Quite a long time ago I listened in to a conversation at a coffee shop near Dartmouth College to these two guys who seemed quite *in the know.*
In a nut shell here's what they were saying about werewolves.
The basis for the werewolf story began hundreds of years ago around Rumania.
Small towns were dying of cold and starvation.
They would store the dead bodies in caves until the ground thawed enough for burials.
Some of the elderly were thrown *out to the wolves* literally - to save food. (Turned out of their homes and into the night to fend for
themselves).
These elderly were sighted feeding with wolves on dead bodies.
Children turned up missing and were blamed on these same people and wolf packs.
Thus, the folklore began.
Something about it rings true.
I wish I could have spoken to these two men - listened to them longer - better yet - found some information to relate to what they were saying, but,
not to happen.
I’ve looked on and off through the years - and now you’ve got me looking again.
Here’s a site I just found that looks great!
Werewolves were said to bear tell-tale traits in European folklore. These included the meeting of both eyebrows at the bridge of the nose, curved
fingernails, low set ears and a swinging stride. One method of identifying a werewolf in its human form was to cut the flesh of the accused, under the
pretense that fur would be seen within the wound. A Russian superstition recalls a werewolf can be recognised by bristles under the tongue. The
appearance of a werewolf in its animal form varies from culture to culture, though they are most commonly portrayed as being indistinguishable from
ordinary wolves save for the fact that they have no tail (a trait thought characteristic of witches in animal form), and that they retain human eyes
and voice. After returning to their human forms, werewolves are usually documented as becoming weak, debilitated and undergoing painful nervous
depression. Many historical werewolves were written to have suffered severe melancholia and manic depression, being bitterly conscious of their
crimes. One universally reviled trait in medieval Europe was the werewolf's habit of devouring recently buried corpses, a trait which is documented
extensively, particularly in the Annales Medico-psychologiques in the 19th century. Fennoscandian werewolves were usually old women who possessed
poison coated claws and had the ability to paralyse cattle and children with their gaze. Serbian vulkodlaks traditionally had the habit of
congregating annually in the winter months, where they would strip off their wolf skins and hang them from trees. They would then get a hold of
another vulkodlaks skin and burn it, releasing the vulkodlak from whom the skin came from its curse. The Haitian jé-rouges typically try to trick
mothers into giving away their children voluntarily by waking them at night and asking their permission to take their child, to which the disoriented
mother may either reply yes or no.
See Link