Wererat
Encyclopedia
A wererat is a fictional lycanthropic creature akin to a werewolf
, but shapeshifting
into the form of a rat
instead of a wolf. This type of therianthrope is rare in historical legends, but has become common in modern role playing games and fantasy
fiction inspired by them. They are commonly portrayed as sewer-dwelling scavengers and opportunistic thieves.
in some Japanese myths that may or may not be the source for the wererats in games and novels. Brad Steiger
has written about wererat sightings in Oregon
, mostly by children. Some of the Benandanti
were supposed to change into mice.
fantasy
role-playing game
, the wererat is one of several different types of animalistic forms. They are classified as "lycanthropes", despite the fact that the term reflects a lupine, or wolven, form. In the Oriental Adventures
supplemental sourcebook, they appear as the Chinese mythological creatures, the Nezumi
, or "ratlings" as they are often called by humans, are a race of bipedal ratlike humanoids. They are also found in various games inspired by or based on Dungeons & Dragons such as Legend of the Five Rings
, NetHack
and Neverwinter Nights
.
See Ratkin for wererats in White Wolf's "World of Darkness
" role-playing setting.
Another example of wererats can be found in the Kamigawa plane of Magic: The Gathering
, a race of bipedal ratlike humanoids called the Nezumi
.
In the Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game
wererats are one of the species of werebeasts that dwell in the Darkest Heart, a magically corrupted forest found in the southern region of the Land of the Damned. Wererats, along with many other werebeasts, are relatively unheard of in the Palladium world outside of the mysterious Land of the Damned.
. While there is no shapeshifting per se, there is therianthropy aplenty: normal-sized rats with human intelligence, humans who change size to pass between human and rat society, humans who are half-rat, and a rat city below the human one.
Wererats also appear in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton
(see wererats in Anita Blake mythology and wererat characters in Anita Blake).
The rats changed into men are characters in the fairy tale
Cinderella
and star in various adaptations such as the children's book I was a Rat by Philip Pullman
.
Yuki Sohma
, from a popular manga
series, titled Fruits Basket
, transforms into a rat when hugged by a member of the opposite gender or when weakened.
Peter Pettigrew is a rat Animagus, akin to a wererat, in the Harry Potter
series.
In the American Manga Gold Digger wererats were one of several lycanthropic races created by an enchanter named Iceron. Five characters important to several recent events are wererats. Sherissa, the near immortal leader of the wererat clans, Gothwrain her thrall, servant and apparent enemy, and also three young warriors/assassins collectively known by fans as the Mall Rats (Gold Digger): Lydia McKraken, Romeo Ellis and Moisha Rich.
Werewolf
A werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope , is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse...
, but shapeshifting
Shapeshifting
Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
into the form of a rat
Rat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...
instead of a wolf. This type of therianthrope is rare in historical legends, but has become common in modern role playing games and fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
fiction inspired by them. They are commonly portrayed as sewer-dwelling scavengers and opportunistic thieves.
Mythology
There are some references to "goblin rats" or rat-themed yōkaiYōkai
are a class of supernatural monsters in Japanese folklore. The word yōkai is made up of the kanji for "otherworldly" and "weird". Yōkai range eclectically from the malevolent to the mischievous, or occasionally bring good fortune to those who encounter them...
in some Japanese myths that may or may not be the source for the wererats in games and novels. Brad Steiger
Brad Steiger
Brad Steiger is an American author who has written or co-written over 170 books, a number of which focus on paranormal subjects.-Childhood:...
has written about wererat sightings in Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, mostly by children. Some of the Benandanti
Benandanti
The Benandanti were an agrarian fertility cult in the Friuli district of Northern Italy in the 16th and 17th centuries. Between 1575 and 1675, the Benandanti were tried as heretics or witches under the Roman Inquisition, and their beliefs assimilated to Satanism...
were supposed to change into mice.
Games
In the Dungeons & DragonsDungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
, the wererat is one of several different types of animalistic forms. They are classified as "lycanthropes", despite the fact that the term reflects a lupine, or wolven, form. In the Oriental Adventures
Oriental Adventures
Oriental Adventures is the title shared by two hardback rulebooks published for different versions of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game...
supplemental sourcebook, they appear as the Chinese mythological creatures, the Nezumi
Nezumi
-Real life:* The Japanese word 鼠 literally meaning "rat" or "mouse"* Nezumi Kozō was the nickname of a thief in the 19th century* Previous name of Yuuki Matsuda-Software:* Mobile Application for monitoring applications...
, or "ratlings" as they are often called by humans, are a race of bipedal ratlike humanoids. They are also found in various games inspired by or based on Dungeons & Dragons such as Legend of the Five Rings
Legend of the Five Rings
Legend of the Five Rings is a fictional setting created by the John Wick and published by Alderac Entertainment Group in 1995. The setting primarily involves the fictional country of Rokugan, though some additional areas and cultures have been discussed. Rokugan is based roughly on feudal Japan...
, NetHack
NetHack
NetHack is a single-player roguelike video game originally released in 1987. It is a descendant of an earlier game called Hack , which is a descendant of Rogue...
and Neverwinter Nights
Neverwinter Nights
Neverwinter Nights , produced by BioWare and published by Infogrames , is a third-person perspective computer role-playing game that is based on third edition Dungeons & Dragons and Forgotten Realms rules. It was originally to be published by Interplay Entertainment, but the publisher's financial...
.
