Daniel Farson

Daniel Farson has an interesting tie to the world of the supernatural: He is the great—nephew of Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula. In his book The Supernatural: Vampires, Zombies, and Monster Men, from which the following essay is taken, Farson uncovers the reasons he believes certain superstitions have held such power over the human race throughout history. In this excerpt Farson explores common superstitions about werewolves. These range from the seemingly impossible belief that werewolves hid their hair on the inside of their bodies to the belief that werewolves were in fact witches and warlocks, chosen minions of the devil. Farson argues that these beliefs are simple superstitions designed to explain away a very real, but perhaps irrational, human fear of wolves. In primitive times wolves were more...