Werewolf - Wolf boy!

(i) Steelzer/CrZ/Triumph



                     H O M O F E R U S



    One of the most intriguing types of legends about
werewolves are associated with children raised among wolves, like
wild animals, and to such an extent have adopted habits and habits
animals that normal life among people has become for them
completely impossible.

    The wolf boy, as we have already said, is known from the most distant
times, and the story of Romulus and Remus is one of the earliest
witnessed cases. Feral children, having on their own
only a tangential relation to the legend of the werewolf, apparently
had a certain influence on the legends that developed around
this terrible creature, and for this reason alone it is appropriate
touch on several of the most famous cases of feralization.



    A monkey boy about twelve years old, discovered in the jungle on
south of Ceylon playing with monkeys, was examined by doctors and
representatives of civil authorities. It turned out that he was lagging behind
in mental development and was, apparently for this reason, abandoned
parents in the jungle.  The child has learned to imitate behavior
monkeys, and therefore survived.



    The boy, who was named Tissa, could not speak and only
screamed and muttered like a monkey. He was sittinglike a monkey, and not
could stand without assistance. He only moved
all fours  Moreover, when he was given a plate of food, he
dumped it on the ground before starting to eat.

    An important difference between a monkey boy and
wolf boy, which we will discuss shortly, great
adaptability of the first. A few weeks later the monkey boy
wore clothes and ate from a plate.  Boys-wolves, as a rule,
remain wild, they are completely incapable of learning.

    It is natural that in the light of the legend of the werewolf for us
The most interesting are the wolf boys.  They can be divided into two
categories: "lycanthropes", which we will focus on, and
"wild boys", usually timid children, victims of rough and cruel
treatment.



    It is difficult to imagine, of course, that the wolf boy is something
other than a victim of chance or a whim of nature, but hardly anyone
will deny that its existence had a huge impact on
formation of the legend of the lycanthrope.  Anyone who has seen this
a wild child, covered with scratches and sores, with tangled
long hair, dirty, taking poses typical
animals, with broken teeth and long, wolf-like
claws with nails, with foul breath, mouth stained with blood
from eating raw meat, and among other things, there waswitness
ferocity and heard wolf-like howls and growls that
he publishes, he couldn’t help but shudder.



    There are a number of factors that scientists need to establish
Homo ferus, especially if we are talking about "lycanthropic"
option.  Its typical representative is devoid of many inherent
a person has traits: love, ordinary emotions and especially laughter; he
silent, except for those moments when he growls, snorts or howls;
he walks on all fours, like a real quadruped; he doesn't
capable of life among people and must carry existence,
characteristic of animals, and most importantly, he can live without any
human help.



    In short, he must live in the forest and be among animals.



    Now let's name the most famous wolf children: these are
Peter, the wild boy from Hanover, Victor from Aveyron, the famous
Kaspar Hauser from Nuremberg and the wild girl Kamala, Indian,
who later began to be raised by a priest. Rousseau and Linnaeus gave
their comments, exploring the mystery of the wild boy, but the true
representative of this species, a lycanthropic variant of Homo ferus,
far from the noble savage whose portrait is drawn
Rousseau.

    Of course, some children found in the wild
really could return to human society, but we did notwe know
exactly how long they stayed among the animals. Maybe they're just
restored knowledge acquired in early years and temporarily forgotten
due to the need to live in the forests for two or
three years?



    Remembering the numerous legends about lycanthropes, I involuntarily
pay attention to details, background.  Undoubtedly they are more
suit an adventure novel rather than a straight-forward one
documentary work. This is what most often confuses
us when analyzing amazing legends. Lucien Malson,
a professor from France engaged in in-depth study of the problem
feral children, is of the opinion that any myth contains
some truth, and you should not immediately reject any unusual
case, only because some part of it is,
obviously fictional. This is very sound advice.



    Apparently the oldest and most documented case
the savagery of a boy nicknamed the wolf child from Hesse,
occurred in the 14th century. Local residents began to notice that in the forests
near the town there lives a ghostly creature who, every time,
when people happened to come across him, he quickly disappeared into
thickets. They treated him with superstitious fear.

    Real proof of its existence was obtained
only in 1344, when this strange wildcreature at last
caught.  To the surprise of the residents, it turned out to be a boy who
completely wild, moved on all fours, like a wolf, did not control
speech.



    It was determined that the child, who was approximately eight years old,
spent half his life in a wild state. Boy, according to
to all evidence, was found by wolves who dug for him
hole and saved his life, warming him with their bodies even in the harshest
winter.  Some records say that they lined its floor
holes with leaves, building something like a nest.  As we already
convinced that this fact does not lie beyond the boundaries of the possible and
corroborated by other stories of feral children.



    The child is so used to walking on all fours that his feet
had to tie boards to help him stay upright and
walk like people. He could not speak clearly, but could only
grumble and make sounds characteristic of animals, ate only raw
food and was apparently happier in those wild conditions where he
turned out to be fate. Baby wolf from Hesse becomes a celebrity
of his time, he was even taken to England to show
to the royal court.

    Around the same time, in the dense forests of Bavaria was found
the other is unhappy. He is known as the wolf child of Watteravia, and
his fate is very similar to the fate of the boy from Hesse, although he,apparently found himself in more difficult, almost hopeless,
circumstances - when he was found, he was already over twelve
years



    These two cases, as well as those that occurred earlier,
suffer from the fact that they were not researched in a timely manner, scientists
they were taken up only at the end of the 18th century, four centuries after
described events.