The Book of Werewolves by Sabine Baring-Gould

The Book of Werewolves by Sabine Baring-Gould

Eclectic British scholar SABINE BARING-GOULD (1834-1924) inspired My Fair Lady, wrote the hymn Onward Christian Soldiers, and published more than five hundred literary works. Among his foremost folkloric studies is 1865's The Book of Werewolves, the first serious academic study of the shape-shifters of mythological lore.This work is the most frequently cited early study of lycanthropy and is regarded by most scholars as the foundation work in the field, says cryptozoologist Loren Coleman in his new introduction. The Book of Werewolves was so visionary that it foresaw that future discussions within werewolf studies would necessarily travel down many side paths. Indeed, midway through The Book of Werewolves, Baring-Gould treks into the shadowy world of crimes vaguely connected to werewolves, including serial murders, grave desecration, and cannibalism.

Rev.Sabine Baring-Gould (1834 - 1924) was an Anglican priest, hagiographer, antiquarian, novelist, and eclectic scholar from Lew Trenchard in Devon, England. More than 1240 works are listed in his bibliography, which is still growing. The manor house of Lew Trenchard, near Okehampton, Devon, where he grew up, has been maintained and is now a hotel. He is well known for his hymns, the most well-known of which are Onward, Christian Soldiers and Now the Day Is Over. In addition, he translated the Basque hymn Gabriel's Message into English.