Should werewolves have the ability to shift back into human?

[Fyriewolf]

Okay. Should werewolves be able to go back to human form after the full moon or should they be werewolves for the rest of their lives?

[Berserker]

Except in rare stories, shifting to and from human form is part of what defines werewolves.

[Howlitzer]

the werewolves in Van Helsing did NOT have the ability to shift back to human after the first shift, correct?

[Midnight_Wolf]

I believe that is correct - at least that is how I understood it.

Ana: "Werewolves only shed before their first full moon. Before the curse has completely consumed them."

That quote and other parts of the movie suggested to me that they stay in wolf form forever after their first full moon. That notion is consistent with some of the myths I have heard.

[Rhuen]

I prefer werewolves that go back and forth, to be that makes them "werewolves" those that are stuck to me are "beast men" more like ogres or trolls that used to be human but were cursed to permanently be a monster.

a werewolf in my mind brings up an image of a creature that goes between being human and being some wolf or wolf like creature at different times.

[Terastas]

Well, if we're looking at werewolves from a modern and realistic perspective, they would have to be able to resume human form eventually, otherwise they wouldn't be able to go undetected for very long.

[JoshuaMadoc]

If lycanthropes can't revert, then they might as well call themselves therianthropes.

[Rhuen]

If lycanthropes can't revert, then they might as well call themselves therianthropes.

?

my understanding is that therianthrope is a term used to also encompass other animal/human shapeshifters such as werebears, wereboars, wereleopards, ect...

were as lycanthrope by definition while mis-used to include other animals by some techniquelly only means wolf-man. "lycan=wolf"

[JoshuaMadoc]

What i'm saying is that if werewolves can't turn back into humans, be it through naturally-inherited skills or through man-made devices, they might as well be referred to as real-life anthropomorphic organisms. Thus their very existence would defeat the whole point of zoanthropy for said individuals.

[Black Claw]

That is true but what about during a new moon. Thier power is at its weakest.

[RedEye]

Hmmm... Werewolves that can't revert would almost be impossible to tell apart from the plain doggy-type wolves.

Part of what makes a Werewolf so interesting is the ability to switch forms; either as a moon-forced Werewolf, or as a will-shifted Werewolf.
The ability to mix with the "regular humans" is part of the legend, and the sense of wonder.

[WerewolfKeeper3]

The ability to mix with the "regular humans" is part of the legend, and the sense of wonder.

And the sense of survival. If they appeared as normal wolves, their family would be worried about them, fial missing persons report, etc. Family might end up shooting said wolf, family tradgedy... might catch wolf, thinking it dog and take it to get nuetered or spayed... Two, they'd probably just be considered wolves after that, and if they're like the ones in van helsing... can you say target practice? The ability to become human is the way they survive the extiniction of the cousin's race.

[Scott Gardener]

Shifting to and fro is pretty much the usual, but, oddly enough, there's old legends of being stuck in wolf form, generally as a curse. The person usually gets back into human form when the curse is lifted by some bizarre circumstance.

I have thought that it would make for a great Twilight Zone type story punchline. Someone like many of us, with that overriding longing to be one goes to great lengths to find the ever elusive werewolf, finds one, and gets bitten. He or she goes through the first shift, the thrill of the hunt, the freedom, and all that. Then, that person is ready to shift back to a normal life the following morning. The sun rises; the full moon sets; and, the newly shifted lycanthrope stands upright in Gestalt form, ready to shed fur and assume human form again, only to wonder why nothing is happening. He or she then soon learns that werewolves don't have a human form....

Enter Rod Serling, telling the audience, "to have an obsession that forever casts one beyond the realm of a normal life; this is what it means to be a geek in... the Twilight Zone."

[Rosiewolf]

I believe that is correct - at least that is how I understood it.

Ana: "Werewolves only shed before their first full moon. Before the curse has completely consumed them."

That quote and other parts of the movie suggested to me that they stay in wolf form forever after their first full moon. That notion is consistent with some of the myths I have heard.

Actually, Midnight Wolf, I think that isn't true about what you said (this is just a theory though). Because Ana's brother, after his first full moon, was still human, but he could not become human again if the cure was injected into him.

[Scott Gardener]

I assume of course that this thread is about having a human form. If you're a werewolf and you shift to human form, you're still a werewolf.

[punxnotdead]

I think one should be able to shift back to their human for no matter what. It's more of a preference for me.

[RedEye]

One of the advantages of reversion to the human (Smoothskin)form is that if the villagers chase you, you can call the Cops on them.

If a Hunter shoots at you, it's attempted murder.

It also means that you can visit the thrift stores for clothing more easily and without giving up the Secret.

[Scott Gardener]

Wha? You mean the Law of Attraction?

[WerewolfKeeper3]

Wha? You mean the Law of Attraction?

