Also, before reading, I would like to point out something VERY important. As stated previously, this document only covers the history of physical shifters / physical nonhumans. There used to be some overlap between physical shifters and therians a very long time ago (for example, therianthropy being exclusively described as physical shifting or therians having the ability to do so). There are mentions of therians/otherkin and alterhumans because of this overlap but this document is not meant to serve their communities.

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What does it mean to be a physical shifter or physically nonhuman? What are the differences between physical nonhumans and nonphysical nonhumans?:

Like any other identity or experience, the way that someone defines nonhumanity varies from each individual and nonhumanity as a term is broad and there are many different experiences that go along with those who are nonhuman. Nonhumanity can be described as someone who in any sort of way is not human and some nonhumans consider their identities to be spiritual, mental, emotional, physical, or a mix of these things or something else altogether that usually separates them from humans or humanity. However, nonhumanity is considered to be a spectrum, and not all nonhumans consider themselves to be fully nonhuman.

To be a physical shifter or physically nonhuman means that in some way, you’re able to change certain parts of your body, your entire body, grow extra limbs (wings, claws, tails, horns, fins, etc), or approach your experiences more metaphorically (“I consider myself to be this species so therefore my body is this species as well”). This is the difference between physical nonhumans and nonphysical nonhumans. Most nonphysical nonhumans don’t believe in physical shifting or extra limb growing and it’s something that is still debatable in modern communities regardless of the proof that does float around in some physical nonhuman spaces.

Like stated previously, there is a lot of debate relating to being able to physically change your body as a physical nonhuman. In the 90s and 2000s and a part of the 2010s where forum based groups were popular, there was a large overlap between therians and physical shifters, oftentimes therians being described as having the ability to physically shift or having supernatural “powers” correlating with their theriotype(s). This is where in modern times we see the split between physical and nonphysical nonhumans and see terms being used differently since most therians, otherkin, alterhumans or other nonphysical nonhumans tend to disregard the idea of physical nonhumanity and modern therianthropy is described as identifying as an animal on a nonphysical level. Some therians/otherkin/alterhumans have expressed that their identities are physical but it tends to be in a metaphorical sense (“I am this species in all ways so therefore my body is also this species”) and not in a literal biological way (“I am this species and can shift my body into this species”, “I physically have nonhuman parts”, etc).

Also, on top of terms being interchangeable a long time ago, physical shifters and therians (or other nonhuman groups, but it was mostly therians from my research) coexisted with one another. In recent times we tend to be separate groups and modern therians or other related communities generally exclude physical shifters or physical nonhumans because they deem the identities/practices within those groups to be “harmful” or “delusional”, which isn’t the case, but that is the rhetoric they use to justify their exclusion towards physical shifters and physical nonhumans.

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Why and how do nonhumans exist?

Unfortunately, the existence of nonhumans is understudied for both nonphysical and physical nonhumans, therefore the why/how section is limited only to beliefs or theories. For some folks, they claim that their nonhumanity comes from neurodivergence, reincarnation, genetics, heritage, cultural differences/practices and other similar explanations that might help explain nonhuman identities. Nobody is certain on how nonhumans exist and the whys/hows are a debate in nonhuman groups but it’s widely agreed upon in physical nonhuman spaces that only nonhumans can be nonhuman, therefore making it impossible for humans to “turn” into nonhumans. This itself is another debate though.

For the genetics theory: everyone who is born nonhuman is nonhuman due to their parents being nonhuman or they are carrying nonhuman genes that then are passed down to their children or the genes skip a generation.

For the spirituality theory: your soul chose to incarnate as nonhuman or had a past life / past lives as a nonhuman, which then carried on into this current life.

Of course, each theory and belief is different from person to person, but these are just some of the more common theories that I have picked up on.

There is a theory out there in physical nonhuman spaces and it’s the theory that anyone can shift. Typically, these are the people that believe that spells or subliminals can turn you into a nonhuman, and there are no restrictions in this theory, meaning that if you want to become nonhuman if you are human, you can be. It has also been said that some people who believe in this theory also believe that it’s possible to become gods, fictional species, aliens, hybrids that don’t exist, etc. Of course, this theory is extremely flawed, and most of the information or beliefs behind it are false.

My personal beliefs/theories on why/how nonhumans exist - before reading on, there is a reason why I said that these next theories and beliefs are personal, as they’re thoughts belonging to me. This is not to say they are better or worse than any other belief or theory, and this is not to say this is 100% accurate. I am not forcing you to believe in them as well, my intentions here are just to put my input here because it’s relevant:

Personally, for the why/how physical shifters exist - I believe that evolution (both spiritual and physical/genetic based evolution) has a role in the existence of shifters, plus cultural differences play a role in nonhuman identities and experiences sometimes. I think that nonhuman or shifter genetics and souls have existed beside human kind since the very beginning of time and have evolved with humans as well. Nonhumans and shifters have always existed, and our kind is not new to the spirit realm or earth. The exact “why” and “how” is hard to pinpoint, because it’s hard to ask why or how anything exists - science, physics, fate/destiny, “it’s just supposed to be this way”, or “it’s just meant to be”? The list goes on. Nonhumans exist because it’s just supposed to be that way and it’s hard to give exact scientific evidence because of our existence not being studied professionally.

I believe in both spiritual and genetic theories - either your soul chooses to incarnate into a nonhuman/shifter body, your soul is already nonhuman before incarnating, you have past lives as a nonhuman and are continuing the cycle, or nonhuman genetics are passed down to you/you have a nonhuman family/set of nonhuman parents. I think it’s a mix of spiritual and genetic, you can either have both spiritual and genetic reasons for being nonhuman or you can be one or the other. But this is just what I believe and I am not saying that this is 100%.

