Why werewolves aren't rea

You are correct but not completely. There were a lot of misunderstandings with lesser medical knowledge and, yes, physically shifting is in fact impossible.

But that doesn't mean Werewolves don't exist. In all of the werewolf communities I've seen, they all know they are physically human - the shift is mental and spiritual (I am not saying that all communities or members believe this). It's the same with Vampires. While there are some who do believe they are physically [insert non-human here] , they are not the majority. Many/most know they are human-bodied but that does not mean they cannot identify with the term and call themselves such.

Werewolves are mostly fantasy.The people who truly honestly beleive that they are true werewolves are most likely sufferers of lycanthropy. The term "lycanthropy" was first used in the 1500s to describe people who were thought to be werewolves. But Now it is a medical term for a rare illness/syndrome that causes sufferers to beleive that they are werewolves. Some may argue that "They have to be real, because how else did people start talking about them and how did they wind up in stories. Someone must have witnessed werewolves." But there IS an explaination. The diets of the Middle Ages provides an compelling explaination of the reports of werewolves. There was a fungus called ergot(i think that was what it was called) that was known to infect bread. If eaten, the poison caused hallucinations and hysteria. The side effects were strong enough to make people believe that they were werewolves or had witnessed a werewolf.
I hope this post supplies a well enough clarification.

Tolanpanda9, I do not know if what you said is in response to me, but your answer seems so. So I will reply as such.

Not every belief is a disease. Also, you definition of the word lycanthropy is categorized as archaic, meaning that it is old and not used very often - if at all.

But you only touched the topic of my responce in that one sentence. I did not say it was 100% true that they existed. I am aware of the different origins of the mythos as well as what Ergot is - as it commonly grows on rye and less commonly on other grains and is believed to be the cause of the hysteria surrounding the Salem Witch Trials. I simply stated that it is possible and there are those who believe themselves to be one or identify with the term.

Allowing room for belief and recognizing it as valid is not the same as agreeing with the belief or believing it oneself.

My earlier response was only my thoughts, and not meant to be aimed at anyone.

I apologize for any sort of snappiness or rudeness that you have have taken out of my response then. I was under the impression you were responding to me in an attempt to disprove me when I made no claims.

Again, I apologize for anything negative you may have interpreted out of my words.

Lycanthropy is a mental problem. It does not have anything to do with the werewolf story.

And werewolves don't exist, there are people who claim they are a wolf spirit in a normal human body.

Unless you are talking about the mythology version of lycanthropy, it's not a part of the werewolf story.

The belief one can physically transform you are correct. The spiritual werewolves are a different matter. It really comes down to faith because you can't scan a spirit, but they belief they have the spirit of a wolf [or other animal] inside their human body. They do not transform physically, its on a spiritual and astral level.

But you are correct, physically there are no werewolves, you are a human, nothing will ever change this fact. If a person is serious about the craft, study, and don't be afraid of new views. We were raised to believe in myths like witches flying on broomsticks, turning people into toads, and other impossibilities. At some point our bubble is burst and reality enters. Imagination isn't a bad thing, and its fine to indulge in make believe and childish pleasures like Disney movies or owning a bunch of stuffed animals, but you need to know fiction and reality, as well as when it is appropriate. You cannot live in a world of pure fantasy all the time, it isn't healthy, but occasional indulgence is fine.

I used to read fairy tales a lot. I know they aren't real. I used to play with my brother wizard vs Worlok. Thanks not real. Physical shifting is the same. It's not real. People who think that's real, need a form of reality. Anyways hope this post helped.