“	If it were a choice, it wouldn't be called a curse. Werewolves will attack humans, but instinct and centuries of rivalry have hardwired them to hunt their prey of choice... vampires.	”
	— Vanessa Monroe on werewolves

Werewolves (also called Lycanthropes and Loup Garou) are a near-extinct supernatural species of individuals which unwillingly transform into fearsome, and extremely hostile wolves during full moons. Even in their human form, all werewolves do possess superhuman physical prowess. Werewolves are the most dangerous enemies of vampires because a bite from a werewolf can kill a vampire. Werewolves are designed to kill vampires on sight in their wolf form. Though they still hunt human prey when there are no vampires to kill.

Contents 1 History 2 Psychological characteristics 3 Food 4 Code Of Loyalty 5 Appearance 6 Triggering The Werewolf Gene 7 Werewolf Transformation 8 Powers and Abilities 9 Weaknesses 10 Myths 11 Appearances in Wolf Form 12 Trivia 13 Known Werewolves 14 Gallery 15 See also

History

Not much is known about the history of werewolves except that they existed before vampires were created over 1,000 years ago. Who created them, how they were created, when exactly they were created and the reason for their creation is currently unknown but since they call their supernatural condition a curse, it may very well be a magical curse placed on the original members of their species by witches. However, if this is the case, it has yet to be proven. Werewolves actively populated the New World during the early Middle Ages as Viking invasions began in Europe. Most, if not all, of the land's inhabitants were werewolves and they lived along side one another in villages. They also lived alongside humans and, to protect their loved ones, they made sure that they had access to natural means of protection for them. One of the most notable locations of a werewolf village was the location of Mystic Falls. Beneath the area was a series of tunnels that provided protection for the humans when the werewolves turned on the full moon. One clear rule of the village was that the humans were forbidden from being with the wolves when they turned.

A notable event in the history of the werewolves comes with the arrival of inhabitants of the 'Old World' where a plague had been devastating the population. The newcomers included Mikael, his wife Esther, and Esther's witch mentor and friend, Ayana. Having lost their child in Europe, Mikael and Esther wanted to be able to raise a family free from illness and Ayana had led them to the New World where they could live in peace. The villagers accepted the new family and they became an integral part of of the village life with Ayana become the local healer and contact with the spirits. Mikael and Esther finally built a family, giving birth to five sons and a daughter: Elijah, Finn, Niklaus, Kol, Rebekah and Henrik. However, when Henrik and Niklaus broke the rule one night and went to see the wolves turn, Henrik was killed by the turned wolves. Determined to not lose anymore family but not wanting to run anymore, Mikael and Esther used a forbidden ritual to turn their children and Mikael himself into indestructible beings with stronger and more attuned reflexes than the werewolves, a race that would later be know as the vampires. However, the newly-turned family's lust for blood led them to shatter the peace of their village, feeding on the innocent inhabitants of the town. When Niklaus made his first human kill, Esther's darkest secret came to light: Niklaus was not Mikael's son but the son of one of the werewolf villagers. Killing a human activated his werewolf gene and he turned into a vampire/werewolf hybrid. Furious at his wife's betrayal, Mikael slaughtered her lover and half of the remaining villagers, igniting the war that had since lasted between vampires and werewolves.

After the slaughter and their mother's death at Niklaus hands, the Original family scattered and begun traveling the Old and New Worlds, turning other people into vampires. The war between vampires and werewolves came to a head when vampires discovered that a bite from a werewolf could kill them, and therefore set about massacring the entire werewolf race. The werewolves were driven to near-extinction by the massacres and later turned vampires even began to believe that werewolves were a mere myth.

In reality, werewolves had survived and reorganized themselves into packs to help one another evade the vampires and also help each other through their very painful transformations.

Psychological characteristics

Werewolves are known to be aggressive, strong and fast even in human form. Tyler Lockwood often had trouble controlling his temper. Those with the werewolf curse still latent can exhibit some supernatural traits which can be triggered by aggression, along with unusual physical strength for the person's given size and age but they cannot fully transform and they also black out when they go blind with rage for no reason. Also werewolves have a higher body temperature than humans. When Tyler first activates his curse he states that his skin feels as if it's on fire. With the curse activated their eyes turn yellow (the eyes of a wolf) while enraged, as Mason's eyes did when he stopped the fight between Tyler and Carter (Brave New World). Activating the curse is also painful.

