Do I have werewolf DNA?

Oct. 28—The first three years of my life, we lived on Cemetery Hill in Wickliffe, a couple of curves away from the cemetery.

I always thought that was where my love of Halloween began.

But as I study my family tree, I've found a couple of people who apparently gave me the DNA for appreciating Halloween.

First was Vseslav Bryachislavich, a Russian who lived from about 1029 to 1101.

He was known as Vseslav the Sorcerer or Vseslav the Seer.

Legend said he was conceived by sorcery and was born with a caul (a veil of birth membrane) on his head.

The sorcerers told his mother that this should be bound to his head for the rest of his life because it was a sign of good luck.

Folk tales say he was also a werewolf.

Of course, folk tales are just that.

Tales.

But I'm still going to claim werewolf DNA.

It just sounds fun for Halloween.

Then, there was Hugh "The Wizard" Giffard, who lived in Scotland from about 1225 to 1267.

He was described in Scottish lore as a wizard, a necromancer and a warlock.

Wizard and warlock DNA too.

Now, that's cool.

They said he was able to muster a ghostly army through a pact with the devil.

Those Scottish folk tales can get pretty colorful — and pretty scary.

Giffard reportedly built a castle or tower house on a hill.

Part of it is still standing.

A stairway led down to a cavern that folks in the region called Hobgoblin Hall or Hobgoblin Ha' in local dialect.

It reportedly got the name because it was said to have been built by his ghostly army.

The cavern is still an attraction today, about 40 miles from Edinburgh.

Of course, all this is folk tales, rumors passed down through the generations.

There are no such things as werewolves, warlocks and wizards.

Are there?

But it's still fun to think of as Halloween approaches.

Keith Lawrence, 270-691-7301, klawrence@messenger-inquirer.com.