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Waehrwolf

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

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Wadsworth, William A.

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in Scandinavian mythology, is a spiritual being who still creates fear in many people's minds. Superstition teaches that Waehrwolf is a human being (man or woman) that is capable of changing itself into a wolf. This wolf is unusually large and savage, and is known mainly by his riding-belt, an indispensable article, as it serves him in changing from one form to another, and which he seeks to hide, as well as he may, under his hair. As soon as he looses the belt he becomes a human being again. If the wolf is shot at and the belt is hit, their lies, instead of the animal, a naked man or woman. In this manner witches are said to have been caught who went out hunting for prey, and especially children.