While some werewolves prefer to keep to themselves and keep their beastly natures hidden, most seem to aggregate themselves into packs and residing in areas isolated from general human society.

In 1864, George Lockwood attacked several humans and killed them, leaving horrific wounds on the corpses, (essentially ripping them apart) much worse than some vampires would have. This is evident when Henry tells Katherine that the wounds "worse than anything he had ever seen before." Despite this, with the cooperation of Katherine Pierce, who was running from The Originals, George was able to convince the Mystic Falls town council that vampires were responsible which lead to their round up. It is unknown if George continued his attacks there or elsewhere.

Food

Like normal people, werewolves can eat normal food if they choose to. However, because they turn into ferocious beasts during the full moon, they are flesh eating creatures. When they feed, it is absorbed throughout the body and they need to consume organs or body parts, but they do not have to feed in order to prolong their existence like Vampires. There is no known side effects in the absence of devouring victims in werewolf form. It seems that most werewolves do not get to feed because of the fact that most tend to lock themselves up during the full moon, or that before or after they make a kill, they're scared off before they get to chance to truly feed. Werewolves have not been seen to attack each other in human or lupine form, but have been known to hunt both human and vampire prey while transformed under the full moon. Jules, for example, was seen to be horrified when she woke up to find she'd slaughtered a group of campers after attacking Rose. Werewolves seem to have an urge to attack vampires regardless of what form they are in, as witnessed in The Hybrid when a werewolf instinctively attacks the vampire Damon Salvatore instead of pursuing its first choice, Elena Gilbert, and when Ray (a newly turned hybrid) instinctively attacked Damon on sight.

Code Of Loyalty

Werewolves are very similar to witches when it comes to their own kind. Unlike the vampires, werewolves are more sworn to loyalty and may bond with other werewolves they meet. They work with each other as sort of an extended family. The bond of loyalty between werewolves is strangely strong, while changed under full moons, the only things they do not attack are other werewolves (triggered curse or not). This code does seem to extend to Klaus' hybrids too. It's possible that the only reason why Klaus' hybrids are loyal, is because of their werewolf heritage. Though vampires have been known to "Sire" too, but it's rare.

Appearance

Werewolves in their wolf form have the appearances of an ordinary wolf, but with glowing yellow eyes and a much larger and brute-like appearance. When there is the full moon after sunset they will transform into a canine form, looking very much like a timber-wolf, although larger. They can also be distinguished from regular wolves by their displays of supernatural strength, speed, and overall size. The fur color of wolf forms differs from one to the other (e.g., Tyler Lockwood's fur color is dark brown, Mason Lockwood's is white and grey, Jules is light brown and a hints of white. Werewolves appear the same as any other human the rest of the month, apart from the full moon.

Triggering The Werewolf Gene

A werewolf has to kill a human in order to trigger their werewolf gene in order to activate their powers. It also does not matter if the curse was activated accidentally, or it was intentional. After the gene is triggered their eyes will turn yellow and their powers will activate instantly. A Werewolf who has yet to trigger his or her curse will only exhibit increased aggression and overwhelming fits of rage during nights of the full moon. 

Werewolf Transformation

A werewolf will only transform in to a wolf under a full moon. The first transformation is quite slow and the person is subjected to at least five hours of intense pain before transforming. After the first transformation it will get faster but still hurt. During the transformation, the body of the person is twisted in an unnatural manner as bones reshape and shift to form a wolf skeleton, causing the person immense pain. Later the person grows excessive body hair and becomes feral and huge eyes that glow yellow and fangs, then in minutes the werewolf will become a wolf. A werewolf returns to their human form in after a few hours. After the first transformation the werewolf will experience muscle aches. Older werewolves can control themselves to some extent on the night of the full moon.

Powers and Abilities

• Super Strength - Werewolves are much stronger than any human. They are not as strong as a vampire whilst in human form but when it is a full moon they are more powerful than Non-Original Vampires. Rose, a 560 year-old- vampire was knocked down and over-powered by the fully transformed werewolf Jules. Another case was when Damon Salvatore, a 172 vampire could barely hold off the transforming newborn werewolf, Tyler Lockwood.

• Super Speed - Werewolves are extremely faster than any human and non-Original vampire. Werewolves can use this ability in either Human or wolf form. Under the full moon, Werewolves can use their speed in wolf form to even swiftly chase down Vampires.

