During medieval times, people were hysterically frightened of werewolves they thought lived among them.
If you prefer scary costumes for Halloween, the frightful history surrounding werewolves fits the bill.
In fact, in a werewolf costume, you won't have anyone picking on you for the night.
One of the most infamous werewolf stories is that of Peeter Stubbe in 1591.
Stubbe lived in a small town in Germany, where many unsolved murders took place over a period of 25 years.
The mutilated bodies of men, women and children were found by horrified townspeople.
Finally a group of hunters with dogs decided to find and kill the wolf.
They entered the nearby forest where the dogs took off, chasing the wolf.
When the hunter caught up, they were shocked to discover that the wolf had vanished and in his place stood Stubbe.
Believing Stubbe was a werewolf, he was arrested and tried.
To avoid torture, Stubbe admitted he was a werewolf.
He said that devil made him do it.
He wore a wolf skin that turned him into a greedy, devouring wolf with a huge body and mighty paws.
Although the wolf skin was never found, Stubbe confessed that he killed and ate many people while in wolf form.
He was subsequently convicted of werewolfery and executed.
Another story that struck fear into people about werewolves occurred in France between 1764 and 1767.
This time, a huge wolf was believed responsible for killing several people.
In 1765, more than 100 wolves were killed in search of the beast.
But the attacks on the villagers continued.
I wasn't until 1767 that the actual wolf was killed with silver bullets.
The wolf was then cut open where the remains of human bones were found.
Because the beast was so big, it was displayed throughout France.
Murders, wolf attacks and even odd people were linked together in tales that kept the idea and fear of werewolves alive.
Today, werewolves are kept alive by popular books and movies.
Regardless the source, however, werewolves are frightening, making werewolf costumes some the scariest around.