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Understanding what the calling is:

Every shifter has what is known as “the calling”, whether it be a calling to the wild, sea, sky, or something else that drives them to shift or grow extra limbs. Most nonhumans outside of physical shifters do experience connections to a certain habitat or nonhuman traits, but the calling for shifters/extra limb growers isn’t that simple. For some nonhumans, they long to be in the body or habitat that they feel most comfortable with. Maybe they only want certain parts or traits of their species while keeping a mostly humanoid body. For shifters and those growing extra limbs, this longing or connection is also present, but the calling is what drives shifters to shapeshift or work on growing extra limbs. Having a calling is the biggest indicator that someone is nonhuman, and if you don’t experience any of these callings, you might most likely be human or maybe you aren’t a shifter/extra limb grower if you are nonhuman. Callings aren’t a choice, nor are they a want or mental shift. Callings are rooted in instinct and are the cause of physical shifting or limb growth, and callings can’t disappear or appear. They are permanent.

The calling to the wild is a calling that is the most common and can be found in those who are growing extra limbs, wolf shifters, dragon shifters, other mammal shifters, etc. The call to the wild is the constant pulling towards the wilderness, to live freely, the need to live in the woods or out in nature.

The calling to the sea is the calling that merfolk, ocean dragons, and other marine shifters have. The calling to the sea is the need to return to the ocean and to live and be free in it.

Finally, the calling to the sky - a calling experienced by avians, dragons, and other winged beings who need to be in the air and sky or else they feel their lives won't be complete until they can fly.

The thing that separates humans from shifters is if you have observed people trying to grow wings just for the aesthetics or just because they want to, they never go with it completely whereas folks who need to fly and need to have wings always end up going through with the process no matter how long it might take them. This can be said for all types of shifters, too. People trying to shift or grow wings who later gave up or stopped realized they could live without it, they were not meant to be a shifter or limb grower. Why shift or try to grow extra limbs if you don’t have a calling? Shifters and physical nonhumans cannot live without going through the shifting or limb growing process because of their calling, because they were meant to be nonhuman. Every single nonhuman is meant to be nonhuman, and nothing can change that.

Even though many nonhumans feel their calling since birth, there are a few who don’t, such as vampires that rely on blood to survive or yokai like kitsunes (but other yokai like nekomatas, bakenekos, and raijus may feel callings).

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Terminology and Symbols:

New and old terms and symbols have been created to label and express different forms of nonhumanity. This document keeps physical nonhumanity in mind, but I’ve decided to add some common terms and symbols that also show up in non-physical nonhuman spaces as well. Please know that this isn’t an extensive list of terms and symbols and is only used to give context or further understanding of common terms and symbols that may be mentioned throughout this document.

Therianthrope / Therian / Therianthropy - Unknown who coined this term, but the usage of the word “therian” in modern terms as we know it dates back to the early 1990s. The word therianthropy comes from greek, “Thirío [θηρίο]” or “thēríon [θηρίον]” meaning beast or wild animal, “Anthropos [ἄνθρωπος]” meaning human or person, and this loosely translates to “animal person”. Somebody who identifies as a therian is typically described as a person who identifies as an animal originating from earth, whether it be extinct or alive. Their experiences tend to be mental and or spiritual ones, but in the past there have been therians who have said that their experiences are also physical. Some physical nonhumans may use the term “therian” to describe their experience in current times.

(Theta-Delta | Therianthropy | Fandom)

The Theta Delta was created in 2003 by two WereList users named Jakkal and Crinos. It consists of two greek letters on top of each other - the delta and theta.

Holothere - Coined by defrostedvertebrae on 2/23/24, the term holothere comes from the greek words “holo” (meaning entirely) and “ther” (meaning animal or beast). It was created for the lack of a proper term regarding nonhumans, regardless of the how or why they are nonhuman. Holothere is made to define and describe physical nonhumanity as a term or description for a specific therian experience. It’s intentionally made to be vague so that a wide range of folks can relate to it. It doesn’t inherently mean the ability to transform, although it could depending on the person.

(Holothere)

Endel - coined by babydog on 4/22/21, the word “endel” comes from the prefix “en”, meaning to cause, and “del” coming from the word “deludere”, meaning delusion. Endel describes a nonhuman or alterhuman experience being caused by, rooted in, or greatly influenced by delusions, and was created only for delusional nonhumans or alterhumans to use.

(Endel)

The official symbol for Endels, a strawberry with a small white flower beside it. It is unknown who created the symbol and when it was created, but the symbolism behind it is described as how fruits are seasonal and come and go just as delusions do or can be more tolerable some days and other days not so much. Delusions can either be unharmful or hurtful, just as fruit can be delicious or bitter, with the flower portraying beauty even in the darkness.

(Endel)

Here are two alternative endel symbols. The creator and creation date is unknown as well as any meaning behind the symbolism, but that the colors in these symbols are irrelevant and can be changed if it is desired.

Alterhuman - Coined by a tumblr user named phasmovore on September 26th, 2014. Alterhuman or Alternative Humanity Personal Identity (AHPI) is a category of identities that encompasses identification that is alternative to the common and societal idea of humanity. It’s an umbrella for therianthropy, otherkinity, and other nonhuman identities.

(Alterhumanity | Therianthropy | Fandom)

The unicode symbol for the alt key to be used as the alterhuman symbol was proposed on September 24th, 2019. The alterhuman symbol started to become popular once it was included in Reddit’s r/place event.

Otherkin / Otherkind - In context of the identity, otherkin was first used around July 1990 and otherkind around April 1990. It’s used to describe individuals who identify as other nonhuman species. Typically, otherkin are shown as being mythical creatures or a species that doesn’t belong to earth. Like therians, their experiences may be spiritual and or mental, or in some cases physical.

(Otherkin | Otherkin Wiki | Fandom)

The otherkin symbol is a seven pointed star, sometimes called the elven or fairy star. The otherkin symbol was created around 1979 or 1980 by The Silver Elves (back then known as Sylvan Elves). They began to publish letters and published a collection, it was in a book called Magical Elven Love Letters. They then used a heptagram for the elven symbol and was later adopted as the otherkin symbol.

P-shifter (Physical shifter) symbol/history:

P-shifter and p-shifting describes the act of shapeshifting into your nonhuman species. P-shifter describes someone who is able to shapeshift, and these terms have been used as early as the mid to late 90s (earliest I could find so far was 1996) in the alt.horror.werewolves group. Debate amongst the spiritual or biological possibilities of p-shifting have always existed, but it’s been proven to be real. The coining of the terms “p-shifter”, “p-shifting”, “p-shift”, etc has yet to have an exact date or individual behind it (will update more when I find more).

