Werewolf

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Notice: This article uses content directly taken from the werewolf article at the Vampire Diaries Wiki, and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License.

## Species Information

### Related species

HumanEvolved Werewolf

Hybrid

Witch

### Distinction

Transform into hyper-aggressive wolves on the night of a full moon, provided their gene has been triggered

## ***Triggering The Werewolf Gene***

Lycanthropy is an inherited genetic condition due to a curse, and a person can only be a werewolf if they are born to at least one werewolf parent; they cannot be turned by a bite or scratch. Furthermore, the werewolf gene must be "triggered" by taking the life of a living person or supernatural being, such as another werewolf. This can either be intentionally or by accident, in order to gain access to their enhanced physical abilities, though this comes at the cost of transforming into a wolf during every full moon. Untriggered werewolves, however, can kill vampires without activating their curse.

Because difficult-to-control anger and aggression are common personality traits in even those werewolves who have not activated their lycanthropy, the likelihood of them losing control of their rage and inadvertently triggering their werewolf gene by accidentally killing someone is quite high; it is even speculated that the anger and aggression inherent in werewolves is intended to increase the likelihood that a werewolf will activate their lycanthropy. However, it is possible for an untriggered werewolf to go their entire life without killing; in fact, this happens frequently enough that in some cases, a family's lycanthrope heritage will be kept a secret that will ultimately die with an ancestor, causing the knowledge of their heritage to be lost and remain unknown for generations that follow until a member takes a life and unintentionally triggers their curse.

### In *Voodoo in My Blood*, the origins of the Werewolf Curse and Werewolves were revealed. A powerful witch, that was known as "the Hollow", cursed the members of her tribe that were responsible for her murder and created the Seven Werewolf Bloodlines. The Hollow was hunted by wolves, and was killed on the night of a full moon. These circumstances would cause future werewolves to have to take a human life to activate the werewolf gene, forcing the species to have to painfully shapeshift on the night of a full moon into the very animals that hunted Inadu down.

* ***The Middle Ages***

### Werewolves actively populated the New World during the early Middle Ages during the time that Viking invasions began in Europe. Many villages across the land were highly populated by werewolves and they lived along side one another in villages. They also lived alongside humans, although to protect their human and untriggered loved ones, the wolves made sure that they had access to natural means of protection during the time that they were changed.

