Werewolf Fact of the Day

There were so many reports of werewolves terrorizing the inhabitants of the rural area of Taua, Ceara State that fellow Brazilians began calling the region the Werewolf Capitol of South America. Seeing the frightful half-man, half-wolf creatures creeping around in the moonlight was terrifying enough, but the people of Taua also had to endure the beasts stealing their sheep and even breaking into their homes.

On Monday, July 7, 2008, a New Moon night, a woman reported seeing a half-man, half-wolf near her home. On Tuesday, a twelve-year-old boy told police that he saw a werewolf outside his family home. More instances of werewolf attacks were received on Wednesday, when police received two reports of werewolves stealing sheep.

Some witnesses who saw the werewolves testified that the creatures were very ugly and emitted a strong odor that smelled like sulfur. Priests reminded their parishioners to remember their prayers and to keep their crucifixes with them at all times.

People recalled that on January 28 in Sao Sepe, Rio Grande do Sul, a woman told police that she had been attacked at night by a huge dog that had stood on its hind feet and had walked as if it were a man. The victim underwent medical examination at a hospital where her wounds were confirmed.

On Friday, February 13, a woman in Sao Paulo encountered a werewolf that attempted to grab her.

In April, the inhabitants of Santana do Livramento, Rio Grande do Sul, were under siege by a mysterious man in a black cape. This dreadful night marauder had so terrified the citizens of the area that Valerio Silveira, a local priest, had distributed "bloodied" crucifixes, painted red, insisting that the holy object would keep people safe from the Black Caped Man.

Marcos Sandro Lira, the regional deputy police officer, told inquisitive journalists investigating the claims of werewolves molesting the people of the area that "people in werewolf masks" were frightening the locals so it would easier to steal their sheep.

From The Werewolf Book: The Encyclopedia of Shape-Shifting Beings, Second Edition by Brad Steiger, (c) 2012 Visible Ink Press(R) Steiger's homage to the beast within provides meaty facts for the lycanthropic in all of us.