Werewolf Legends: Poligny, Romasanta and the Beast of Bray Road

The history includes the Werewolves of Poligny, Hans the Werewolf, Jean Grenier, Thiess of Livonia and the Werewolf of Chalons. It also considers Manuel Blanco Romasanta, the Galician criminal whose case became entangled with claims of transformation, and the Wolf of Ansbach, an animal whose death acquired a distinctly human legend.

The later accounts feature Bill Ramsey, sometimes called the Southend Werewolf, and Wisconsin’s Beast of Bray Road. By placing documented trials and crimes beside folklore and reported encounters, the episode shows how the werewolf changes across time and culture while retaining its power as an explanation for violence, fear and the unfamiliar.