An 18th-century engraving of a werewolf

A werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope (from the Greek λυκάνθρωπος: λύκος, lukos, "wolf", and ἄνθρωπος, anthrōpos, "man"), is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse and/or lycanthropic affliction via a bite or scratch from a werewolf, or some other means. This transformation is often associated with the appearance of the full moon, as popularly noted by the medieval chronicler Gervase of Tilbury, and perhaps in earlier times among the ancient Greeks through the writings of Petronius.

In addition to the natural characteristics inherent to both wolves and humans, werewolves are often attributed strength and speed far beyond those of wolves or men. The werewolf is generally held as a European character, although its lore spread through the world in later times. Shape-shifters, similar to werewolves, are common in tales from all over the world, most notably amongst the Native Americans, though most of them involve animal forms other than wolves.

Werewolves are a frequent subject of modern fiction, although fictional werewolves have been attributed traits distinct from those of original folklore. For example, the ideas that werewolves are only vulnerable to silver bullets or that they can cause others to become werewolves by biting or wounding them derive from works of modern fiction. Werewolves continue to endure in modern culture and fiction, with books, films and television shows cementing the werewolf's stance as a dominant figure in horror.

Etymology[link]

The word werewolf is thought to derive from Old English wer (or were)— pronounced variously as /ˈwɛər-/, /ˈwɪər-/, or /ˈwɜr-/ and wulf. The first part, wer, translates as "man" (in the specific sense of male human, not the race of humanity generally). It has cognates in several other Germanic languages including Gothic wair, Old High German wer, and Old Norse verr, as well as in other Indo-European languages, such as Sanskrit 'vira', Latin vir, Irish fear, Lithuanian vyras, and Welsh gŵr, which have the same meaning. The second half, wulf, is the ancestor of modern English "wolf"; in some cases it also had the general meaning "beast".

An alternative etymology derives the first part from Old English weri (to wear); the full form in this case would be glossed as wearer of wolf skin. Related to this interpretation is Old Norse úlfhéðnar, which denoted lupine equivalents of the berserker, said to wear a bearskin in battle.

Yet other sources derive the word from warg-wolf, where warg (or later werg and wero) is cognate with Old Norse vargr, meaning "rogue", "outlaw" or, euphemistically, "wolf".^[1] A Vargulf was the kind of wolf that slaughtered many members of a flock or herd but ate little of the kill. This was a serious problem for herders, who had to somehow destroy the rogue wolf before it destroyed the entire flock or herd. The term Warg was used in Old English for this kind of wolf. Possibly related is the fact that, in Norse society, an outlaw (who could be murdered with no legal repercussions and was forbidden to receive aid) was typically called vargr.

Other terms[link]

The term lycanthropy, referring both to the ability to transform oneself into a wolf and to the act of so doing, comes from Ancient Greek lykánthropos (λυκάνθρωπος): λύκος, lýkos ("wolf") + άνθρωπος, ánthrōpos ("human").^[2]

A compound of which "lyc-" derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *wlkwo-, meaning "wolf", formally denotes the "wolf - man" transformation. Lycanthropy is but one form of therianthropy, the ability to metamorphose into animals in general. The term therianthrope literally means "beast-man". The word has also been linked to the original werewolf of classical mythology, Lycaon, a king of Arcadia who, according to Ovid's Metamorphoses, was turned into a ravenous wolf in retribution for attempting to serve his own son to visiting Zeus in an attempt to disprove the god's divinity.

There is also a mental illness called lycanthropy in which a patient believes he or she is, or has transformed into, an animal and behaves accordingly. This is sometimes referred to as clinical lycanthropy to distinguish it from its use in legends. Despite its origin as a term for man-wolf transformations only, lycanthropy is used in this sense for animals of any type. This broader meaning is often used in modern fictional references, such as in roleplaying game culture.

Another ancient term for shapeshifting between any animal forms is versipellis, from which the English words turnskin and turncoat are derived.^[3] This Latin word is similar in meaning to words used for werewolves and other shapeshifters in Russian (oboroten) and Old Norse (hamrammr).

The French name for a werewolf, sometimes used in English, is loup-garou (pronounced /lugaˈru/), from the Latin noun lupus meaning wolf.^[4] The second element is thought to be from Old French garoul meaning "werewolf". This in turn is most likely from Frankish *wer-wulf meaning "man-wolf".^[5]

History of western werewolves[link]

Classical literature[link]

Zeus turning Lycaon into a wolf, engraving by Hendrik Goltzius.

A few references to men changing into wolves are found in Ancient Greek literature and mythology. Herodotus, in his Histories,^[6] wrote that the Neuri, a tribe he places to the north-east of Scythia, were all transformed into wolves once every year for several days, and then changed back to their human shape. In the second century BC, the Greek geographer Pausanias relates the story of Lycaon, who was transformed into a wolf because he had ritually murdered a child. In accounts by the Bibliotheca (3.8.1) and Ovid (Metamorphoses I.219-239), Lycaon serves human flesh to Zeus, wanting to know if he is really a god. Lycaon's transformation, therefore, is punishment for a crime, considered variously as murder, cannibalism, and impiety. Ovid also relates stories of men who roamed the woods of Arcadia in the form of wolves.^[7][8]

Besides Ovid, other Roman writers also treated lycanthropy. Virgil wrote of human beings transforming into wolves.^[9] Pliny the Elder relates two tales of lycanthropy. Quoting Euanthes,^[10][11] he mentions a man who hung his clothes on an ash tree and swam across an Arcadian lake, transforming him into a wolf. On the condition that he attacked no human being for nine years, he would be free to swim back across the lake to resume human form. Pliny also quotes Agriopas regarding a tale of a man who was turned into a wolf after tasting the entrails of a human child, but was restored to human form 10 years later.

In the Latin work of prose, the Satyricon, written about 60 C.E. by Gaius Petronius Arbiter, one of the characters, Niceros, tells a story at a banquet about a friend who turned into a wolf (chs. 61-62). He describes the incident as follows, "When I look for my buddy I see he'd stripped and piled his clothes by the roadside... He pees in a circle round his clothes and then, just like that, turns into a wolf!... after he turned into a wolf he started howling and then ran off into the woods."^[12]

Folk beliefs[link]

Description and common attributes[link]

