CONCLUSION
No completely satisfactory explanation of the phenomena with which this
book deals has as yet been formulated, but the elucidation of the
problems of transformation, collected from many sources, should be
sought primarily in the latent power innate in man which enables him to
exert or project thought-forces, but little understood to-day, of which,
however, hypnotism and suggestion are the most familiar forms of
manifestation. Such power, acting upon the plastic mind-substance of the
spiritual world, may, as far as we know, produce forms, animal or
otherwise, in accordance with the desire (conscious or subconscious) and
the will of the projector. To bring about his purpose and procure
manifestation he has to induce a suitable state of mind, and to this end
he employs ritual and accessories of various kinds.
To take a single illustrative case in point. The animal masks used in
Indian theatrical shows serve as a means of suggestive illusion. In
mystical shows anticipatory fear is evoked by such means. Indians are
easily brought to a stage of inability to grasp the difference between
the real and the suggested wild beast. But Indians and other primitive
races are not the only ones to succumb to a strong will bent on
producing phenomena. These things affect all kinds of people, even in
the so-called higher grades of civilisation, and the effect of
auto-suggestion is quite as curious as that of hypnotism. A case has
recently come under notice of a woman who acquired the habit of going
down on all fours and making a noise of barking, firmly believing
that she has been turned into a dog. In how much is she removed from
the hyæna-woman of Abyssinia? The cure is much the same, and is
brought about by counter-suggestion in one form or another. In such
instances, of course, it is not to be supposed that actual
transformation has taken place, but spectators may nevertheless be
hypnotised into believing what the victim believes. By some such
means, too, Nebuchadnezzar may have been made to think himself a
subject of boanthropy when "he was driven from men and did eat grass
as oxen," continuing this occupation until his body was soaked with
the dews of heaven, till his hair had grown like eagles' feathers and
his nails like birds' claws.
What difference is there between such a belief and that of the
spectator who thinks he sees the devil depart from a woman possessed
in the shape of a huge black slug? He also may have been influenced by
concentrated thought on the subject, and the question arises how far
can human credulity be worked upon by the almost limitless and as yet
little-understood power of the human mind. Much depends on the nature
of the individual, the environment, and the receptivity to the kind of
pressure brought to bear. Love of mystery and awe of the unknown are
also strong factors in establishing faith, the first principle
necessary for producing creative power. Even the wildest superstition
enshrines something of reality and a stratum of truth underlies most
widespread beliefs.
Research on these psychical subjects should be carried on earnestly
and with untiring patience, always with a view to eliminate the false
and preserve the true, wherever possible transmuting apparently evil
elements and bringing forth the fundamental good. Such methods should
make the prospects of discovering scientific facts more and more
favourable in the future.
Unfortunately a miscellaneous study of "isms" and "ogonies" is often
unproductive. Byron described the state of mind induced by ill-judged
efforts in this direction in "Don Juan," Canto IX, 20:
Oh! ye immortal gods! What is Theogony?
Oh! thou, too, mortal man! What is philanthropy?
Oh! World, which was and is, what is cosmogony?
Some people have accused me of misanthropy;
And yet I know no more than the mahogany
That forms this desk, of what they mean,--Lycanthropy
I comprehend, for without transformation
Men become wolves on any slight occasion.
The seeker after the facts about animal-metamorphosis, confused by
many undigested propositions, might thus also attempt to salve his
conscience, for man is certainly sometimes near enough to the animal
without physical change, but he would be fleeing to a subterfuge
suitable only for the idle and the ignorant. To the earnest student
there can be no rest until this obscure branch of occult science is
cleared up, though it may be but a side issue leading to more
important facts. If in the foregoing chapters a grain of truth lies
hidden which will help to elucidate the problem with which they deal,
they will have served their purpose in pushing a step or two through
the darkness which shrouds so many secrets of Nature.
It is the mystery of the unknown
That fascinates us, we are children still,
Wayward and wistful; with one hand we cling
To the familiar things we call our own,
And with the other, resolute of will,
Grope in the dark for what the day will bring.