• Super Agility - Werewolves possess superhuman agility. They can move, jump, climb, and run incredibly fast without difficulty or exhaustion.

• Super Durability - Werewolves can take far more trauma than Humans can without much discomfort or injury. They can also exert themselves without much tire.

• Healing Factor - Werewolves possess superhuman regenerative abilities, meaning if ever injured, their bodies will heal near- instantaneously. Werewolves have also been said to heal exactly as fast as vampires. Even in human form.

• Super Senses - Werewolves have the extremely keen senses of smell, sight, taste, and hearing inherent in all canines. With this, Tyler was able to sense Vervain placed in coffee, which would otherwise be impossible since the flavor is usually hidden by the coffee.

• Werewolf Bite - The bite of a Werewolf is extremely lethal to normal Vampires but not to an Original.(reallly a vampire has never been shown to actually be killed by the bite, so far all vampires bitten have been shown killed by other vampires)

• Anger - When a Werewolf is furious, their anger increase all their powers and abilities for a short period of time, as well as can have an advantage over a Vampire.

• Full Moon - Werewolves' powers and abilities are enhanced and are at their peak during a full moon.
• Shapeshifting - During a full moon, they will unwillingly turn into wolves.

Weaknesses

• Broken Neck: By breaking a werewolf's neck, it results in instant death.
• Wolfsbane - When ingested, wolfsbane causes a werewolf to become severely weak and feverish. Also, If a werewolf's skin is exposed to wolfsbane, it will result in burning them.
• Gilbert Device - Invented by Jonathan Gilbert (Enchanted by Emily Bennett), the Device was a weapon designed to emit a high-frequency noise that could only be heard by vampires and werewolves.
• Decapitation - If the head of a werewolf is dismembered, it results in death.
• Magic - Witches are able to curse and inflict supernaturals aneurysms that cause the blood vessels of werewolves to explode.
• Heart Extraction - If a werewolves' heart is ripped out, it will cause instant death.

Myths

• Silver- They are not weakened by or allergic to silver, as Mason explained after Damon stabbed him with a silver knife. Mason said that the myth was probably started by werewolves. Its the opposite effect however and they just heal from it. That's why Klaus can't be killed by the white oak daggers.
• Wolfsbane- Several myths have spanned around the herb and its relation and effects upon Werewolves. Some of which being that Wolfsbane supposedly either causes or cures Lycantrophy.

Appearances in Wolf Form

• Bad Moon Rising
• By The Light of the Moon
• The Last Day
• The Sun Also Rises
• The Hybrid
• The Ties That Bind
• After School Special

Trivia

• It's unclear why the werewolf bite is lethal to a vampire. However, since in the natural world species that are design to hunt down a specific creature as a prey are supposed to evolve with that purpose in mind, it might be some kind of adaptation on part of the werewolves in order to survive after the vampires began the werewolf genocide. Another theory is that a witch might have gave the ability to the species as a whole but neither theory has been proven. 
• Werewolves are the antithesis to Vampires.
• Hayley is currently the only werewolf in the TV series for now.
• When turned into hybrids, werewolves are still more wolf than vampire.
• Mason Lockwood was the first full-blooded werewolf seen on the show and the first werewolf seen in wolf form.
• Jules was the first female werewolf on the show.
• According to Klaus, werewolves tend to travel in packs.
• Werewolves are an older species than vampires, as Klaus' father and other members of the Original family's village were werewolves before The Originals turned into vampires.
• In the books, The Original Pack, Tyler Smallwood, Caroline Forbes, Caroline's unborn twin children and Jacob Smallwood were the only werewolves.
• In the series, it was unknown that Lockwoods have werewolf gene until Bad Moon Rising. But it was hinted in some episodes.
  • First was The Turning Point. After the scene Tyler hit Jeremy, he asked him "What is your problem, man?" when a full moon can be seen in the sky, explaining his aggressive behaviors.
  • It was also hinted in Founder's Day. When John activated the device that would incapacitate vampires, Tyler was also able to hear the noise and he lost the control of the car because of the painful noise that the device caused.
• According to an interview, the werewolf transformation was designed to be a dance for actors.
• The transformations of Mason, Jules, and Tyler are the only ones shown in the TV series.
• It seems that werewolf families share the same birth mark.
• Nobody has been shown to die from a wolf bite yet.

