Volkolak

In Slavic mythology (Ukrainians, Belarusians, Eastern Poles and Russians in the southern regions), a man is a werewolf, for a certain time taking the image of a wolf. He keeps his mind, but he can't speak. The transformation occurred more often at night or at certain times of the year.

In Russian beliefs, the character was more often called a werewolf, the image has a clear resemblance to a wolfman. South Slavic representations mix volkolaks with ghouls (vampires).

It was believed that sorcerers read a spell to turn into wolves and jumped, stepped over, somersaulted or crawled through an object endowed with magical power, threw it or threw it over themselves, etc. For the reverse transformation, the sorcerer usually needed to perform the same actions in reverse order. They did it to harm people.

There were beliefs about people who had a tendency to periodic shapeshifting from birth as a result of the behavior of their parents or appeared as punishment for their own sins. A distinctive feature of such wolves in human form were considered various zoomorphic signs, such as hair resembling wolf hair.

The transformation occurred more often at night or at certain times of the year. It was often believed that such wolves do not control their behavior in wolf form and attack cattle and people, even their loved ones. Sometimes cannibalism was attributed to the wolves. Ancient beliefs have been preserved, linking eclipses of the heavenly bodies with the volkolaks.

According to popular beliefs, a sorcerer or a witch could turn a person into a wolf, usually out of revenge, by throwing a charmed wolf skin over him, tying a belt around him, enchanting the door through which the victim must pass, and more. There were stories about the transformation of an entire wedding into wolves. The transformation period ranged from a few days to several years. Such wolves suffer from fear and despair, miss human life and do not mix with wolves. It was often believed that they did not eat carrion and raw meat, subsisting on foot food and food stolen from people.