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I've read this a number of times now, in reviews of werewolf movies, werewolf books and so on... I've read it where people think it is really classy if the item of fiction in question depicts werewolves, or something close enough (shapeshifters that repeatedly transform into creatures that at least vaguely resemble wolves) but the characters never mention the word "werewolf" once, even if the ties to other items of werewolf fiction happen to be quite explicit (such as the creatures transforming at the full moon or being vulnerable to silver and so on).
What I'm wondering is, how do you guys feel? Does it class up a piece of fiction if nobody ever says the "w" word? When characters do use the "w" word does it immediately lend a feeling of camp or interfere with the suspention of disbelief?

I like it if they say it from their own perspective. It suggests that the werewolves have their own culture instead of subscribing to what everyone else calls them.

Names have power.

I voted "Other", but I feel the first option is valid to me too. Making up alternate names for them, like "Lycans" is usually just totally LAME.

I would not say it is more "classy" to never say the word at all, but would agree that it is better not to beat the audence over the head with it by over using it.

Personally, I would find it highly UNrealistic if NO ONE ever even tried to identify or address the creatures in question by name. OF COURSE someone would say it...or something else at least.

We, as human beings, naturally apply names to everything, otherwise no one knows what anyone else is talking about.


No...I don't think it is "Classy" at all to repeatedly say "It", "Him", "Her", "Them", "The Creature" or Whatever rather than do what comes naturally to any human being and IDENTIFY what it is you are looking at.

Honestly...I would just find that annoying.


In the long run though, it really just depends on how it is done.

-Shudder- "Lycan" is a horrible word and will always remind me of Underworld. It wasn't a bad film, it just made the whole term commercialised. Was it invented by them? I know lycanthrope obviously isn't . But the short term. I heard somewhere that thats where it became big. Garou isn't so bad, I don't see it anywhere.

I don't really mind what they are called but I refer to them a lot as just shape shifters I guess. Because I don't just use wolves in my books but other animals, and I can't be bothered with 'were-cheetah' and 'were-meekat'.

Shapeshifters, werewolves and windegos are all different creatures. I want propper naming!

As a weretiger, I would like a little more universal terminology. I'd much rather somebody say "shapeshifter" or "werekin" than "werewolf."

Also, I think most people can recognize a werewolf for themselves, and having a moment in a movie where one character in the know explains it to someone newly exposed really dumbs down the movie. If somebody saw a real gestalt werewolf, I don't think the conversation would go:

"What was that?"
"That was a werewolf. Their real."

It would be more like:

"Was that what I think it was?"
"Yeah. It was."

The only exception I can think of was the way it was depicted in Underworld. Whene Selene gave the plot summary to Michael, it was about the Blood War instead of the existence of vampires and werewolves. She just casually said "vampires and lycans," and then when she finally said "werewolves," it was more like she just realized afterwards he wouldn't know what she means by lycans and picked a term she knew he would recognize. You don't have to say "I'm a werewolf, a man that becomes a wolf by the light of the full moon yadda-yadda-yadda." All you need is "I'm a werewolf," and we'll presumably know the rest.

Actually, it annoys the crap outta me when movies do that.
I mean if you saw a werewolf in real life, you're going to say "HOLY HANNAH, A WEREWOLF!!!!!", not "Oh my, a large hairy wolf-like creature!"

I mean, I can see avoiding the word if the humans and the audience havn't gotten a good look at it, but as soon as it is obvious that it is a werewolf, just call it a werewolf.

I agree with Pariah. Just call the damn thing a werewolf.

PariahPoet wrote:Actually, it annoys the crap outta me when movies do that.
I mean if you saw a werewolf in real life, you're going to say "HOLY HANNAH, A WEREWOLF!!!!!", not "Oh my, a large hairy wolf-like creature!"

I mean, I can see avoiding the word if the humans and the audience havn't gotten a good look at it, but as soon as it is obvious that it is a werewolf, just call it a werewolf.

In a fully realistic setting, (not "Underworld" or "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" obviously) I doubt that grown-ups (except a few of the really opened-minded) would immediately say "werewolf" if they saw a gestalt-form werewolf. They might think it to themselves, but then their mind would try to reject it, and they'd probably need at least a pause before they could seriously suggest to another person that the thing was a werewolf.

It would be more like "Is that a skinny, dog-like deformed bear?" or "Is that someone's pet wolf, and why it is walking on its hind legs?" or "That's the most realistic werewolf costume I've ever seen - it looks 100% real" or just a "What was that?"

