Explanations

The "magic salve" that was used by humans to transform into wolves was a strong hallucinogenic. When rubbed over the body, it is absorbed into the bloodstream and causes effects similar to LSD. A person under the salve's effect could imagine that he was anything, or anyone.   One reason that people during the Medieval Times imagined themselves as werewolves, as opposed to other things, is because of the mass hysteria over werewolves during this time.

Another explanation of werewolves comes from within the human brain.  Temporal lobes in the brain control sensations in the human body, and any irritation of the temporal lobes can cause hallucinations.  Also, if a person has shrunken temporal lobes, they can be subject to complex partial seizures.  These seizures can lead to fixed delusions.  Such delusions can include  a person thinking that they are a wolf.  Also, a lack of nutrition or a hit on the head can cause complex partial seizures. 

During the period from 1520 to 1630 there were over 30,000 werewolf trials in France alone.  Most of the people who were tried as being werewolves were poor, and came from lowlands with elevations less than 500 feet above sea level.  A recent theory is that many of the werewolf accusations were a result of a fungus found in their rye crop.   Rye bread was a staple for the poorer people of France, and after cold winters the rye developed the Ergot fungus.  Unbeknownst to them, the fungus was a strong hallucinogenic.  This theory contests that the werewolf hysteria was a result of mass hallucination since most of the accusers and the accused were poor.  The wealthy staple was the more expensive wheat, which was immune to the Ergot fungus.  This explains why the wealthy were immune from the werewolf hysteria.

Some werewolves in their human form are fierce and frightening looking,
but some look just like your next-door neighbors, your classmates, and the
people you meet on the street. Here's some werewolf features that'll help
you find out who's a werewolf or not.

First look at the eyebrows. If they meet at a point over the
nose, chances are good that person is a werewolf.

The teeth are usually just a little longer and more pointed.
Some werewolves may even have teeth that are black or reddish in color.

If the first, or index finger is as long as the second or middle
finger, it may be a sign of werewolfery. Most importantly, is there hair
on the palms of the hands? Are the hands broad and the fingers short? Are the
fingernails long and curving? These are almost always sure signs that someone is a werewolf.

Werewolves often like their meat rare, or even eat it raw.
They don't like to eat their vegetables. Werewolves' mouths are
usually dry, and they are always thirsty.

There are many different ways a person can become a werewolf.
One tale told tells of werewolf streams. These little mountain brooks smelled
and tasted strangely different from other streams. A drink of their water would
turn the drinker into a werewolf, whether he/she wanted to be one or not. One interesting
and one of the least known ways a person can become a werewolf is to find and pick a
certain kind of flower. This flower is supposed to grow in the Balkan region of southern
Europe, but no one seems to agree on what it looks like. Some say it is a large red daisy or like
a dead-white sunflower with a sickly smell. Whatever the flower may look like, all agree that it
is very attractive. In Sicily they say that a man who sleeps out in the moonlight will become a werewolf.

Werewolves are almost impossible to kill. They are not really immortal,
but they are strong and fierce and cunning, and they can run tremendously fast.
People think that werewolves can be killed with a silver bullet, but that is not so.
Only two things offer much hope. One is to climb an ash tree. Ash trees were thought to
keep away witches and people believe they keep away werewolves too. For some
reason werewolves hate the grain called rye, and several people have been known to escape
from them by running into rye fields, or even by hiding in barns where rye is stored.