Werewolves were said in European folklore to bear tell-tale physical traits even in their human form. These included the meeting of both eyebrows at the bridge of the nose, curved fingernails, low-set ears and a swinging stride. One method of identifying a werewolf in its human form was to cut the flesh of the accused, under the pretense that fur would be seen within the wound. A Russian superstition recalls a werewolf can be recognised by bristles under the tongue.^[13] The appearance of a werewolf in its animal form varies from culture to culture, though it is most commonly portrayed as being indistinguishable from ordinary wolves save for the fact that it has no tail (a trait thought characteristic of witches in animal form), is often larger, and retains human eyes and voice. According to some Swedish accounts, the werewolf could be distinguished from a regular wolf by the fact that it would run on three legs, stretching the fourth one backwards to look like a tail.^[14] After returning to their human forms, werewolves are usually documented as becoming weak, debilitated and undergoing painful nervous depression.^[13] One universally reviled trait in medieval Europe was the werewolf's habit of devouring recently buried corpses, a trait that is documented extensively, particularly in the Annales Medico-psychologiques in the 19th century.^[13] Fennoscandian werewolves were usually old women who possessed poison-coated claws and had the ability to paralyse cattle and children with their gaze.^[13] Serbian vulkodlaks traditionally had the habit of congregating annually in the winter months, when they would strip off their wolf skins and hang them from trees. They would then get a hold of another vulkodlaks skin and burn it, releasing from its curse the vulkodlak from whom the skin came .^[13] The Haitian jé-rouges typically try to trick mothers into giving away their children voluntarily by waking them at night and asking their permission to take their child, to which the disoriented mother may either reply yes or no.^[13]

Becoming a werewolf[link]

Various methods for becoming a werewolf have been reported, one of the simplest being the removal of clothing and putting on a belt made of wolfskin, probably as a substitute for the assumption of an entire animal skin (which also is frequently described).^[15] In other cases, the body is rubbed with a magic salve.^[15] Drinking rainwater out of the footprint of the animal in question or from certain enchanted streams were also considered effectual modes of accomplishing metamorphosis.^[16] The 16th century Swedish writer Olaus Magnus says that the Livonian werewolves were initiated by draining a cup of specially prepared beer and repeating a set formula. Ralston in his Songs of the Russian People gives the form of incantation still familiar in Russia.

In Italy, France and Germany, it was said that a man or woman could turn into a werewolf if he or she, on a certain Wednesday or Friday, slept outside on a summer night with the full moon shining directly on his face.^[13]

In other cases, the transformation was supposedly accomplished by Satanic allegiance for the most loathsome ends, often for the sake of sating a craving for human flesh. "The werewolves", writes Richard Verstegan (Restitution of Decayed Intelligence, 1628),

are certayne sorcerers, who having annoynted their bodies with an ointment which they make by the instinct of the devil, and putting on a certayne inchaunted girdle, does not only unto the view of others seem as wolves, but to their own thinking have both the shape and nature of wolves, so long as they wear the said girdle. And they do dispose themselves as very wolves, in worrying and killing, and most of humane creatures.

Such were the views about lycanthropy current throughout the continent of Europe when Verstegan wrote.

The phenomenon of repercussion, the power of animal metamorphosis, or of sending out a familiar, real or spiritual, as a messenger, and the supernormal powers conferred by association with such a familiar, are also attributed to the magician, male and female, all the world over; and witch superstitions are closely parallel to, if not identical with, lycanthropic beliefs, the occasional involuntary character of lycanthropy being almost the sole distinguishing feature. In another direction the phenomenon of repercussion is asserted to manifest itself in connection with the bush-soul of the West African and the nagual of Central America; but though there is no line of demarcation to be drawn on logical grounds, the assumed power of the magician and the intimate association of the bush-soul or the nagual with a human being are not termed lycanthropy. Nevertheless it will be well to touch on both these beliefs here.

The curse of lycanthropy was also considered by some scholars as being a divine punishment. Werewolf literature shows many examples of God or saints allegedly cursing those who invoked their wrath with werewolfism. Such is the case of Lycaon, who was turned into a wolf by Zeus as punishment for slaughtering one of his own sons and serving his remains to the gods as a dinner. Those who were excommunicated by the Roman Catholic Church were also said to become werewolves.^[13]

The power of transforming others into wild beasts was attributed not only to malignant sorcerers, but to Christian saints as well. Omnes angeli, boni et Mali, ex virtute naturali habent potestatem transmutandi corpora nostra ("All angels, good and bad have the power of transmutating our bodies") was the dictum of St. Thomas Aquinas. St. Patrick was said to have transformed the Welsh king Vereticus into a wolf; Natalis supposedly cursed an illustrious Irish family whose members were each doomed to be a wolf for seven years. In other tales the divine agency is even more direct, while in Russia, again, men supposedly became werewolves when incurring the wrath of the Devil.

A notable exception to the association of Lycanthropy and the Devil, comes from a rare and lesser known account of an 80-year-old man named Thiess. In 1692, in Jurgenburg, Livonia, Thiess testified under oath that he and other werewolves were the Hounds of God.^[17] He claimed they were warriors who went down into hell to do battle with witches and demons. Their efforts ensured that the Devil and his minions did not carry off the grain from local failed crops down to hell. Thiess was steadfast in his assertions, claiming that werewolves in Germany and Russia also did battle with the devil's minions in their own versions of hell, and insisted that when werewolves died, their souls were welcomed into heaven as reward for their service. Thiess was ultimately sentenced to ten lashes for Idolatry and superstitious belief.

A distinction is often made between voluntary and involuntary werewolves. The former are generally thought to have made a pact, usually with the Devil, and morph into werewolves at night to indulge in nefarious acts. Involuntary werewolves, on the other hand, are werewolves by an accident of birth or health. In some cultures, individuals born during a new moon or suffering from epilepsy were considered likely to be werewolves.

Becoming a werewolf simply by being bitten or scratched by another werewolf as a form of contagion is common in modern horror fiction, but this kind of transmission is rare in legend, unlike the case in vampirism.^[13]

Even if the denotation of lycanthropy is limited to the wolf-metamorphosis of living human beings, the beliefs classed together under this head are far from uniform, and the term is somewhat capriciously applied. The transformation may be temporary or permanent; the were-animal may be the man himself metamorphosed; may be his double whose activity leaves the real man to all appearance unchanged; may be his soul, which goes forth seeking whom it may devour, leaving its body in a state of trance; or it may be no more than the messenger of the human being, a real animal or a familiar spirit, whose intimate connection with its owner is shown by the fact that any injury to it is believed, by a phenomenon known as repercussion, to cause a corresponding injury to the human being.

Vulnerabilities[link]

Most modern fiction describes werewolves as vulnerable to silver weapons and highly resistant to other injuries. This feature does not appear in stories about werewolves before the 19th century. (The claim that the Beast of Gévaudan, an 18th-century wolf or wolf-like creature, was shot by a silver bullet appears to have been introduced by novelists retelling the story from 1935 onwards and not in earlier versions.)^[18]

Unlike vampires, they are not generally thought to be harmed by religious artifacts such as crucifixes and holy water.

Remedies[link]

Various methods have existed for removing the werewolf form. In antiquity, the Ancient Greeks and Romans believed in the power of exhaustion in curing people of lycanthropy. The victim would be subjected to long periods of physical activity in the hope of being purged of the malady. This practice stemmed from the fact that many alleged werewolves would be left feeling weak and debilitated after committing depredations.^[13]

In medieval Europe, traditionally, there are three methods one can use to cure a victim of werewolfism; medicinally (usually via the use of wolfsbane), surgically or by exorcism. However, many of the cures advocated by medieval medical practitioners proved fatal to the patients. A Sicilian belief of Arabic origin holds that a werewolf can be cured of its ailment by striking it on the forehead or scalp with a knife. Another belief from the same culture involves the piercing of the werewolf's hands with nails. Sometimes, less extreme methods were used. In the German lowland of Schleswig-Holstein, a werewolf could be cured if one were to simply address it three times by its Christian name, while one Danish belief holds that simply scolding a werewolf will cure it.^[13] Conversion to Christianity is also a common method of removing werewolfism in the medieval period. A devotion to St. Hubert has also been cited as both cure for and protection from lycanthropes.