(Shapeshifter Symbols – @xenoworlds on Tumblr)

I’m not sure who made the physical shifter symbol or when it was made, but I’ll update this when I find out.

Nonhuman symbol / Another p-shifter symbol:

(I made a p-shifter symbol! If you’re a p-shifter, or otherwise inhuman (avians, permashifters, etc) feel free to use! the bottom... – @phenexus-weyr-blog on Tumblr)

Made by admin comet on August 31st, 2018.

Lycanthropy symbol:

(official coining post - symbol for Lycanthropy – @doggiedayz on Tumblr)

Aka the delta lambda symbol, similar to the theta delta, but with the lambda representing the L from the word “Lykos” (or wolf). It was created with the intention of uniting therians and otherkin together. Anyone who is a lycanthrope (clinical or not), otherkin, therian, fictivekin, endels, and physical lycanthropes can use this symbol (this list is not limited, but wanted to name a few folks who can use the delta lambda).

The delta lambda was created and coined by doggiedayz on tumblr on July 19th, 2024.

The flock effect - The flock effect is a phenomenon where an avian who is actively growing wings shows sped up or increased progress in wing growth from being with other avians. It’s unknown if there would be a difference in the flock effect with being in contact with avians either online or physically. The most common way to activate the flock effect is to be around two or more avians either in person or online. Based on observations from other avians, the flock effect has been confirmed as real. It’s unknown who coined “the flock effect” and when it was coined.

Mythical - Mythical has been one of the terms to describe physical nonhumans. It’s unknown who coined it in the context of nonhumans and when it was coined.

Supernatural - Like the term mythical, supernatural has been one of the terms to describe physical nonhumans and it’s also unknown who coined it in the context of nonhumans and when it was coined.

Pseudohuman - A term used to describe somebody that appears human but isn’t. It’s unknown who coined this term and when it was coined.

(PSEUDOHUMAN – @aleanthrope on Tumblr)

Species dysphoria - An experience and condition consisting of confusion or discomfort with the species that an individual is. They feel as if their body is the wrong species. It’s unknown who coined this term and when, but species dysphoria was once known as “homesickness” in the 1990s-2000s on Alt.Horror.Werewolves (AHWW). Species dysphoria is a common experience found in therian and otherkin spaces, and can be found in physical nonhuman spaces, too. Species dysphoria isn’t related to gender dysphoria (when a person is distressed by their assigned sex at birth and doesn’t relate to it) and isn’t related to body dysmorphia (body dysmorphic disorder is a body-image disorder consisting of persistent and intrusive imagined or slight defects in someone’s appearance). Species dysphoria isn’t yet recognized by scientists or psychologists and has no medical treatments as of now.

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AWTOK & “The War” or “The Storm”, etc:

AWTOK stands for “Always Watching The Other Kin(d)”. It started off as a Maximum Ride roleplay topic sometime between 2007-2009, and moved its way into nonhuman and shifter spaces in the 2010s (around 2010-2011). AWTOK was made out to be this large government based group that hunted, experimented on and killed physical nonhumans. There was some talk about AWTOK also going after nonphysical nonhumans and therians, but the main focus of AWTOK was hunting those who outwardly seemed supernatural or had biologically nonhuman traits or abilities. Those who believed in AWTOK stated things like: watch out for men in black suits, suspicious white vans, helicopters/planes, strange phone calls/numbers (where the other person on the other end wouldn’t say anything or it would just be static), and many other things that could be deemed as strange, suspicious, or anything else that could indicate that you were being watched by them. Fortunately, AWTOK doesn’t exist, but it still remains as a big part of the nonhuman and shifter communities because of how widespread it is as well as the many stories that were made out of it, not to mention the anxiety that was stirred up because of it. To this day, there are still believers in AWTOK. The only thing closest to AWTOK would be cryptid hunters/believers, as well as regular animal hunters - which are out there, but most likely don’t have you on some kind of list. There is no need to worry about AWTOK because it doesn’t exist, but it’s good to keep in mind that there are individual hunters out there. Not to spread fear or make yourself afraid, but to keep yourself and others aware and safe from any danger that might arise from being a shifter or outwardly nonhuman.

As for the war / the storm, these terms refer to a large war between nonhumans and humans or hunters. I’ve also seen some sources say that it refers to the end of the world. Apparently, these terms had existed in the early 2010s, and the storm/war was going to happen in 2012, then 2014, and so on into the later 2010s and 2020s. It never happened and never will. Just like AWTOK, it is fake, but has had a great impact on nonhuman communities for reasons similar to AWTOK’s story.

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Before the 2000s:

Mentions of mythical creatures have existed since ancient times and mentions of shapeshifting can be seen in cave paintings long before ancient egyptians existed (13000 BCE). Anything that can be found about mythical creatures are beings found in mythology, but usually doesn’t mention anything about nonhumans, how to grow limbs, how to shapeshift, etc. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t any mentions of shapeshifters or the idea of it, since shapeshifting goes back to the oldest forms of totemism and shamanism and is mentioned in old literature and epic poems such as the “Epic of Gilgamesh” (c. 2100 - 1200 BC) and the “Iliad” (c. 8th century BC).

Gilgamesh is on a trip with Enkidu, a companion of his. They encounter a forest demon named Humbaba, and changes form while fighting the two for several hours.

“Humbaba spoke to Gilgamesh, saying:

..An idiot' and a moron should give advice to each other,

but you, Gilgamesh, why have you come to me!

Give advice, Enkidu, you 'son of a fish,' who does not even

know his own father,

to the large and small turtles which do not suck their mother's milk!

When you were still young I saw you but did not go over to you;

... you,... in my belly.

...,you have brought Gilgamesh into my presence,

... you stand.., an enemy, a stranger.

... Gilgamesh, throat and neck,

I would feed your flesh to the screeching vulture, the eagle, and

the vulture!"

