Werewolves have been the centre of Hollywood movies for decades but it is the werehyena that strikes fear into Ethiopian villagers.

The dreaded predator has long served as a cultural embodiment of the many dangers that lurk in the rural landscape of the Horn of Africa, Beasts of the World author Andy McGrath says.

A half-man half-hyena nocturnal hybrid often known as Bouda is believed to possess two mouths, large golden eyes and be entirely hairless but for a tuft on its upper back.

Feasting on the flesh of humans it calls out to, Andy says the werehyena is understood to suck blood from victims who it buries its alive to feed on later.

Myth also claims the monster 'laughs' like a hyena before calling people by name to lure them to their doom.

Once in human form during the day, the werehyena can supposedly be spotted by its hairy appearance and foul stench.

Andy says stories of the creature which to some are far more than just a scary ghost story, are enough for a sense of urgency to break out every time the sun goes down in certain communities.

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He said: "Each day, before the sun sets, local farmers can be seen racing home to lock their cattle indoors. Market stalls hurriedly shut up shop and anxious mothers call their children home.

"Certainly, the dangers are very real, with savage hyenas, packs of wild dogs, lions, and even wolves inhabiting the region; making a cultural bogeyman a much-needed monster to warn the foolish away from venturing out unaccompanied into the night.

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"But does this legendary being constitute any more than a cautionary tale; or is there a real flesh and blood animal, inextricably melded into the myth of this sub-Saharan therianthrope?"

Wicked anti-Semitism was once attached to the werehyena as blacksmiths — a traditionally Jewish trade in Ethiopia — were often accused of transforming into the savage predator.

Superstition added to the cruel exclusion of Jews from society.

Andy admits he is fascinated by the so-called hyena men in the Ethiopian town of Harar Jugol who safely feed hyenas in front of crowds.

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In exchange for dinner the wild animals are believed to to protect the town from evil spirits.

He said: "They have managed to nurture a relationship of a most unusual kind with the local hyena population.

"They have taken to feeding the animals at several established locales on the outskirts of town, which the hyenas repay by chasing out, or consuming all of the invisible Jinn (evil spirits) in the town and even more helpfully, by not attacking any of the townsfolk."

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