Notable Shapeshifters
Berserkers -- Norse warriors who were thought to use their rage to shapeshift into bears and wolves.
Bouda -- a matriarchal African tribe, thought to be capable of changing into were-hyenas. Other were-hyenas, known as Qora, were punished in the old Kingdom of Kaffa, now part of Ethiopia.
Encantados -- according to stories from Brazil, they are "the enchanted ones," creatures from an underwater realm, usually dolphins with the ability to change into humans.
The Frog Princess, a fairy tale of a frog married to a prince, concludes with her transformation into a beautiful princess. In some variants, she was originally a princess.
Japanese Foxes (Kitsune) -- in Japanese myth, foxes would fool unsuspecting humans by assuming other forms, most often beautiful women. Similar fox myths abound from other countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, and even the United States.
Leszi -- spirits of Slavic mythology, capable of changing into any creature or plant.
The loathly lady is transformed into a hideous shape. Upon her marriage to a knight, the spell is sufficiently broken that she could appear lovely at night, or during the day, and she informs the knight that he has to select which one. When he asks which she prefers, the spell is entirely broken, and she remains lovely day and night.
Loki -- Trickster god of the Norse pantheon.
The Master Maid of the fairy tale of the same name, can transform objects to block the pursuit by her troll masters -- a common trait of women rescued from evil magicians or monsters.
Nahuales -- In Mexican and Mesoamerican lore, shamans that have shapeshifting abilities, usually turning into coyotes, wolves or jaguars.
Nagas -- snake-people of Asian countries, especially India & Nepal; may appear either as transforming between human and snake, or as a cross between the two (such as the upper torso being human and the lower torso being serpentine); some Nagas may also assume the form of dragons.
Odin - War/death god of the Norse pantheon often changes forms becoming men, women, children and other forms.
Proteus -- a Greek sea god who was capable of changing his form to avoid being captured.
Púca and some other Celtic spirits and SÃde (fairies) can change their form at will and typically pose as animals or loved ones. Leprechauns turn into hideous creatures to scare you into releasing them when captured.
Runa-uturungu -- werejaguars from Argentina (regional name), also spelled runa-uturuncu.
Selkie -- Seal-maidens and seal-men of Irish/Scottish myth.
Spriggan-- cat-like fae.
Swan Maiden -- shapeshifting birds from worldwide mythology.
Tanuki -- Japanese raccoon dogs have a strong mythological background as shapechangers who are adept at mimicking inanimate objects.
Tengu -- Japanese bird monsters who can shapeshift to human form.
Thunderbirds -- huge birdlike creatures described in the lore of several Native American tribes; some thunderbirds turn into human beings.
Vampires -- corpses who can turn into wolves and/or bats.
Wolfweres -- wolves who can become human or semi-human.
Wendigo -- a shapeshifter from Canadian legend.
Werecats -- feline shapeshifters.
Werewolves -- humans who turn into wolves.
PtesanWi -- a woman of Lakota legend, rumored to have appeared as a white buffalo. There are numerous tales of shapeshifting in Native American mythology, the most notable being prey animals such as buffalo and deer, and predators such as bears and wolves.
Yaguareté-abá -- werejaguars from Argentina and Bolivia (regional name), also uturunco.
Zmei -- Romanian mythological creatures, similar to Ogres.
Zeus -- Head of the Greek pantheon, who routinely transformed into various animal forms and had sexual congress with human women to beget half-god mortals.
Offline
Thanks for this, I found this very interesting.
Offline
Your very welcome
Offline
cool!
Offline
A friend from West Virginia told me of a Mothman who is supposed to haunt lonely places there. Has anyone else heard of this? Also, a South Carolina friend spoke of a sort of demon/raccoon figure which would chase cars and whisper warnings and mockery through open driverside windows.
Offline
Very interesting list, I haven't heard of a few of these.
Offline
O.o
Quite long...
Interesting, though.
Offline
wow...long list and one of my friends is a werecat!
Offline
i have NEVER heard of wolfwere. Can it be the same for every animal?
Offline
Cool post!
Offline
Very interesting, and I appreciate all the information that you took time to research and post here. I have been playing around with the idea of creating for a story a small community of different were creatures living in one area, working together, and protecting their own. The information that you presented here might help me with developing my concept too.
As a D&D player I have heard of a wolfwere before, since they are contained within the games monster manual. I find the idea of them to be quite intriguing. If you think about it, consider an animal with the ability to convert itself into a human form. How different would they see the world of humans with their animal upbringing and experience influencing everything they saw, or interacted with.
Also here's another were-type to add to the list.
Weredragon.
However, I offer this idea strictly from the fantasy archives of D&D, and I don't believe there are any kind of historical references to such weres. But, hey, at least the idea is pretty cool
Last edited by SilentStrider (2010-01-22 03:23:48)
Offline