There will be a full moon out tonight, so it's the perfect time to write a blog entry that I've been planning for a while. A few weeks ago, for whatever reason, this poem popped into my head:
- Even a man who is pure in heart
- and says his prayers by night
- may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms
- and the autumn moon is bright.
This is what Wolfsbane looks like. As pretty as this plant is, it's very poisonous. Large doses can kill a person instantly, although death usually takes two to six hours. It has even been used on the ends of poison arrows! Funny enough, Wolfsbane has the reputation for both killing werewolves and inducing them with the werewolf condition! So I guess it supplies whatever need you have in a werewolf story. :)
Anyway, back to the poem. Do you guys recognize it? It's from the movie "The Wolfman" which came out in 1941. The movie stars Lon Chaney Jr. as the unfortunate Larry Talbot who turns into the wolfman. Claude Rains is also in this as is Bela Lugosi, who plays a character named Bela, believe it or not! Curt Siodmak, the screenwriter behind The Wolfman is the person who wrote this poem. I linked Curt's name to his Wikipedia page, because he had a fascinating life that is worth reading about.
I found a great Wolfman video clip someone put together and posted on YouTube. There's some modern music here, and they changed a few scenes around. I think it's put together really nicely. Anyway, right in the beginning of this, you can hear the poem being recited.
The poem also makes an appearance at the end of the song "Howl" by Florence and the Machine. I found a nice Youtube clip showing the lyrics to this song as she sings them. As cool as Florence is, I chose a video without her in it. I wanted a video with a focus on the lyrics because they're beautiful in their way. I think this could be the next werewolf anthem! Assuming there ever was one...