Anyone know where i can pick up a copy of the film, book or audio book?

[Distorted Realism]

i don't really know if this is true but in the werewolf's of van helsing they didn't turn back but could they control themselves to a certain extent after the shedding of the human skin? if thats true that is what i think it should be like


ex: they become a werewolf but they can control what they do but they're always angry... and they can learn to get rid of the anger and be in complete control...

[WerewolfKeeper3]

i don't really know if this is true but in the werewolf's of van helsing they didn't turn back but could they control themselves to a certain extent after the shedding of the human skin? if thats true that is what i think it should be like


ex: they become a werewolf but they can control what they do but they're always angry... and they can learn to get rid of the anger and be in complete control...

Actually, if i remember the story line right, only one werewolf could do that... Van Helsing.
And they'd never be in complete control. Their animal minds appeared to be too powerful for them to do that. The only reason Van Helsing was able to do that, was because he was supposed to do that. All the other werewolves Dracula controled... and by the way, when they were talking about Mina's father, was he the werewolf they faced in the first half of the movie, do you think?

Also, i'm pretty sure these were's turned back to human when the moon went down. They tried using Mina's brother/werewolf to bring Dracula's children {awful looking things weren't they?} to life, and he was human when they did...

[alphanubilus]

Let me clarify the Van Helsing werewolves for you... In Van Helsing when a person is bitten by a werewolf they are able to fight the curse until the first full moon. After the first full moon the curse consumes them entirely and they can no longer regain their human form. In the novelization of the movie, the author, basically states that the human side of the werewolf, is then at that time, dead.

Dracula is able to control all creatures of darkness. His hold on the werewolf is spotty until after the first full moon. This is why he carried a cure (albiet in the most stupest place ever). The only reason the Van Helsingwolf was able to fight the curse was that it had not reached midnight yet. If Dracula had kept the wuffer at bay long enough to pass midnight, Van Helsing would have been his new wuffer slave.

The only thing that disappointed me about Van Helsing is the fact that got cured... He was much more interesting as a werewolf... then again most people are.

[WerewolfKeeper3]

Thanks... but i still saw her brother as a human, after he was seen as a werewolf... could Dracula force them to turn back?

And two, if the cure was only half injected, so that Van Helsing could shift between forms and had control over this power, then i'd be interested... Otherwise, he'd have ended up dead like Mina... oh, and one last thing, why is it the howl is always used as an expression of sorrow?

[alphanubilus]

There are a couple of explanations other than some serious plot holes (of which Van Helsing had many) to answer your question. Velken gets bitten and turns into a werewolf, however he hasn't lived through his first full moon as a werewolf. If you remember in the movie, the first time you meet the Velken wolf is when Igor is torchering the chained beast. Had Velken been completely under Dracula's control there wouldn't have been a need to keep the beast chained. Dracula did not want Velken returning to Anna and warning her of his plans. It was imperative that he keep the beast on a tight leash, until the first midnight of Velken's first full moon.

When Van Helsing arrives and kills Mauriska, Dracula has no choice but to release the werewolf before the first full moon, with the hopes that he can weild enough control over the beast to spy on this new opponant. As you know though, Velken does manage to break away from Dracula's hold long enough to regain his human form and confront his sister.

Of course the raises a number of questions, of which all come down to poor development of the actual story.

All along I've been arguing that Stephen Sommers should have made Van Helsing a werewolf to begin with. Not only does this serve as a basis for some of his "Woa is me" monologues, but also gives him another reason to find Dracula... the said cure. This also plays well as a homage to Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman, as in the original Universal movie, the late Dr. Frankenstein was believed to had a cure for lycanthropy via his machine, of which can give and take life.

If Van Helsing had began the movie as a werewolf (although I would have kept it a secret until near the end), when he gripped about killing other monsters, it would have been a bit more moving, as he would feel hypocritical, since he himself is a werewolf, just blessed with consciousness during his werewolf form.

Better writing would have resolved many issues.

As for howling... Wolves howl for a number of reasons, whether they are hunting, long distance communicating, to show happiness and such. I think it was more of an artistic choice though to let the werewolf howl for sorrow at the end of Van Helsing.

It still gripes me that after all of that falling, bouncing, and smacking into concrete walls, Anna gets did in by a rather tasteless couch... Death By Smooshing...

[WerewolfKeeper3]

Death By Smooshing...

Thank you. That does clear up a lot of questions. Oh, and i do agree, but that would also make a lot more plot problems if Van Helsing were a werewolf at the start. Like, why doesn't the other werewolves sense this, ditch vampy and follow him?
And repeat my earlier question... was that werewolf we saw at the beginning of the movie, the one that bites Anna's brother, their father? Or was he already long dead?

You seem to know more about this subject, so i'm asking an expert...