Wolf howling at the moon ()

Have you ever heard about werewolves? In stories, werewolves are humans who turn into wolves every full moon. The person starts to sweat. Then, they fall to the ground. Next, their nails and teeth grow long and sharp. Fur covers their entire body.

The first werewolf story is in the world’s oldest poem, “The Epic of Gilgamesh.” That was over 4,000 years ago!  Werewolves were also in Greek mythology and Viking stories.

Now, werewolves are popular characters in books, movies, TV shows and video games. Their powers are different in each story. Sometimes the werewolves have no memory of what they did as a wolf. Sometimes they have no control over what they do while they are wolves. No matter how the story is told, the phases of the moon are linked to werewolves.

One thing is the same in all the tales: Werewolves transform during a full moon. Some legends say that what kind of werewolf someone becomes depends on the lunar phase when they were born.

There are different stories about how someone becomes a werewolf. The most common is when a werewolf bites someone. Sometimes, they are born a werewolf. In Europe, some myths said that people could become werewolves if they slept outside with the full moon on their faces on a certain Wednesday or Friday in summer.

In the 1500s, a lot of people were accused of being werewolves. Thankfully, most people today understand that werewolves are not real. Yet, some people still believe there may really be werewolves. Even now, there are reports of werewolf sightings every year.

While werewolves may not be real, lunar phases are. Emergency rooms are busier during full moons. There are more car accidents during a full moon. So, maybe there is something to people changing during the full moon.