INDEX
Abyssinia, 79, 80
Accadians, 288
Agrippa, Cornelius, 285, 286
Ainus, 182, 188
Alexander the Great, 174
Alligator, 23
Andersen, Hans C, 156, 166, 212
Animal Elementals, stories of, 271-2
Animal trials, 200
Antheus, 66
Ants, 26
Arabian Nights, 145, 211
Arawaks, 24-5, 27, 141
Arcadia, 66
Arundels of Wardour, legend of, 224
Ass, 80-1, 113-14, 131, 135-6, 140-1, 149, 155
Assier, Adolphe d', on animal ghosts, 261, 262, 263, 264, 267
Assyrians, 288
Auvergne, Gentleman of, 69
Bakongs, 19
Barrett's "Magus," 284, 285
Basilisk, 171, 186
Bat, 26
Bear, 17, 147
Berserkers, 147
Beswick, Miss, legend of, 229-31
Bisclaveret, 72-7
Bison, 23, 30
Black dog of Hergest, 241
Blacksmith, suspicions concerning, 79, 80, 84, 85
Black Vaughan, 241
Blackwood, Algernon, 161, 195
Blanche Biche, 115-17
Blavatsky, Mme., 273-5
Blue milk, story of, 268-9
Boanthropy, 76, 294
Bodin, 103
Boguet, 58, 103
_Bouda_, 32, 79, 80, 81, 82, 84, 85, 92
Bourgot, Pierre, 54-6
Brer Rabbit, 158
Butterfly, 26, 120
Cadmus, 173
Cagliostro, Count, 197
Cakchiquel Indians, 184
Callaly Castle, 232-3
Calmuc stories, 148, 167
Cambrensis, Giraldus, 13, 170-8
Cariden, Joan, witch, 125
Caridwen, 141
Cat, 3, 7, 25, 106-9, 128, 189-98
Cate, Anne, 124
Centaurs, 160, 161
Chaldeans, 287
Châlons, tailor of, 60, 64
Chanticleer, 200
Cherokee Indians, 3
Choctaw, 18
Circe, 131, 132, 278, 279
Clark, Helen, witch, 123
Clarke, Elizabeth, witch, 121, 122, 123
Clifton family, legend of, 224
Closeburn Castle, 220-2
Cock, 45, 198-200
Cockatrice, 172
Conaire the Great, 235
Coneely clan, 233
Corcini, Andrew, 50
Cox, Julian, witch, 105-6
Coyote, 30
Creeks, 23, 30
Crishna, 174-5
Crocodile, 17, 24
Cuchullaine, 235
Dodge, Richard, 258
Dog, stories of, 52, 53, 104, 109-10, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 138,
171, 219, 225-6, 238, 239, 240, 241-2, 243, 250, 266
Dog-ribs, 26
Donkey (_see_ Ass)
Dove, 135
-- -maiden, 211-12
Dragon, 171
-- St. George and the, 186, 226
Drake, Sir Francis, ghost of, 259
Du Chaillu, 84
Duke, _alias_ Manning, Alice, witch, 126
Dweller on the Threshold, 273
Elementals, 281-2
Elizabeth, Queen, 118
Eskimo, 19, 29, 31, 32 _n._
-- legend, 210
Ferrers family, legend of, 215-6
Flower, family of witches, 129
-- Joan, 127-8
-- Margaret, 127-8
-- Phillip, 127-8
Fotis, 139-41
_Galipote_, 54
Gandillon, George, 59
-- Perrenette, 59
-- Pierre, 59
Garnier, Gilles, 57
Geti Afraz, 133-8
Glanvill, Joseph, 103, 111, 249, 250
Gnomes, 281, 282
Goat, 45
Gooding, Elizabeth, witch, 123
Gordon, Sir Thomas Edward, 191-2
Gorgons, 159, 163
Gormanston, Viscounts, legend of, 223-4
_Grand Veneur_, 259-60
Grant, Margaret, witch, 11
Grenier, Jean, 61-64
Grierson, Isabel, witch, 108
Hallybread, Rose, witch, 124
Hapton Tower, 228-9
Hare, phantom, legends of, 105, 253-5
Harmonia, 173
Harpies, 159, 162
Hercules, 42
Herod, 42
Hiuen-Tsiang, 179, 187
Holt Castle, ghost at, 257
Hoopoe, 213, 214
Hopi, 33-5
Hopkins, Matthew, 121-3
Horse, 111-13, 163
Horseshoes, 112
Hott, Jane, witch, 125
Hound's Pool, 241
Howard, Lady, 228
Hyæna, 26, 79, 80
Iroquois, 18
James I, 64, 103
Kaju wizards, 130
Kalitas, 27
Kalmucks, 43
Kanaima tiger, 87
Kingfisher, 214
Kirkpatrick family, legend of, 220-2
Kobenas, 37
Kynanthropy, 76
"Lady of the Lake," 222
La Fontaine, J. de, 156-7
Lamb, Charles, 159
_Lamboyo_, 4
Lambton family, legend of, 227
Lamia, 175
Lapwing, 214
Le Brun, Charles, 42
Leopard, 33
-- Society, 66, 86-7
Levi, Eliphas, 67-9, 278-9
Lilith, 172, 275
Livingstone, 82, 82 _n._
Ljeschi, 164
Lohengrin, 146
Lorelei, 147
_Loup-garou_, 12
Lowther, Jemmy, 227
Lucius, 139-40
Lycanthropy, 2, 7, 8, 76, 84, 266, 295
-- faithless men consigned to prison for, 53
