History Main / WorkingClassWerewolves

** Inez states that centuries ago, it wasn't uncommon for poor people to make deals with the Devil or other werewolves to gain a werewolf's abilities; back then life could be particularly harsh for someone with a low socio-economic status, so the idea of becoming a werewolf would tempting to many despite the downsides (such as potentially losing your soul and dooming your descendants to be werewolves too).

'''Inez''': Once it was not at all uncommon. In the Middle Ages life could be an ugly, painful existence if you were very poor, and the price of your soul did not seem too much to pay for the powers of the werewolf.

* ''Literature/TheHowling1977'': Many of the werewolves of [[TownWithADarkSecret Drago]] work ordinary, low-earning jobs: [[spoiler:Marcia and the Jolivets]] run shops, [[spoiler:Anton Gadak]] is the unofficial sheriff and so probably doesn't get paid for his work, while [[spoiler:Volkmann]] is the local GP who operates out of his house. The town itself is a bit rundown and visibly poor with several closed businesses, there isn't even a post office and it doesn't get a lot of outside visitors. It's implied the werewolves are generally content to keep it this way, as it allows them to retain a lower profile and avoid unwanted attention from outsiders.

* ''Literature/TheHowling1977'': Many of the werewolves of [[TownWithADarkSecret Drago]] work ordinary, low-earning jobs: [[spoiler:Marcia and the Jovilets]] run shops, [[spoiler:Anton Gadak]] is the unofficial sheriff and so probably doesn't get paid for his work, while [[spoiler:Volkmann]] is the local GP who operates out of his house. The town itself is a bit rundown and visibly poor with several closed businesses, there isn't even a post office and it doesn't get a lot of outside visitors. It's implied the werewolves are generally content to keep it this way, as it allows them to retain a lower profile and avoid unwanted attention from outsiders.

* Zig-zagged in ''Film/WolfMikeNichols''. After being bitten by a werewolf, Will Randall loses his white collar job as an editor-in-chief and finds out his wife is cheating on him (''with'' the guy who ousted him from his job). However, he soon embraces his newfound abilities, standing up to his boss, improving his work and sex life, getting his old job back and generally manages to bounce back better than ever...when he's not going feral every other night and savaging/accidentally turning the townsfolk into werewolves, that is.
* Inverted in ''Film/TheWolfman2010'', where the titular character [[spoiler:and his werewolf dad too, as it turns out]] lives on a fancy country estate.

* ''ComicBook/{{Squad}}'': Inverted. All of the werewolves we see are filthy rich. The poorest one, Becca, is ''at least'' upper-middle class.

* Zigzagged in ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'', where different ''kinds'' of werewolf are depicted as having different socioeconomic status. Of the four types introduced in ''Fool Moon'', the spell-changing Alphas are college kids who mostly go on to have successful middle to upper-middle class lives and careers. The Hexenwulfen are professionals [[spoiler: with the FBI]] and dress well, apart from their wolf-transformation belts. The loup garou is a wealthy and powerful man, heir to a ''very'' old and influential family through which his were-curse has been passed down. Only the lycanthropes, human-looking but bestially-vicious criminal bikers who operate out of a garage, really live up to this trope's expectations.
** This also plays something of a role in how the spell-changing form of werewolf became popular, as it spread among peasants during the Dark Ages. As Bob the Skull points out to Harry, the ability to have a warm coat and hunt for prey animals during times of famine was a big incentive.

* In ''Literature/NightWorld'', [[spoiler: Jeremy Lovett]] is a teen werewolf who lives in a trailer in the woods, works as a gas station attendant and handyman to earn money and has clothes that "aren't as nice as some of the other kids'". His uncle, who was also a werewolf, lived in the trailer too and spent his time dowsing for gold in the wilderness before disappearing. It's mentioned that werewolves are generally seen as 'second-class citizens' by the Night World; they have no representation on the Night World Council, most of the werewolves we meet in the series are employed as bouncers or {{Mook}}s and they're (unfairly) dismissed by some as being [[LowerClassLout stupid and brutish]].
* In ''Literature/TheTwilightSaga'', Jacob Black and the rest of the werewolves (although they're technically "[[TotallyNotAWerewolf shapeshifters who can turn into wolves]]") live on a Native American reservation (which are notorious for high poverty rates) in rather rundown houses (or at the very least, Jacob's house is quite humble) and often wear little but denim cut-offs. This a sharp contrast to the vampiric Cullens who regularly show off their wealth with their CoolCars and BigFancyHouse, and own an entire island off the coast of Brazil. It even comes up in the VampireWerewolfLoveTriangle; Jacob gives Bella a second-hand truck he fixed up and a handmade wolf charm on a bracelet as gifts, whilst Edward gives her an Audi and a diamond heart charm.