European cultures[link]

Many European countries and cultures influenced by them have stories of werewolves, including Albania (oik), Armenia (mardagayl), Croatia/Bosnia and Herzegovina (vukodlak), France (loup-garou), Greece (λυκανθρωπος - lycanthropos), Spain (hombre lobo), Bulgaria (върколак - varkolak), Turkey (kurtadam), Czech Republic (vlkodlak), Slovakia (vlkolak), Serbia/Montenegro (вукодлак - vukodlak), Belarus (ваўкалак - vaukalak), Russia (оборотень - oboroten' ), Ukraine (вовкулака - vovkulaka and перевертень - pereverten' ), Poland (wilkołak), Romania (vârcolac, priculici), Macedonia (vrkolak), Slovenia (volkodlak), Scotland (werewolf, wulver), England (werewolf), Ireland (faoladh or conriocht), Wales (bleidd-ddyn), Germany (Werwolf), the Netherlands (weerwolf), Denmark/Sweden/Norway (Varulv), Norway/Iceland (kveld-ulf, varúlfur), Galicia (lobishome), Portugal/Brazil (lobisomem), Lithuania (vilkolakis and vilkatlakis), Latvia (vilkatis and vilkacis), Andorra/Catalonia (home llop), Hungary (Vérfarkas and Farkasember), Estonia (libahunt), Finland (ihmissusi and vironsusi), and Italy (lupo mannaro). In northern Europe, there are also tales about people changing into animals including bears, as well as wolves.

A German woodcut from 1722

Werewolves in European tradition were mostly evil men who terrorized people in the form of wolves on command of the Devil, though there were rare narratives of people being transformed involuntarily. In the 10th century, they were given the binomial name of melancholia canina and in the 14th century, daemonium lupum.^[13] In Marie de France's poem Bisclavret (c. 1200), the nobleman Bizuneh, for reasons not described in the lai, had to transform into a wolf every week. When his treacherous wife stole his clothing needed to restore his human form, he escaped the king's wolf hunt by imploring the king for mercy and accompanied the king thereafter. His behaviour at court was so much gentler than when his wife and her new husband appeared at court, that his hateful attack on the couple was deemed justly motivated, and the truth was revealed. Other tales of this sort include German fairy tales, Märchen, in which several aristocrats temporarily transform into beasts. See Snow White and Rose Red, where the tame bear is really a bewitched prince, and The Golden Bird where the talking fox is also a man.

Werewolf folklore is rare in England, possibly because wolves had been eradicated by authorities in the Anglo-Saxon period.^[19]

Harald I of Norway is known to have had a body of Úlfhednar (wolf coated), which are mentioned in Vatnsdœla saga, Haraldskvæði, and the Völsunga saga resemble some werewolf legends. The Úlfhednar were fighters similar to the berserkers, though they dressed in wolf hides rather than those of bears and were reputed to channel the spirits of these animals to enhance effectiveness in battle.^[13] These warriors were resistant to pain and killed viciously in battle, much like wild animals. Ulfhednar and berserkers are closely associated with the Norse god Odin.

In Latvian folklore, a vilkacis was someone who transformed into a wolf-like monster, which could be benevolent at times.^{[citation needed]} Another collection of stories concern the skin-walkers. The vilkacis and skin-walkers probably have a common origin in Proto-Indo-European society, where a class of young unwed warriors were apparently associated with wolves^{[citation needed]}.

In Hungarian folklore, the concept of werewolf goes back to the Middle Ages. The werewolves used to live specially in the region of Transdanubia, and it was thought that the ability to change into a wolf was obtained in the infant age, after the suffering of abuse by the parents or by a curse. At the age of seven the boy or the girl leaves the house and goes hunting by night and can change to person or wolf whenever he wants. The curse can also be obtained when in the adulthood the person passed three times through an arch made of a Birch with the help of a wild rose's spine.

The werewolves were known to exterminate all kind of farm animals, especially sheep. The transformation usually occurred in the Winter solstice, Easter and full moon. Later in the 17th and 18th century, the trials in Hungary not only were conduced against witches, but against werewolves too, and many records exist creating connections between both kinds. Also the vampires and werewolves are closely related in Hungary, being both feared in the antiquity.^[20]

According to the first dictionary of modern Serbian language (published by Vuk Stefanović-Karadžić in 1818) vukodlak / вукодлак (werewolf) and vampir / вампир (vampire) are synonyms, meaning a man who returns from his grave for purposes of fornicating with his widow. The dictionary states this to be a common folk tale.

Common among the Kashubs of what is now northern Poland, and the Serbs and Slovenes, was the belief that if a child was born with hair, a birthmark or a caul on their head, they were supposed to possess shape-shifting abilities. Though capable of turning into any animal they wished, it was commonly believed that such people preferred to turn into a wolf.^[21]

According to Armenian lore, there are women who, in consequence of deadly sins, are condemned to spend seven years in wolf form.^[22] In a typical account, a condemned woman is visited by a wolfskin-toting spirit, who orders her to wear the skin, which causes her to acquire frightful cravings for human flesh soon after. With her better nature overcome, the she-wolf devours each of her own children, then her relatives' children in order of relationship, and finally the children of strangers. She wanders only at night, with doors and locks springing open at her approach. When morning arrives, she reverts to human form and removes her wolfskin. The transformation is generally said to be involuntary, but there are alternate versions involving voluntary metamorphosis, where the women can transform at will.

The 11th Century Belarusian Prince Usiaslau of Polatsk was considered to have been a Werewolf, capable of moving at superhuman speeds, as recounted in The Tale of Igor's Campaign: "Vseslav the prince judged men; as prince, he ruled towns; but at night he prowled in the guise of a wolf. From Kiev, prowling, he reached, before the cocks crew, Tmutorokan. The path of Great Sun, as a wolf, prowling, he crossed. For him in Polotsk they rang for matins early at St. Sophia the bells; but he heard the ringing in Kiev."

There were numerous reports of werewolf attacks – and consequent court trials – in 16th century France. In some of the cases there was clear evidence against the accused of murder and cannibalism, but none of association with wolves; in other cases people have been terrified by such creatures, such as that of Gilles Garnier in Dole in 1573, there was clear evidence against some wolf but none against the accused^{[citation needed]}. The loup-garou eventually ceased to be regarded as a dangerous heretic and reverted to the pre-Christian notion of a "man-wolf-fiend". The lubins or lupins were usually female and shy in contrast to the aggressive loups-garous.^{[citation needed]}

Some French werewolf lore is associated with documented events. The Beast of Gévaudan terrorized the general area of the former province of Gévaudan, now called Lozère, in south-central France. From the years 1764 to 1767, an unknown entity killed upwards of 80 men, women, and children.^{[citation needed]} The creature was described as a giant wolf by the sole survivor of the attacks, which ceased after several wolves were killed in the area.

