This paper provides an overview and critical reassessment of the cases of clinical lycanthropy reported in the medical literature from 1850 onwards. Out of 56 original case descriptions of metamorphosis into an animal, only 13 fulfilled the criteria of clinical lycanthropy proper. The remaining cases constituted variants of the overarching class of clinical zoanthropy. Forty-seven cases involved primary delusions, and nine secondary delusions on the basis of somatic and/or visual hallucinations which may well have affected the patients’ sense of physical existence, also known as coenaesthesis. Cases of secondary delusions in particular warrant proper somatic and auxiliary investigations to rule out any underlying organic pathology, notably in somatosensory areas and those representing the body scheme.
ArzySOverneyLSLandisTBlankeO (2006) Neural mechanisms of embodiment: asomatognosia due to premotor cortex damage. Archives of Neurology63: 1022–1025.
2.
BärK-JGaserCNenadicISauerH (2002) Transient activation of a somatosensory area in painful hallucinations shown by fMRI. NeuroReport13: 1–4.
3.
Baring-GouldS (1865) The Book of Were-Wolves. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
4.
BariodA (1850) Observation d’un cas de lycanthropie. Annales Médico-psychologiques7: 151–154.
5.
BénézechM (1990) La lycanthropie. Gazette Médicale de France97(8): 12–13.
6.
BénézechMChapenoireS (2005) Lycanthropy: wolf-men and werewolves. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica111: 79.
7.
BénézechMDe WitteJEtchepareJ-JBourgeoisM (1989a) A propos d’une observation de lycanthropie avec violences mortelles. Annales Médico-psychologiques147: 464–470.
8.
BénézechMDe WitteJEtchepareJJBourgeoisM (1989b) A lycanthropic murderer. American Journal of Psychiatry146(7): 942.
9.
BianchiL (1906) A Text-Book of Psychiatry for Physicians and Students, translated by MacDonaldJH. New York: W. Wood; originally published in Italian in 1905.
10.
BinswangerO (1904) Die Hysterie. Vienna: Alfred Hölder.
11.
BlomJD (2010) A Dictionary of Hallucinations. New York: Springer.
12.
BlomJDSommerIEC (2012) Hallucinations of bodily sensation. In: BlomJDSommerIEC (eds) Hallucinations. Research and Practice. New York: Springer, 157–170.
13.
BlomJDNevenAAouajYJonkerBHoekHW (2010) De coenesthesiopathieën. Tijdschrift voor Psychiatrie52: 695–704.
14.
Bou KhalilRDahdahPRichaSKahnDA (2012) Lycanthropy as a culture-bound syndrome: a case report and review of the literature. Journal of Psychiatric Practice18(1): 51–54.
15.
BourquelotF (1849) Recherches sur la Lycanthropie. Paris: Société des Antiquaires de France.
16.
ChalewskyF (1909) Heilung eines hysterischen Bellens durch Psychoanalyse. Zentralblatt für Nervenheilkunde und Psychiatrie20: 303–307.
17.
CollPGO’SullivanGBrownePJ (1985) Lycanthropy lives on. British Journal of Psychiatry147: 201–202.
18.
DamasioA (1999) The Feeling of What Happens. Body and Emotion in the Making of Consciousness. Orlando: Harcourt.
19.
DendyWC (1847) Philosophy of Mystery. New York: Harper & Brothers.
20.
DeningTRWestA (1989) Multiple serial lycanthropy. A case report. Psychopathology22: 344–347.
21.
DenyGCamusP (1905) Sur un cas de délire métabolique de la personnalité lié à des troubles de la cœnesthésie. Archives de Neurologie20: 257–268.
22.
DrakeME (1992) Medical and neuropsychiatric aspects of lycanthropy. Journal of Medical Humanities13(1): 5–15.
23.
EislerR (1969) Man into Wolf: An Anthropological Interpretation of Sadism, Masochism, and Lycanthropy. New York: Greenwood Press.
24.
EmminghausH (1878) Allgemeine Psychopathologie. Zur Einführung in das Studium der Geistesstörungen. Leipzig: F.C.W. Vogel.
25.
FahyTA (1989) Lycanthropy: a review. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine82: 37–39.
GarlippPGödecke-KochTHaltenhofHDietrichDE (2001) Lykanthropie/Zooanthropismus – Erörterung eines psychopathologischen Phänomens. Fortschritte der Neurologie-Psychiatrie69: 215–220.
32.
GuinonG (1891) Documents pour servir à l’histoire des somnambulismes. Paris: Progrès Médical1891–1892.
33.
Gödecke-KochTGarlippPHaltenhofHDietrichDE (2001) Lycanthropy: 2 case reports. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry46: 659.
34.
GroverSShahRGhoshA (2010) Electroconvulsive therapy for lycanthropy and Cotard syndrome: a case report. Journal of ECT26(4): 280–281.
35.
HackenbrochE (1967) Die Lykanthropie. Mythos – Aberglaube – Krankheit. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte psychopathologischer Begriffe. Med. Diss., Universität zu Köln.
36.
IllisL (1964) On porphyria and the ætiology of werwolves. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine57: 23–26.
37.
JacksonPM (1978) Another case of lycanthropy. American Journal of Psychiatry135(1): 134–135.
38.
JungCG (1928/1954) Child development and education. In: ReadHFordhamMAdlerG (eds) The Collected Works of C.G. Jung, Vol. 17. London: Routledge, 49–62.
39.
KeckPEPopeHGHudsonJIMcElroySLKulickAR (1988) Lycanthropy: alive and well in the twentieth century. Psychological Medicine18: 113–120.
