The Lobisomem is a creature from Brazilian folklore. It is usually considered a werewolf variation, but in some versions it is an abnormally large pig or dog or some kind of hybrid between a pig and a dog.
Legend[]
In Brazil there are many versions of how you would become a Lobisomem, varying according to the region. One version says that the seventh child in a sequence of same-sex children will become a Lobisomem. Another version says that a boy born after a succession of seven women is going turn into a Lobisomem every Friday night from his 13th birthday on. In another one, it is said that the eighth child will become the wild beast regardless of the gender of their siblings. In versions where it does not depend on having siblings, it is after the death of a family member who was a Lobisomem and passed from father to son, from grandfather to grandson and so on, and, in some versions of the southern region, incest would also bring this fate.
In some regions, instead of transforming during a full moon, the Lobisomem transforms at midnight on Friday, at a crossroads. Once transformed, he goes out at night in search of blood, ferociously killing everything that moves, with a preference for unbaptized babies, which causes families to baptize their children as soon as possible. Before dawn, he looks for the same crossroads to become a man again. During Lent, however, his transformations happen every day and they become more aggressive, especially on Good Friday.
The most notable difference from the traditional werewolf is that the Brazilian Lobisomem does not become a wolf, but something usually described as a cross between a dog and a pig with red eyes, a black coat, long ears, a putrid odor, and front legs that are shorter than the back, as if they still retain their human proportions.
Other stories tell of Lobisomens resembling farm animals, sometimes explained as those who wallow at the crossroads he becomes. They must be donkeys, asses, bulls, and sheep, but hybrids of all these animals are not unheard of either; the more different animals that are part of the beast's appearance, the more powerful the Lobisomem. It should be noted, however, that this is more restricted to traditional rural tales, and more modern urban myths have been highly influenced by European and Hollywood werewolves.
In addition to the more obvious physical characteristics, such as weak, pale and often sick appearance, having dark circles under his eyes and hoarse elbows due to the position in which he walks in his beast form, people know the Lobisomem in human form through strange, sudden, and mysterious behaviors. The Lobisomem in human form is a person very attentive to others, always suspicious of everything, being very afraid of being discovered that he is an aberration, but he is very protective in human form.
In general, it's believed that a Lobisomem could be healed if he was seriously injured with certain objects. One of these objects was a bullet dipped in the wax of a candle from an altar, where three midnight masses or three Sunday masses had been celebrated.
The female version of the Lobisomem is called Lobanil, a word popularized by Brazilian comics in the 70s and 80s, and in some parts of the Amazon the term Cumacanga is used, although curiously it refers entirely to another being in the states of Pará and Maranhão.
The legend of the Lobisomem is well known in Brazilian folklore and they are greatly feared by all who believe in them.
Lobisomem do Acre[]
Lobisomem do Acre as reported in the newspaper "Notícias Populares".
Lobisomem do Acre is a creature to which attacks on calves and a child that occurred in the Acrean municipality of Seringal Sardinha in the early 1990s were attributed. This creature was described as being bipedal, about three meters tall, with a face similar to that of a wolf, and a body covered with black fur. Its most peculiar feature, however, are its two eyes, one on its forehead and the other one on its belly, possibly unintentionally inspired by another more famous creature from the region: the Mapinguari.
It was first reported in the Brazilian newspaper "Notícias Populares" on Friday, July 13, 1990. According to the article, a group of rubber tappers working in the region heard the cries of a calf and came face to face with the aforementioned monster devouring the little animal.
Modern Depictions[]
Comic Books[]
- In Mauricio de Souza's Bug-a-Booo comic strips, Wolfgang (or Lobi, in Portuguese) is a Lobisomem and one of the main characters. He has to live with his canine instincts, despite being able to talk, think rationally and walk upright.
Television[]
- In the 2nd season of the Brazilian Netflix series "Invisible City", the Lobisomem is portrayed as a 13-14 year old boy named Bento. He saw his condition as a curse because of the fear his parents and 7 sisters had of him, leading them to sell him to a priest who locked him in the basement of the church.
Video Games[]
- In the MMORPG AdventureQuest Worlds, one Lobisomem and two "Lobisomen" appear. The Lobisomen's appearance is that of a man-like wolf/dog with dark fur and purple symbols on the sides of his face and front torso, they wear bronze shorts, a red bandana on each arm, and a red-and-yellow-feather headdress. While the Lobisomem has the same appearance as the Lobisomen, but bigger.