Our Werebeasts Are Different: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|''I'm looking forward to two fantastic monthly events now. One of which turns me into a vicious monster and [[Bait and Switch Comparison|the other one into a were-cat]].''|'''Katie McBride''', ''[[The Wotch]]''}}
Werebeasts are creatures that can [[Shapeshifting|transform]] between a human (or at least humanoid) form and an animal or animal-like form. They are also known as "werecreatures" or "were-animals". The prefix "were" comes from the Old English word "wer", meaning "man". The technical term for this is ''therianthropy'', from the [[Gratuitous Greek|Greek words]] for "beast" and "man". The better known ''[[Lycanthropy]]'' comes from the Greek words for "wolf" and "man", and should only be used for [[Werewolves]]. Such creatures can be found [[The Oldest Ones in
By far the most common form of werebeast depicted in fiction inspired by European folklore is the [[Our Werewolves Are Different|Werewolf]], but many stories use other animals as the basis of their werebeasts. Some of these are inspired by real world mythologies and others are purely the invention of the authors. Other than wolves, potentially dangerous predatory mammals such as cats, panthers, lions and bears are the most frequently depicted werebeasts (due to their [[Rule of Cool]]). However, many other types of creature has been used as the basis of a werebeast. Sometimes authors use normally harmless creatures as the basis of a werecreature for the sake of [[Rule of Cute]] or [[Rule of Funny]]. Some works will even use extremely unconventional ideas such as were''cars''. It should also be noted that while werebeasts normally have humanoid shapes as their default form, sometimes a work will reverse the order and make a werebeast an animal that [[Humanity Ensues|transforms into a human]]. The wolf version of this is sometimes called a "wolfwere".
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Werebeasts often have variations and characteristics similar to those listed on the [[Our Werewolves Are Different/Analysis|Werewolf Analysis Page]]. For more information see [[The Other Wiki]] [[wikipedia:Therianthropy|Therianthropy page]].
This page is the [[Super-Trope]] for all therianthropes, including [[Our Werewolves Are Different]]. The preference for examples on this trope is for creatures explicity called "were", however very similar cases of human-animal transformation can also be listed, if the nature of the character or creature is strongly linked to a specific animal species. Creatures that can turn into any sort of creature or multiple types of creatures should not be listed here, but on the pages for [[Voluntary Shapeshifting]] or [[Animorphism]].
* This is a [[Sub-Trope]] to [[Our Monsters Are Different]] and [[Animorphism]].
* [[Skin Walker]] is a Native American multi-animal shape-shifter capable of taking other human forms.
* [[Youkai]] are Japanese supernatural creatures that are sometimes depicted as having features similar to werebeasts. Examples of these should be listed under that trope.
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* C'tarl C'tarl from ''[[Outlaw Star]]'' are werecats with several intermediate forms (Fuzzy Space-Elf to [[Catgirl|Cat Person]] to Buff Superpowered [[Petting Zoo People|Cat Person]] to [[Panthera Awesome|Giant Tiger]]) whose access are dependent on the presence and phase of a moon and on their own personal energy reserves.
* ''[[Fruits Basket]]'': The Sohma family is under a curse that causes [[Involuntary Shapeshifting]] into animal form when hugged by members of the opposite sex that are not relatives. While not called werebeasts, each member has a single and unique alternate animal form. The animals are those of the [[Eastern Zodiac]]: rat, dog, tiger, rabbit, dragon (he actually turns into a seahorse), ox, snake, sheep, monkey, horse, pig and rooster; plus cat.
* Zoan fruits in ''[[One Piece]]'' turn the recipents into werebeasts. They tend to be dangerous mass of muscle even if the template creature was relatively harmless (this is also a general tendency among werebeast. A werehamster can be as dangerous as a werewolf).
** Essentially, it depends on the user's own skills and creativity, as with all devil fruit users. Used properly, a devil fruit can enhance a person's already powerful skills. Used improperly, the person becomes overly dependent on that devil fruit and can easily be defeated by anyone who has actual fighting skills. Thus, if someone has an elephant zoan fruit, but is an average joe otherwise, they can be easily defeated by someone with a mouse zoan if the mouse zoan has more expertise.
