Can a wolf charmer control a werewolf?
Have you ever heard of or seen pictures of the Pied Piper of Hamelin? He was a man that played the pipe (a piper). Legends say that he would play a magic pipe to lead rats out of the town of Hamelin, Germany. The townspeople hired him to do this – and when he didn’t get paid, he used his magic pipe to lead the children out of town.
A wolf charmer is very similar to the Pied Piper, however instead of charming children or rats, the wolf charmer uses music to charm wolves. Many accounts indicate that he too, like the Pied Piper, played a pipe to charm the wolves and once they were under his spell, the wolves would do anything which he commanded…typically this happened during nighttime hours. Other accounts indicate he could charm or call wolves simply by whistling. Some legends claim this ability to control wolves and call them to bidding came from a pact the wolf charmer made with the devil.
Because of the wolf charmer’s ability to charm, they are often accompanied by wolves – and in fact are often leaders of packs. But it is not just wolves that they are said to be able to charm – it is also said that they can charm or entrance werewolves. Legends of wolf charmers can be found in many areas of France, in paritcular Languedoc, Auvergne, and Guyenne where they are known as Meneur de Loups which translates into English literally to mean “leader of wolves“.