Who invented the modern vampire? It’s easy to point to the most influential authors in vampire literature — Bram Stroker’s Dracula in 1897 became the default vampire legend. It’s easy to track the literary influences that brought Stroker to create his bloodthirsty count: the 1819 John William Polidori story “The Vampyre” and Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s 1872 novella Carmilla both feature mysterious nobles that keep to the shadows.
But what about werewolves? The de facto werewolf is typically the titular Wolf Man of the 1941 film, but history tells us that werewolf legends have been lurking about for centuries. Furthermore, that history reveals that women had a heavy hand in crafting what we imagine as the “modern werewolf.”
Bisclavret by Marie de France (12th Century) (1160–1215)
“Bisclavret” or “The Werewolf” was an oral tradition recorded by Marie de France, and is credited as one of…
