The Werewolf Mind and Music

[Kirk Hammett]

I hope this hasn't been posted. I'm not sure how this would be explored in a film, but it's interesting.

As a person myself I'm fairly eccentric and I have odd patterns of thought. I have a very strong imagination and the ability to imagine I am something else and feel it. I'm guessing most people on this forum do; I mean, we all share a common interest in creativity and fantasy and even the possibility werefolk perhaps exist.

But how far would a werewolf's mind go? Should it stick to the normal psychology of the wolf and human mind? Or should a werewolf be able to imagine things stronger than a human? It might be magnified mostly in those individuals who are exceptionally creative as humans.

Could they have more photographic memories, or a much more vivid sense of image.

And how does the werewolf hear music? I mean how does an animal perceive it. My cat for example must be in the room when I am playing guitar, no matter how loud it gets. This isn't a coincidence, his behaviour changes when I am playing and I've observed it for a long time. If the werewolf's hearing is heightened, how do they see, feel, sense the music? Is it a much stronger sense of image and colour and pattern in their mind or are some frequencies lost (I'd hope not) to them.

Edit: I just found a thread on this but we could consider how they 'see' music and if they can any better.

http://calypso-blue.com/werewolf/viewtopic.php?t=147

And how does a werewolf dream

There are so many mind things you could consider, I just think it'd be interesting, even if it is bounding a little over science, but it IS fantasy after all. Whenever I write about werewolves, I consider things like this all the time. It may not be exactly superhuman power, but it's interesting what may be magnified.

What about instincts; these might also change a person's perspective on life and the way he or she thinks about ordinary life also.

Something else I found interesting (But Biologically perhaps not possible...though you can go around it because they are partially human) was a cross between a werewolf and a were-cat or something of a sort. Perhaps a red wolf and a coyote. But that's off topic, nevermind me

[Ultraken]

I'd say the opposite regarding imagination, if you're trying to base werewolves on natural wolves. Heightened perception and alertness tie them to the here and now, the world flooding in through their eyes, ears, and noses. The intensity of this experience often overwhelms the inner world of introspection, remembrance, and forethought.

[Kirk Hammett]

Yeah I know what you mean, what I mean is don't base it all off science, or it'd be incorrect anyway. But I add a few little science things in, just to put some musing into it I guess. A mix can be interesting if it's done right. Too much science gets bleh...I can't be bothered with it.

If a werewolf could not experience music especially in the human form and I was a werewolf, I would kill myself. This may sound crazy, I will not elaborate

[Scott Gardener]

Try to run, try to hide, break on through to the other side:

I do think "seeing music" could apply fairly literally. Here's my reasoning.

Temple Grandin, who herself has autism but is cognizant, has described what it is like being autistic. She works with animals and animal psychology, and she believes that most mammals are essentially autistic, and that human extroverted behavior and thinking is a divergence from an austistic mammalian norm. One can deductively suggest that if she's right, normal wolves are like autistic humans.

Humans with autism often experience a heightened sense of synesthesia. Synesthesia is the overlapping of sensory perceptions. In simplest form, hearing sounds causes you to think of certain colors, or certain smells have a certain sound that comes to mind. More elaborate synesthetics cause some people to live a very psychedelic existence.

My newly bitten werewolves, between their enhanced hearing, enhanced smell, and fluctuating color perception, are already undergoing an acid trip. Throw in synesthesia, and the experience is out-right bizarre.


Counting sheep and eating them:

I go ahead and give my werewolves vivid dreams, from the complex stuff that happens in lycanthropic brain chemistry, particularly with the initial infection. But, no, they don't talk to the zombies of their dead victims, unless they made the mistake of watching An American Werewolf in London, which is really not the best thing to watch when you've got your first shift just around the corner.

I've even had a bit of fun, writing a story centered around my lead werewolf character dreaming two dreams about being the superhero "Wolfman," a Batman parody. In the first, he's in a campy 1960s style version, and in the second, a dark and brooding Tim Burton-esque setting.

[Morkulv]

Humans with autism often experience a heightened sense of synesthesia. Synesthesia is the overlapping of sensory perceptions. In simplest form, hearing sounds causes you to think of certain colors, or certain smells have a certain sound that comes to mind. More elaborate synesthetics cause some people to live a very psychedelic existence.

I've got autism and I never have any kind of experience like that.

[Kimmay]

And how does a werewolf dream

Well, first their legs start twitching and flailing around. Then they start making low rumbling noises in their throats

[Kirk Hammett]

Haha I finally got my computer running! New one. Sorry for the delays.

simplest form, hearing sounds causes you to think of certain colors, or certain smells have a certain sound that comes to mind.

I do this all the time, Im guessing it's common in the simple form? They thought I was autistic when I was 2, but it turned out I was bright, or something, I was taken to a child psychologist. I do not recall this. Haha. Im guessing autism is experienced in various ways. But Im not a doctor I do not know. That theory is interesting however.

As for your novels Scott, I really enjoy the stuff you write up there, you like detail, like me.

Haha twitching, my dog is funny while he dreams. Im rather silent when I sleep, but my brother is another matter!

