megrar
now, there is where my knowledge of mythos fails me. i had to google werewolves--i don't remember ever coming across a myth about them as a kid, and i read voraciously. where can i find this "norse take"?
The Vikings had berserkers, men who dressed in animal skins and (allegedly) drank animal blood before battle and went into great rages. These may have fed later werewolf legends.
There's also Fenriswolf, one of Loki's monstrous children, who was a wolf who - apparently - had enough human in him to converse with the gods on occasion (but not enough to overcome his bestial and violent nature).
megrar
also! you might be the person to know this one--as a kid i read a children's book based on an old fable about a black girl who went to work at a witch's house, and as a reward, the witch told her to take some plain white eggs--and ONLY plain eggs--from the hen house, and toss them over her shoulder as she went home. in the hen house were also gorgeous bejeweled and ribbon covered eggs, but she did as the witch asked, and when the plain eggs broke, riches and such came out. her two sisters, seeing this, became jealous and went to the witch themselves. but when it came their turn to get some eggs, they chose the pretty ones, and evil nasty stuff came out.
my google fu has failed me on finding this book, or even the story it comes from. do you have any idea? i don't even know if it's african, or an american slave story (though i think it's probably african).
That is one hell of a cool legend, but sadly, I don't have a clue where it might be from.
sad It may be from West Africa, though. Instinct tells me it might be from Haiti or El Salvador, but my instinct has often been wrong. It's very similar to certain European fairy tales, too, except with a slight twist at the end, as well (the girls
choose the rewards, unlike in the European versions, where they're just given them).
megrar
dude! mike mignola's take on them is so close to how they used to be presented, that they come off as amazingly original. how's that for sad?
Yes, Mignola is quite fantastic at that, from what little I've seen. Man, I really need to read more Hellboy.