with John Kachuba
Joining us today is award-winning and highly prolific author John Kachuba, whose recent books include The Bottle Conjuror (2023), a story full of mystery, adventure, and romance, co-authored with Jack Gagliardo. His non-fiction book Shapeshifters: A History, was a 2020 Finalist for the Horror Writers Association’s Bram Stoker Award.
Illustration of Ovid’s Metamorphoses showing the moment when Jupiter (left) turns Lycaon into a wolf. Engraving by Hendrik Goltzius (1558–1617). Published in Holland, 1589. Public domain image from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. CC-PD-Mark / PD-Art (PD-old-100).
John, thanks for participating in our monsters blog! How did you first get interested in studying monsters, and what particular ancient monster caught your attention?
I have been interested in the supernatural (including monsters) ever since I was a child. After I watched Lon Chaney Jr. as the Wolf Man on TV, the werewolf became my favorite monster. I also have a strong interest in history and was pleased to discover the werewolf’s ancient lineage, dating back at least as far as the ancient Greek myth of Lycaon and Roman stories of versipelles (“skin changers”). In my book, Shapeshifters: A History, I discuss the antiquity of the werewolf; a biblical story from the Book of Daniel relates how God cursed King Nebuchadnezzar, turning him into a wolf-like beast. But what became more apparent as I researched the book was that not only was the werewolf an ancient monster, but it was also ubiquitous in cultures around the world where wolves could be found. That sparked my interest in werewolves even more.
Our modern canines are wolf descendants, which establishes a close and ancient kinship between man and wolf/dog. I am a dog lover; I had two when I was a kid and have one now. The innate intelligence I see in dogs makes for cunning werewolves when created by smart writers and film producers. I like that werewolves exemplify the dual nature of humanity. Their stories are instructive and foreboding.
What cultural context do you think might have given rise to werewolves—what fears or anxieties might these creatures be expressing, or what in the natural world might they be explaining?
I think the cultural context is simply that humanity has had a long relationship with canines, the first domesticated animals. But there has been a love/hate relationship between humans and canines as well. Sure, we want Fido to cuddle on our lap and fetch our slippers, but we don’t want to be trapped in the snowy forest like Saki’s helpless characters in The Interlopers, hearing no sound other than the howling of wolves.*
Still, we are attracted to the werewolf’s ability to throw off all that makes it human—laws, morality, religion, personal and societal mores—in favor of running naked through the woods at night, howling at the moon, and doing whatever the hell it pleases, no matter how beastly. The werewolf character offers us that vicarious romp into our animal nature. It’s simultaneously fun and fearful.
*Coincidentally, Saki (H. H. Munro, 1870–1916) happens to be one of our favorite authors!
Are there any modern adaptations of werewolves that you find particularly interesting and useful, or especially inaccurate and misleading?
It is interesting to see in literature and film that the werewolf, although still a brutal killing machine, is now often shown to have more of the emotions and concerns of humans, especially adolescent humans. Some good examples of this new interpretation are the novels Little Nothing by Marisa Silver, and Mongrels, by Stephen Graham Jones, as well as the film Ginger Snaps. In an odd but terrifying way, such books and films show us that the werewolf is not simply some monster “out there,” but is far more intimately connected to the rest of us. In other words, Beware!
What do you think accounts for the ongoing appeal of ancient monsters in the modern world?
The fact that ancient monsters still appeal to us tells me that our fears and anxieties have not changed over countless centuries. The means of their deliveries may have changed—death by atomic bomb instead of stoning, fearing what lies in outer space rather than fearing sailing over the edge of the world—but we still have fears of the “other,” the unknown, what Freud called “the uncanny.” We know we are mortal; we fear everything.
Indulging in stories and films about monsters, both those with ancient lineage such as ghosts, vampires and werewolves, and those modern monsters—robots, killer plagues, AI—allows us to experience fear in a safe, controlled manner, acting as a mental pressure-release valve so we can take our minds off what’s REALLY out there.
John Kachuba is the award-winning author of thirteen books of fiction and nonfiction. His recent publications include Haycorn Smith and the Castle Ghost (2023), a novel for middle-grade readers. John holds MA degrees in Creative Writing from Antioch University Midwest and Ohio University and is a frequent speaker at conferences, universities, and libraries, and on podcasts, radio, and TV. His website is http://johnkachuba.com/.