Gilgamesh spoke to Enkidu, saying: "My Friend, Humbaba's face keeps changing!·”

This is implying that Humbaba is shapeshifting in order to deflect the attacks that Gilgamesh is inflicting.

In the Iliad, Thetis was a goddess of the sea. Just like other sea gods, she had the ability to shapeshift and had the gift of prophecy.

On November 16th, 1992, a Usenet group called “Alt.horror.werewolves” (AHWW) became public. Alt horror werewolves first served as a group to discuss werewolf related topics, movies and media, which then over time became an identity related discussion board. It is said that alt horror werewolves is the birthplace of modern therianthropy in 1993, as well as having mentions of physical shifting. Here and there, different scammers and frauds would appear, while other folks would try to convince others of their sincerity. In 1995, Storm, a user of Alt.horror.werewolves, claimed to be able to physically shift. However, Storm would request money to teach people how to shift, which lead to a few folks being scammed and having permanent distrust to those who would claim that they could shapeshift in the therian community. Despite this, claims would still appear. An anonymous individual would give their experiences of what physically shifting felt like for them, while another user by the name of Lance Foxx shared their attempts at shapeshifting. There would be a shared silence amongst shifters in these groups, but the therian community included them in community documents for some time.

During this time, there was a lot of skepticism regarding shapeshifting. Still, methods to shift would be shared, but from a more theoretical view. A method that was shared consisted of using a mirror to see your true form, or to meditate and create an illusionary form. Another suggestion was that shifting was a natural occurrence of other shifts.

Unfortunately, physical shifters would be included less and less in therian spaces. Therians would express their skepticism about shifting, or would want to focus on self expression and other ways to become their theriotype without the need to shift. Conversations about shapeshifting would fade out over the years and eventually be excluded. This didn’t mean that physical shifters stopped existing, but they became less and less of a topic in the therian community.

David Cohen’s “Werewolves!” would publish in 1996 with a mention of a werewolf on Usenet with a large pack that was in North America. In 2000, Rosalyn Greene would publish “The Magic Of Shapeshifting” and would include personal experiences and information from users that belonged to Alt.horror.werewolves. Then, in 2006, Linda Godfrey published “Hunting the American Werewolf”, and that explains how she encountered a werewolf online who told his struggles of the lack of control that came with shifting and how he would lock himself up in his basement to prevent others from getting hurt when he was transformed.

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The 2000s (2000-2009) and the 2010s (2010-2019):

43 Things rolled around in 2004, a website dedicated to users who have goals similar to each other. On 43 Things, users would encourage each other and they could log their progress with their goals. A group centered around being werewolves would form.

(The Shifter's Timeline | Shapeshifter's Eden (spiritshifter.wixsite.com))

Around 2005-2006, right around the time of the book series “Twilight” being published, the “become a werewolf” group would become popular in a few years and it would be the home of more than a thousand users. Most of the users did believe in shifting, but there were a few who didn’t and would argue with new and old users. The “become a werewolf” group would be the most popular, however there were a few other groups on 43 Things inspired from it, like “Become a dragon” or “Become a fairy” or another species. Ultimately, “become a werewolf” would be the strongest and would keep on being popular. However, in 2006, H20: Just Add Water (a show about teens being able to transform into mermaids) made its first premiere, and a group called “Become a mermaid” came to be on 43 Things. Around this time too, the Maximum Ride book series started to become popular, and its main characters are all winged kids/teens that were a result of a lab experiment. With the introduction of Maximum Ride (first released in 2005), a group called “Grow wings” would appear, and folks who are wing growers would be called avians. Become a Werewolf, Become a Mermaid and Grow Wings would become flooded with young teens and many members intermingled and shared encouragement with one another. These groups eventually branched off into their own sites too. Golden Purity and The Siren’s Cove were two popular mermaid sites, with Winged One’s being the focus of growing wings. Avians were inspired by shifters, although they followed different methods and beliefs, with their beliefs saying that growing wings is an add-on to your body that is permanent, making wings impossible to shift. Also, a theme in avian groups was to survive on their own and join flocks (groups of avians) because of their vulnerability once they had physical wings. Some individuals would suggest nonphysical or phantom/etheric wings instead of physical ones.

There would be a few people who would show proof of their shifts. KissingMidnight would show screenshots from a live chat that showed her shifted form in front of a few friends. Later, she would show her full tail. A few avians would show feathers (that were unusually colored) and friends of theirs would say that they saw their wings. These successes would encourage others and it would result in a great flood of members since the members would tell their friends about these websites.

On March 26th, 2009, 43 Things would be introduced to a user called LASR1, who is most commonly known as Blaze. He would have claims of being fully transformed. His claims were not unusual for the werewolf group. In fact, he offered practical ways of shifting, which is what the group was looking for. Shortly after, he would create a website called “Razgriz Wolf Pack”, a website hosted on freewebs (aka Webs) that would give people new and more information, and it also was a virtual wolf pack. Instead of a typical mod system, there were ranks and hierarchies (an “alpha” being an admin, and a “beta” being a moderator, for example). The Razgriz Wolf Pack would be extremely popular for werewolves. With Blaze’s methods being public, there would be more people claiming to shift with the help of his methods. With all of these claims, it would boost the popularity of his site even more. Fights among members would break out as they tried to figure out what shifting methods worked for them and what didn’t. All of the activity on the Razgriz website would occasionally lead to website outages because of the bandwidth that was being used excessively.

Two sites would be created to serve the shifter and therian communities to be the host of all of their information - The Shifting Database, and Razgriz Therianthropy Academy. The Razgriz Therianthropy Academy held Blaze’s methods on physical shifting including Blaze’s theories on therians and how/why they are able to shift (such as therians needing a certain percentage of animal blood in them). The Shifting Database contained essays from Blaze and other members, and overall was a more general source of information that had topics relating to shifting, experiences and tips regarding therianthropy. Now that these resources were public, shifters could learn more about themselves and their community. These websites had information relating to physical shifting alongside information about therianthropy and beliefs that surround therianthropy. Some of these sites said that finding your theriotype was the first step in order to shift, with mental shifts coming second. Some of the evidence of shifts were black outs, having dreams or memories of your shifted form, seeing fur in your bed, having random scratches on you and having pets/animals reacting differently towards you. Practicing as often as possible was the key to being able to achieve a successful shift.