At the beginning of the 17th century witchcraft was prosecuted by James I of England, who regarded "warwoolfes" as victims of delusion induced by "a natural superabundance of melancholic".^[23]

American cultures[link]

During the Norse colonization of the Americas, it is thought by Woodward that the Vikings brought with them their beliefs in werewolves, which would manifest themselves in the folklore of some Native American tribes.^[13]

The Naskapis believed that the caribou afterlife is guarded by giant wolves which kill careless hunters venturing too near. The Navajo people feared witches in wolf's clothing called "Mai-cob".^[24]

When the European colonization of the Americas occurred, the pioneers brought their own werewolf folklore with them and were later influenced by the lore of their neighbouring colonies and those of the Natives. Belief in the loup-garou present in Canada, the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan^[25] and upstate New York, originates from French folklore influenced by Native American stories on the Wendigo. In Mexico, there is a belief in a creature called the nahual, which traditionally limits itself to stealing cheese and raping women rather than murder. In Haiti, there is a superstition that werewolf spirits known locally as Jé-rouge (red eyes) can possess the bodies of unwitting persons and nightly transform them into cannibalistic lupine creatures.^[13]

Asian cultures[link]

Common Turkic folklore holds a different, reverential light to the werewolf legends in that Turkic Central Asian shamans after performing long and arduous rites would voluntarily be able to transform into the humanoid "Kurtadam" (literally meaning Wolfman). Since the wolf was the totemic ancestor animal of the Turkic peoples, they would be respectful of any shaman who was in such a form.

Origins of werewolf beliefs[link]

Many authors have speculated that werewolf legends may have been used to explain serial killings.^{[citation needed]}. This theory is given credence by the tendency of some modern serial killers to indulge in practices commonly associated with werewolves, such as cannibalism, mutilation, and cyclic attacks. The idea is well explored in Sabine Baring-Gould's work The Book of Werewolves. Perhaps the most famous example is the case of Peter Stumpp (executed in 1589), the German farmer, and alleged serial killer and cannibal, also known as the Werewolf of Bedburg.

Until the 20th century, wolf attacks on humans were an occasional, but widespread feature of life in Europe.^[26] Some scholars have suggested that it was inevitable that wolves, being the most feared predators in Europe, were projected into the folklore of evil shapeshifters. This is said to be corroborated by the fact that areas devoid of wolves typically use different kinds of predator to fill the niche; werehyenas in Africa, weretigers in India,^[13] as well as werepumas ("runa uturuncu")^[27][28] and werejaguars ("yaguaraté-abá" or "tigre-capiango")^[29][30] of southern South America.

In his Man into Wolf (1948), anthropologist Robert Eisler drew attention to the fact that many Indo-European tribal names and some modern European surnames mean "wolf" or "wolf-men". This is argued by Eisler to indicate that the European transition from fruit gathering to predatory hunting was a conscious process, simultaneously accompanied by an emotional upheaval still remembered in humanity's subconscious, which in turn became reflected in the later medieval superstition of werewolves.^[31]

Werewolf, by Lucas Cranach der Ältere, 1512

Some modern researchers have tried to explain the reports of werewolf behaviour with recognised medical conditions. Dr Lee Illis of Guy's Hospital in London wrote a paper in 1963 entitled On Porphyria and the Aetiology of Werewolves, in which he argues that historical accounts on werewolves could have in fact been referring to victims of congenital porphyria, stating how the symptoms of photosensitivity, reddish teeth and psychosis could have been grounds for accusing a sufferer of being a werewolf.^[32] This is however argued against by Woodward, who points out how mythological werewolves were almost invariably portrayed as resembling true wolves, and that their human forms were rarely physically conspicuous as porphyria victims.^[13] Others have pointed out the possibility of historical werewolves having been sufferers of hypertrichosis, a hereditary condition manifesting itself in excessive hair growth. However, Woodward dismissed the possibility, as the rarity of the disease ruled it out from happening on a large scale, as werewolf cases were in medieval Europe.^[13] People suffering from Down's Syndrome have been suggested by some scholars to have been possible originators of werewolf myths.^[24] Woodward suggested rabies as the origin of werewolf beliefs, claiming remarkable similarities between the symptoms of that disease and some of the legends. Woodward focused on the idea that being bitten by a werewolf could result in the victim turning into one, which suggested the idea of a transmittable disease like rabies.^[13] However, the idea that lycanthropy could be transmitted in this way is not part of the original myths and legends and only appears in relatively recent beliefs.

There's a persistent belief that the stories of werewolves are inspired by encounters with actual animals. This is supported by subfossil remains discovered in Madagascar of giant lemurs of suborder Strepsirrhini which became extinct some time after the Malayo-Polynesian settlement of the island. These sailors and earlier explorers of the area such as those sponsored by Necho II were in direct or indirect contact with trading centers in Egypt and elsewhere which would certainly facilitate the spread of the stories of these real werewolf-like creatures.^[33][34][35]

Vampiric connections[link]

In Medieval Europe, the corpses of some people executed as werewolves were cremated rather than buried in order to prevent them from being resurrected as vampires.^[13] Before the end of the 19th century, the Greeks believed that the corpses of werewolves, if not destroyed, would return to life as vampires in the form of wolves or hyenas which prowled battlefields, drinking the blood of dying soldiers. In the same vein, in some rural areas of Germany, Poland and Northern France, it was once believed that people who died in mortal sin came back to life as blood-drinking wolves. This differs from conventional werewolfery, where the creature is a living being rather than an undead apparition. These vampiric werewolves would return to their human corpse form at daylight. They were dealt with by decapitation with a spade and exorcism by the parish priest. The head would then be thrown into a stream, where the weight of its sins were thought to weigh it down. Sometimes, the same methods used to dispose of ordinary vampires would be used.^[13] The vampire was also linked to the werewolf in East European countries, particularly Bulgaria, Serbia and Slovenia. In Serbia, the werewolf and vampire are known collectively as one creature; Vulkodlak.^[13] In Hungarian and Balkan mythology, many werewolves were said to be vampiric witches who became wolves in order to suck the blood of men born under the full moon in order to preserve their health. In their human form, these werewolves were said to have pale, sunken faces, hollow eyes, swollen lips and flabby arms.^[13] The Haitian jé-rouges differ from traditional European werewolves by their habit of actively trying to spread their lycanthropic condition to others, much like vampires.^[13]

In fiction[link]

The 1897 novel Dracula drew on earlier mythologies of werewolves and similar legendary demons and "was to voice the anxieties of an age", and the "fears of late Victorian patriarchy".^[36]The first feature film to use an anthropomorphic werewolf was Werewolf of London in 1935. The main werewolf of this film is a dapper London scientist who retains some of his style and most of his human features after his transformation,^[37] as lead actor Henry Hull was unwilling to spend long hours being made up by makeup artist Jack Pierce.^[38] Universal Studios drew on a Balkan tale of a plant associated with lycanthropy as there was no literary work to draw upon, unlike the case with vampires. There is no reference to silver nor other aspects of werewolf lore such as cannibalism.^[39]