[Terastas]

What I presume is that the werewolf's brain undergoes little or no change durring the shift. It's the messages recieved by the brain that change, or more accurately, the new set of werewolf parts giving it a different sense of hearing, sight, smell, taste and touch. The werewolf will see the world in a completely different way, but all the internal fuctions like memory, creativity and imagination should still be the same.

Their preference in music would definitely change as, like I said above, they would be listening with a completely different set of ears, presumably ears more equipped for for long-range feedback as opposed to detailed feedback like the human ear. We hear the music, but a werewolf might only be able to hear four different loud noises.

[Kirk Hammett]

I guess it depends if the werewolf in human form can hear music as normal. I'd hope so haha.

[dnl]

Hi I'm back...I’m almost kind wondering if it could make them fast and/or smarter.
If the brain where to get a little smaller per say to fit in the skull it might get ride of some grey matter this would cause a from of autism. The brain it self would not be that different from a wolf exp in a few key was for one I don’t think will have any trouble take in all this new information one we have a lot more synaptic connections than wolves also are neocortex are very more advanced along with are prototypical structures of the brainstem. Really need to know the butterfly effect to figure it out complete if there such a thing. It hard to say anything about dreams since there not well understood even today. I need some time to think this thro.

[Kirk Hammett]

Haha dreams. I had some weird ones recently. Well come back with your theory when you're done, sounds interesting. So much logic and science and hypothisising with all this werewolf stuff. Sometimes I just want to shout 'Blah it's FANTASY LETS MAKE IT UP ' But it's too interesting to look at the biology and psychology and all that of it to do that.

[Playful]

Should a werewolf have a mind that stays human all the way through or like be human untill the end when they loose all humanity?

[deruty]

I like the idea that you lose human thought in the end, but you remember everything. The feeling, what you did, etc.

[JoshuaMadoc]

It depends on how assinine one must be to think that they're losing one's mind.

[Rhuen]

well wolves dream and dogs dream, we don't know what about. I would imagine some freaky dreams may occure if they mix human associations with animal ones. But then again I have dreamed about cloths turning into zombies and Galactus eating france. So who knows what weirdness can come to be in a dream.

[Kirk Hammett]

I also have extremely weird dreams. Last night I was in a completely new place again...I always seem to create new places.

[MoonKit]

Synesthesia is the overlapping of sensory perceptions. In simplest form, hearing sounds causes you to think of certain colors, or certain smells have a certain sound that comes to mind. More elaborate synesthetics cause some people to live a very psychedelic existence.

Cool! My mate does that! He used to have a white board in his room when we didnt live together and I would always write the new month in the corner and I would always ask him what color the month was. Like I think Feburary was a red or orange or brown. So I would use that color marker to write it. It is very interesting.

But hes really really smart. He can memorize almost all the quotes from a movie he saw once. And he was reading at the twelve grade level in like fourth grade. *drools* I love smart boys.

And (kind of off topic) speaking of weird dreams, last night I dreampt that I was hanging out with Lord Voldemort (from the Harry Potter books) and periodically he kept turning into Jack Terricloth ( a musician). But the whole time Voldemort was bugging me to take him to the mall so he can get some Starbucks.

[Kirk Hammett]

Synesthesia is the overlapping of sensory perceptions. In simplest form, hearing sounds causes you to think of certain colors, or certain smells have a certain sound that comes to mind. More elaborate synesthetics cause some people to live a very psychedelic existence.

Cool! My mate does that! He used to have a white board in his room when we didnt live together and I would always write the new month in the corner and I would always ask him what color the month was. Like I think Feburary was a red or orange or brown. So I would use that color marker to write it. It is very interesting.

But hes really really smart. He can memorize almost all the quotes from a movie he saw once. And he was reading at the twelve grade level in like fourth grade. *drools* I love smart boys.

And (kind of off topic) speaking of weird dreams, last night I dreampt that I was hanging out with Lord Voldemort (from the Harry Potter books) and periodically he kept turning into Jack Terricloth ( a musician). But the whole time Voldemort was bugging me to take him to the mall so he can get some Starbucks.

I have colours for the days of the week, and parts of the year, also for numbers and stuff. I do this very often, what Scott was describing.

As for days of the week:

Monday is white to grey. Tuesday is Yellow. Wednesday green,Thursday aqua to blue, Friday black or brown, Saturday is sort of cream, and Sunday is very white with hints of yellow. It's difficult to explain the extent of my perceptions but it's a LOT more complex than that. For example I can 'see' the end of the week, or the end of a certain day, like a shadow.

On my Uni timetable, each day is marked according to the closest colour I can find...ie blue for Thursday if I haven't got an aqua/turquoise hi-lighter. The shades of colours change sometimes too, depending on the weather and what is going to happen on the day (If it's really exciting, it'll be a maybe brighter shade, if it's going to be a boring day, or a terrible day, I sense it differently)

I won't go into detail. But I certainly see music as well, and feel music.

[Rhuen]

Guess I am not the only one that ever associated colors with time. But I think my color associations for the months may come from my pre-school's calenders that we made and took home. We had use a different color for each month, so in my mind those same colors have always been associated with those months.