Some folks had instant connections with the creature they were trying to become, either through having a nonhuman identity or spirit, and some had no connection and tried to form one. It was the mermaid community that popularized the “fantasy shift”, the process of researching and choosing your tail type or mermaid form in order to shift.

The variety in nonhumanity and the connection to it was present, with some people having a fully integrated identity and others not so much, saying that their nonhuman form was distinct from their human form, and was sentient and separate from themselves as their human form but was still them identity wise. References about their nonhuman forms were made in pieces of writing and credited them with the knowledge of shifting. Shifting was the most prominent method in these groups, with spells or magic being used as support from time to time.

With the popularity of Razgriz, there would be other websites popping up out of inspiration. A few sites like Howling Jaws, Recolitus Lupus Sarcina, School of Shifting, Dream Catchers and other websites would be made. A feature that webs had allowed users to display the different websites/groups that they were a part of and that feature made for easy advertising for new shifters.

Razgriz would see fighting and demands placed on Blaze. It would eventually take its toll on him. At this time, the site had more than a thousand members, and Blaze took responsibility for moderating Razgriz and settling down fights. Members would be seen venting about their hate towards him publicly, with rivals wanting to compete with Blaze. With all of these factors, it would stress Blaze out, causing him to create a new site called Pariah Pack. Even with the new site, it would all be too much for him, as it had many of the same issues that Razgriz had. Blaze would go offline entirely. Various old members and mods were left confused and without a leader, so they took it in their own hands to make their own sites to be new homes to the members of Razgriz or Pariah.

In 2010 and under new leadership, Razgriz moved to a new site, but its toxicity prevailed and struggled with activity. A wolf therian named Silverblack would make her own website and advertise it on Razgriz, effectively killing Razgriz and its chances to start anew. It diverted membership from Razgriz and members instead went to Wolf I Have Become, later renamed to Silver Pack. Silver’s site was the new home for anyone looking to shift, but there were reports of Silver being hard to get along with. Because of this, some folks went to Swedish Therians, a smaller site run by a shifter called Shadowscar who wanted to meet other Swedish shifters. Swedish Therians later became Ember Pack with the intention of accommodating more species that belonged to the supernatural community. It also served as a quasi-ally to Silver Pack.

Pariah Pack 2 was created in 2011 by Emily Shadowwalker and Moon. It was the successor of the Pariah Pack and focused on physical shifting. As time went on, the focus on physical shifting became less important, and topics like non-physical therianthropy and otherkinity would be more of their focus. Members would come to identify as therians, otherkin, or other non-physical nonhumans, and most would stop believing in physical shifting. Despite this, shifters were still allowed on the site and could debate their different view points with others who tended to be more on the skeptical side of things.

For a while, nonhuman sites would exist peacefully with each other. When conflict broke out on one site, members would often go to another site until the conflict was resolved. There was the occasional fight between site leaders, with those fights often having the topic of how another site leader ran their pack. Internal site conflicts were rare but did happen and would lead to mods deleting a forum on their site, explaining their motives, then leaving entirely.

Asides from packs, there would also be something called pods that were also on the internet during this time, the merfolk variant of packs and flocks. The most active merfolk communities around 2014 would be The Siren’s Cove (TSC), primarily ran by someone called Dessa and other folks that called themselves Lemurian princesses, Pandora’s Isle (PI), ran by Andromeda, and The Mermaid Academy, which was lead by Luna and Misty and a few others. TSC was hard to get into but was still the most active, which made other sites more popular when it came to being a part of groups and communities. After a year or two, TSC announced that it was shutting down, however it wasn’t permanently shut down.

Unfortunately, TSC was VERY toxic and had a lot of cult-like behavior due to the “Lemurian princesses”, which were folks who believed they were the reincarnations of the 12 Lemurian princesses (that correlated to the 12 virtues of Lemuria), and they claimed that they were going to be able to save the world with new age concepts of “moving into the 5D”. These Lemurian princesses would claim to be under attack by various types of entities and searched for “gatekeepers” that corresponded to the planets but was later changed to chakras. TSC (or specifically the Lemurian princesses) also had tendencies to alienate older shifters.

In these merfolk spaces, there would always be a strong crossover between wicca, paganism, and witchcraft, with some mer shifters saying that shifting is only possible through witchcraft, with these changes and theories in groups marking mer shifting as something only being able to be achieved through witchcraft. As these changes would hit communities, TSC would soon follow through with it, with members starting to doubt physical shifting being possible in this life completely, or only being possible with experimental types of witchcraft that was kept a secret, with one individual saying that they successfully shifted a caudal fin. There was more focus on spells, sea related witchcraft, and connections with the ocean before TSC was taken down completely because of expenses, communities becoming more inactive, and the era of “webs” related websites (the hosting service that TSC was held on) for merfolk shifting becoming less common.

TSC would later on reemerge on amino with two other groups also emerging and would create an “Atlantean princesses” group, which would create a lot of tension between Atlanteans and Lemurians, with Lemurians telling others that they had past lives as Lemurian warriors and that they were there to kill them. As time went on, the Atlantean group would also fall out because of an ex Lemurian harassing younger members (between the ages of 13-16) inappropriately, with one of these members speaking out about it and getting denounced by one of the Atlantean members for “not handling it privately”.

Regardless of the downfall that TSC and its related or similar communities had, the mer shifter community would still be around over messaging platforms (Kik was VERY popular during this time, around 2017, and many shifter/avian/other nonhuman related groups would be hosted there). There would be shifts from focusing on aesthetics to understanding survival around this time too, with many survival related guides popping up (especially on Wattpad).

This is the highest point of the community. Interest would level off here and there but there would be new packs that would make appearances, though there weren’t many sites that would reach the level of activity as the more popular or established ones.