* The werewolf (or loup-garou) pack at the center of ''Literature/BloodAndChocolate'' used to run a ranch, allowing them to live together as a community and earn a living. However, their ranch was burnt down, so now they're scattered across town and taking any jobs they can get to get by. [[spoiler:At the end of the novel, new pack leader Gabriel is able to save up enough money for them to buy an inn in the countryside, so while they're not rolling in it they're in a much better financial position than before]].

Unlike vampires, who tend to be portrayed as [[VampiresAreRich well-off]], elegantly-dressed BlueBlood, werewolves are often depicted in fiction as being impoverished, or at the very least working-class, especially if they appear alongside vampires. They frequently live in shabby houses (occasionally displaying signs of damage inflicted by their occupants when they've unleashed their bestial forms) and have [[LimitedWardrobe limited wardrobes]] (which is sometimes used as an excuse for them to [[{{Fanservice}} go around shirtless]], particularly in modern media).

Unlike vampires, who tend to be portrayed as [[VampiresAreRich well-off]], werewolves are often depicted in fiction as being impoverished, or at the very least working-class, especially if they appear alongside vampires. They frequently live in shabby houses (occasionally displaying signs of damage inflicted by their occupants when they've unleashed their bestial forms) and have [[LimitedWardrobe limited wardrobes]] (which is sometimes used as an excuse for them to [[{{Fanservice}} go around shirtless]], particularly in modern media).

* ''Film/{{Underworld}}'': Lycans were once slaves to the vampires, living in squalor and wearing rags. After their rebellion their conditions improved slightly, but they still seem to be stuck living in abandoned buildings or even sewers and have far fewer resources than the vampires, who tend to live in mansions and throw swanky parties. A notable aversion is ''Film/UnderworldAwakening'', where it's revealed that Lycans control [[spoiler: Antigen, a wealthy pharmaceutical company]].

* Zig-zagged in ''Film/{{Wolf}}''. After being bitten by a werewolf, Will Randall loses his white collar job as an editor-in-chief and finds out his wife is cheating on him (''with'' the guy who ousted him from his job). However, he soon embraces his newfound abilities, standing up to his boss, improving his work and sex life, getting his old job back and generally manages to bounce back better than ever...when he's not going feral every other night and savaging/accidentally turning the townsfolk into werewolves, that is.

Unlike vampires, who tend to be portrayed as [[VampiresAreRich well-off]], werewolves are often depicted in fiction as being impoverished, or at the very least working-class, especially if they appear alongside vampires. They frequently live in shabby houses (occasionally displaying signs of damage inflicted by their occupants when they've unleashed their bestial forms) and have [[LimitedWardrobe limited wardrobes]] (which is sometimes used as an excuse for them [[{{Fanservice}} go round shirtless]], particularly in modern media).

* In the ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' films, as in the novels, Jacob and the other werewolves have very humble backgrounds in comparison to the vampiric Cullens and don't tend to have a lot of clothes. This is fully taken advantage of by the filmmakers to give [[MrFanservice Jacob]] an opportunity to strip off or [[WalkingShirtlessScene walk around shirtless]] in just about every scene he's in.

* In ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'', Jacob Black and the rest of the werewolves (although they're technically "[[TotallyNotAWerewolf shapeshifters who can turn into wolves]]") live on a Native American reservation (which are notorious for high poverty rates) in rather rundown houses (or at the very least, Jacob's house is quite humble) and often wear little but denim cut-offs. This a sharp contrast to the vampiric Cullens who regularly show off their wealth with their CoolCars and BigFancyHouse, and own an entire island off the coast of Brazil. It even comes up in the VampireWerewolfLoveTriangle; Jacob gives Bella a second-hand truck he fixed up and a handmade wolf charm on a bracelet as gifts, whilst Edward gives her an Audi and a diamond heart charm.

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* The [[WolfMan werewolf father]] in ''Anime/WolfChildren'' was a truck driver- he meets his future wife in a college class when she offers to share her book because he can't afford one. Later his children, also werewolves, grow up poor, living far out in the country because of the difficulties their mother faces raising two wolf-kids in the city.
[[/folder]]

* ''WesternAnimation/LoveDeathAndRobots'' has a variation; one episode features a pair of werewolves who have joined the U.S. Marines. (Military service, especially enlisted soldiers, typically being the domain of the lower and middle classes.) They end up fighting some werewolves from the terrorists' side, who live in stereotypical Middle-Eastern poverty.

Unlike vampires, who tend to be portrayed as [[VampiresAreRich well-off]], werewolves are often depicted in fiction as being impoverished or at the very least working-class, especially if they appear alongside vampires. They frequently live in shabby houses (occasionally displaying signs of damage inflicted by their occupants when they've unleashed their bestial forms) and have [[LimitedWardrobe limited wardrobes]] (which is sometimes used as an excuse for them [[{{Fanservice}} go round shirtless]], particularly in modern media).