* Saiyans in ''[[
* The manga ''[[Cowa!]]'' has the main character who is a werekoala and also part vampire.
* Evangelion Unit-02 from [[Rebuild of Evangelion]] can "shed its human form" when [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7NZESmjjJM given the secret password] "The Beast".
* Blair from ''[[Soul Eater]]'' is a cat that frequently takes a [[Catgirl]] form that looks mostly human except for her cat ears and tail.
* The chimeras in [[Fullmetal Alchemist (
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** Ursa Major is a Russian superhero able to turn into a humanoid bear.
** Catseye was a member of the Hellions and was meant as an [[Evil Counterpart]] to [[New Mutants]] Wolvesbane.
* In Fred Perry's ''[[Gold Digger (Comic Book)|Gold Digger]]'', one of the main characters is one of the last Werecheetahs. Other weres include Lions, Tigers, Rats, and of course Wolves. Each subspecies is able to shift between human, animal, and a "Wolf-Man" styled hybrid form. All of the weres retain their rationality in each of their forms, although they need to learn to control their instincts during childhood. Although the weres are separate species, they are capable of spreading thirianthropy to Humans as a disease; they were originally created by a wizard as [[Super Soldier
* ''[[Tangent Comics]]'' has Wildcat, a teenage girl who transforms into a feral werecat when her handler says the word "Shazam".
* In the [[Furry Comic]] Red Shetland, Eon is one of these (technically) of the Animal-Into-Man variety. Or...Normal horse into bi-pedal walking/talking horse. It's a curse thing.
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== Film ==
* ''[[Cat People (
* ''[[Ladyhawke]]'' features a couple of young lovers cursed to take on animal form at different times, as to keep them apart; the man turns into a wolf at night, and the lady into a... guess what.
* ''[[The Howling]] III: The Marsupials'' features were-thylacines (an extinct marsupial predator more commonly known as the Tasmanian Tiger).
* ''[[Black Sheep
* In the film ''[[The Secret of Roan Inish]]'' the eponymous secret involves a selkie.
* ''[[Track of the Moon Beast]]'' (1976) features a rare were-lizard man! Caused by being struck in the head by a radioactive chunk of moonrock!
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== Literature ==
* The ''[[Shifters Series]]'' by Rachel Vincent features werecats who change at will and live in lion-like prides.
* ''The Turning'' by Helen Ellis has an werecats. It's genetic, starts sometime during puberty, then lasts for two weeks every year for five years before stopping permanently. The 'turning' is brought on by contact with a cat (real or 'turned'). {{spoiler|there is a cure, but it only works before the second time you 'turn'.}}
* In ''Warwolf: The Centurion Warrior Book 1: The Warriors'' has mentions of werecats and even a were''cobra'', in addition to the more typical werewolves.
* [[
* The children's novel, ''Prince of Pirates'', features an enchantress named Leonora, who can turn herself into a panther at will.
* Laurell K. Hamilton's ''[[Anita Blake|Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter]]'', in addition to werewolves, has wereleopards, werelions, weretigers ({{spoiler|including blue, red and black tigers in the last book}}), at least 3 weredogs (their abilities are inherited not infection), weresnakes (at lest 2 species cobra and anaconda), swanmen (some are cursed others inherit their abilities like the weredogs), wererats, werebears, and werehyenas.
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* The ''Jill Kismet'' series by Lilith Saintcrow contains a number of werecat (or cat-were) characters.
* In the ''Otherworld'' series by Yasmine Galenorn one of the main characters is a werecat named Delilah D'artigo.
* In [[Patricia
* In the first novel of the ''[[Merry Gentry]]'' series, ''A Kiss of Shadows'', Merry's lover is a selkie named Roan Finn who has temporarily lost his ability to change shape.
* James A Hetley's novels ''Dragon's Eye'' and ''Dragon's Teeth'' have a family with the hereditary ability to turn into seals.
