What shaped your opinion of werewolves?

[Jamie]

I saw Teen Wolf (of all bloody things) on its network TV premiere on May 4, 1987. That's what sparked my interest and started a daydream that 70 versions and 19 years later is my novel.

I think Teen Wolf is the first film that started a similar process with me: that of taking a werewolf movie I liked, and re-editing it in my mind to be the way it "should" be. I never made novels out of it, it was just stuff that existed in my imagination.

I've done it since with practically every werewolf movie I've ever seen, but Teen Wolf is the first I really remember doing it to. I also think that Teen Wolf was the werewolf movie with the least number of these changes. Basically, the second half of the movie wasn't as focused on sports and he was capable of changing all the way into a wolf (with the "wolfman" form being a transitional one that could be the end-point of a particular transformation, but didn't have to be).

[Rhuen]

Fine tuned the image, guess actual wolves and other canines did that for me. At least as far as behavior and anatomy are concerned. Although I am always pondering new mixes to put in the werewolf and make new breeds in my imagination. Every fine tune just makes another possible variety.

[FoxOfWar]

Hmm... I'd say pretty much everything(internet, art, movies etc.) has defined my opinion about them. But mostly I love ww's for the same reason as I love any sort of transformation stuff in general. I don't even know why, but I just can't have enough transformation stuff. So in werewolf stuff I always love those that are centered on the change on physical and psyche of the just transformationed individual.

Even when I read or watch something that I know has nothing to do with transformation stuff... I keep wishing and imagining that it would happen.

[Kirk Hammett]

When I was a kid, I had only seen a few werewolf movies. I forget what they were. Basically, my view wasn't really shaped by these but I think more on shifting into a real wolf, that sort of thing, because I always played a lot of animal games as a kid. I was always into all sorts of shape shifting, and I guess my mini projects I wrote out as a child about wolves and other animals influenced it.

I never came across much 'werewolf culture' until very recently. I don't know a whole bunch about the mythology, not to say I'm not interested, but I'll eventually read up on it. I never saw any artwork until recently, I designed my own, and my people always became full wolves in a sense...or other animals. My people always had tails in human form. So my view of a werewolf was not shaped by werewolf movies or art, even though I liked and still like horror films, it was shaped just by things I did as a kid...almost unrelated to werewolves.

A sort of randomly built context .

Although a memory comes back to me. I had little interest in 'werewolves', only in animals, when I was very young, and perhaps shape shifting of course since I always wanted to explore other forms of being...like wings or a tail (I only have my phantom tail to go by ).

When I was quite young, I used to get called a werewolf for my extremely dark eyes. They're more hazel now, but they used to be very dark brown, and black at night. I used to howl and chase them but I always assumed (In my context) that a werewolf was a person that turned into a whole wolf.

Nowadays I have found more recent werewolf films and rediscovered the old ones, rewatched them and this forum has certainly shaped my view. I had no idea of the term Gestalt before I came here...I had never seen the term before. I hadn't heard of Goldenwolf until recently, or seen any of the amazing webcomics you guys posted for me. I certainly designed Gestalt werewolves...well, all sorts of bipedal creatures and shifters really...before coming here, but the terminology is new, except for some of the scientific terms such as digitigrade which I've seen before during my biology degree.

[Timber-WoIf]

-bloody roar
-anthro art
-my own sense of logic and realism (lol realism)
-my hate for uberness

[Vuldari]

I had no idea of the term Gestalt before I came here...I had never seen the term before. I hadn't heard of Goldenwolf until recently, or seen any of the amazing webcomics you guys posted for me. I certainly designed Gestalt werewolves...well, all sorts of bipedal creatures and shifters really...before coming here, but the terminology is new, except for some of the scientific terms such as digitigrade which I've seen before during my biology degree.

That would be because the term "Gestalt" was not used in that context prior to this website. ...we adopted that term ourselves...

Early on, we realized that using copyrighted terms like "Chronos Form" and that sort of thing was not really appropriate to use as a general term.

We all seemed to have our own words to describe the same thing ("Werewof Form", "Hybrid Form", "Bipedal Form", "Upright Standing Form", etc.) so finally someone suggested the word "Gestalt" (I forget what language that is from) which can be roughly translated as "a combination that is greater than the sum of it's parts"...or something like that.

So, from that point on, we have referred to that form which looks like a beast, but walks like a man as the "Gestalt" form here on this website. That way, we avoid any potential lawsuits, and everyone knows what everyone else is talking about.

[howlbigbadwolf]

ya i really can't say i just remember one day i always had some kinda strong ravage feeling inside of me (*no joke*) always swelling in side me, i would have days when i felt really angry and powerful and would whale away on a punching bag trying to help sepress the feeling inside of me. Then i started to watch some scary movies and noticed I was more focused on the werewolf then any other monster. The idea of the werewolf swallowed me up and has become my second identy my alter ego and by using that powerful nature of the werewolf and his hunger for power and strengh i have lost 40 pounds and now in great shape. when i work out and i start to get tired i just let the wolf part of my feeling come out and i get a fury burts of energy and a kinda feral nature i push harder punch harder letting the nature of my ego sprit take control of me. I know it sounds crazy but that is the main reason why I feel like i have the sprit of a werewolf or wolf inside of me>

[Set]

We all seemed to have our own words to describe the same thing ("Werewof Form", "Hybrid Form", "Bipedal Form", "Upright Standing Form", etc.) so finally someone suggested the word "Gestalt" (I forget what language that is from)

'Tis German.