Belief in werewolves is very old in the Slavic world. The book gives two main routes to transformation: a deliberate magical practice or an inherited curse. Legends speak of people forced to run through the forest in wolf form and kill; the author also notes the historical connection with ideas about lycanthropy.
Where it appears
Mainly eastern Bohemia and Moravia, within a broader Slavic tradition.
What the old legends say
Older Slavic legends have no single universal means of protection. Prayers, protective signs and iron appear; the familiar use of silver is more prominent in later European and popular traditions. The safest course was to avoid an unfamiliar animal and a night-time encounter.
SOURCES OF THE STORY
Sources of the original atlas Tajemná místa · page 43
This legend preserves a folk tale. Its motifs do not constitute evidence of supernatural events.