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* [[Spider Robinson]]'s "Lady Sally" stories have a were-beagle.
* In ''[[The Dresden Files]]'', while Harry Dresden is researching werewolves, Bob also mentions that there have also been such things as werebuffaloes and weregoats.
* In ''[[Sunshine (
* In Patricia Brigg's ''[[Mercy Thompson]]'' series features Mercy who is a were-coyote.
* The Fayth Hunter series ''[[Jane Yellowrock]]'' features a [[Skin Walker]] named Jane who is technically a classic shifter who can assume any form but prefers (or is forced to) take cat form mostly.
* Mary Janice Davidson's ''[[
* People who can turn into animals are one breed of Other in ''[[Night Watch]]''. [[Werewolves]] are always Dark, but the rest can apparently be of any alignment.
* In ''[[The Sookie Stackhouse Mysteries]]'', Sookie's brother Jason is abducted and bitten by a were-panther, so he turns into a sort of panther-man at the full moon.
* The ''[[River of Dancing Gods]]'' series has, in addition to werewolves and other common types of werecreatures, a variation simply called a "were", which transforms into whatever animal is nearest when the full moon takes effect.
* ''[[Golden Dragon Fantasy Gamebooks]]'' has a werecat and a weretiger.
* ''[[In the Blood (
* ''[[
* [[Poul Anderson]]'s ''[[Operation Chaos]]'' has a weretiger. Because Anderson's [[Magic A Is Magic A|laws of magic]] insist that [[Shapeshifter Baggage|mass remains constant]], he is a very large, fat man in human form.
* Fred Saberhagen's novel ''Dancing Bears'' features, guess what, ursanthropes.
* Curtis Jobling's series of fantasy novels ''[[Wereworld]]'' has all sorts of werecreatures, not limited to mammals.
* In [[Robert E. Howard]]'s "[[
== Live-Action TV ==
* ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'': During the episode ''[[Werewolf (
* ''[[Dinosaurs]]'': In an [[Halloween Episode|October 31st Episode]] Robbie scares Baby by telling him a story of becoming a were-caveman.
* ''[[Big Wolf
* The were-panthers in ''[[True Blood]]''.
** Unlike the books the show is based on, "wereism" is hereditary and cannot be transmitted by a bite. Despite this, Jason is abducted by a group of were-panthers and repeatedly bitten and [[Rape
** The series also shows that werewolves can interbreed with other supernatural beings. Specifically, Sam's [[Love Interest]] is a Shifter like him (like werewolves but can turn into any animal), who has a daughter fathered by a werewolf. The mother hopes her daughter will become a Shifter.
* In ''[[
* Freya on ''[[Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]]'' was a Druid girl cursed to turn into a winged werepanther at the stroke of midnight.
* In ''[[Grimm]]'' there are many people that have both a human form and a "creature" form, which have so far included werewolves, werebears, wereboars, wererats, satyrs, ogres, weresnakes, and weremice. There has been no indication of any limit to what "creatures" [[All Myths Are True|could be out there]]. And it is awesome.
* In ''[[Wednesday]]'', the title anti-heroine’s friend Enid is a werewolf who cannot “wolf out”; the most she can manage even under a full moon are claws, and even they tend to be of little use, getting in the way more often than they are useful. This causes her no end of distress, as a werewolf who cannot transform would be ostracized by her pack, likely never be able to mate, and would disappoint her parents on top of it. {{spoiler|In the season one finale, even [[Bad Moon Rising|a blood moon]] seems unable to help her do so… until the sociopathic [[Big Bad]] is about to kill Wednesday, and [[Die or Fly| she finally manages to fully transform]], pulling a [[Big Damn Heroes]] as a result.}}
== Music ==
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** Bears (Russia)
** Boar (Greece and Turkey)
** Wolves (All over the place, naturally. Special mention goes to the werewolves of Russia and Scotland, which are thought of as being simply another "race" or "tribe" of people who happen to have the ability to turn into wolves, rather than witches who made a [[Deal
* Asia
** Crocodile (Indonesia)
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== Tabletop Games ==
* ''[[Dungeons
** ''D&D'' 3rd Edition uses the term lycanthrope to refer to any sort of therianthrope. There are multiple varieties of lycanthrope aside from the usual werewolves, werebears, wererats, wearboars, weretigers, dire wereboars (hill giants that turn into dire boars), and jackleweres. The 3.5 edition monster manual even has a template for any animal. They've always been able to take on the normal animal form and infect with a bite, but other details have cropped up with the evolution of the game, including the addition of a "hybrid" form equivalent to the Man-Wolf, the existence of natural lycanthropes in addition to infected ones, and the imposition of a whole new alignment (and personality) not just on the nonhuman forms but on the human(oid) as well. The most recent edition has the Lycanthrope template, allowing one to make were-''anything'' characters. Recent publications introduced the Shifter player race, descendants of humans and lycanthropes, who were effectively "lycanthrope-lite".
