The Werewolf in Lore and Legend by
Montague Summers
Hugely Valuable As A Resource For Original Werewolf Lore
The first definitive work on werewolfery, this book was written by a
venerable author of occult studies. Unsurpassed in its sheer scope and
depth, it employs a theological and philosophical approach, incorporating
an extensive range of historical documentation and folklore. Summers
examines the supernatural practice of shapeshifting, notes the finer
distinctions between werewolfery and lycanthropy, and explores the
differences of opinion on exactly how ordinary humans are transformed
into creatures of unbridled cruelty, bestial ferocity, and ravening hunger.
His Gothic style, rich in fascinating examples and anecdotes, offers
compelling fare for lovers of esoteric lore. Unabridged republication of the
classic 1933 edition.
Personal Review: The Werewolf in Lore and Legend by
Montague Summers
I'm honestly surprised that the only other reviews for this book are as
unfavorable as they are. Sure, Montague Summers was a religious zealot
and his contempt for the "devilish" practice of werewolfry (not to mention
witchcraft, black magic and any similar occult activities) shines through
bright and clear in his writing. It is also unfortunate that, as has been
noted, he very often quotes from Greek, Latin, French, German and other
languages while providing no English translation of those quotations. This
practice is a bit irksome for a layperson not versed in these languages, and
I for one would appreciate an annotated version in which the quotations
have been translated.
However, Summers often gives enough of a review (or at least a critique)
of the non-English quote to alert the uncultured reader (i.e. probably most
of us nowadays) to what he has missed. I would also argue that a literal

understanding of his albeit many and varied quotes does not largely
detract from the work as a whole. There's still a great plenty of valuable
information to be found in this early 20th century work, even if, like me,
English is your first--and only--language.
Regarding Summer's staunch Christian standpoint--yes, it's very much
there--I can only argue that such a standpoint, fanatical and dogmatic
though it may be, hardly impacts the veracity (inasmuch as this word can
be applied to tales of werewolves) of the multitude of cases of werewolfry
that he relates. He may (and very often does) pass judgment on the
person on whom a certain story centers, but the point, for me, is that he
relates each case more or less as he finds it in the literature (and of course
the original case was, very often, first recorded by another religious
fanatic...).
In other words, regardless of Summer's zest for denouncing werewolfry as
a despicable, evil practice meriting the very worst condemnation in hellfire,
he nevertheless does a fantastic job of presenting within this book's pages
just what its (modern) title promises: a record of The Werewolf in Lore and
Legend.
With these few minor quibblings out of the way, I must comment on what I
found to be most impressive in this book: Summer's astonishingly thorough
and far-reaching research. Summers, Christian zealot though he may
have been, was also amazingly well-read; his plethora of sources are both
millennia- and globe-spanning. With them he paints a picture of The
Werewolf as it was known--and feared--in those bygone eras when it was
acknowledged as a real entity, untainted by its modern, Hollywood-
contrived attributes, to which we have now grown accustomed (and indeed
mistakenly taken for granted as original lore). There are only a couple of
references to a full moon having anything to do with werewolves; similarly,
silver is only mentioned twice, and even then merely as an effective
ammunition against practitioners of witchcraft in general, not against
werewolves specifically (silver bullets are not mentioned at all).
If you're looking for a secular, politically correct overview of the history and
lore of werewolves, this is certainly not the book for you. Montague
Summers not only believed in the phenomena of (apparent) shape-shifting
and werewolfry, he was also quick to condemn them as evidence of
dealings with devils. But the breadth and depth of Summer's research
can't be beat, and I for one would gladly wade through the morass of
Christian overtones in this book than bother with a modern account of
werewolves As Described And Reinvented By Modern American Culture.
If you're looking for werewolves--the original werewolves--Summers is
about as close to The Real Thing as it gets.
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