Why the werewolf is always ignored in favor of the vampire?

[Lucien6493]

I like this topic.

I have at home book on study of Vampirism throughout time and Europe. Indeed the lore of dead, undead and were-volves was rather mixed together from our point of view. It was simply the same thing. Actual separation and definition of werewolf and vampire are modern thing, started during time of Bram Stocker and little before him as matter of horror stories that only during that time and later solidified.

Also why vampire nowadays? Werewolf is a being if wildness. How much of untamed wildness is left in the world? It is hard to imagine werewolves to thrive in modern world, unlike vampires, who are able to blend in, as the modern cities are just like castles to them and they can adapt to it way better than raging beat that would be cornered way faster. Vampire also seems to fit human "needs" better as a myth. It is indeed a goal and desire of our society to be eternally young, we are sometimes called culture of the youth.

In the wildness, in small settlements vampire would have way harder time than werewolf, either fast running out of blood, or not being able to catch enough of stupid humans to feed upon. Animals would not be whatever sufficient so he would have to go to sleep and hope that humans will multiply to offer more sustenance to the vamp.

When we go to geek stuff, is vampire visible on cameras? I think he could be, but it seems favored in pop culture to make vamp invisible for cameras as well as photography. On old photos it made sense because those cameras were using mirrors, but that is not part of that tech anymore. But being invisible for cameras nowadays is like having political imunity. It allows vamp to hunt right under hunter's nose relatively safely.

In the history, if I remember correct, the werewolf was either permanentky changed/cursed or could control the changes, not connection to the moon. Norse tales speak about permanent change, when people shapeshifted, or of shapeshift using magic tools that allowed full control over the change, as well as preserving of mind.

Anne Rice. She created the modern vampire, and it is us. Our alienation, our endless search for redemption, our cruelty, our emptiness. She touched something profoundly deep within the modern psyche, and through her the myth became theodicy; a meditation on loss, on our sense of being forever trapped in time, on our relationship with religion, with sexuality and with death. Lestat, you know, for all of his super powers was absolutely, hopelessly human. And in his humanity he was powerless. And that powerlessness was his greatest strength. Straight up RC. Look into the mirror darkly and see what lurks in the shadows of our posturing and glamor and it's only smoke and mirrors, and it's funny, because I used to go to vampire clubs in the hopes of finding the real deal, and among all the fangs and beautiful clothes, ambient music, and goth not an immortal in site and no-one fed from me. Like, duh. I was probably looking for Miriam Blaylock. But all joking aside the modern vampire is pure magick, and if you can pull the power from so deep that you end up infecting an entire culture then you are weaving spells as stories. Shamans did the same. It's the power of the word to enchant.

And the vampire! Oh bats. A liminality if ever there was one. He comes alive where fiction bleeds out into consensus reality and it reminds us, perhaps subliminally, of what it was like to believe, and to want to jump into a picture book and chill with the elves and almost be able to pull it off. And the vampire comes, wrapped in terrors, offering hope...that maybe, just maybe life can't be confined to our rationalism.

 

[Morell]

Anne Rice. She created the modern vampire, and it is us. Our alienation, our endless search for redemption, our cruelty, our emptiness. She touched something profoundly deep within the modern psyche, and through her the myth became theodicy; a meditation on loss, on our sense of being forever trapped in time, on our relationship with religion, with sexuality and with death. Lestat, you know, for all of his super powers was absolutely, hopelessly human. And in his humanity he was powerless. And that powerlessness was his greatest strength. Straight up RC. Look into the mirror darkly and see what lurks in the shadows of our posturing and glamor and it's only smoke and mirrors, and it's funny, because I used to go to vampire clubs in the hopes of finding the real deal, and among all the fangs and beautiful clothes, ambient music, and goth not an immortal in site and no-one fed from me. Like, duh. I was probably looking for Miriam Blaylock. But all joking aside the modern vampire is pure magick, and if you can pull the power from so deep that you end up infecting an entire culture then you are weaving spells as stories. Shamans did the same. It's the power of the word to enchant.

And the vampire! Oh bats. A liminality if ever there was one. He comes alive where fiction bleeds out into consensus reality and it reminds us, perhaps subliminally, of what it was like to believe, and to want to jump into a picture book and chill with the elves and almost be able to pull it off. And the vampire comes, wrapped in terrors, offering hope...that maybe, just maybe life can't be confined to our rationalism.

This is lovely deep.

I didn't read Anne Rice, but I was the movie Interview with the Vampire. Didn't whatsoever move me, but she did interesting job exploring this modern archetype. I agree that she probably hit some sensitive places.

Oh, listening, believing in it and going out to find that. Damn fuck, I did the same with the elves. How I hated to realize that wherever I go there are humans, that all these tales do not speak about anything physical. Sigh. Getting into my own old wounds here.

Unlike elves, the vampires I have met as spirits as well as in dreams.

 

[AlfrunGrima]

I like this topic.