KoehlerKEbelHVartzopoulosD (1990) Lycanthropy and demonomania: some psychopathological issues. Psychological Medicine20: 629–633.
42.
KruijtAC (1899) De weerwolf bij de Toradja’s van Midden Celebes. Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde41: 548–567.
43.
KulickARPopeHGJrKeckPEJr(1990) Lycanthropy and self-identification. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease178(2): 134–137.
44.
LaingRD (1967) The Politics of Experience and The Bird of Paradise. London: Penguin Books.
45.
LangeE (1970) Ein Hundeleben – Kynanthropes Verhalten im Alkoholrausch. Psychiatrie, Neurologie und medizinische Psychologie22: 6–10.
46.
MeltonJG (ed.) (1996) Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology, Vol. 1, 4th edn.Detroit: Gale Research.
47.
MetzgerN (2006) Antike Lykanthropie – Wenn Menschen sich für Wölfe hälten. Praxis95: 299–302.
48.
MoghaddasA-RNasseriM (2004) Lycanthropy in depression: a case report. Archives of Iranian Medicine7(2): 130–132.
49.
MorelB-A (1852) Études cliniques: Traité théorique et pratique des maladies mentales considérées dans leur nature, leur traitement, et dans leur rapport avec la médecine légale des aliénés, Vol. 1. Paris: Victor Masson & J.B. Baillière.
50.
MoselhyHF (1999) Lycanthropy: new evidence of its origin. Psychopathology32: 173–176.
51.
MoselhyHFMacmillanJF (1994) Lycanthropy, mythology and medicine. Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine11(4): 168–170.
52.
MoselhyHFNasrA (1999) Lycanthropy: a dangerous reverse intermetamorphosis. Review of 23 cases with the syndrome of lycanthropy. European Journal of Psychiatry13(3): 145–150.
53.
NejadAGToofaniK (2005) Co-existence of lycanthropy and Cotard's syndrome in a single case. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica111: 250–252.
54.
Pérez HervadaE (1972) Licantropía y zoantropía. Galicia Clínica44: 641–660.
55.
PigeaudJ (2006) Délires de métamorphose. Gesnerus63: 73–89.
56.
Poulakou-RebelakouETsiamisCPanteleakosGPloumpidisD (2009) Lycanthropy in Byzantine times (AD 330–1453). History of Psychiatry20(4): 468–479.
57.
RajnaDDGuillibertELôoHDebrayQ (1990) A propos d’un cas de délire de métamorphose en oiseau chez un schizophrène bouddhiste. Annales Médico-psychologiques148: 539–542.
58.
RaoKGangadharBNJanakiramiahN (1999) Lycanthropy in depression: two case reports. Psychopathology32: 169–172.
59.
RätschC (2005) The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants. Ethnopharmacology and its Applications. Rochester: Park Street Press.
60.
RobbinsRH (1959) The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Demonology. London: Peter Nevill Ltd.
61.
Rojo MorenoJRojo MorenoMValdemoro GarcíaCRojo SierraM (1990) El delirio de transformación licantropico. Actas Luso-Españolas de Neurología, Psiquiatría y Ciencias Afines18(5): 327–331.
62.
RosenstockHVincentKR (1977) A case of lycanthropy. American Journal of Psychiatry134(10): 1147–1149.
63.
Rúa FigueroaM (1859) Reseña de la Causa Formada en el Juzgado de Primera Instancia de Allariz, Distrito de La Coruña, Contra Manuel Blanco Romasanta, el Hombre Lobo, por Varios Asesinatos. Madrid.
64.
RussellWMSRussellC (1989) The social biology of the werewolf trials. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine82: 379–380.
65.
SchneiderC (1920) Űber Zoanthropie. Monatsschrift für Psychiatrie und Neurologie47: 269–287.
66.
ShergillSSCameronLABrammerMJWilliamsSCRMurrayRMMcGuirePK (2001) Modality specific correlates of auditory and somatic hallucinations. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry71: 688–690.
67.
SilvaJADerechoDVLeongGB (2000) A case of partial lycanthropy. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry45(2): 201–202.
68.
SilvaJALeongGB (2005) Lycanthropy and delusional misidentification. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica111: 162.
69.
StahlFK (1875) Un cas de lycanthropie. Annales Médico-psychologiques13: 455.
70.
SurawiczFGBantaR (1975) Lycanthropy revisited. Canadian Psychiatric Association Journal20: 537–542.
71.
TanziE (1909) A Text-Book of Mental Diseases. London: Rebman Ltd.
72.
VedieCPoinsoFHemmiFKatzG (1993) Anorexie et lycanthropie: grandeur et décadence. Annales Médico-psychologiques151(3): 285–289.
73.
VerdouxHBourgeoisM (1993) A partial form of lycanthropy with hair delusion in a manic-depressive patient. British Journal of Psychiatry163: 684–686.
74.
VerdouxHDe WittJBénézechMBourgeoisM (1989) Lycanthropie: une pathologie contemporaine?Annales de Psychiatrie4(2): 176–179.
75.
WahlJ (1923) Les délires archaïques. Annales Médico-psychologiques81: 294–313.
76.
WHO (1992) The ICD-10 Classification of Mental and Behavioral Disorders. Clinical Descriptions and Diagnostic Guidelines. Geneva: World Health Organization.
77.
YounisAAMoselhyHF (2009) Lycanthropy alive in Babylon: the existence of archetype. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica119: 161–165.
78.
ZilboorgGHenryGW (1941) A History of Medical Psychology. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.
