Chapter 2 Flashcards
What is lycanthropy?
The belief in “lycanthropy,” or the transformation of people into wolves, can be traced back to at least 600 B.C., when King Nebuchadnezzar believed he suffered from such an affliction.
In many legends and much folklore, wolves are singled out as being the most likely animal to have dealings with the devil.
A person able to command such a metamorphosis became known as a werewolf (were was an Old English term for man).
In the 16th century, Paracelsus wrote that violent, wicked men may return after death as an animal, usually a wolf. The purpose of this human-to-wolf transformation was the inevitable killing of humans, particularly children, in order to eat their flesh.
Recurrent throughout werewolf literature is the theme of anthropophagy, or the enjoyment of eating human flesh.
Jean Grenier, a 17th-century Frenchman, claimed to be a werewolf and confessed that he had devoured the flesh of many young girls.
Types of cult-related killings
VAMPIRES:
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897) was modeled on the 15th-century Wallachian nobleman Vlad Tepes, also known as “Vlad the Impaler” and “Drakul” (Dragon).
Vampires usually had but one goal—to drink human blood—whereas werewolves mutilated and cannibalized. Vampires were also believed to be sexually involved with their victims.
One British “vampire” who in 1949 murdered nine victims, drank blood from each of them.
GOLEMS:
In Jewish medieval legend a golem was a robot, or an artificial person (golem means a “clay figure supernaturally brought to life”).
A golem is one who can orchestrate the destruction of another human being and have no remorse, no feeling for his or her victim or external need to defend his or her actions.
Finkelhor’s conclusions about sexual abuse in daycare centers
abuse does occur in daycare centers, but he did not find abnormally high rates of abuse
instead he pointed out that such abuse was much more likely to happen in the home, caused by parents and relatives
Characteristics of narcissism
Men and women who commit evil acts are often perceived to posses evil characteristics
malignant narcissism - these offenders display an unrelenting will promote their own wants and needs over everyone else’s
“they are men and women of obviously strong willed, determined to have their own way
There is remarkable power in the manner in which they attempt to control others” (Peck 1983)
What is anthropophagy?
enjoying eating the victim’s flesh or slicing off parts of flesh from the body
How common are monster myths?
common now than ever
What is a “crime of passion”?
situational killings that can be explained away as marital problems, family disputes, or acts of mercy
How is evil defined?
Men and women who commit such atrocities , are they possessed by evil or do they make conscious evil choices just as others choose good? Does evil even exist? (See the Gerard Schaefer Jr. case).
Fromm’s view of evil
a process that includes the principle of agency or choice