* ***Werewolf Genocide***

## ***Powers and Abilities***

* **Super Strength:** Werewolves possess supernatural strength that makes them far stronger than immortals, Supernatural Hunters, and humans, such as when Tyler pulled the door off his locker or when Diego ripped apart a bully. There have been several occasions to suggest that untriggered werewolves possess more strength than any average humans, which would indicate some form of enhanced strength even before the activation of their curse. However, werewolves in their human form are not as strong as a vampire and have even been shown to be far weaker on several occasions. They've also shown to be strong enough to at least defend themselves, such as when Mason punched Damon across the room or when Hayley pinned Diego up against a wall. When they are in their wolf form, their powers amplify to a degree that excels of the non-Original vampires, making them more powerful than non-Original vampires. In wolf form, a werewolf can overpower and kill any non-original vampire with ease, and are strong enough to overpower an Original vampire in small groups. Such examples in wolf form include: when Mason tackled and overpowered at the time newly-turned vampire Caroline; when Tyler overpowered Damon, a vampire over 170 years old; when Jules tackled and bit Rose, a 560-year-old vampire; or when four werewolves took down Rebekah, an Original vampire.
* **Super Speed:** Werewolves are much faster than humans and some other supernatural beings. They possess this ability both in and out of transformation, with an animalistic quickness. For example, while in human form, Rafael Waithe scaled up and down the side of a building in under twenty-seconds. Another example, Mason, while transformed was able to easily hunt down Caroline and Stefan in the woods, despite their vampire-enhanced speed. Some werewolves are shown to become nearly a blur like their vampire enemies; others have not.
* **Super Agility:** Werewolves possess superhuman agility. In both human and wolf form, they have demonstrated that they can move, jump very high, climb, flip, and run incredibly fast without difficulty or exhaustion. They can also jump down from incredible heights with almost gravity-defying grace.
* **Super Durability:** Werewolves can take far more trauma than humans without nearly as much discomfort or injury, however, not as much as vampires. They can also exert themselves for longer periods without tiring.
* **Healing Factor:** Werewolves possess superhuman regenerative abilities, meaning that if they are physically injured, their bodies will heal rapidly. Like vampires, werewolves can heal from the most grievous of injuries, even in human form, albeit more slowly in comparison to vampires. However, unlike vampires, when a werewolf's neck is broken, they stay dead.
* **Super Senses:** Werewolves have extremely keen and heightened senses of smell, sight, taste, hearing, and touch that exceed their wolf counterparts and that of regular canines. With this, experienced werewolves such as Jules could sniff out vampires - something vampires themselves are incapable of - and Tyler could taste vervain placed in his coffee, which would otherwise be impossible since coffee's intense flavor typically masks the taste of the herb. Untriggered werewolves are also gifted with more sensitive hearing such as when Tyler Lockwood was able to hear the Gilbert Device. When Jules first met Caroline in *Daddy Issues*, she knew Caroline was lying about Tyler's whereabouts, revealing it was another "wolf trick". This ability wasn’t expanded upon until *This is What It Takes*, when Hope reveals that Pinky was lying when his heart began to race.
* **Lycanthrope Enhancement:** Werewolves are able to make their eyes glow when angry or threatened, but only for a short amount of time. When a werewolf is furious or forced to defend themselves, their anger increases all their power and abilities for a short period of time, which allows them to access some of the power of their wolf form to give them an edge.
* **Shapeshifting**/**Transformation Control:** During a full moon, they will unwillingly transform from their human form and into their wolf form. However, if a female werewolf is pregnant, they will not turn for nine months as the transformation would kill the baby.
* **Werewolf Bite:** A werewolf's venom is extremely lethal to non-original vampires. While an Original vampire cannot die from the venom, they are not wholly immune to the effects of the bite. For non-Original vampires, the venom acts as an poison of sorts that will enter the bloodstream and deliver the toxin throughout the body, producing discomfort and weakness, developing uncontrollable hunger that progresses to delusions, hallucinations, rabid rage, and dementia, culminating in death. Original vampires undergo the same effects, but do not die and will eventually fully recover.
* **Full Moon:** A werewolf's strength, speed, agility, and all their powers are enhanced to their peak during a full moon.
* **Immunity to Silver:** Werewolves are immune to magic bonded to silver. Weapons made of silver might wound them, but the wound still heals at supernatural rates and will not be fatal to them.

## ***Weaknesses***

* **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 burn them.
* **Mortality:** In most situations, minor physical injuries such as gunshots, stab wounds, and broken bones will cause a werewolf pain and slow them down until they heal. However, they still share many of the same weaknesses as non-supernatural beings and can perish from extreme trauma (e.g. suffocation, extreme blood loss, a broken neck, decapitation, fire, heart extraction, etc.). They can also die from old age.
* **Magic:** Werewolves are susceptible to the powers of witchcraft. This is inclusive of mystical objects such as the Starling Necklace, Gilbert Device, and dark objects. Multiple spells have been performed by witches against werewolves to cause several effects against them, such as slowing down or speeding up a werewolf's transformation during a full moon, telekinetically ripping a heart from a werewolf's chest, or cursing a pack of werewolves to be trapped in their wolf form at all times except for a few short hours during the full moon when they return to their human forms.

## ***Myths***

* **Silver:** Contrary to popular belief, werewolves are not weakened by or allergic to silver, as Mason explained after Damon stabbed him with a silver knife. Mason guessed that the myth was probably started by werewolves. Silver actually has the opposite effect – when a werewolf is wounded by silver, it heals. This is why Klaus can't be neutralized by the white oak daggers.
* **Wolfsbane:** Several myths have surrounded the use of this herb and its relation to and effects upon werewolves, including the myth that wolfsbane supposedly either causes or cures lycanthropy. These myths are false.