho. In the original literature however, vampires are no better than ghouls.

 

[Roma]

Some beings are etheric, taking physical forms as required. This includes the Nagas, various hominids such as Sasquatch, many alien species and "gods", shadow people...

 

[Öwnchef]

Some beings are etheric, taking physical forms as required. This includes the Nagas, various hominids such as Sasquatch, many alien species and "gods", shadow people...

And idiots. Painting strange symbols on cave wall and making whole tribe riddle long time. Two thumb men! Making sharp arrow tips for hunter men! Chasing their women when they are on the hunt!

I fear no Typhoon, no Corona or Russians. What I fear most, are idiots. Truth spoken, hugh!

 

[Konsciencia]

I agree with the fact, that Vampires are sexy. It is the reason why the Werewolves, get the boot. As far as strength, the Werewolves really can kick some ass. I remember watching a movie that really had my head rolling. It was called Cursed staring Christina Ricci. I'm not gonna give it away for you guys to see it. But, that movie alone made the Werewolves look like sexy Gods , and Goddesses.

 

[hungry_ghost]

They're representations of the same thing. Vampirism is portrayed as a blessing and they appear sophisticated and sexy in movies whereas lycanthropy is seen as a curse that the person whose experiencing it can't control. So it's pretty understandable that people would choose the one they could relate to or want the most.

I personally like werewolves more than vampires. They're fucking awesome.

 

[Sage]

Vampirism is portrayed as a blessing and they appear sophisticated and sexy in movies whereas lycanthropy is seen as a curse that the person whose experiencing it can't control

Which is interesting since in my view a vampire is much more fragile than a werewolf.
One lacks vitality(that it takes from others) while the other has it in a surplus(due to it's wild nature).

 

[stalkinghyena]

Just on the side of fiction, I recall Stephen King opining that the werewolf is analogous to an alcoholic. The vampire is a sex symbol only for achievement of its predatory ends, but is essentially "dead below the waste". It's been a long time since I read that, but I think he was making a connection to psychopathy. So, werewolf as violent substance abuser and vampire as serial killer.
Anyways, I could see how both ideas could be useful in certain situations. I think in the mundane world of human interactions and personalities, there are types of people who could be both "werewolves" and "vampires".

 

[Jarhyn]

When people are seeking out the tropes which describe their particular brand of humanity, people seek to understand the nature of their dichotomy.

Some people find themselves with some vast store of rage that they let out only on rare occasion. Others find themselves with a vast and endless need and emptiness in them that can't really be filled. Some people encompass both, but this isn't a foregone conclusion to psychopathy.

In fact people who go down either pattern of thought are not wrong, but rather incompletely right. You have to connect to both and can't just stop at recognition of the drive. These drives exist and the exist because they are to be yolked to rage against that which one does not know, an emptiness for what one wishes to understand, and if the mind can be aligned as such, this is the awakening.

 

[Pestifer Mundi]

If this is the wrong section to post such a thread, I ask that it be transfered to the appropriate one.

So, I was reading some books about lycanthropy and shapeshifting through history(how cultures in the past saw it, general beliefs, etc.) and it got me thinking...
Ever since humans learned to hunt, they always competed with others animals for prey, but mostly they competed against wolves.Humans always considered wolves excellent hunters and even tried to gather their strength, endurance and ferocity by wearing their pelts, their teeth, using their blood or their bones, basically doing any and everything to get into the "mind of a wolf", if not actually become one.

Humans wanted to be like wolves, that is unquestionable.The amount of stories, art and such speaking of that(even to this day) is proof of it.

If there were indeed people that physically shifted into a hybrid of man and wolf, or into a full wolf shape is highly debatable and not the subject here.

The image of the werewolf, the human that turns into a wolf or even of the wolfman is one linked to beastial vitality, wildness, freedom(depending on the story), strength beyond human comprehension and being able to sense the physical world in a deeper way.
It is an image that is very popular in fiction, considering the amount of shows, movies and books that were and still are being made about the person that either becomes or discovers themselves to be such being.The lack of games about it though is higly disappointing...

Yet...yet, for some odd reason, the vampire is the one always trumping the werewolf, both in terms of popularity and power.How come the idea of an undead being needing to feed on the blood/life force of others, that only has as a differential the fact that they keep their youth(or become frozen in time by the time they change), be considered "better" than our lifelong companion of hunt and survival?
Why is it that even though the werewolf is revered by what it represents, it always seems to lose to the vampire(at least for the majority of interactions as I've seen so far both on the internet and in real life, with people prefering the vampire)?

What are your thoughts on that?

Me personally, if I had to choose between the two, I'd go with vampire (if were going by the typical lore used in media).

Werewolves don't really have "power" they simply humans that are perpetually at the mercy of a power greater than themselves (it's a curse in every sense of the word, there are no upsides). They have painful transformations on the full moon that involves breaking bones, they "zone out" during transformation and can end up killing people around them when they don't want too, etc.

I really can't see the perks of being a werewolf. The enhanced physical capabilities sound great, but they only last during the full moon and you aren't completely aware during the transformation so you can't combine those abilities with human intelligence.

Also, you die, and immortality has always been something humans have always wanted more than just raw physical power.


Now in the case of vampires they are eternally young (immortal), they get to keep their self awareness and human intelligence fully intact, you get the same similar strength to a werewolf (might be a bit lower), you can compel people through suggestion to obey your commands, you are super fast, vampires are sometimes known to use magic whereas a werewolf which lacks full human intelligence is never depicted doing so, etc, etc, etc.

The only downside is that you crave blood, but that beats a painful bone breaking transformation every full moon, and either way it isn't even a problem anymore in the modern era because blood banks exist, and if a vampire with the stereotypical abilities was real, they could just compel some worker at a hospital to let them into the blood bank at night.

Almost forgot, not being able to be in the sun is a big downside. But I'm the nightowl type already, so it wouldn't make a difference to me. I'm sure given an eternity you could find or create some kind of charm that would allow you to circumvent that downside.


Maybe the depictions are false and the lore has been fudged over the years, but based on the lore we see in media, it isn't even an equal option in my book. The vampires get all the tricks in the bag and then some, the werewolves get to be dumbed down savages that suffer every full moon, there are no upsides.