** ''[[Mystara]]'' has Chevall. The centaurs who turn into full horses at will and can be hurt only by silver or magical weapons and... that's all.
** [[Forgotten Realms]] had classic types and a few high-profile therianthropic characters.
** ''Van Richten's Guide to Werebeasts'' is an AD&D 2nd Edition, ''[[Ravenloft]]'' book with a host of rules on werebeasts. Unlike most settings, lycanthropes in Ravenloft are almost universally evil, except for the [[Lawful Good]] wereravens.▼
*** [[Big Bad]] of the ''Threat from the Sea'' trilogy was an ancient were-[[Megalodon]]. As nasty as it sounds, and then some, since he was closely acquainted with several gods, had a habit of collecting artifacts and took the whole "sea world conquest" thing seriously. Known to most underwater races simply as "The Taker".
** The tibbits, introduced originally in ''[[Dragon (Magazine)|Dragon]]'' magazine and reprinted in the ''Dragon Compendium'' book, qualify. Their humanoid form is small, with [[Pointy Ears]] and [[Animal Eyes|cat eyes]], somewhat resembling [[Hobbits|halflings]]. They can turn cats at will.▼
*** Selûne's divine portfolio includes good shapeshifters. ''Finder's Stone'' trilogy had a werebear Selunite high priestess.
*** The surges of [[Wild Magic]] during the Time of Troubles caused the creation of [[Instant Awesome, Just Add Dragons|were dragons.]] Usually human, they transform into either dragons or half-dragon humanoids at night, and can be as varied as actual dragons. Song dragons, on the other hand, are also called were-dragons by humans, but they are not, they are in fact [[Non-Indicative Name|a race of true dragons]] who can assume human form.
▲** ''Van Richten's Guide to Werebeasts'' is
*** Van Richten himself states that he does not believe it is possible for a lycanthrope to exist where the animal stock was not at least partially carnivorous, although the anthology module ''Children of the Night: Werebeasts'' includes a were-gorilla in one of its stories. Of course, this was not the only time Van Richten made an error.<ref>Some sources have [[Retcon]]ed this, making Professor Arcanus' beast form a [https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Carnivorous%20ape carnivorous ape].</ref>
▲**
* [[Warhammer Fantasy]] has Werebears living in the [[Grim Up North|Northlands]].
* ''[[Magic:
** With Innistrad and its accompanying marinade of [[Hammer Horror]] tropes come Werewolves.
* ''[[Rifts]]'' and other games in Palladium's ''Megaverse'' have them as multiple species, ranging from Wolves to Bears, and some of the big cats such as Werepanthers and Werejaguars.
* The [[
** The [[
* ''[[Ars Magica]]'' includes were-bears and were-lynxes.
* The ''[[Munchkin (
* In the ''[[GURPS Supers]]'' supplement ''Wild Cards'', Sewer Jack is a were-alligator.
* ''[[Exalted]]'' features the Lunars, who are technically werebeasts in that they have one totem animal they strongly identify with and can easily shift
== Toys ==
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== Video Games ==
* In ''[[Sonic Unleashed]]'', [[Sonic the Hedgehog]] can turn into Sonic the ''Werehog'' at night. During his transformation, Sonic is a bigger, furrier, and werewolfish version of himself with huge stretchy arms. He's nowhere near as fast as he is in his normal form, but he is ''much'' stronger.
