A howl is a term from the early days of the werecommunity, and it refers to a gathering where weres meet in person. Often, a howl takes the form of a group of weres going camping, or sometimes, merely "camping out" at someone's home.

Not all were-gatherings are necessarily called Howls these days. Some people feel it's a wolf-centric term, or have other reasons for calling them something else. Some gatherings, hosted by feline types have been called "meows", in a kind of whimsical response to the term "howl".

While most howls and gatherings were initially open to all weres who wanted to attend, some of them have instituted policies for being invited, in response to difficulties experienced in the past. The fact that most of our community meets through the internet -more or less anonymously- probably made that inevitable. When you hear about a gathering you wish to attend, you'll generally need to contact the organizers to find out what the rules are.

Some howls are still relatively open, while some want to make extra sure they know who is coming first.

Howls occur several times a year in the USA, and there are also Howls hosted in Europe, Australia, and other countries. Weres sometimes gather in larger celebrations like the Burning Man.

Attendance at a howl may be as few as four or five people, or, occasionally, as many as thirty. They are generally fairly informal as social gatherings go.