Clap for the
Wolfman
    In the 1960s, a disk jockey from Brooklyn, New York, named Bob Smith created the personna Wolfman Jack and rode it to stardom.
    Wolfman Jack, who began broadcasting out of Mexico, soon attained fame in the U.S., appeared in the 1973 George Lucas film American Graffiti, then hosted the national NBC-TV concert show The Midnight Special, which broadcast for eight and a half years. Altogether, he made more than 80 television appearances on a variety of shows, including Married ... with Children, Wonder Woman and Odd Couple. He also inspired popular songs by several artists.

Werewolf Humor
    
    Where does a werewolf stay when he's on vacation?
    At the Howliday Inn

• See the trailer for the upcoming Underworld: Rise of the Lycans.

• Few films blend humor and horror as masterfully as 1981's An American Werewolf in London.


Get Your
Shriek On!
    Check out the top horror books, CDs, DVDs, video downloads and more at The Shriek Shop. If you dare.



 

Werewolf? There Wolf
    The belief that people can willingly or unwillingly transform into wolves or wolf-like creatures or in some way vividly take on the characteristics of wolves was widespread in ancient days and some people still believe in the phenomenon. The grisly drawing above is a 16th-century illustration of an imagined werewolf attack.
    While folklore and literature contain countless tales of humans transforming into various animals, the wolf has emerged as the undisputed leader of the shape-shifting pack, in part because of what wolves represent symbolically in the popular imagination. The wolf traditionally is seen as a loner and a outcast, and civilization has shunned it for its deadly carnivorous nature. That is to say, for behaving in a way that is natural to wolves. This image of the wolf as a social outlaw is one reason many nonconformists feel a kinship with the beast and its mythological cousin the werewolf.
    The earliest known literary reference to a man turning into a wolf is Epic of Gilgamesh, which debuted in 2000 BC.
    These humans who become wolf-like are said to suffer from "lycanthropy." While the myths vary, a common version is that if someone is bitten by a werewolf and survives, that victim will himself become a werewolf on the next full moon. As a werewolf, the person will kill and eat people, revelling in their blood. Then, in the morning, the werewolf turns back into a person, until, of course, the next full moon. Magic, witchcraft or some other sorcery are also commonly at play in werewolf stories.
    In the past, fear of werewolves led folks to become suspicious of anyone sporting connecting eyebrows, unusual back hair or a rare spinal condition that results in what appears to be a tiny tail.
    From a religious standpoint, some ancient Christian theologians suggested werewolves exist and are the result of demonic possession.
    While vampires seem to have cornered the market on monstrous sensuality, werewolves hold down their niche as the creatures of unbridled lust. The uncontrollable urge to transform is seen as a parallel to the adolescent sex drive, and the sudden appearance of body hair correlates to the emergence of pubescence. Not to mention the urge to rip off one's clothes and run around naked.
    As Shakespearean actor William Kempe once noted, "I think we all have to fight the werewolf within us somehow."
    If the prospect of turning into a werewolf troubles you, be aware that today some American insurance companies will, for a small premium, insure you for that eventuality. Similar policies are available for those concerned about becoming a vampire or falling victim to immaculate conception.

Werewolves of Hollywood
    One of the most famous big-screen werewolves was Lon Chaney Jr., son of the silent-film of "Phantom of the Opera." Chaney Jr. made his first real splash on the public scene when he starred in 1939's "Of Mice and Men." It was, however, his role as the morose, reluctant werewolf Lawrence Talbot in "The Wolf Man" (1941) for which he is best remembered.
    Upon returning to Wales from years in America, Talbot settles into his family home, then meets and falls for a local girl. One night, one of the gypsies turns into a werewolf and attacks a girl, and Talbot saves her by beating the werewolf to death with a cane that has a silver wolf's head. However, during the fight, he is bitten. A gypsy woman warns him that anyone bitten by a werewolf will become one himself.
    The famous verse she recites is:
    
    Even the man who is pure at heart
    And who says his prayers at night
    May become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms
    And the autumn moon is bright.
    
    The prophecy proves, well, prophetic.
    While Chaney's career as a "serious" lead actor pretty much ended with "The Wolf Man," it is worth noting that he is the only actor of his time who went on to play featured roles as, not only the Wolf Man, but Frankenstein, Dracula and the Mummy. Later in life, he battled alcoholism and throat cancer. He did, however, go on to enjoy some success in smaller, supporting roles, notable for director Stanley Kramer. He died in 1973 of liver cancer.
   

His Bite is Much Worse than His Bark
    When an English werewolf sinks his teeth into a yankee tourist, it's a bloody disaster in more ways than one. That's the storyline behind the 1981 John Landis classic, An American Werewolf in London.
    

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