A more tragic character is Lawrence Talbot, played by Lon Chaney, Jr. in 1941's The Wolf Man. With Pierce's makeup more elaborate this time,^[40] the movie catapulted the werewolf into public consciousness.^[37] Sympathetic portrayals are few but notable, such as the comedic but tortured protagonist David Naughton in An American Werewolf in London,^[41] and a less anguished and more confident and charismatic Jack Nicholson in the 1994 film Wolf.^[42] Rachel Hawthorne's Dark Guardian novels examine a secret society of werewolves who live peacefully alongside normal humans, are able to initiate the change at will to protect their kind, and generally retain control of themselves when transformed.^[43] Other werewolves are decidedly more willful and malevolent, such as those in the novel The Howling and its subsequent sequels and film adaptations. The form a werewolf assumes was generally anthropomorphic in early films such as The Wolf Man and Werewolf of London, but larger and powerful wolf in many later films.^[44]

Werewolves are often depicted as immune to damage caused by ordinary weapons, being vulnerable only to silver objects, such as a silver-tipped cane, bullet or blade; this attribute was first adopted cinematically in The Wolf Man.^[40] This negative reaction to silver is sometimes so strong that the mere touch of the metal on a werewolf's skin will cause burns. Current-day werewolf fiction almost exclusively involves lycanthropy being either a hereditary condition or being transmitted like an infectious disease by the bite of another werewolf. In some fiction, the power of the werewolf extends to human form, such as invulnerability to conventional injury due to their healing factor, super-human speed and strength and falling on their feet from high falls. Also aggressiveness and animalistic urges may be intensified and harder to control (hunger, sexual arousal). Usually in these cases the abilities are diminished in human form. In other fictions, it can even be cured by medicine men or even antidotes.

Fantastic literature sometimes includes the painful element to the change, but often does not. For example, J. K. Rowling maintains the painful transition between forms while Charles de Lint, Terry Pratchett, Fritz Leiber, and myriad others reach back to the non-painful medieval literary sources. Poul Anderson in Operation Chaos presents a modernised American werewolf, in complete control of himself and free of the traditional taints, while in Three Hearts and Three Lions appears a far more traditional (though not unsympathetic) female werewolf.

See also[link]

Footnotes[link]

References[link]

• Baring-Gould, Sabine (1973 [1865]) (Google books). The Book of Werewolves: Being an Account of a Terrible Superstition. New York, NY: Causeway Books. ISBN 0-88356-008-9. OCLC 1084970. http://books.google.com/?id=AfczULIXGscC&lpg=PP1&dq=sabine%20baring-gould%20the%20book%20of%20werewolves&pg=PP14#v=onepage&q=. Retrieved 2009-11-16. 
• Clemens, Carlos (1968). Horror Movies: An illustrated Survey. London: Panther Books. 
• Douglas, Adam (1992). The Beast Within: A History of the Werewolf. London: Chapmans. ISBN 0-380-72264-X. 
• Lecouteux, Claude (2003). Witches, Werewolves, and Fairies. Rochester, Vermont: Inner Traditions International. ISBN 0-89281-096-3. 
• Prieur, Claude. Dialogue de la Lycanthropie: Ou transformation d'hommes en loups, vulgairement dits loups-garous, et si telle se peut faire. Louvain: J. Maes & P. Zangre, 1596. (By a Franciscan monk, in French)
• Steiger, Brad (1999). The Werewolf Book: The Encyclopedia of Shapeshifting Beings. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink. ISBN 1-57859-078-7. OCLC 41565057. 
• Summers, Montague, The Werewolf London: K. Paul, Trench, Trubner, 1933. (1st edition, reissued 1934 New York: E.P. Dutton, 1966 New Hyde Park, N.Y: University Books, 1973 Secaucus, N.J.: Citadel Press, 2003 Mineola, N.Y.: Dover, with new title The Werewolf in Lore and Legend). ISBN 0-7661-3210-2
• Wolfeshusius, Johannes Fridericus. De Lycanthropia: An vere illi, ut fama est, luporum & aliarum bestiarum formis induantur. Problema philosophicum pro sententia Joan. Bodini ... adversus dissentaneas aliquorum opiniones noviter assertum... Leipzig: Typis Abrahami Lambergi, 1591. (In Latin; microfilm held by the United States National Library of Medicine)
• Woodward, Ian (1979). The Werewolf Delusion. Paddington Press. ISBN 0-448-23170-0. 

External links[link]

Look up werewolf in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Werewolf

•  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Werwolf". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 
• Arby Stones, "Hellhounds, Werewolves and the Germanic Underworld"
• The Book of Were-Wolves, by Sabine Baring-Gould, 1865 (Google online books)
• Therianthropy History Timeline
• Allen Varney, "The New Improved Beast"
• A Translation of Grimm's Saga No. 213 The Werewolf
• A Translation of Grimm's Saga No. 215 The Werewolf Stone

Rob Zombie
Background information
Birth name	Robert Bartleh Cummings
Also known as	Mr. Zombie
Born	(1965-01-12) January 12, 1965 (age 47) Haverhill, Massachusetts, United States
Genres	Heavy metal, alternative metal, groove metal, industrial metal
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, screenwriter, film director, film producer, programmer, music producer
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, bass guitar, synthesizer, programming
Years active	1985–present
Labels	Roadrunner/Loud & Proud/Geffen
Associated acts	White Zombie, Alice Cooper, Powerman 5000, Ozzy Osbourne, Black Label Society, Marilyn Manson, Iggy Pop, Lionel Richie, Howard Stern
Website	www.robzombie.com

Rob Zombie (born Robert Bartleh Cummings;^[1] January 12, 1965) is an American musician, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He founded the heavy metal band White Zombie and has been nominated three times as a solo artist for the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. Zombie's lyrics are noted for their horror and sci-fi themes, and his live shows for their elaborate shock rock theatricality.^[2]

Zombie has also established a career as a film director, creating the movies House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil's Rejects, the 2007 remake of Halloween, its sequel, and The Haunted World of El Superbeasto. His next film will be the upcoming The Lords of Salem which is scheduled to premiere in theaters sometime in 2012.

Early life[link]

Born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, he was the first of two brothers. His younger brother Michael David Cummings was born on August 25, 1968 and is better known as Spider One, the frontman of alternative metal group Powerman 5000.

Recording career[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2010)

White Zombie (1985–1998)[link]

Based in New York, White Zombie was originally a noise rock band in the vein of fellow New York band Sonic Youth and Texas experimental punk band Butthole Surfers. White Zombie was known for combining heavy-metal music with driving guitar riffs (as on "Super-Charger Heaven"), overlayed with lyrics heavily influenced by horror films and pseudo-Satanic imagery.