Known Werewolves

Werewolf	Description	Status
Image not available Niklaus' Father	He was a werewolf whom Esther had an affair with, which Klaus was the outcome. His name and history are unknown.	Deceased
Jacob Lockwood	Jacob Lockwood was the mayor of Mystic Falls in the 1800s.	Deceased
Image not available Benjamin Lockwood	Benjamin Lockwood was the mayor of Mystic Falls in 1864.	Deceased
Barnette Lockwood	Barnette was a member of the Founder's Council and the carrier of the werewolf gene.	Deceased
George Lockwood	George was the first known member of the Lockwood family to trigger the werewolf gene. He is the son of Benjamin Lockwood.	Deceased
Mason Lockwood	Mason was Richard Lockwood's brother and Tyler's uncle. He aided Katherine Pierce in her attempt to find the moonstone.	Deceased
Jules	Jules was a friend of Mason Lockwood. She and her boyfriend Brady kidnapped Caroline Forbes so that they could leave with Mason's nephew, Tyler, and help him adjust to his new life as a werewolf.	Deceased
Brady	Brady was the boyfriend of Jules and friend of Mason. After the disappearance of Mason, Brady and his wolf pack traveled to Mystic Falls to avenge his death.	Deceased
Stevie	Stevie was a member of Jules' pack. He helped Jules capture Damon in an attempt to find the moonstone.	Deceased
Hayley	Hayley is a werewolf who helped Tyler break his sire bond with Klaus. She teamed up with Professor Shane, who promised her that he would give her information about her biological parents if she helped other hybrids to break their sire bonds.	Alive

Gallery

See also

• List of werewolves - a complete list of all werewolves that have appeared in the series.

Characters Main Characters Elena • Stefan • Damon • Katherine • Jeremy • Bonnie • Matt • Caroline • Tyler • Klaus Past Main Characters: Alaric • Jenna • Vicki Recurring Characters April Young • Abby Bennett Wilson • Kelly Donovan • Elijah Mikaelson • Meredith Fell • Elizabeth Forbes • Jamie • Kol Mikaelson • Carol Lockwood • Hayley • Professor Shane • Rebekah Mikaelson Deceased Characters Anna • Emily Bennett • Sheila Bennett • Aimee Bradley • Lexi Branson • Brady • Esther • Finn Mikaelson • Isobel Flemming • Bill Forbes • John Gilbert • Harper • Jules • Mason Lockwood Richard Lockwood • Logan Fell • Maddox • Greta Martin • Jonas Martin • Luka Martin • Ben McKittrick • Mikael • Pearl • Rose Sage • Zach Salvatore • Andie Star Guest Characters Alice • Lucy • Bethanne • Amber Bradley • Bree • Coach Lyman • Dana • Deputies • Tobias Fell • Frederick • Samantha Gibbons • Grayson Gilbert • Miranda Sommers-Gilbert • Samantha Gilbert • Johnathan Gilbert • Gloria • Lee • Marianna Lockwood • Vanessa Monroe • Noah • Giuseppe Salvatore • Slater • Ray Sutton • Stevie • Tony • Trevor Minor Characters Season One • Season Two • Season Three • Season Four Families Gilbert Family • Salvatore Family • Lockwood Family • Bennett Family • Donovan Family • Petrova Family • Forbes Family • Fell Family • Martin Family • Mikaelson Family • Shane Family • Young Family • Founding Families Species Vampire • Witch • Werewolf • Human • Ghost • Doppelgänger • Hybrid • Succubus

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Start a Discussion Discussions about Werewolf

• 

  Pure Blood Werewolf or Hybrid.

  6 messages
  • 
    Fredrico 2011
    they are only pure blood if both parents are werewolfs 2013-05-19T20:52:28Z
  • 
    Emstar84
    I think you are actually onto something. For both parents to be of werewolf descent, that is something we at least haven't heard of yet.  2013-05-19T21:01:03Z
• 

  Werewolf age

  2 messages
  • 
    A Wikia contributor
    How old does a werewolf become? Do the stay the same age as when their curse was trigerd or do they grow older and advetually die? 2013-05-18T11:06:58Z
  • 
    A Wikia contributor
    They are like humans and witches just with their supernatural powers. So they'll grow old and then die 2013-05-18T17:13:27Z

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