by Ginger Betzer

Created on: May 03, 2009   Last Updated: August 01, 2010

"The full moon stood cold and still in the dark, summer's night. Twilight had descended. She felt her heart beating, pounding.   He would awaken soon. He was lying so still, so peaceful, but in a few seconds, he would jump passionately from his bed with all the ferocity of his kind, and come for her. She longed to run. Every inch of her being told her to run, to hide. But she could not move....waiting breathlessly for his bite".

Sound familiar? The "full moon" has been the object of myths and legends since time began. Werewolf's and vampires, gods and goddesses, many get their powers from the moon. It has been called the "queen of mesmerism and mystification". It has impassioned lovers, created metamorphoses and measured time. Even now, when it has been demystified by modern technology and the arrival of man on her uncheesy surface. we find that books about werewolves and vampires are in greater demand. The moon still retains it's power to blanket the world in mystic.

From a scientific perspective, we know the full moon affects the tides of our oceans. These magnetic forces are reported to change animal and sea life, also. It would be a logical conclusion to deduce that man, being composed largely of water, would feel it's affects also. Many studies have been done to verify this theory. Research shows that more births occur in and around a full moon. More murders occur in and around a full moon. Even traffic accident escalate at this time. I personally worked in a psychiatric hospital during my college years and it was always mentioned in our patient briefings that "Everyone, heads up, its a full moon." In fact, as most of us know our word for crazy, "lunatic" has it's root in the "lunar , the moon.

Some argue that research is biased by not considering all the factors. People just see better from the light of the moon, it is argued, and engage in more carefree and rambunctious behavior. The concept of "moonstruck" is just an old wives tale. A university of Miami psychologist, Arthur Lieber and his colleagues did research on violent actions such as murder, robbery, domestic violence, traffic accidents and arson as connected with the full moon. A fifteen years study concluded that there is scientific data that proves violence increases at the time of the full moon and decreases towards a new moon. Ask any teacher, or health care worker, or law enforcement officers....they will agree. So, while myths and legends about werewolves lurking in the shadows during a full moon may be fantasy, perhaps these serve to warn us that there is something we need to know. The next time you venture out for a moonlit stroll, maybe you'd better watch your back.

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