The wolf and the devil

Greek folk horror stories

Version 1 (from Achaea)

The devil made the wolf, but he couldn’t make it get up and walk. Then he saw Christ, and told him that he’d made a thing, but he couldn’t make it get up and walk.

Then Christ said to the devil: “Come on then, show me.” And when Christ saw the wolf, he said to it: “Get up and eat your father.” And immediately the wolf got up and ate the devil, and this is why we call the devil “the wolf-eaten one.”

Version 2 (from Kozani, Macedonia)

When God made man, the devil made the wolf, but he couldn’t animate it. And to educate the rebel, God ordered the wolf to come to life and eat its maker. But the wolf only managed to eat one of the devil’s legs, and that’s why the devil is lame and they call him “one-legged” and “the wolf-eaten one.”

Since then, the wolf can see [the devil] and is permitted to eat him; but even though the devil is one-legged, because he is air [lit. an elemental of air], he avoids the wolf and can protect himself. But he’s always in danger of being ea…