Enduring Appeal of the Wolfman

The legend of the werewolf has enduring appeal, as demonstrated by yet another new Hollywood flick, The Wolfman, in which Benicio Del Toro takes over the lead in a remake of the 1941 classic that starred Lon Chaney Jr.

Discover the roots of the myth in The Book of Werewolves, the 1865 classic by Sabine Baring-Gould, available in both hardcover and paperback editions — complete with the original illustrations — as part of Cosimo’

s series Loren Coleman Presents, featuring new introductions by the famous crytozoologist.

This first serious academic study of the shape-shifters of mythological lore “is the most frequently cited early study of lycanthropy and is regarded by most scholars as the foundation work in the field,” says Coleman. “The Book of Werewolves was so visionary that it foresaw that future discussions within werewolf studies would necessarily travel down many side paths. Indeed, midway through The Book of Werewolves, Baring-Gould treks into the shadowy world of crimes vaguely connected to werewolves, including serial murders, grave desecration, and cannibalism.”

The Del Toro Wolfman features a monster hunter who is none other than Frederick Abberline, a fictionalized version of the real-life Scotland Yard investigator who hunted down Jack the Ripper.

Loren Coleman About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct). Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015. Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.

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