The werewolf myth traces many of its origins back to Lycaon, King of Arcadia. The king murdered his son and served his flesh to Zeus in order to test the god's omniscience. Zeus, being a god, knew of Lycaon's trick and cursed him to become a werewolf. This myth is where the name "Lycanthropy" derives from and many tropes stemming from this story have been changed and transformed into our modern imagingings of werewolves.

Between the 15th and 19th century, both Europe and the concept of lycanthropy / werewolves heavily expanded. During the spread of Christianity in Europe, from relations to the beliefs and concepts of monsters themselves began. Such as the aforementioned witch trials, but also the development of the werewolf. A case like in 1589, the case of Peter Stumpp is one of the earliest recordings founded of supposed werewolfery, who was accused of gauging the flesh of other human beings, admitted to making a deal with The Devil, the practice of black magic, and had a magical item that allowed to turn him into a wolf (Friedrich).  Whilst there are confounds of whether what Peter Stumpp admitted was real or not, really helped hammer in further ideas of the werewolf that would become mainstay qualities going forward. 

To Damascus, was a Swedish play with a “Werewolf” that debuted in 1898, whilst not being an actual depiction of a werewolf. A key character; The Doctor, is oftentimes referenced as a werewolf, to really emphasize the Doctor’s nature of being deceptive, manipulative, lashing out, and being violent (Ward). Whilst on the surface a seemingly normal man, then on the inside a very dark desire, personified as a Werewolf itself. This continues on the tradition of werewolves reflecting a darker aspect within all humans. We later see werewolves being a more confined reflection of the socio-political world at their respective Eras.

The Wolf Man (1941) characterizes its werewolf as a creature that is half-man and half-wolf. While our protagonist, Larry Talbot has transformed, he is still humanoid. He stands on two feet and has hands and shoulders. This depiction shows a clash or conflict between a werewolf's humanity and its savage nature. Both sides are present in the creature, so visually, the werewolf would have both components of human and wolf.  It is also a critique of how science sometimes falls short in explaining some of the things we see in our surroundings. It is a relict of how pyschology was being viewed back then, especially relating to what was then described as "madness" or "hysteria". 

This film Cry of the Werewolf (1944) follows a horror tale about dangers of superstition and fear. It explores paranoia and destructive power of belief in supernatural forces. This film serves as a commentary on how people's actions can be influenced by beliefs which suggests that it is important to question and challenge our assumptions and not let fear dictate behavior. 

The Estonian tragedy Libahunt follows the character of Tiina through her troubles of being brought into a new community, being placed into a “who will he choose” situation with a romantic interest, and then being accused of being a werewolf by her perceived romantic rival. At first the accusation is done through quiet gossip, though quickly spreads to full blown public “fact”. While the truth of Tiina being a werewolf is left ambiguous throughout the film, it's used to push the “odd” traits that Tiina has. Tiina being an orphan of a mother accused of witchcraft, has dark hair, a strong love of nature and the creatures within it, and a disdain to being told what to do or ordered around. At her core Tiina represents an image of an idealistic free woman through a traditionally romanticized lens. With this, the werewolf takes on a new connection with free spirits and independence, even if it still remains shunned.

The Bloody Chamber (1979) is a fairytale by Angela Carter. This fairytale can be interpreted in which women have been objectified or oppressed throughout history. It challenges societal norms and expectations surrounding gender and power dynamics. The stories subvert from traditional fairy tale narratives to explore darker desire, empowerment, and more complex themes. 

An American Werewolf In London (1981) depicts its werewolf as a creature barely resembling a human. At the same time, it does not resemble a wolf in the wild either. It is akin to a large dire wolf or a bear, and crawls on all fours. It has large fangs and a snout, all of which focus on the savage, animalistic aspect of the werewolf. In this depiction of the werewolf, the transformation is complete, and no amount of humanity is left in our protagonist. It is of supernatural origin, so even though it shares a resemblance to a wolf, it is far from one found in nature.

This film Company of Wolves (1984) follows a young girl named Rosaleen who is reading fairy tales at her grandmother's house. As she reads, the stories come to life and blend with her own experience exploring themes of sexuality and fear. This film shows various fairy tales while also focusing on the story of Little Red Riding Hood. It goes into the dark and sensual elements of tales, desire, temptation, and dangers of the forest. The message revolves around exploring dark and primal aspects of human nature. It serves as a metaphor for dangers 

'Teen Wolf' (1985) shows a werewolf in a modern and more lighthearted manner. Instead of having a werewolf be the result of an occult curse, Scott Howard becomes a werewolf because lycanthropy is inherited from the family. His transformation does not make him a beast; he is still distinctly human. His fur is more hair than fur, and visually looks like messy facial hair. In this light, the werewolf is an allegory for puberty, and the weird changes that come with such a change. Werewolves were depicted as something awesome, and it was cool being a werewolf. This depiction of a werewolf reflected the shift from werewolves being villains or monsters to them being cool.

Mafia, a Russian social experiment by Dimitry Davidoff ran in 1986, sought to combine his study of Psychology, and wanted to entertain a high school class, and decided to play a game. This game was aimed to create two opposing teams with roles hidden to each other, and to study actions around deception and manipulation (Robertson). Then in 1997, interactive game designer Andrew Plotkin decided to rebrand the game as Werewolf due the dying cultural relevance of mafias. Werewolves were able to fit the rebrand due to being a monster whose depiction grew to one that was human by day, but monster by night (Plotkin). Further emphasizing the werewolves’ theme of deception, and manipulation such as in other classic stories such as many variations of Little Red Riding Hood. 

In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Remus Lupin becomes a werewolf after he was attacked as a child. His werewolf form is lanky and thin, which emphasizes that lycanthropy is a debilitating curse in the Wizarding World rather than a powerful trait. His small frame also shows that Remus tries to hide this side of him from the world. He is barely covered in fur despite being a werewolf and is arguably more human than wolf. Werewolves reflected the gothic/emo revival happening around the 2000s ushered by music, films, and pop culture.

In Twilight: New Moon, the werewolf form was depicted as a large wolf, returning to older depictions of werewolves being creatures of nature. There is no focus on the monstrous aspect of the beast, and this reflects a shift away from horror, and towards the romantic (and sexual) aspect of werewolves. 

Robyn’s change and transformation is much different than other werewolves since she doesn't become something more grotesque or monsterish form. Instead the change is more symbolic and done through the art and her character. For example she’s given wild and sketchy lines associated with the wolves and the forest, rather than the harsh angles and thick line art for the rest of the townsfolk. Her transformation is much more of a personal and mental process rather than a physically painful one as well. Robyn is instead forced to literally see herself when she transforms and is faced with her new body and how she is now everything that she was taught needed to be eradicated and destroyed, symbolized by her human form now staring back at her. Which brings her internal conflict, confusion, and fear within the first half of the film.

The play Lykos Anthropos (2022) depicts the werewolf's curse as an allegory for inner turmoil and trauma that is kept hidden from the rest of the world. The primal and wild edge of the werewolf image has been translated into inner emotions rather than in an outward transformation. To reflect this, the werewolf does change visually. This reflects our modern views on trauma and our focus on mental health, especially regarding oneself. The beast is within oneself, and it is hidden.