The decline of the community would be shown in the later 2010s. Cyberpacks and physical shifting were being shown little interest, with some of the reasons being that some of the leaders of these packs realized they were therians or otherkin and either interest was lost or tried to remake their sites into more legitimate places. Also, Webs.com was the host of a lot of these sites, and it had been deteriorating for a while, with it becoming less accessible to mobile users. Newly awakened therians or otherkin went to newer sites that weren’t hosted on webs to continue to learn about therianthropy because the older sites became outdated and had technical problems. Adding on, a lot of interest and hype that once surrounded mythical and supernatural beings declined, and people who were looking for an escape from their lives returned to them as their interest faded. The decline came from people who lost interest, sites that became inactive or inaccessible, and the rise of social media quickly made an impact on forums (mainly sites like 43 Things or Experience Project).

At some point, some people from the nonhuman or shifter communities would turn out to have lied about their experiences and identities. Blaze would make a post that he never had the ability to shift, and was only imagining himself as a wolf when he said he was shifted. KissingMidnight’s shifted form would be exposed as photoshop, and she would admit this later. Although, as of 2021, KissingMidnight would say that photos of her scales were real, and the correction she made would possibly be the most recent anyone has heard from her. A few avians that made claims of having wings would come out to be fake as well. These folks may not have been the only ones to talk about their experiences but they were the most vocal about them. Soon enough, forums that were once active would be left with a few members, and only a few communities would stay strong, mainly Winged Ones and werewolfswebsite. Land of the Werewolf would fall inactive due to it moving. Pariah Pack 2 went inactive because of Emily leaving the therian community and not giving a new leader. Silver Pack would move from Webs to Forumotion and Facebook, and it had a library of articles and a small number of members that kept activity flowing. Regulars from before the peak of the shifting community would be active, with the community shrinking to a fraction of what it used to be.

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2020 and onwards:

The state of the current nonhuman community is hard to pinpoint, but there have been some small discord servers and blogs made that prove that physical shifters/nonhumans still exist. The nonhuman community as we know it today has remained disconnected from therian and otherkin spaces. The decline of the community has had its impact, and it has shown strongly in recent years, with websites being down, deleted or inactive, and the lack of anything relating to physical nonhumanity elsewhere (such as on youtube). Adding on, as of December 2025, the app Amino, where a lot of nonhuman and shifting spaces hosted their information, has shut down. The shutting down of Amino has been a devastating loss and a lot of information now has been lost to time.

Even though there has been a decline in the community, there has been some activity within smaller groups and communities. In 2025, a forum called Fully Awere would emerge (created by Tjezem), giving a new space for physical shifters and other nonhumans alike for a few months (roughly between April - June of 2025) before closing unexpectedly. There is also active discussion amongst physical nonhumans/shifters on Tumblr, and my own forum, Creaturecavern, has seen some activity, but it’s quiet. So while the community as a whole isn’t completely gone, it’s still less than what it used to be in the 2000s and 2010s.

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Sources:

Comet / Lanuea (an individual person)

A guide for Avians - Awtok. - Wattpad

➤My Mythical Reality - The Storm? - Wattpad

Orphic Ashes

https://courseofhorror.wordpress.com/2019/10/31/historically-speaking-count-draculas-shapeshifting-is-banal/#:~:text=However%2C%20the%20earliest%20depictions%20of,back%20to%20nearly%2013000%20BCE.

Otherkin Timeline Abridged | The Art and Writing of Orion Scribner (archive.org)

So The Archival Project... (spiritshifter.wixsite.com)

The History of the Online Shifter Community (Early Internet - 2018) (spiritshifter.wixsite.com)

Alt.horror.werewolves | Therianthropy | Fandom

Shapeshifting - Wikipedia

Epic of Gilgamesh - Wikipedia

Iliad - Wikipedia

https://www.theoi.com/Pontios/NereisThetis.html#:~:text=THETIS%20was%20a%20goddess%20of,her%20marry%20a%20mortal%20man.

Holothere

Therianthropy | Therianthropy | Fandom

Theta-Delta | Therianthropy | Fandom

https://endel.carrd.co/

Alterhuman - Alterhuman Wiki (miraheze.org)

Alterhumanity | Therianthropy | Fandom

Alterhuman | Otherkin Wiki | Fandom

Otherkin - Wikipedia

Otherkin | Alterhumanity Wiki | Fandom

The Flock Effect | Wiki | Alation - Grow Wings Amino (aminoapps.com)

Species Dysphoria | Therianthropy | Fandom

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Older sites/resources (early/mid 2000s - 2018):

Each link will be highlighted to indicate the different theme or species the website mainly focuses on. If there is no specific theme/species or if the website is a collection of different pieces of info/details or is vague but nonhuman centered, it will not be highlighted.

Some of these sites mention therians and otherkin - I have included these websites because they mention physical shifting and because some therianthropes would call themselves shifters as well. These terms back then were interchangeable unlike in modern times.

Avian/winged being/wing growth resources

Werewolves/other mammal shifters

Demons

Vampires/vampirism

Fae

Angels

Mermaids/merfolk

Mythical shifters (dragons, phoenixes, unicorns, griffins, kitsune, etc)

AWTOK/hunters/the storm or the war

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alt.horror.werewolves - Google Groups (1992 - warning that there’s a LOT of spam!)

WolfCountry The Werewolf Forest [ v 8.1.9 ] (1996)

WolfNote's Guide to Shifting (1996?)

Pinky's Realm (1997)

The WEREWeb (1997)

Were Information (geocities.ws) (1998)

Welcome to the Lair (1998)

Shadow's Den of the Supernatural: Info on real Vampires, Dragons, Fairies, werebeasts and other things. (1998)

The Shadow Wulfs Den (archive.org) (1999)

The Wolf Inside / News (1999?)

Lance Foxx's NOCTURNAL (1999?)

lycanthrope.org (2000?)

Welcome to Shifters.Org! (2001?)

Werebeasts (2001)

Werelist: Entryway (2001)

The Werewolf and Shapeshifter Codex: Fact, Folklore, Lycanthropy (archive.org) (2005?)

