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Werewolves in Westeros?


watson98

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Probably.

I mean, the Roose is a vampire theory is pretty spot on, and you can't have vampires w/o werewolves.

It would be cool if Roose is a vampire.

So if there is an actual werewolf/s out there who would it be? Is someone a werewolf without us knowing? Are there werewolves beyond the wall?

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Starks 'become' their Dire Wolves, wouldn't that be a were wolf?

Depends on the definition, I suppose, but in the context it's used in the books, it appears that "Werewolf" is something different. The "classical" definition of the term would also have it be different to Warging, though, so I admit my reading of it is biased. I still think it's quite likely that Werewolf legends (in Westeros) originate with stories of Wargs, but have since evolved into something even more terrifying.

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Depends on the definition, I suppose, but in the context it's used in the books, it appears that "Werewolf" is something different. The "classical" definition of the term would also have it be different to Warging, though, so I admit my reading of it is biased. I still think it's quite likely that Werewolf legends (in Westeros) originate with stories of Wargs, but have since evolved into something even more terrifying.

I think that sounds pretty spot on :)

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iam not sure but i can tell u this if GRRM introduces werewolves or vamps in the story...i am out...no matter how badly i want to know what happens to the starks.

Why? What would be wrong with that?

Your happy to accept Unicorns, Giants and Dragons but not Werewolves?

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  • 5 months later...

Mormonts are rumored to be able to turn into bears too.

I say Werewolves are as real as Snarks and Grumkins, that is they may or may not be and we'll never know one way or another.

This being said, your question "people still knew what a werewolf was so does that mean that they once existed or still do exist in the world?" is rather daft: here, in our own world, we know what a unicorn, a werewolf, a vampire, a zombie, or a dragon is even when they never existed at all, and I don't see why it would be different for a secondary world that has old women telling scary fantasy stories to children.

Yes, but unicorns (probably) zombies, dragons, krakens, inhuman creatures, direwolves, as well as many other things do exist in that world, so thinking that our world and their world are the same is very daft of you, ignorant as well, and downright stupid ... did I mention daft???

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In Westeros there are skinchangers, which sounds like the same thing, but skinchangers don't actually transform into other species of animals. Skinchangers have the ability to take control of the mind of an animal that they have bonded with, but they don't actually physically transform.

Wargs are the closest thing to werewolves in that they inhabit the minds of wolves or dire wolves. But still, they don't transform into wolves.

Yeah, the story in Westeros of "wargs" is pretty much their werewolf equivalent. I don't recall anyone in ASOIAF calling anyone a "werewolf".

The "facts" of wargs are really not known by anyone who is not a warg. Many who have the abilities have never been taught about them (such as all the Starks.) The rest of the legend is made up by people in the usual superstitious fashion - think of the tales spoken by Lancel or the Freys, of Robb's men feasting on the slain after battles, or transforming into wolves to eat the Red Wedding guests. Stuff that's either spoken of as tales to frighten children, or else as propaganda to frighten ignorant citizens.

Yet, clearly it is based in something that's real. What is considered a myth at the start of ASOIAF comes back to the world with a vengeance.

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Good God, please George, no werewolves and no vampires. And if you do have them, please don't set up a love triangle with a human maid who then has to become undead in order to spend eternity with her true love. I'm pretty sure that's been done before.

Why do you think he introduced Darkstar?

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werewolves do exist bran and Jon and arya certainly are in a losse sense since at night they were the skin of a wolf which in essence is what a werewolf is

Yes, I would imagine that the stories of werewolves come from old legends and such about people warging direwolves and things like that... Just a bit twisted and changed over time, like all myth.

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Ok so,

When Robb Stark still had a head Cersei and Tywin spent a bit of time throwing around rumours that he and the other north men were werewolves.

Obviously they weren't but people still knew what a werewolf was so does that mean that they once existed or still do exist in the world?

Could they be a legend which turns out to be true like the giants on the other side of the wall?

I would love to hear some theories in this...

I'm pretty sure a werewolf refers to a warg who uses a wolf. It is Martin's own take on a classic fiend. At least, that is what I thought.

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I'm pretty sure a werewolf refers to a warg who uses a wolf. It is Martin's own take on a classic fiend. At least, that is what I thought.

A warg is someone who can slip into the mind of a wolf or a direwolf and act on their behalf. A werewolf is someone who transforms into a wolf at the full moon.

I can deal with wargs, but please no werewolves, George, I'm begging you.

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I'm pretty sure a werewolf refers to a warg who uses a wolf. It is Martin's own take on a classic fiend. At least, that is what I thought.

I think it's where the term comes from, but I don't think a warg is what the Westerosi mean when they talk about werewolves.

What the Westerosi call a werewolf seems to fit the classical definition of a werewolf. I also don't think werewolves actually exist in Westeros, the stories of them are just misunderstood and embellished accounts of wargs.

For an in-story example, see the (obviously false) tales the Freys spread about the events of the Red Wedding - a century or two down the line, and noone will be able to tell where truth ends and lies begin - fairy tales of "Robb, the King of the Werewolves" could easily make their way into folklore that way.

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If I was a skinchanger, I would probably do what I could to convince the common folk that I preyed on that I was actually able to change forms, so they would be scared of me if they happened to come across me when I didn't have an animal nearby. It's probably a combination of willful deception by skinchangers and people misunderstanding what's going on with skinchanging - really, the idea of having a part of your mind go into the brain of another animal and control it while you still have a portion of your mind in your own body is a pretty esoteric thing to understand for medieval people who may not even realize the brain is what you think with (in medieval times many learned men guessed that the purpose of the brain was to cool the blood). Easier to understand a person who just turns into a wolf.

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If I was a skinchanger, I would probably do what I could to convince the common folk that I preyed on that I was actually able to change forms, so they would be scared of me if they happened to come across me when I didn't have an animal nearby. It's probably a combination of willful deception by skinchangers and people misunderstanding what's going on with skinchanging - really, the idea of having a part of your mind go into the brain of another animal and control it while you still have a portion of your mind in your own body is a pretty esoteric thing to understand for medieval people who may not even realize the brain is what you think with (in medieval times many learned men guessed that the purpose of the brain was to cool the blood). Easier to understand a person who just turns into a wolf.

Good point, though they don't necessarily need to understand the concept of a brain - after all, there's no physical transfer of actual brain-matter between warg and wolf, just of "self" or "conscious", or "soul" if you will. The latter would probably be the most readily understood by the uneducated.

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