Vukodlak

werewolf · Serbia · Slavic

Vukodlak (volkolak, vovkulaka) is the Slavic werewolf — a human shapeshifter who temporarily becomes a wolf. Most detailed beliefs among Belarusians, Poles, and Ukrainians; South Slavs conflate it with vampires. Transformation via sorcery (rolling over knives, crawling through horse collar), curse, or birth predisposition. Retains human intelligence but cannot speak.

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