The Werelibrary (2006)

Akitha | A Therian Site (2008)

Home - Do You Have a Connection With The Moon? (2008)

Home - Howling Jaws (archive.org) (2009)

Home - Therianthropes and Werecreatures (archive.org) (2009)

Lessons - RTA Razgriz Therianthropy Academy (archive.org) (2009)

Home - Freedom Runners Pack (archive.org) (2009)

Home - Order of the Lamb (archive.org) (2009)

mermaids and other stuff - Home (2009)

Lycantherapy - Home (archive.org) (2009)

Home - The Pack (archive.org) (2009)

Home - Golden Eclipse Clan (archive.org) (2009 ish)

Shifting - The pack is swift, the alpha strong come now everyone its time to sing the lunar song. (archive.org) (2010)

SM Home - Shimmering Mist (archive.org) (2010)

Home - Serigala Pack (archive.org) (2010)

Wish Hunters - Home (archive.org) (2009-2010 ish)

Home - The Former Reclusive Shadows (archive.org) (2010 ish)

Home - Shadow Fangs (archive.org) (2010)

How To Become A Real Werewolf (archive.org) (2010, apparently a scam)

Home - Otherkin Circle (archive.org) (2010 ish)

Home - Winged Ones (archive.org) (2010 ish)

Home - Dream Catchers!!! (archive.org) (2010)

Home - House Atrum Nox Noctis (archive.org) (2010)

Home - Mythical Madness (2010)

Home - A place for mermaids and soon to be mermaids! (archive.org) (2010)

Mermaid Dreams - Home (2010)

Home - Path Reshoku Shifter Pack (archive.org) (2010)

Home - Guardian Weres (archive.org) (2010)

- Homepage (archive.org) (2010, it’s called werewolfswebsite)

Home - Howl At The Moon With Me (2010)

Home - Guardian Weres (2010)

Spirit Shifting (archive.org) (date unknown)

Home - New Dawn (archive.org) (2011 ish)

Home - Pariah Pack II (archive.org) (2011)

Home - We Are Metas (2011)

Home - An Angel's Blog (2011)

Home - Shoilse Were Pack (archive.org) (2011)

Home - Crystal Moon Wolf Pack (archive.org) (2011)

Home - Shadow Leopards Pack (archive.org) (2011)

Home - Elemental Wolves (archive.org) (2011)

Home - Recolitus Lupus Sarcina (archive.org) (2011 ish)

Pack Home Grounds - Full Moon Werewolf Pack (archive.org) (2011)

Home - Clawmoons Pack (archive.org) (2011 ish)

How to grow wings by WingedAce on 43 Things (2011)

"Mythical" Beingz (mythicalbeingz.blogspot.com) (2012 ish)

https://web.archive.org/web/20230829225711/https://wolfihavebecome.webs.com/ (2012 ish)

Home - Le Teme (archive.org) (2012 ish)

Tears of a Mermaid (archive.org) (2012 ish)

Site of a Merman (archive.org) (2012)

Warriors of the Sea (2012 ish)

Home - Mermology (2012 ish)

Home - Magic Is Not As It Seems (archive.org) (2012)

AWTOK, article by SkyBird (booksie.com) (2012 ish)

Home - AWTOK and More (2012)

Home - Mountain Rage Wolf Pack (archive.org) (2012)

www.soulpack.webs (archive.org) (2012 ish)

Home - Luna Pack (2012 ish)

Alchemist Pack (archive.org) (2012 ish)

Home - ~ The Winged Onez Flock ~ (archive.org) (2012)

Aurora Pack (archive.org) (2013 ish)

https://web.archive.org/web/20230823160950/https://shifterschool.webs.com/

(2013 ish)

Magickalhaven (2013 ish)

Home - The Truth About Mythicals (2013 ish)

Wings (2013 ish)

The Truth about Fairies (2013 ish)

Kin-Walkers (archive.org) (2013 ish)

Shapeshifting (2013)

Darkmoon Wolf Pack (archive.org) (2013 ish)

Home - cresent moon (archive.org) (2013 ish)

Whispering Wind's Mythical Haven (2013 ish)

The yin and yang of non-humans and the AWTOK, article by Spiriofflight (booksie.com) (2013)

Home - The Resistance (2013)

Imagine wings (archive.org) (2013 ish)

Wings for All (archive.org) (2013 ish)

Our Journey to Wings (2013 ish)

Home - Grow Wings (2013 ish)

WeWillGrowOurWings (2013 ish)

Free Wings - Our wings (2013 ish)

Supernatural Unveiled (archive.org) (2013 ish)

Vampire Coven (archive.org) (2013 ish)

Demons of the Shadows (archive.org) (2013 ish)

Unito Cuori (archive.org) (2013 ish)

SupernaturalWorld (2013 ish)

White Raven Flock (2013 ish)

The Berserker Family (archive.org) (2013 ish)

dragonegg (archive.org) (2013 ish)

Home - Razgriz (archive.org) (2013)

Dawn Rising Therian Pack (archive.org) (2013)

MermaidBlog14 (2013 ish)

mermaidsandmermen.webs.com (2013 ish)

Home - So you wanna be a mermaid... (archive.org) (2013)

Home - O c e a nT e m p l e (archive.org) (2013 ish)

Home - MoonlightMermaidsNight.com (2013 ish)

Spells (archive.org) (2014 ish)

Species Pack (2014)

Shadow Spirit Wolf Pack (2014 ish)

Design a Magic Academy (archive.org) (2014 ish)

Supernatural Academy (archive.org) (2014 ish)

Wolves of the Sky (archive.org) (2014 ish)

Becoming a Human Avian and Other Mythical Creatures - Blog (weebly.com)

(2014)

Dreamwings (2014 ish)

Guardiansofthesky (2014 ish)

Running with Wolves (archive.org) (2014 ish)

Strong Guardians (archive.org) (2014 ish)

Shadow Moon Pack (archive.org) (2014 ish)

Shadow Spirit Wolf Pack (archive.org) (2014 ish)

Stainless Blood Pack (archive.org) (2014 ish)

InfernoShadowsWolfPack (archive.org) (2014 ish)