** Unlike most examples of lycanthropy, however, he's able to fully control himself. Why? Could it be that annoying magical sidekick on his shoulder protecting him? Actually no, it's because Sonic the Hedgehog is [[Canon Sue|''just that awesome''.]]
* ''[[Quest 64]]'' has the werehare and werecat.
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* The 1988 video game ''[[Altered Beast]]'' includes a stage wherepower-ups transform the player into a weretiger, which provides extra strength and firepower.
* In ''[[Bayonetta]]'', the main character has the ability to transform into a black panther at will, granting her cheetah-like speed. Likewise, the character Jeanne (a fellow witch in the game) can transform into a red lynx.
* ''[[
* ''[[The Elder Scrolls]]'' universe features a variety of therianthropic creatures, including werewolves, wereboars, werelions, werecrocodiles, werebears werevultures and even [[Unreliable Narrator|possibly]] weresharks. Apart from werewolves and wereboars, all of these were only mentioned in the in-universe book "On Lycanthropy" in ''Daggerfall''.
* The main gimmick of ''[[Bloody Roar]]'' is that every character is some sort of werebeast. There's a weretiger, werebear, werelion, wererabbit, werefox, werecat, wereboar, weremole, werebat, werechameleon...
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* ''[[Nethack]]'' has wererats and werejackals in addition to the usual werewolves. All three types can infect you with their flavor of lycanthropy.
* ''[[Dragon Age|Dragon Age: Origins]]'' a variety of werebeasts. Most werebeasts are actually humans or animals possessed by demons from [[Spirit World|the Fade]] and subsequently mutated.
* While ''[[Castlevania]]'' is usually content with werewolves, ''[[Circle of the Moon]]'' features werebears, werejaguars, weretigers, and more. ''[[Aria of Sorrow]]'' features a couple of these also. ''[[Castlevania (Nintendo 64)]]'' devotes a tower to battling a variety of them, and its prequel ''Legacy of Darkness'' gives us Ortega, a werelion who receives enough power from Dracula to become a werechimera.
* ''[[Atelier Iris]]'' features werecats as random monsters.
* While not called werebeasts or werecreatures, the game ''[[
* The ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines]]'' game includes werebatlike creatures and weresharks which come as a [[Giant Space Flea From Nowhere]] event.
* In ''[[The Muppets|Muppet Monster Adventure]]'' Fozzie Bear is turned into a Wocka Wocka Werebear.
* The Druid of ''[[Diablo]] II'' can turn into a [[Mighty Glacier|Werebear]] or [[Fragile Speedster|Werewolf]].
* Pictured above are the animal forms of the Norn race from ''[[Guild Wars 2]]'', they have a pantheon of animal spirits that they worship, but venerate four above all the rest for directly aiding them in an exodus from their homeland, besides the bear and wolf (they lack boar in-game, interestingly) pictured above, there's also the raven and snow leapord forms.
* In the DLC for [[
* ''[[The Legend of Zelda]]'':
** In ''[[A Link to The Past]]'': When people enter the Dark World, they turn into an animal (real or fantasy) that reflects their personality. Link becomes a pink bunny rabbit but keeps his trademark tunic.
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== Webcomics ==
* ''[[Peter Is the Wolf]]'': About one in every 1000 people in the world is some sort of were; werewolves are most common and have the most developed social structure, but there are plenty of other were species with their own idiosyncracies (werebears are antisocial, werelions are arrogant and lazy, etc.)
* ''[[
* [[Living
* ''[[
** Grace is sometimes referred to as a "were-squirrel", since she morphs between human, squirrel and squirrel/human (she does mix in the third base form, especially when upset, but early on this was rather subtle), due to genes of human, squirrel, and two different shape-shifting aliens.
** Then a new term was coined from Dewitchery Diamond's purpose and nature of the last "curse" it "removed": ''[[Gender Bender|weregirl]]''.