Lycaon, 66
Magnus, Olaus, 74
Magpie, 209
Malec Muhammed, 133-8
Mamor, Pierre, 51
Manx dog, 240-1
Mara, 147-8
Marie de France, 72, 74 _n._
Melanesians, 21-2
Mermaids, 164-7
Meroc, sorceress, 114
Metamorphosis, or Golden Ass of Apuleius, 114, 139, 201
Minerva, 173
Minotaur, 167-8
Monkey, 27
Moquis, 33-7
Moth, 26
Mouse-maiden, 143-5
Muscipula, 42
Naga, 174, 178, 187
_Nagual_, 19, 22
Navajos, 25
Nereides, 164
Nightingale, 208, 214
Nin-Gilbert, Margaret, witch, 106-8
Obrick's Colt, 245
Ojibways, 17
Omaha, 30
Osages, 17
O-tsze, 88, 90
Owl-women, 202-4, 206, 207
Ox, 137, 153
Oxenham family, legend of, 216-8
Pamphile, 139, 201
Paracelsus, 51, 267, 268, 279-82
Peele Castle, ghost at, 240
Petronius, 66
Pig, 44
Poiret, Margaret, 60-2
Pondoro, 82, 83
Powis family, legend of, 234
Puck, 155
Radcliffe family, legend of, 226
Raqhosh, 151-2
Repercussion stories, 109, 193-97
Reresby, Sir John, 257
Reynard, 157
Reynolds, Sir Joshua, 42
Roaring Bull of Bagbury, 237
Robin, 213
Rollet, Jacques, 59-60, 64
Ross, Lord, 127-8
Rutland, Earl of, 127-8
St. Benedict, 48
St. Catherine of Sweden, 49
St. Francis of Assisi, 47
St. Francis of Paula, 46
St. Macarius, 113
St. Pascal Baylon, 50
St. Peter, 49
St. Regulus, 46
St. Ronan, 47
St. Stanislaus Kostka, 49
St. Vincent Ferrer, 48
St. William of Acquitaine, 51
Salamanders, 281
_Samyama_, 270-1
Satyrs, 159, 164
Scott, Reginald, 64, 103, 113, 114 _n._, 283, 284
Scott, Sir Walter, 103, 222
Sea-gull, 210
Seal, legend of, 233-4
Sebek, 24
Sekhet, 189
Senkepeng, story of, 183
Serpent (_see_ Snake), 173-88
"Seven Whistlers," the, 256
Siderial body, 68
Sirens, 281, 282
Skin-dress in transformation, 142, 143
Snake (_see_ Serpent), 18, 33-7
Sparrow, Susan, witch, 124
Sphinx, 162
Style, Elizabeth, witch, 126
Swan-maidens, 145, 201
Swifte, Edmund, 238
Swine, 46
Sybil (Lady), of Bernshaw Tower, 228-9
Sylvestres, 281, 282
_Tamaniu_, 21, 22
_Tanoana_, 4
_Tanuki_, 97, 98
Tedworth, Drummer of, 249
Thessala, sorceress, 154-5
Tiger, 11
_Tigritiya_, 32
Tinkhlet Indian, 19
Toradjas, 4
Tower ghost, 238
Townley family, legend of, 228-9
Transformation, methods of, 5-7, 111, 143, 149-50, 151-3
Transmigration, Egyptian belief in, 153-4
-- Indian view of, 276-7
"Trash," story of, 243
Tregeagle, 242
Trials of Bourgot, 54-6
-- Gandillon family, 59, 64
-- Garnier, 57
-- Grenier, 61-3
-- Rollet, 59
Tumbukas, 77
Ulysses, 131, 132
Undines, 281, 282
Valkyries, 146, 201
Vampire, 4, 47, 53, 290
Venner, Elsie, 177-8
_Versipelles_, 67
_Vouivre_, 186
Webster, Dr., 103
Wells, H. G., 167, 168-70
Wer-foxes, 88-102, 149
Wer-lion, 82
Wer-tiger, 77, 87
Wer-wolf, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 51, 54-77, 290-1
Wesley, Rev. Samuel, 250
West, Anne, witch, 122, 123, 124, 125
West, Rebecca, witch, 123
White bird, legends of (_see also_ Oxenham), 255-6
White doe of Rylstone, 117-19
Wierius, Johannus, 54
William of Palermo, 70-2
Willimott, Joan, witch, 129
Willington Mill, ghosts at, 251-3
Witches of Chelmsford, 121
-- Pendle, 103-5
-- Strasburg, 109
-- Vernon, 109
Witch of Niort, 109-10
Wolf-worship, 65
Woodpecker, 208
Wyecoller Hall, ghost at, 258-9
York Castle, ghost at, 257
Zeus, 65
Zulus, 188
Zuni, 29, 30, 185
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Transcriber's Notes:
Obvious punctuation and spelling errors have been fixed throughout.
Page 155: The sentence ending in (...fair, large ears.") has no
opening quote, left as in the original text.
Page 216: The sentence beginning with ("It is a noticeable...) has no
closing quote, left as in the original text.
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quote, left as in the original text.