But why?

但是為什麼呢？

Could it be that there's some truth to this age-old myth?

難道有一些關於這個古老傳聞的事實嗎？

Or is there another explanation for our species' fascination with transforming into a wild beast?

還是有其他解釋我們人類對轉變成野獸的著迷呢？

Let's find out in today's episode of...

今天這集要來探討...

"Colossal Mysteries"

「驚人的神秘事件」。

A werewolf, also called a lycanthrope, is a monstrous mythical person with the unfortunate ability to shape-shift into a human-wolf hybrid.

狼人也可以稱為人狼，是怪獸神話中，一個有著不幸能力的人，從人體轉變成狼的混種。

Half-beast, half-human crossbreeds can be found in folktales all across the world.

在全世界的民間傳說中可以找到半獸半人的混種。

Even places without wolves still have myths of humans who can transform into a ferocious beast.

就算在沒有野狼的地區，也有人類轉變成兇殘野獸的傳聞。

From Europe to Africa to First Nations people, myths about werewolves and other were-beasts are common.

從歐洲、非洲到首代原住民，關於狼人和其他怪獸的傳聞層出不窮。

In medieval Europe, stories about werewolves were widespread.

在歐洲中世紀，狼人的故事被廣為流傳。

In 1589, a German farmer named Peter Stumpp was arrested and accused of murder and cannibalism.

在1589年，一個叫Peter Stumpp的德國農夫因為謀殺和吃人肉而被逮補。

In court, he claimed that he owned a belt that would transform him into a werewolf.

在法庭上，他宣稱他有一條皮帶可以讓他轉變成狼人。

His salacious claim went the medieval version of viral.

他猥瑣的聲稱在中世紀時被大肆宣傳。

Then, a renewed fascination in werewolves quickly swept across Europe.

一股新的狼人旋風快速席捲整個歐洲。

That fascination transformed into fear, and before long, the panicked populace was in a bit of paranoid frenzy, resulting in a violent werewolf hunt all across Europe.

不久後，這種迷戀變成恐懼。恐慌的民眾處於過度偏執的瘋狂中，導致全歐洲陷入獵殺狼人的暴力。

Tens of thousands of people were either accused of or admitted to being werewolves during the 1500s, and before it was all said and done, hundreds of people had been hunted, tortured, or burned at the stake.

在16世紀時，上千位民眾被指控或被迫承認自己就是狼人。在事件落幕以前，上百位民眾被追捕、拷打或是被處以火刑。

Experts can't say for sure what caused Europe's werewolf hysteria, but they do have a few well-founded theories.

雖然專家不能確定是什麼導致歐洲的狼人狂熱，但他們有幾個有根據的推論。

Some believe the whole panic may have been caused by a particularly bad rabies outbreak.

有些專家認為這場恐慌是因為一種特別嚴重的狂犬病爆發。

All sorts of animals can give rabies to humans, including wolves.

任何動物皆有可能把狂犬病傳給人類，包括狼。

The symptoms of an untreated case of rabies are rough.

未治癒的狂犬病症狀是很難受的。

First comes a fever.

首先是發燒。

Then uncontrollable spasms, confusion, maniacal excitement, an irrational fear of water, and finally, a loss of consciousness.

再來是無法控制的痙攣、混亂、瘋狂的激動、不合理的怕水，最終失去知覺。

When someone is badly infected, they can even become highly agitated and begin hallucinating.

當有人嚴重感染時，他們可能會非常激動和產生幻覺。

All of these terrible symptoms together may have made those suffering seem like real-life werewolves.

全部可怕的症狀一起發作時，可能會讓那些感染者看起來像真實的狼人。

No one knows for sure why so many unconnected cultures have their own version of the werewolf myth, but some believe it might be connected to our most ancient important survival tactic, hunting.

沒有人知道為什麼沒有關聯的文化會有他們各自版本的狼人傳說。但有些人相信這可能跟我們祖先重要的生存戰略-打獵有關。

You see, as humans became better hunters, we began finding cunning ways to match nature's vicious strength with our brainpower.

你看，當人類變成比較厲害的獵人，我們開始運用大腦，找出狡猾的手段對付大自然的邪惡力量。

People started to discover that they could get much closer to wolves and other beasts if they wore the pelts of the animals they were hunting, tricking the animals long enough to strike.

人類開始發現如果他們穿著要獵殺動物的皮毛，就可以更接近狼或其他野獸，裝扮成動物越久就可以攻擊他們。

From there, it's not much of a leap to see how the ancient hunter would start to imagine what it would be like if wolves could do the same thing back to humans.

從那時候開始，不難猜出古代獵人會開始幻想如果狼也扮成人類時，會怎麼報復人類。

And over time, the legend of the werewolf was born.

隨著時間過去，傳說中的狼人就誕生了。

Of course, this is just a theory.

當然，這只是一個推論。

Stories about humans transforming into wild beasts are so old that we'll almost certainly never know exactly how they all got started.

關於人類轉變成野獸的傳聞已經古老到我們根本不知道他們是如何起頭的。

But either way, I think it's safe to say that werewolves are here to stay.

無論用哪種方式，我認為狼人已經被廣泛接受了。