Title: Werewolf Mythology
Type: Meta
Rating: G
Summary: A compilation of the "facts" and "fictions" of werewolves in Teen Wolf.
Notes: This is definitely a work in progress. Thoughts and counterpoints are welcomed. Season 2 Spoilers included
Word Count: ~1200


There seems to be a common idea that mythology exists in one form, that there is, for example, one vampire mythology, one werewolf mythology, one ghost mythology, and so on. Even self-proclaimed experts will buy into this notion, while paradoxically maintaining a compartmentalization of which pieces of the mythology are “true” and which ones are “false,” as if our current popular interpretations have always been the way the myth was understood. When applied to supernatural shows, this creates the ridiculous notion that there’s a “right” way and a “wrong” way to do the mythology. As far as storytelling is concerned, the only “right” way is for whichever rules are established in-universe to be internally consistent; the caveat that often gets ignored is that the writers are free to create the in-universe rules as they see fit.

In the case of Teen Wolf, fans often complain about the liberties the writers are taking with the werewolf mythology and/or the wreckage they’re making of the mythology. What goes unremarked, if it’s noticed at all, is both the breadth of shapeshifter mythology worldwide and the breadth of Eurocentric!werewolf mythology. Reconciling all the disparate elements of these mythologies is impossible and would create a contradictory mess. Likewise, using only the current modern interpretations is also impossible because there are various modern interpretations.

Though some elements show up rather consistently in modern werewolf interpretations (e.g. full moons, wolfsbane, silver, physical transformations), none of these are absolute or even essential to the myth, whereas other features that aren’t so common now (e.g. cannibalism, sorcery, demonic possession) were once given a lot more credence. In 24 (23 aired at the time of this writing) episodes, Teen Wolf had managed to lay out a lot of information about what its version of the myth is going to include.

In Teen Wolf, we know the following things are true:

• There are werewolves.
• Werewolves can be created two ways: being born that way (though it’s not stated whether they’re born as werewolves or whether the werewolf part is something they come into later, such as with the original Teen Wolf movie), and being bitten.
• Werewolves form packs and are stronger with a pack.
• Membership in a pack appears to be a matter of decision. A person needs to agree in order to join a pack, and can leave one simply by choosing to.
• Packs have an Alpha-Beta structure, with one werewolf being the Alpha and all the others being the Betas.
• The Alpha rank is won through combat, by killing a previous Alpha.
• There may be different ranks of Beta.
• Omega werewolves exist; however, Omega is an a-pack rank. That is, the Omega is the name for a werewolf without a pack. Thus, a person can be both an Omega and a Beta at the same time.
• Only an Alpha’s bite can make new werewolves. Betas’ bites cannot make new werewolves.
• A bitten person may not survive the bite.
• Bitten werewolves have less control over their werewolf urges than born werewolves do.
• Werewolves do not fully transform into either bipedal beasts or four-legged wolves, though both are apparently skills that can be learned if one has a strong enough pack and enough experience.
• Werewolves are vulnerable to Wolfsbane.
• Different types of Wolfsbane have different effects.
• Werewolves are not vulnerable to silver. (As stated by the creator, the “deadly silver” part of the legend comes from a corruption of the Hunter family Argent’s name and purpose. That is, it’s the family Silver (Argent) that’s deadly, not the substance silver.)
• Full moons cause werewolves to transform unless they’ve learned not to. This transformation is very painful, though it does not seem to have a different physical result.
• Full moons also cause werewolves to undergo psychological changes that suggest extreme sociopathy or violent psychopathy.
• Werewolves can transform other times and will when their heart rates increase and/or they get angry.
• Werewolves can learn to control when and how they transform, even on a full moon, via the recognition of an anchor that attaches themselves to their human side.
• All shapeshifters are related. An Alpha’s bite is seen to result in a person becoming a Kanima (were-lizard) rather than werewolf because of something flawed in that person.

We also know that:

• Vampires are not real (via Word of God) (relevant because vampire and werewolf mythologies are often closely linked).
• Though Stiles tells Scott that he’s cursed, curses don’t create werewolves.
• Werewolves are not vulnerable to religious symbols such as crosses, holy water, or Bibles.
• Werewolves don’t knot. We see Allison and Scott post-coital and there’s no indication of tying.
• Werewolves do not have a special preference for human flesh or blood (though the Kanima is shown eating human livers), nor any obligation to eat meat or to kill.
• Werewolves do not become more monstrous as time goes on. If anything, they become better able to control themselves and are able to live relatively normal human lives.
• Werewolves aren’t immortal, invulnerable, or eternal. They age, can get injured by anything that will injure a human, and can be killed. The latter two are just more difficult.
• Werewolves are not demons or evil spirits, and a person cannot be cured through exorcism.
• Werewolves cannot be cured via the naming of their Christian name.

While the werewolf mythology on Teen Wolf is not yet deeply developed, it’s important to recognize that there is one; the writers are not making it up as they go along and are not choosing the mythology to support the plot. Rather, they have developed a plot that fits into the mythology they’ve created, as evidenced by the fact that so far the rules are internally consistent and were fairly easy to compile from observation.

It’s also important to recognize that the writers are not beholden to existing mythology of any origin. The creator of the show has stated repeatedly that he’s drawing on shapeshifter mythology from all over the world, but that doesn’t require him to use those legends “as is” any more than he is using European (or Hollywood) mythologies “as is.”

Because the various mythologies are complex and incompatible, the writers need to pick and choose what to include and what not for the storylines in the show to make sense (as opposed, for example, to Big Wolf on Campus that violated its own werewolf rules repeatedly and that used vampires as a plot point at least four times with different sets of rules each time; it was also a comedy, so it could get away with that).

The show’s creator has made conscious decisions about what is and isn’t true for his mythology, adapting and modifying the component elements as necessary to create cohesion. He’s even had the characters directly point out that certain “traditional” elements are myths. Where the rules he’s created don’t mesh with other werewolf mythologies, and especially with Hollywood mythologies, it is not a failure on Teen Wolf’s part, but an essential element of world building.

When coming to the Teen Wolf mythology, the viewer should try to piece together the mythology the show provides rather than expect to the show to fit into whatever werewolf-myth construct the viewer is familiar with. Not only will this reduce apparent discrepancies in the show and the plot, it will make the characterizations more consistent and logical, and will be far less frustrating than “knowing” that werewolves wear their fur inside their skin and that the show is full of nonsense for insisting otherwise.