I knew you would like it ...... quite interesting what you added! I am reading now a book written by Emma Wilby, Akelarre. In that book there is an interesting chapter about vampirism as wel.

 

[Morell]

I knew you would like it ...... quite interesting what you added! I am reading now a book written by Emma Wilby, Akelarre. In that book there is an interesting chapter about vampirism as wel.

There are some good works on study of historical Vampire. Vampire and Vampirism by Dudley Wright is very good read. Was it there I've read about Dhampires? (also learned term Moroi there) The modern take on them being immortals is not historical either. In history they were humans who were aging normally and after death became vamps.

Post automatically merged: Jan 2, 2026

Though thinking about it, werewolf had some connection with berserkers of old and the legends of curses... while vampire indeed evolved from legends of restless dead of any kind.... so even in the past werewolf could be saved or cured, vampire could only be destroyed.

 

[KnucklePuppy]

Me personally, if I had to choose between the two, I'd go with vampire (if were going by the typical lore used in media).

Werewolves don't really have "power" they simply humans that are perpetually at the mercy of a power greater than themselves (it's a curse in every sense of the word, there are no upsides). They have painful transformations on the full moon that involves breaking bones, they "zone out" during transformation and can end up killing people around them when they don't want too, etc.

I really can't see the perks of being a werewolf. The enhanced physical capabilities sound great, but they only last during the full moon and you aren't completely aware during the transformation so you can't combine those abilities with human intelligence.

Also, you die, and immortality has always been something humans have always wanted more than just raw physical power.


Now in the case of vampires they are eternally young (immortal), they get to keep their self awareness and human intelligence fully intact, you get the same similar strength to a werewolf (might be a bit lower), you can compel people through suggestion to obey your commands, you are super fast, vampires are sometimes known to use magic whereas a werewolf which lacks full human intelligence is never depicted doing so, etc, etc, etc.

The only downside is that you crave blood, but that beats a painful bone breaking transformation every full moon, and either way it isn't even a problem anymore in the modern era because blood banks exist, and if a vampire with the stereotypical abilities was real, they could just compel some worker at a hospital to let them into the blood bank at night.

Almost forgot, not being able to be in the sun is a big downside. But I'm the nightowl type already, so it wouldn't make a difference to me. I'm sure given an eternity you could find or create some kind of charm that would allow you to circumvent that downside.


Maybe the depictions are false and the lore has been fudged over the years, but based on the lore we see in media, it isn't even an equal option in my book. The vampires get all the tricks in the bag and then some, the werewolves get to be dumbed down savages that suffer every full moon, there are no upsides.

That depends on the lore you're going with. Really and truly. Like, vampires contain the Nosferatu and they aren't glamorous.

The "werewolves" from Twilight are different as well, with their changes swift and painless.

I don't have a need to take from others to sustain my own life.

I meditate and train my body so I only really lose my inhibitions when I'm drinking.

 

[borbponderer]

Vampires are icky and gross. I'd sooner hang out with Sasquatch. Werewolves are ok as long as they behave.

 

[ZalgothraxTheUmpteenth]

If this is the wrong section to post such a thread, I ask that it be transfered to the appropriate one.

So, I was reading some books about lycanthropy and shapeshifting through history(how cultures in the past saw it, general beliefs, etc.) and it got me thinking...
Ever since humans learned to hunt, they always competed with others animals for prey, but mostly they competed against wolves.Humans always considered wolves excellent hunters and even tried to gather their strength, endurance and ferocity by wearing their pelts, their teeth, using their blood or their bones, basically doing any and everything to get into the "mind of a wolf", if not actually become one.

Humans wanted to be like wolves, that is unquestionable.The amount of stories, art and such speaking of that(even to this day) is proof of it.

If there were indeed people that physically shifted into a hybrid of man and wolf, or into a full wolf shape is highly debatable and not the subject here.

The image of the werewolf, the human that turns into a wolf or even of the wolfman is one linked to beastial vitality, wildness, freedom(depending on the story), strength beyond human comprehension and being able to sense the physical world in a deeper way.
It is an image that is very popular in fiction, considering the amount of shows, movies and books that were and still are being made about the person that either becomes or discovers themselves to be such being.The lack of games about it though is higly disappointing...

Yet...yet, for some odd reason, the vampire is the one always trumping the werewolf, both in terms of popularity and power.How come the idea of an undead being needing to feed on the blood/life force of others, that only has as a differential the fact that they keep their youth(or become frozen in time by the time they change), be considered "better" than our lifelong companion of hunt and survival?
Why is it that even though the werewolf is revered by what it represents, it always seems to lose to the vampire(at least for the majority of interactions as I've seen so far both on the internet and in real life, with people prefering the vampire)?

What are your thoughts on that?

