Research source

Among the Finns and Lapps it is not uncommon for a magician to fall into a cataleptic condition, and during the…

Date of account: Published 1865
Source: The Book of Were-Wolves
Reference: The Book of Were-Wolves · selected passage 93
Rights: public_domain
Language: English
Record updated: 2026-08-24

Record summary

Published source text

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Source passage

Source text · mention only

Among the Finns and Lapps it is not uncommon for a magician to fall into a cataleptic condition, and during the period his soul is believed to travel very frequently in bodily form, having assumed that of any animal most suitable for its purpose. I have given instances in a former chapter. The same doctrine is evident in most cases of lycanthropy. The patient is in a state of trance, his body is watched, and it remains motionless, but his soul has migrated into the carcase of a wolf, which it vivifies, and in which it runs its course. A curious Basque story shows that among this strange Turanian people, cut off by such a flood of Aryan nations from any other members of its family, the same superstition remains. A huntsman was once engaged in the chase of it bear among the Pyreneean peaks, when Bruin turned suddenly on him and hugged him to death, but not before he had dealt the brute its mortal wound.

Historical context

Contextual commentary · mention only

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Modern context

Contextual commentary · mention only

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