Werebeasts

— WARNING —

This article belongs to the monster history category of pages, which detail the creatures of the Monster High franchise and do so in relation to the source context of those creatures. There is a likelihood that this article contains material not suited for young people and in general holds topics that are upsetting. If you only wish to read about the basic inspiration choices for the Monster High characters and creatures, go to Werebeasts in Monster High

Werebeasts are a type of monster present in the Monster High universe. They are living monsters that possess both human and animal qualities.

Etymology

Therianthropy refers to the metamorphosis of humans into other animals. Therianthropes are said to change forms via shapeshifting. Therianthropes have long existed in mythology, appearing in ancient cave drawings.

Werebeasts in Fiction

Mythology

Werebeasts are used in a number of mythologies all over the world.

Some old Norse believed that berserkers could change into a partial beast form in battle if they ever needed to.

Popular culture

The Wolf Man

Werewolves are the one of the biggest icons in the horror industry. However the first movie feature an anthropomorphic werewolf was The Werewolf of London, from 1935. The 1941 film, The Wolf Man, is what launched Werewolves into popularity, doing much of what Dracula did for Vampires.

Description

There have been two major descriptions for werebeasts, those who are completely human and transform into animals, and those which are anthropomorhic, or human with animal qualities (and vice-versa).

Werebeasts in Monster High

Werebeasts in the Monster High are anthropomorphic creatures who do not transform. Clawdeen Wolf is the series' featured Werewolf character, as well as her siblings Clawdia Wolf, Clawd Wolf, and Howleen Wolf, and friends Romulus, Dougey and Brocko. They are for the most part human, with subtle animal qualities such as canine ears and fangs. A key feature in their monster heritage is their rapid hair growth, which is simaler to fur, much to Clawdeen's displeasure, as she has to shave 2-3 times a day.

Clawdeen, Clawd, Clawdia and Howleen are children of the werewolf seen in Universal's 1941 film The Wolf Man starring Lon Chaney, Jr. The Wolf Man story is a familiar werewolf tale: a man is bitten by another werewolf, and is cursed with transformation each month on the night of the full moon.

Clawdeen shares several characteristics with the Lon Chaney, Jr. character, including canine characteristics such as fur and claws. Werewolves have a strong sense of smell, which is referred to as "the nose knows", which was said by Clawdeen in "Fashion Emergency", Clawd in "Scaris: City of Frights", and Howleen in Twyla's 13 Wishes diary

She also has trouble controlling her inner wolf when she sees a full moon, or a full moon-like object such as a spotlight.

Toralei Stripe, Meowlody, Purrsephone,Catrine DeMew and Catty Noir are werecats, which are much more animal like than their canine monster counterparts. Unlike Werewolves, they seem to be covered in fur, have tails, and even have cat-like noses in the webisodes. When Toralei was shown as a baby, she was literally just a kitten with human-like hair. Possible werecats include: the animal girl, catgirls and the catboys.

In "The Nine Lives of Toralei" there were four weredogs: a bulldog, a purple poodle and two unknown type of dogs.

Notes

• There has been a wererat-like student as a backgrounder character in one webisode: "Bad Scare Day".