* Roger in ''[[
* ''[[Clan of the Cats]]'' Chelsea's suffering from a Curse running in her father's family, making werecats out of every female member.
* ''[[Eerie Cuties]]'' has at least werewolves, werecats, ocelots - and if the look of two characters we didn't see transforming are an indication, owl and some sort of a rodent. Also, there are Melusines, though considering the original legend they probably are snake/nymph or snake/fey rather than snake/human.
* ''[[Dork Tower]]'' has Nibbler, the Were-Vole Cheese Slayer, in a game played by the cats Pookie and Fernslayer.
* ''[[Shifters]]'' includes a werecat, a werebear, a werecrow and various weredogs.
* ''B-Movie Comic'' had to find something unusual to use when [//bmoviecomic.com/lon-chaney-iii-chap-6-act-1-strip-21/ Snuka transforms].
== Web Original ==
* The ''[[Whateley Universe]]'' has several "weres" that draw from numerous different archetypes.
* The ''[[Protectors of the Plot Continuum]]'' have had a number of were-somethings, in include [[Werewolves]], [[Everything's Better
* ''[[Above Ground]]'' also features all kinds of werebeasts, although the predominant one remains werewolves. Whatever their animal type, their bite is not infectious: it is a trait inherited genetically. Furthermore, the weres are [[Voluntary Shapeshifting|Voluntary Shapeshifters]] who learn how to control their change as they grow older. To be able to fully control the change back and forth is their passage into adulthood.
* [http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2011/253/a/d/nsa_files__terrordactyl_by_shadow_aspect-d3jrbr5.png Adam Squall], the [[Author Avatar]] in ''[[The Incredibles]]'' crossover fanfiction ''[http://fav.me/d3jaeor Rise of the Galeforces]'', is a were-''[[Ptero-Soarer|Pteranodon]]''.
* Nathan, the Author Avatar in the Monster World series by [
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* An episode of ''[[Dave the Barbarian]]'' has Dave get bitten by a cow and turn into a werecow. Also halfway through the middle he gets turned into other things like a cat, Oswitch, a hamster, Lula, an egg beater, a gym teacher, and finally... himself! But the twist comes at the end where Faffy ends up turning into a weredave.
* Egon got turned into a were-chicken in ''[[The Real Ghostbusters]]''.
* In the 1998 animated film ''[[Scooby
* In ''[[She
** This is changed in the remake, ''[[She-Ra and the Princesses of Power]]'' - Catra is a [[Cat Girl]] by birth in this version and has no other form.
* On ''[[Regular Show]]'', Rigby is attacked by a Were-skunk.
* Also, in the ''[[Codename
** Then in the Sequel Episode “Operation: D.O.G.H.O.U.S.E.”, it’s revealed that all the school’s Honor Roll students are also weredogs, {{spoiler|and their teacher is the Head Weredog due to a cursed necklace given to her by her vindictive ex-husband.}}
* An episode of ''[[Mona the Vampire]]'' has a wereclown.
** A Halloween episode of ''[[
* An episode of the ''[[Ace Ventura]]'' cartoon had Ace go to a village to hunt down a killer moose; it later turns out that it was a weremoose. Almost everyone Ace runs into in the village happens to be a weremoose, with even his own pet monkey Spike getting turned into one. Later on, it turns out that the very person who brought him there is the original weremoose and has the power to transform at will via a [[Transformation Trinket|special talisman]] and the very reason he brought Ace over to the village is so he could turn him into one, telling him that he'll be granted special powers and that together they'll create a race of moose men.
* In the ''[[Kappa Mikey]]'' episode "Night Of The Werepuff", there is a creature called a werepuff- it's a furry creature that eats clothes. Mikey gets turned into one.
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* One episode of ''[[The Little Mermaid]]'' involved Flounder becoming a "Howling Hairfish".
* The new [[Halloween Episode]] of ''[[Phineas and Ferb]]'' features Doofensmirtz turning into a werecow.
* ''[[
{{reflist}}
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[[Category:Index of Fictional Creatures]]
[[Category:Shapeshifting]]
[[Category:
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