Wulver

The wulver is a wolf-headed, hairy man from Shetland folklore. Unlike most werewolves, it was said to be harmless if left alone. Shetland writer Jessie Saxby described it fishing from a rock and leaving some of its catch on the windowsills of poor families.

Some later writers say it was never human at all but a separate kind of being, and some versions say it could turn dangerous if provoked.

There is a twist: Shetland Museum archivist Brian Smith has argued that the wulver may never have been a real island tradition. He suggests Saxby misread a place name, Wulvers Hool, which earlier scholars had translated as a fairy hill.

What witnesses report

• A man-like figure with a wolf's head
• Short brown hair all over
• Fish left on windowsills

Famous cases