Following their signing to Geffen Records, White Zombie achieved commercial success, with a double and triple platinum album and a large number of their songs featured in movies and TV shows (notably Beavis and Butthead and Millennium). The group officially disbanded in 1998 shortly after the release of lead singer Rob Zombie's solo album Hellbilly Deluxe. In a 2008 interview^[3] to promote the release of Let Sleeping Corpses Lie, Rob Zombie made it clear that a reunion with his White Zombie bandmates was unlikely, saying, "I don't want fans to think it's the beginning of anything." Cummings legally changed his name to Rob Zombie, his former stage name, in 1996.^[4]

Solo career (1998–present)[link]

In 1996, Zombie collaborated with Alice Cooper on the song "Hands of Death (Burn Baby Burn)" for the X-Files tie-in CD Songs in the Key of X. It was Zombie's first work outside of White Zombie. The song was nominated for a Grammy for Best Metal Performance the same year.

In 1997, Zombie contributed a song entitled "The Great American Nightmare" for the Howard Stern movie, Private Parts. Since January 6, 1999, it has been the opening theme for Stern's radio show.

[edit] Hellbilly Deluxe

Zombie formed his own solo band in 1998. Drummer John Tempesta came directly from White Zombie, and was joined by Mike Riggs on guitar and Rob "Blasko" Nicholson on bass. A tongue in cheek reference to Dwight Yoakam's Hillbilly Deluxe, Zombie's debut solo album, Hellbilly Deluxe, in 1998, produced by Scott Humphrey. The album was a success, selling three million copies domestically. This album contained the hit singles "Dragula", "Living Dead Girl" and "Superbeast".

Zombie toured extensively to promote the album, then released American Made Music to Strip By in 1999, an album of remixes from Hellbilly Deluxe.

Apart from critical review, the album's cover art received much negative response by various conservative Christian groups, citing the album's inverted pentagram depiction and alluding to rumors and allegations of Satanism. Walmart banned the traditional artwork version of the album from its inventory and offered a 'clean' version of the album (without the inverted pentagram) in its stead, à la Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP.

[edit] The Sinister Urge

Zombie released The Sinister Urge in 2001 (the title taken from a 1961 Ed Wood film), again produced by Scott Humphrey. This release contained the singles "Never Gonna Stop (The Red Red Kroovy)", "Feel So Numb" and "Demon Speeding". While the album still featured Zombie's signature heavy metal sound, it was also more experimental than Hellbilly Deluxe, including brass instruments on "(Go To) California." The album has been certified platinum.

In 2003, Zombie released his first greatest hits album Past, Present & Future, containing hit songs both from his solo band and White Zombie. It also featured covers (The Commodores' "Brick House" and The Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop") and unreleased songs ("Two-Lane Blacktop" and "Girl on Fire").

After a 2002–2003 world tour, Mike Riggs and John Tempesta left Zombie to form a similar band, Scum of the Earth, because Rob Zombie wanted to make movies and got bored on the music industry. He made, between 2003 and 2005 two horror films, House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects.

[edit] Educated Horses

Rob Zombie at Ozzfest, 2005.

In 2005, Zombie returned to the music world by recruiting former Marilyn Manson guitarist, John 5, and former Alice Cooper drummer, Tommy Clufetos. Blasko and Humphrey remained, and the five began recording Educated Horses. Released in 2006, Educated Horses is a break from Zombie's usual style. In contrast to the heavy metal sound of his first two albums, Horses features a more alternative metal sound. The single "Foxy Foxy" can be described as his most mainstream and "party-going" song. The other two singles, "Let It All Bleed Out" and "American Witch", featured his signature heavy metal sound. Also, for the first time, Zombie steered away from including horror references in the artwork and songs. Even his physical appearance is less of a persona (Zombie is dressed in regular clothes on the album cover, and his dreadlocks are gone). However, the songs "Seventeen Year Locust" and "The Scorpion Sleeps" do concern themselves with creepy-crawlies. Following the release of the album, Zombie toured the U.S. with Lacuna Coil.

20th Century Masters: Millennium Collection: The Best of Rob Zombie was also released in 2006 by his label, Geffen Records. It contains songs similar to his first greatest hits album, but there are also songs on this release from Educated Horses.

On May 31, 2006, Zombie was joined onstage by guitarist Slash (Guns N' Roses, Velvet Revolver), Gilby Clarke (formerly of Guns N' Roses) on rhythm guitar, Scott Ian of Anthrax on bass, Tommy Lee of Mötley Crüe on drums and special guest Ace Frehley of Kiss also on lead guitar. The occasion was a one-time supergroup tribute to Kiss for the first annual VH1 Rock Honors award show. They played one song, "God of Thunder," before handing it off to the honoree. Zombie then went on tour with Ozzy Osbourne.

Blasko, Zombie's bass player, left the band shortly before the American Witch Tour (the second leg of the tour to promote Educated Horses), to play bass with Ozzy Osbourne. To fill in, Zombie hired Piggy D. of Amen and Wednesday 13 fame as a permanent replacement.

In 2007 Zombie released Zombie Live, which was supposed to be accompanied by a live DVD and picture booklet. So far, only the CD has surfaced.

[edit] Hellbilly Deluxe 2

Zombie's follow-up to Educated Horses was still unnamed as of May 2008. Zombie posted an update on his website, stating: "Well, we have for the first time ever written more songs than we need for an album. Everything isn't 100% finished, but everything is moving along great. No release date yet." In August 2008, a new instrumental song entitled "Tyrannosaurus Rex", featuring John 5 on guitar, was uploaded onto Zombie's MySpace music page. In an interview published in December 2008, Zombie spoke about his new band lineup (John 5, Piggy D., and Tommy C), and how happy he was with his new band members, saying, "I've never had a band that I could call my good friends until now.^[3] " Meanwhile, also in December 2008, Zombie's new single "War Zone" was featured in the soundtrack to Punisher: War Zone.

Rob Zombie appeared on The Howard Stern Show on August 18, 2009, saying the new album was complete, although he had not yet set a title, and was scheduled for release on November 10. That release date would later move to November 17, according to his MySpace blog. Eventually, the release date would be pushed back to February 2010.

On October 3, Zombie posted a link to preview the track "Sick Bubblegum" on his Twitter page. The first single "What?" was released on October 13. Zombie released the next new song, "Burn" for Rock Band, as well as two old tracks, "Dragula" and "Superbeast" on October 27. They are available via Xbox Live and PlayStation Network as well as the Rock Band online store.

On October 29, 2009, Zombie began the Hellbilly Deluxe 2 World Tour in support of his album Hellbilly Deluxe 2: Noble Jackals, Penny Dreadfuls and the Systematic Dehumanization of Cool, despite the fact it was not to be released until over three months later.

Hellbilly Deluxe 2 was set to be his last album released through Geffen Records, but in late October, Zombie announced that he had signed to Roadrunner Records and will instead be releasing Hellbilly Deluxe 2 under that label in early 2010.^[5]

On January 22, he announced that he would be touring with Alice Cooper for the "Gruesome Twosome" tour.