See Ratkin for wererats in White Wolf's "World of Darkness
World of Darkness
"World of Darkness" is the name given to three related but distinct fictional universes created as settings for supernatural horror themed role-playing games. It is also the name of roleplaying games in the second and third settings...
" role-playing setting.
Another example of wererats can be found in the Kamigawa plane of Magic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering , also known as Magic, is the first collectible trading card game created by mathematics professor Richard Garfield and introduced in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast. Magic continues to thrive, with approximately twelve million players as of 2011...
, a race of bipedal ratlike humanoids called the Nezumi
Nezumi
-Real life:* The Japanese word 鼠 literally meaning "rat" or "mouse"* Nezumi Kozō was the nickname of a thief in the 19th century* Previous name of Yuuki Matsuda-Software:* Mobile Application for monitoring applications...
.
In the Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game
Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game
The Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game is a game produced by Palladium Books. It is set in a unique world, called the Palladium World , with the primary setting being some 10,000 years after a great war between the elves and their dwarven allies...
wererats are one of the species of werebeasts that dwell in the Darkest Heart, a magically corrupted forest found in the southern region of the Land of the Damned. Wererats, along with many other werebeasts, are relatively unheard of in the Palladium world outside of the mysterious Land of the Damned.
Fiction
The popularity of wererats in modern fantasy may have been pioneered by the Fafhrd and Grey Mouser novel The Swords of Lankhmar by fantasy Grandmaster Fritz LeiberFritz Leiber
Fritz Reuter Leiber, Jr. was an American writer of fantasy, horror and science fiction. He was also a poet, actor in theatre and films, playwright, expert chess player and a champion fencer. Possibly his greatest chess accomplishment was winning clear first in the 1958 Santa Monica Open.. With...
. While there is no shapeshifting per se, there is therianthropy aplenty: normal-sized rats with human intelligence, humans who change size to pass between human and rat society, humans who are half-rat, and a rat city below the human one.
Wererats also appear in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton
Laurell K. Hamilton
Laurell Kaye Hamilton is an American fantasy and romance writer. She is the author of two series of stories. Hamilton is known for her New York Times-bestselling Anita Blake series, featuring a professional zombie raiser/supernatural consultant for the police as the protagonist in a world where...
(see wererats in Anita Blake mythology and wererat characters in Anita Blake).
The rats changed into men are characters in the fairy tale
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
Cinderella
Cinderella
"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
and star in various adaptations such as the children's book I was a Rat by Philip Pullman
Philip Pullman
Philip Pullman CBE, FRSL is an English writer from Norwich. He is the best-selling author of several books, most notably his trilogy of fantasy novels, His Dark Materials, and his fictionalised biography of Jesus, The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ...
.
Yuki Sohma
Yuki Sohma
is a fictional character from the anime and manga series Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya, and is one of the three protagonists of the story. He is depicted as a popular high school student despite severe self-doubts, and is president of the student council. He is sometimes called "Prince Yuki" by...
, from a popular manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
series, titled Fruits Basket
Fruits Basket
, sometimes abbreviated , is a Japanese shōjo manga series written and illustrated by Natsuki Takaya. It was serialized in the semi-monthly Japanese magazine Hana to Yume, published by Hakusensha, from 1999 to 2006. The series was also adapted into a 26-episode anime series, directed by Akitaro...
, transforms into a rat when hugged by a member of the opposite gender or when weakened.
Peter Pettigrew is a rat Animagus, akin to a wererat, in the Harry Potter
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
series.
In the American Manga Gold Digger wererats were one of several lycanthropic races created by an enchanter named Iceron. Five characters important to several recent events are wererats. Sherissa, the near immortal leader of the wererat clans, Gothwrain her thrall, servant and apparent enemy, and also three young warriors/assassins collectively known by fans as the Mall Rats (Gold Digger): Lydia McKraken, Romeo Ellis and Moisha Rich.
See also
- Skin-walkerSkin-walkerSkin-walker and Skinwalker may refer to:* Skin-walker, a human/animal shape-shifter from Native American legend.-Books and comics:* Skinwalkers , a 1986 mystery novel by Tony Hillerman....
- ShapeshiftingShapeshiftingShapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
- TherianthropyTherianthropyTherianthropy refers to the metamorphosis of humans into other animals. Therianthropes are said to change forms via shapeshifting. Therianthropes have long existed in mythology, appearing in ancient cave drawings such as the Sorcerer at Les Trois Frères....
- Lycanthropy (disambiguation)Lycanthropy (disambiguation)Lycanthropy is the ability or power of a human being to undergo transformation into a werewolf.Lycanthropy may also refer to:* Clinical lycanthropy, the delusional belief that a person can transform into a wolf or other animal...
- WereWereWere and wer are archaic terms for adult male humans and were often used for alliteration with wife as "were and wife" in Germanic-speaking cultures ....
- WerebearWereBearThe WereBears were a series of teddy bears released in 1983 in the United Kingdom. They were created by a man named George Nicholas, a famous children's author, so that boys could have teddy bears without worrying about being bullied.-History:...
- WeregildWeregildWeregild was a value placed on every human being and every piece of property in the Salic Code...
- Werehyena
- WerecatWerecatA werecat is a therianthropic creature of folklore, horror, and occultism, described as being a shape-shifter similar to a Werewolf....
- WerewolfWerewolfA werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope , is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse...
- Mulberry Street (film)Mulberry Street (film)Mulberry Street is a 2007 horror film that was released by After Dark Films as a part of their 8 Films to Die For 2007. It was released on DVD in the United States on March 18, 2008...