Gotta put my too cents in as I LOVE werewolves and the surrounding mythology, I feel people fear the wolf as they fear a loss of control, they dont see the power in estatic transformation, they only see the vampyric immortality and are drawn to it, I think the wolf is shunned because like society alot of people are addicted to a fitting in even in their niche circles but the wolf is a shredding of everything a bout of beautiful destructive creation transcending family, society, even yourself, you give into it as a drunk gives into the black out, its freedom of the highest and that freedon terrifies, its handing yourself to the wild and asking to be changed beyond human recognization, basiclly TLDR: vampirism is to ask to iduldge and lycanthropy is to ask to be changed

 

[System Error Message]

because vampires are cooler and romanticised. If you understand the supernatural nuances, vampires balance power and physical strength while werewolves are all physical strength. There is a 3rd that is all power instead but not well known. People fantacised about being bitten in a romantic way unfortunatel along with a lot of media that romanticises and promotes a lot more of vampires.

Post automatically merged: Today at 7:39 AM

Gotta put my too cents in as I LOVE werewolves and the surrounding mythology, I feel people fear the wolf as they fear a loss of control, they dont see the power in estatic transformation, they only see the vampyric immortality and are drawn to it, I think the wolf is shunned because like society alot of people are addicted to a fitting in even in their niche circles but the wolf is a shredding of everything a bout of beautiful destructive creation transcending family, society, even yourself, you give into it as a drunk gives into the black out, its freedom of the highest and that freedon terrifies, its handing yourself to the wild and asking to be changed beyond human recognization, basiclly TLDR: vampirism is to ask to iduldge and lycanthropy is to ask to be changed

wolves are cute but you do need to respect them and understand them not blindly try to pat them. werewolves are immortal too somewhat. the thing is both species are somewhat immortal, i say this in that they live very long lives not forever.

 

[Morell]

because vampires are cooler and romanticised. If you understand the supernatural nuances, vampires balance power and physical strength while werewolves are all physical strength. There is a 3rd that is all power instead but not well known. People fantacised about being bitten in a romantic way unfortunatel along with a lot of media that romanticises and promotes a lot more of vampires.

Post automatically merged: Today at 7:39 AM

wolves are cute but you do need to respect them and understand them not blindly try to pat them. werewolves are immortal too somewhat. the thing is both species are somewhat immortal, i say this in that they live very long lives not forever.

Reading this gave me idea of interesting theory. Wolves are pack animals, even werewolves. But not bats. They live in colonies and do have social life but are really not that dependent on each other. Every bats hunts alone and can easily live alone, I think. Vampires can form groups but each one is an individual that comes and goes as it wants. Wolves are far more bonded, they live together most if not all the time.

Maybe since our society prefers individuality, it is reflected here too.

 

[Cartae]

It’s funny, I dreamt of a wolf last night; he was growling because I was stroking the top of his head.

I have a personal experience I went through; my memory of it has faded, but I’ll share it with you. Take this with a pinch of salt, as I’m not sure of anything myself. One moonlit night, I performed a blood ritual – improvised, utterly mad and irrational, but a ritual nonetheless. After finishing my ceremony, I gathered the ashes and remains of the objects I’d burned in the fire; once in a bag, I went and threw these remains into a canal. (Don’t ask me why or how; I was in a trance and, quite frankly, I wasn’t acting of my own accord.) On the way to the canal, I saw a figure in the distance—a man’s silhouette (it was night-time and he was a good 20–30 metres away, if not more). That figure transformed into a dog, which started running towards me at full speed—a dog that could be compared to a mastiff: black, large, muscular. I ran towards it at full speed too, so as not to show my fear. So we passed each other, running at full speed, with it passing on my left. It disappeared through a gate a few paces behind me, leading to an abandoned factory. It was undoubtedly one of the strangest nights of my life, whether due to that highly questionable ritual or this apparition.

Let me reiterate: take this with a pinch of salt. What I do know is that I’m not sure

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

 

[borbponderer]

It’s funny, I dreamt of a wolf last night; he was growling because I was stroking the top of his head.

I have a personal experience I went through; my memory of it has faded, but I’ll share it with you. Take this with a pinch of salt, as I’m not sure of anything myself. One moonlit night, I performed a blood ritual – improvised, utterly mad and irrational, but a ritual nonetheless. After finishing my ceremony, I gathered the ashes and remains of the objects I’d burned in the fire; once in a bag, I went and threw these remains into a canal. (Don’t ask me why or how; I was in a trance and, quite frankly, I wasn’t acting of my own accord.) On the way to the canal, I saw a figure in the distance—a man’s silhouette (it was night-time and he was a good 20–30 metres away, if not more). That figure transformed into a dog, which started running towards me at full speed—a dog that could be compared to a mastiff: black, large, muscular. I ran towards it at full speed too, so as not to show my fear. So we passed each other, running at full speed, with it passing on my left. It disappeared through a gate a few paces behind me, leading to an abandoned factory. It was undoubtedly one of the strangest nights of my life, whether due to that highly questionable ritual or this apparition.

Let me reiterate: take this with a pinch of salt. What I do know is that I’m not sure

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Sounds like you had a near encounter with the legendary Dogman!