Defeat A.W.T.O.K. Blog - Blog (weebly.com) (2014 ish)

https://nupoor97.wixsite.com/themermaidcove (2014)

https://fantasymerfolk.weebly.com/ (2014 ish)

The Ocean Guardians Pod (archive.org) (2014 ish)

All Categories - Kayla Kay's Blog (weebly.com) (2014 ish)

Chatzy - AWTOK and more chat (2014 ish)

Lemuria Warriors (archive.org) (2015-2016 ish)

Mermaid Academy (2015-2016 ish)

Pandora's Isle (archive.org) (2015 ish)

Mermaid's corner - Homepage and Fact & Myth- Mermaids (weebly.com) (date unknown)

SNO Blog (archive.org) (2015 ish)

Shifter's Alliance (2015)

Woodland Clan (2015 ish)

About - The Avian Project (weebly.com) (2015 ish)

wish to fly (2015 ish)

Firebloom (archive.org) (2015 ish)

SacredEnchantment (2015)

The Guiding Light (2015)

A.W.T.O.K. Rebellion (2107619.wixsite.com) (2015)

ANTI- A.W.T.O.K - Blog (weebly.com) (2015)

Tracking AWTOK and Other Hunters (2015 ish)

X Wing Sign Up (2015 ish)

I Am A Real Werewolf (2015)

Against AWTOK - Home (weebly.com) (2016 ish)

Hunters (archive.org) (2016 ish)

Between Souls (2016 ish)

Wing growth (tripod.com) (date unknown, might be 2016)

Nightwalker Council (archive.org) (2016 ish)

Landofthewerewolf | Werewolf | Australia | Therianthropy | (2016 ish)

Home - Were-Paradise (archive.org) (2016-2017)

To the destruction of AWTOK - Home (weebly.com) (2017 ish)

home (weebly.com) (2017 ish)

AWTOK Survival Wikia | FANDOM powered by Wikia (archive.org) (2017 ish)

HOME | therians-home (rrismyname.wixsite.com) (2017, is a therian website but mentions physical shifting)

web.archive.org/web/20210307110809/https://thestarforge.webs.com/ (active 2014-2016, deleted in 2017-2018)

https://alationavians.wixsite.com/mysite (2016-2018, abandoned in 2020)

Defeat A.W.T.O.K. - Home (weebly.com) (date unknown)

Always watching. . . - Home (weebly.com) (date unknown)

Weresite #1 -Wolves - Main page (weebly.com) (date unknown, also mentions therians but seems to be a physical shifter site)

Blue Moon Wolf Pack (archive.org) (date unknown)

Essence Pack (archive.org) (date unknown)

Mermaid Dreamers - Home (weebly.com) (date unknown)

Ember Pack II (archive.org) (date unknown)

Soul of the Shifter (archive.org) (date unknown)

Of Arda/Eryn Erellon (archive.org) (date unknown)

Home - Ice Moon Pack (archive.org) (date unknown)

thesupernaturralones.webs.com (archive.org) (date unknown)

https://web.archive.org/web/20210306224643/https://syngenispack.webs.com/ (date unknown)

Shadow pack (archive.org) (date unknown)

Agrios Pack (archive.org) (date unknown)

Growing Wings for Life (date unknown, probably around 2015?)

Supernaturals vs. Awtok (date unknown)

star pack (date unknown)

The howl of the Therians (date unknown)

The Imperial Veil (archive.org) (date unknown)

Return to the Sea (archive.org) (date unknown)

The Mermaid Academy (archive.org) (date unknown)

werewolf pack (date unknown)

Featured | Alation - Grow Wings Amino (date unknown, started possibly between 2019 - 2020)

———————————————————————————

Newer sites/resources (2019 onwards):

shapeshifting (archive.org) (2019 ish)

Home (google.com) (Phénexus Weyr, 2020?)

Earthen Dragonology (ueuo.com) (date unknown, 2019-2020?)

The Supernatural Database (google.com) (2020-2022 ish)

Diary Of A Mythical - Blog (weebly.com) (2020)

Orphic Ashes (2021-2022 ish)

MYTHICAL ARCHIVE (2022 ish)

LET ME INTO THE SKY (neocities.org) (2022)

Shifter's Eden (spiritshifter.wixsite.com) (2023-2024 ish)

shiftersarchive – an archive of pshifter information… (wordpress.com) (2024?)

Pshifting (2024?)

Home | Creaturecavern (technically made in 2024 but didn’t start becoming active till 2025)

Home | Fully Awere (2025)

Nonhuman's Archival Library (2026)

Alation Archive - Google Docs (date unknown, possibly between 2025 - 2026)

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Screenshots, videos, and misc things/links:

(The slightly less organized section where anything goes)

((5) Is the AWTOK organization real? - Quora)

While AWTOK isn’t real, this was an interesting read and I thought I would put it here.

(AWTOK (weebly.com))

Awtok (youtube.com)

AWTOK Rebellion (join us April 29) (youtube.com)

Awtok Awareness and Rebellion Update (youtube.com)

Awtok Rebellion (youtube.com)

Rise against awtok (youtube.com)

https://youtube.com/@accaliasilverfangbayoe1236?si=HNMS-sjdylRIKA0U

Alice Voltaire - YouTube

WARNING: MUST WATCH THIS || LIVES AT STAKE || Topic: AWTOK - YouTube

Awtok - YouTube (playlist)

(Akitha | A Therian Site)

Some early examples of proof of shapeshifting from the wulf9000 website (linked above).

(Photos)

Someone’s wing growth progress from 2014.

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Misc notes:

I put notes and other bits of information here if I can’t find somewhere to place it in the timeline.

It was common for groups in earlier communities to have cliques or “micro cults” revolving around past lives.

Since there’s a lack of widespread knowledge on nonhuman origins, it was also common to see people make claims that they were “the last” of their species, or the “only” type of species, whether it was through their past life/lives or their physical form.

Phenexus and Orphic Ashes are run by the same people, with Phenexus being inactive for a very long time but Orphic Ashes still exists, mainly as a group chat between friends.

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