I have noticed a tendancy towards conspicuously avoiding the word. In my own writing, I had my characters have a hard time saying the word "werewolf," but I didn't actively avoid mention of it. I feel it realistically would come up, and fairly often. Most people aren't going to use words like "lycanthropes" or "legendary shape-shifting creatures," when they're brought up to use the word "werewolf" to describe it.

Werewolves themselves probably would use a nickname of some sort to keep a low profile, but a word like "Lycan" would be out, since it's such a giveaway. But, if I were a werewolf, cornered by a normal human and finally having to explain it, I'd go ahead and use the word.

As a side note, "Lycan" was popularized by Underworld. No one used it beforehand, and now everyone is--it's showing up in B-movie titles all over the place, and it started right after Underworld came out. Same thing happened in 1993 with Werewolf: the Apocalypse--as soon as the game came out, all the werewolves everywhere suddenly were hard-core environmentalists.

Scott Gardener wrote: But, if I were a werewolf, cornered by a normal human and finally having to explain it, I'd go ahead and use the word.

That's one situation where it would be hard not to say the "w" word. And any fictional scene where that happened and the "w" word wasn't used even once probably wouldn't be very believable to the audience. Even if the werewolf avoided the word (and I can see some reasons for not spitting out a loaded word like that right away if you don't want to lose friends) you'd think that the other person would eventually say "So, you're trying to tell me you're a werewolf?"

Jamie wrote:When characters do use the "w" word does it immediately lend a feeling of camp or interfere with the suspention of disbelief?

Well mate I can honestly say that when I've been watching ANY werewolf film and heard the W word that I have never thought any less of the beast for hearing it's PROPER name. I can't imagine how it could add a camp connotation(would it then be a queerwolf?).

And as for havin an affect on the believability, well I always take my brain out when I sit and watch a "W" movie, I mean even WWE appears real! Seriously tho, Your already aware of the fiction, but I think it just sits in your subconcious. to me the "W" word just compounds the image of a predatory man snaffler.

Scott Gardener wrote: As a side note, "Lycan" was popularized by Underworld. No one used it beforehand, and now everyone is--it's showing up in B-movie titles all over the place, and it started right after Underworld came out. Same thing happened in 1993 with Werewolf: the Apocalypse--as soon as the game came out, all the werewolves everywhere suddenly were hard-core environmentalists.

My understanding of the term is that it's shorthand for "lycanthrope." That would make it werewolf racism (which I guess is appropriate for a vampire to use in Underworld setting, but not elsewhere).

'Werewolf' is just not a politicaly correct name for them

Um, yeah, if anyone saw a gestalt ww running around, I should think their first thoughts would be something like 'OMG is that a frickin' werewolf?!' If said human only had a glimpse of it, then they most likely wouldnt be saying its a werewolf, maybe a bigfoot?. But if they were cornered by it and got a good long look at it in good lighting, their should be no question; "Yup, defintly a werewolf..."
Werewolf: "Dude! Its LYCAN! Get it right!"

I also don't think people will actually say stuff like "OMG! Its a werewolf!", because people would be more concerned in running for they'r lives at the point were they meet a werewolf, I think.

If someone in real life were to see a werewolf, I suspect there would be a few seconds gap as it sank in what one was viewing. Since they're in most peoples' minds somewhere towards the back of the list of things that don't exist and will thus never be seen, the first thing that will come to mind during an encounter will be, "what the [quack] was that!" Only after running away, catching one's breath, and shuddering in terror, obsessed with a frightening disruption of one's sense of reality, will one stop to think and put the word to the picture, and only with some reluctance, since they're not supposed to exist. One might use it more as a description of what it looked like, without admiting that that's what it was.

They've always been WEREWOLVES in my book, the term LYCAN only really got off the ground with the Underworld movies, Yeah it sounds cool but they'll always be a werewolf to me

If the character doesn't know any better than they should say werewolf, maybe they can be corrected later by another character. and Yes I feel the actual beings themselves should use a different name for themselves than others call them. Heck even humans call other human nations by names different than they call themselves.

But to never use the word,...nope don't like that idea. its like with a Zombie movie, it bugs me to hell that they insist on not using the word zombie ever instead "those things", "those creatures" ect... Just say Zombie! do what a "real" person in the same situation would do and say if the character is meant to convey a typical person.

Also as for Lycan, don't like that either or how popular it is because of this Lichen. Same pronounciation. Its a plant.