Tommy Clufetos recently left the band to perform with Ozzy Osbourne on drums. He replaced drummer Mike Bordin who is on tour with his current band Faith No More. Joey Jordison has since replaced Clufetos and was announced to be drumming with Zombie for his upcoming summer tour dates.^{[6] [7]} Rob Zombie was bothered that Clufetos was the second member to leave his solo band and join Osbourne after bassist Rob "Blasko" Nicholson left in 2006. Zombie commented, "If my guys that I have wanna go play with other people, that's fine; I don't own them. But I think there's ways to do things in a respectful way and there's ways to just be shitty, and I feel that the way things have gone down lately has been pretty shitty."^[8]

Rob Zombie performed at Edgefest in Little Rock, Arkansas as the co-headliner along with Godsmack on May 8, 2010. It was widely reported that much of the crowd left immediately following his performance, despite the fact that Godsmack was still scheduled to take the stage. He also played on the main stage on the second day of the Rock on the Range festival in Columbus, Ohio on May 23. Once again, it was widely reported that much of the crowd left after his performance, despite the fact that Limp Bizkit had not even started their set.^[9][10]

Rob Zombie finished recording four new songs in July 2010 with John 5, Piggy D, and Joey Jordison. The new music, expected to be released in September 2010, was described by Zombie as "some of the fastest and heaviest tracks we have recorded in a long, long time."^[11] Former White Zombie member, and drummer for Rob Zombie's first two studio albums, John Tempesta was rumored to have recorded at least one song titled "Loving the Freaks" for this release.^[12] While Rob Zombie did confirm that this collaboration was planned, his schedule was too busy and these recording sessions never took place. Working with Tempesta again in the future was not ruled out.^[13] These newly recorded tracks were incorporated into a special edition reissue of Hellbilly Deluxe 2 which was released on September 28, 2010.^[14]

For the first time in 12 years, Zombie returned to the United Kingdom to play a string of six dates in support of Hellbilly Deluxe 2.

On March 4, 2011, Rob Zombie said that he would record a CD after he completes his upcoming film The Lords of Salem.

Rob Zombie embarked on a North American tour with Slayer and Exodus called "Hell on Earth" tour which started July 20 and ended on August 6, 2011.

On April 22, 2011 on Zombie's official Twitter account, it was announced that his new drummer is ex-Marilyn Manson drummer and former John 5 bandmate, Ginger Fish.

Other projects[link]

Rob Zombie sang alongside his brother, Spider One, on Powerman 5000's song "Blast Off to Nowhere" on their 1999 breakthrough album Tonight the Stars Revolt! ^[15]

Zombie supplied the vocals for Drowning Pool's song "Man Without Fear" for the soundtrack to the 2003 film Daredevil.

Zombie is featured as a backing vocalist on "Floyd" from Lynyrd Skynyrd's 2009 album God & Guns.

On May 23, 2010 Zombie's new comic book series about a fictitious horror host, Whatever Happened To Baron Von Shock?, began. The first print sold out in less than a week.^[16]

On March 14, 2011, praising him for inventing the rock show, glam rock, and punk rock, Zombie inducted Alice Cooper into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Film and television[link]

Film career[link]

Rob Zombie attending the 2007 Comic Con to promote Halloween.

House of 1000 Corpses was Rob Zombie's directorial debut and his first horror film. Zombie wrote the screenplay as well as directing the film. It took four years to make (1999–2003), and was finally released by Lion's Gate Films in 2003, after Stacy Snider, then-head of Universal Pictures, sold the film to them. It featured a great deal of violence and gore. The movie told the tale of a group of unlucky young adults who stumble upon the Firefly Family, a family of sadistic and vicious murderers. The film was shot in a surreal and over-the-top style that alternated between dark and campy humor. The film was mostly panned by critics but has gained a cult following.

The House of 1000 Corpses' sequel, The Devil's Rejects, which Zombie also wrote and directed, showcased a much different style. Whereas House aimed at being more gory and bizarre, Rejects was darkly comedic and gritty. Released in 2005, Rejects had the Firefly Family on the run from the law and a particularly vengeful sheriff whose brother had been murdered by them in the first film. It had a better critical reception than Corpses. Zombie contributed to the 2007 exploitation film Grindhouse, by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino by directing a faux trailer, called Werewolf Women of the S.S., starring his wife, exploitation veterans Udo Kier and Sybil Danning, and Nicolas Cage, who appeared free for fun.

Zombie next wrote and directed Halloween, a reimagining of the 1978 classic that was released August 31, 2007. Although it was a success and opened at number #1 at the box office with $26 million, it registered only 26% at Rotten Tomatoes.^[17] It would go on to gross over $78 million, his biggest hit yet and the highest grossing Halloween film of all time.

Zombie is the executive producer of the animated film The Haunted World of El Superbeasto, based upon his comic book series, The Adventures of El Superbeasto (which appeared in his Spookshow International comic book). The film was released in limited showings at selected theaters on September 12, 2009, and to DVD on September 22, 2009. It features the voices of Tom Papa, Paul Giamatti, Zombie's wife Sheri Moon, and Rosario Dawson.

Zombie directed a sequel to Halloween entitled Halloween II, which was released on August 28, 2009. Filming began on February 23, 2009 in Atlanta, Georgia with Tyler Mane returning as Michael Myers.^[18] Zombie will next be directing a new movie for Dimension Films known as Rob Zombie's Tyrannosaurus Rex.^[19] In an interview at Comic Con 2009 with his younger brother Spider One of Powerman 5000, Zombie stated that his album would be released in October, followed by a tour.

Variety Magazine announced the weekend before the release of Halloween II that Zombie will be directing a remake of the 1950s/1980s films The Blob.^[20] Zombie will also create a new comic called "Whatever Happened to Baron Von Shock?",^[21] which will be released by Image Comics in late 2010.^[22]

On October 3, 2009 received the Filmmaker of the Year title of the Chiller-Eyegore Awards.^[23]

In December 2009 he announced an interest to direct an episode of CSI.^[24] On January 13, 2010, Associated Press reported that Rob Zombie's CSI: Miami episode will air March 1.^[25] He shot the part of the series with the full cast of the series and casted for minor roles Michael Madsen, Malcolm McDowell, William Forsythe, ZZ Top's leader Billy Gibbons and his wife, Sheri Moon Zombie.^[26]

Rob Zombie and Universal Studios presents the Halloween Horror Nights – Rob Zombie Film Competition as part of the Halloween Horror Nights 2010.^[27]

Rob Zombie also was a guest host on WWE Raw.^[28]

On September 22, 2010, it was announced that Rob Zombie's next film project would be entitled The Lords of Salem.^[29]

On February 21, 2011, he announced in an interview that he will start filming Tyrannosaurus Rex after he finishes Lords of Salem.^[30] The remake of The Blob will no longer be directed by Zombie.^[31]

Rumors circulated that Zombie would direct The Dirt, a movie about Mötley Crüe. However, on his Twitter page on March 4, 2011, Zombie explained that he will not be directing The Dirt. Instead, he said, "I am not. I am directing The Lords of Salem.^[32] Recording a CD after that."

