Re: Another question about Oz

[Tater <tater@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

At 04:22 PM 9/19/2002 -0700, you wrote:
>Re: Tater
>
>Interesting. So a semi-official book says that BtVS used the
>traditional guidelines, "you get bitten, silver bullet, full moon",
>despite the fact that the very first werewolf ep they ever did
>("Phases") not only had Oz asking about scratches (and a fight that went
>to pains not to scratch anyone), but also expressly made a point of
>changing from the traditional "full moon" to Buffy's "night before the
>full moon, full moon, night after the full moon". Curious.
>
>Dan
>
>Just because it's such fun:
>
>Giles:...my guess is that this werewolf will be back at next month's
>full moon.
>
>Willow: What about tonight's full moon?
>
>Giles (confused): Pardon?
>
>Willow: Well, last night was the night before the full moon,
>traditionally known as..."the night before the full moon."
>
>Giles: Meaning that the accepted legend that werewolves only prowl
>during the full moon might be erroneous.
>
>Cordelia: Or it could be a crock.
>
>--"Phases"


Well all the original werewolf mythology has nothing to do with the full
moon. The various forms of werewolves are supposed to be able to either
change at will, or in the cursed form, the trigger is internal, something
like anger or just a build-up of savagery that manifests as a change when it
hits a critical level. The full moon stuff is recent, only been in the
mythology since the movie "The Wolf Man." The silver thing was made up for
that movie too. The old traditional way to kill a werewolf is burning.
They obviously used the more recent myths for the show. I think they went
with the three nights thing because they needed to to compact the storyline.
Otherwise "Phases" would have taken place over a period of three months.

I also think it's possible that they never could decide on the scratch
thing, so just avoided the issue by never having anyone scratched. Then
they went and avoided the issue in the book too. It doesn't say that a
scratch will give you lycanthropy, but I notice that it also doesn't say
that a scratch won't.

Personally, I'd go with won't. Nowhere, and any culture's werewolf
mythology, ever, has a scratch caused lycanthropy. Bites are there in some
old myths, and most of the more recent ones, but never scratches.


tater (Vegetables of the world unite!)