The Werewolf of Allariz: Manuel Blanco Romasanta

In 1852, authorities in the Galician region of Spain arrested Manuel Blanco Romasanta for multiple murders. What followed was Spain’s only documented werewolf trial, as Romasanta claimed he was not a criminal but a victim of supernatural possession. He testified that a curse transformed him into a wolf against his will, compelling him to kill. The case raises questions about the intersection of mental illness, folk belief, and criminal responsibility.

The Murders

Manuel Blanco Romasanta was a traveling vendor who moved through the rural villages of Galicia selling cloth and other goods. He was a small man, barely five feet tall, and was known as quiet and unremarkable. Between 1846 and 1852, at least thirteen people disappeared after being seen in his company.

Romasanta’s victims included entire families. He would offer to guide people who were moving to other towns, promising to help them find work or connect with relatives. Instead, he killed them on remote mountain paths. He then sold their clothing and fat, which he claimed was lard or bear grease.

The murders came to light when relatives of the missing began comparing notes and noticing that all the disappeared had last been seen with Romasanta. When confronted, he fled but was eventually captured.

The Werewolf Defense

Under interrogation, Romasanta made an extraordinary claim. He admitted to the killings but insisted he was not morally responsible. He said that he suffered from a curse that periodically transformed him into a wolf, during which state he could not control his actions.

Romasanta described the transformations in vivid detail. He said he experienced overwhelming sensations before each transformation, then lost awareness as the wolf took over. When he returned to human form, he would find himself covered in blood with fragmented memories of attacking his victims.

He claimed the curse had been placed on him by a stranger and that he had tried to resist it without success. He expressed apparent remorse for his actions while insisting that the wolf, not Manuel Romasanta, was responsible for the deaths.

The Trial

The trial attracted enormous attention. Romasanta’s werewolf claims fit into longstanding Galician folk traditions about wolf-men and shape-shifters. Many local people believed such transformations were possible, even if they doubted Romasanta’s specific claims.

The court appointed physicians to examine Romasanta. They concluded he suffered from a condition they called “lycanthropic monomania,” a form of mental illness in which the sufferer believes they transform into a wolf. This was an early example of what would later be called clinical lycanthropy.

Despite this diagnosis, the court found Romasanta guilty of murder. He was sentenced to death by garrote. However, a French hypnotist claimed he could cure Romasanta of his lycanthropy, and Queen Isabella II commuted the sentence to life imprisonment to allow the treatment to proceed.

Historical Context

Werewolf beliefs were common throughout Europe during the medieval and early modern periods, with numerous trials during the witch-hunting era. By 1852, such beliefs had largely died out among educated classes but persisted in rural areas like Galicia.

Romasanta’s case was unusual in that it occurred after the main period of werewolf persecution and was approached with some scientific skepticism. The diagnosis of lycanthropic monomania represented an attempt to understand traditional supernatural claims through the lens of emerging psychiatric science.

Clinical Lycanthropy

Modern psychiatrists recognize clinical lycanthropy as a rare delusion in which individuals believe they can or have transformed into an animal. It is associated with various psychiatric conditions including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and severe depression.

Whether Romasanta genuinely believed in his transformations or strategically claimed the condition to avoid responsibility is impossible to determine. His detailed descriptions of his experiences suggest he may have experienced genuine delusions, but he may also have been a calculating killer exploiting local beliefs.

The Question of the Fat

One disturbing aspect of the case was Romasanta’s commerce in human fat, which he sold as lard or medicinal grease. Some researchers have connected this to the “mantequero” legends of Spain and Latin America, which describe killers who murder people for their fat.

Whether Romasanta was inspired by these legends or the legends were partly inspired by actual crimes like his remains unclear. The fat trade adds a mercenary motive to his crimes that complicates the picture of him as a helpless victim of supernatural forces.

Death and Legacy

Romasanta died in prison in 1863, reportedly still claiming to be a werewolf. His case remains the only documented werewolf trial in Spanish legal history.

The case has been examined by criminologists studying serial killers, psychiatrists interested in delusional disorders, and anthropologists studying werewolf beliefs. It represents a historical moment when traditional supernatural explanations confronted emerging scientific frameworks, with the legal system struggling to navigate between them.

Whether viewed as a case of demonic possession, mental illness, or calculated manipulation, the Werewolf of Allariz remains one of history’s most unusual criminal cases.