Tyrannosaurus Rex is not a dead project, he explained in an interview: "It’ll happen eventually. I don’t have a deal for it, but that was supposed to be my movie I did after Halloween and then it never happened. For some reason in the last six months or so, everybody seems incredibly interested in it again. So the goal is to make that the next movie after The Lords of Salem. I don’t know if it will be, because it’s such a weird business. But Tyrannosaurus Rex has always been my pet project that I’ve always wanted to make. It’s the movie I’ve been dying to make forever."

Music video direction[link]

Rob has directed all of his own music videos as well as all White Zombie music videos except for "Welcome to Planet Motherfucker", "Black Sunshine" and "Thunderkiss '65". Zombie has contributed to other artists directing music videos such as Ozzy Osbourne's "Dreamer", Powerman 5000's "Tokyo Vigilante #1" and Black Label Society's "Stillborn" among others. Zombie has recently finished directing a music video for Leviathan The Fleeing Serpent's song "Crushing the Ritual".

As a guest[link]

Rob Zombie has appeared as a guest on several talk shows including Late Night with David Letterman (several times), Jimmy Kimmel Live! (twice), Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, The Howard Stern Show, The Opie and Anthony Show, That Metal Show, The Nerdist Podcast, Criss Angel: Mindfreak (2005 episode "Buried Alive") and even Space Ghost Coast to Coast (while he was in White Zombie).

Zombie also made a few guest appearances in movies, including Airheads (with White Zombie on stage playing "Feed the Gods") and the voice of Dr. Karl (on the phone) in the movie Slither. He did a few voiceovers for cartoons such as the voice of Ichthultu, a creature from an alternate universe in Justice League Unlimited and Dr. Curt Connors ("The Lizard") in Spider-Man: The New Animated Series. Rob Zombie appeared as the guest host for the June 28th edition of WWE Monday Night RAW.

Zombie supplied music for the Twisted Metal III and Twisted Metal 4 soundtracks, and even appeared as a playable character in Twisted Metal 4. Zombie's song "Dragula" was used in the Jet Grind Radio soundtrack. Zombie's songs Return of the Phantom Stranger, Demonoid Phenomenon, and Meet The Creeper appeared in PS-X 2000 release of Nightmare Creatures 2.

Rob Zombie was the celebrity guest on the Oct 31, 2010 (Halloween Special) episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

On October 16, 2011, Rob Zombie was a celebrity guest judge on Food Network's Halloween Wars.

Personal life[link]

On Halloween day of 2002, Zombie married longtime girlfriend Sheri Moon, whom he also features in all of his films and many of his music videos.

They currently live in Woodbury, Connecticut and Los Angeles, California.^{[citation needed]}

Collaborations[link]

Rob Zombie has cast certain actors in more than one of his films.

	House of 1000 Corpses	The Devil's Rejects	Werewolf Women of the SS	Halloween	Halloween II	The Haunted World of El Superbeasto	The Lords of Salem
Michael Berryman		N					N
Sybil Danning			N	N
Brad Dourif				N	N
Leslie Easterbrook		N		N
Ken Foree		N		N		N	N
William Forsythe		N		N
Sid Haig	N	N		N		N	N
Chris Hardwick	N				N
Danielle Harris				N	N
Clint Howard				N		N	N
Udo Kier			N	N			N
Richard Lynch				N			N
Tyler Mane		N		N	N
Malcolm McDowell				N	N
Matthew McGrory	N	N
Sheri Moon	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
Bill Moseley	N	N	N	N		N
Brian Posehn		N				N
Jeff Daniel Phillips					N		N
Daniel Roebuck		N			N	N	N
Scout Taylor-Compton				N	N
Tom Towles	N	N	N	N
Danny Trejo		N		N		N
Dee Wallace				N			N

Filmography[link]

Feature-length films

• House of 1000 Corpses (2003) (director, writer)
• The Devil's Rejects (2005) (director, producer and writer)
• Halloween (2007) (director, producer and writer)
• Halloween II (2009) (director, producer and writer)
• Lords of Salem (2012) (director, producer and writer)
• Tyrannosaurus Rex (TBA)

Animated films

• The Haunted World of El Superbeasto (2009) (director, producer and writer)

TV work

• Pee-wee's Playhouse (production assistant, unknown episodes)
• Headbangers Ball (guest, numerous episodes)^[33]
• Airheads (guest, with White Zombie performing "Feed the Gods", 1994)
• Space Ghost Coast to Coast (guest, 1 episode, 1997)
• Spider-Man: The New Animated Series (guest, voice of Dr. Kurt Conners a.k.a. The Lizard, episode 3, "Law of the Jungle", July 18, 2003)
• Justice League Unlimited (guest, voice of Ichthulthu, Episode 42, "The Terror Beyond Pt. 2", November 5, 2003)
• Criss Angel Mindfreak (guest, season 1, episode 6, "Buried Alive", 2005)
• Slither (guest, Dr. Karl (voice only), 2006)
• CSI: Miami (director, 1 episode, 2010)
• WWE Raw (Raw Guest Host, 1 episode, 2010)
• Extreme Makeover Home Edition (guest, Season 8 - Episode 6, 2010)
• Halloween Wars (Guest Judge, episode 3, "Zombies vs. Vampires," October 16, 2011)
• The Undead Eyes (voice of Dr. XXX - 2012–present)

Other

• Metal: A Headbanger's Journey as himself (interview)
• Werewolf Women of the SS (2007)

TV Commercials

• Woolite Commercial: "Torturer" (director, 2011)
• Amdro Commercial: "Death Note" (director, 2012)

Discography[link]

Rob Zombie performing in 2011 for the "Hell on Earth" tour with Slayer.

White Zombie[link]

• Soul-Crusher (1987)
• Make Them Die Slowly (1989)
• La Sexorcisto: Devil Music, Vol. 1 (1992)
• Astro Creep: 2000 – Songs of Love, Destruction and Other Synthetic Delusions of the Electric Head (1995)
• Supersexy Swingin' Sounds (1996)

Solo[link]

• Hellbilly Deluxe (1998)
• American Made Music to Strip By (compilation - 1999)
• The Sinister Urge (2001)
• Past, Present & Future (compilation - 2003)
• Educated Horses (2006)
• The Best of Rob Zombie, The Millenium Collection (compilation - 2006)
• Zombie Live (2007)
• Hellbilly Deluxe 2 (2010)
• TBA (2013)

Composer[link]

• Twisted Metal III (1998) (video game)
• Gran Turismo 2 (1999) (video game)
• The Undead Eyes (2011) (television)

Solo band members[link]

Current

• Rob Zombie – vocals (1997–current)
• John 5 – guitar, backing vocals (2005–current)
• Piggy D. – bass guitar, backing vocals (2006–current)
• Ginger Fish - drums, percussion (2011-current)

Former

• Mike Riggs – guitar (1997–2003)
• John Tempesta – drums, percussion, vocals (1997–2004)
• Blasko – bass guitar, vocals (1997–2006)
• Tommy Clufetos – drums, percussion (2005–2010)
• Joey Jordison – drums, percussion (2010–2011)

References[link]