Lycan vs. Werewolf - Comments

I never bothered to question the difference, as a lot of people haven't. I've always thought the two terms were synonyms, but I guess I was wrong. This article, as well as the comments below, have been very informative.

I honestly never thought about the differences between the two, though it definitely makes sense now that there are. Nice article :D

I've researched this topic quite a bit in the past and I have to say, Rev. Twitch is right. There really isn't much of a diff. I think the problem is mainly that Wikipedia is an unreliable source. It's interesting sure, but if you find something you like it's best to make sure it's right before you use it.

Would have liked to have read more, which is probably why I now have the Wikipedia page open.

Just one point to make: you said, "[i]Werewolves are actually of old English folklore. They started up in the Americas after the Spanish settled here.[/i]" If a myth began in the Americas it is definitely not an old English folklore, as old English folklore originates from England before the mid-12th century. But the myths didn't begin in the Americas anyway, they began in European folklore. General myths about shapeshifters are a large part of Native American Indian tradition, but that's quite a separate matter.

There was a king w/ the disease of lycanthropy. I also heard the same king had a disease where he grew hair all over his body uncontrollably

But on the subject on your article, there isn't much of a difference. Lycan's are actually werewolves but have learned to transform at will instead of following the full moon patterns.

There is a actual mental health issue called Lycanthropy. And, despite it's names and orgins, people who suffer from this, don't just belive they transform into wolves, but also other animals representing streangth, such as the bear, bison, wild cats. According to history, one woman had to be kept in a cell due to the condition because she belived she transformed into a eagle.

Lycan is also probably a spin from a latin or greek word used in some scientific names for wolves/wolf-like animals.

Just to add another spin Lycanthrope means any sort of Were, not just werewolves.

I was one of the oblivious ones who never realized a difference. What an interesting topic, it was fun to read. =]

This was very interesting to read as the differences between the two have always crossed my mind in questioning. It was nice to read a well written article with the thoughts and information pieced nicely together instead of being scattered about.


Thank you. :)

This was actually very interesting. I never really bothered to see the difference between the two. But now that it has been pointed out I definetly see it. Nice article, it was well written.

Nice article ; ) I guess that even in the movie Underworld they kind of mentioned the difference between lycans and werewolfs. Or at least they hinted at that.
I guess that I wouldn't take wikipedia as a reliable source. You never know what kind of mistakes or how many of them is there ;)