Because the breakout character in the gothic soap opera turned out to be a vampire (Barnabas Collins) small wonder the undead are most associated with Dark Shadows.  But in truth large numbers of other supernatural creatures also wandered the environs of Collinsport, Maine.  Ghosts, witches, warlocks, a zombie or two–and several werewolves.

First came Chris Jennings.  He first arrived in Collinsport to investigate the death of his twin brother Tom (who’d fallen victim to a vampire and eventually had to be destroyed).  The twins also had a much-younger sister, Amy.  Upon his arrival, Chris seemed odd.  Melancholy, acting as if he had some really big secret, which of course he did.  Our first real clue came when he chained himself up in his hotel room on the night of a full moon.  Alas, the proprietor of the Collinsport Inn didn’t take too seriously the young man’s insistence he be left alone.  Over the next few weeks we learned more, as Chris reluctantly remained in town to provide some kind of stability for his sister.  Amy herself sometimes looked at people and saw a pentagram on their faces–someone no one else could.  Chris alas freaked out upon hearing this.  In time he revealed how he’d changed for the first time in the presence of his fiancee Sabrina.  He assumed her dead, but later learned she had gone catatonic, her hair bleached white by the horror of it.  Later, her brother brought her to Collinsport, always in an effort to learn what had happened.  Eventually she got better, determined to help the man she loved.

About this time, something truly (wonderfully) convoluted happened.  After a closed off room in the Collinwood mansion was opened up again, the ghost of a man from the 1890s began to haunt the great house atop the hill.  They soon learned his name–Quentin Collins.  Played by David Selby, the looming figure with long sideburns was somehow connected to Chris, and to a silver pendant of the pentagram found in a secret grave.  Eventually, a pair of characters traveled back to the year 1897 where they learned the truth.  Quentin had married and abandoned a gypsy girl named Jenny, who eventually died.  Her sister cursed Quentin to become a werewolf–but only later learned Jenny given birth to a pair of twins!  The curse would follow the eldest males of the bloodline (which is why Tom and Amy were not themselves werewolves).  Desperate to remove the curse, she then tried tracking down the severed hand of a man who had also been a werewolf–a powerful magic user by the name of Count Petofi.

Petofi proved a strange and fascinating antagonist.  Seemingly immortal, he had invested mugh of his power into that hand and he wanted it back!  As part of a much larger scheme he also found a way to cure–or at least successfully treat–Quentin’s own lycanthropy.  Taking a page from The Portrait of Dorian Grey, he had an artist make a painting of Quentin and when done it was that painting that changed into a wolf rather than Quentin himself!  One niggling side effect–the painting also aged for him, so Quentin was rendered virtually immortal.  Why would Petofi do such a thing? Turned out he wanted to escape some powerful enemies, and stealing Quentin’s body was his way of doing it.

The rules of werewolves in Dark Shadows seemed relatively straightforward.  A victim became a werewolf via a curse or inheritance.  Could the survivor of a bite become one himself?  Such never came up.  On three nights of the full moon, the werewolf (always male) turned into a creature very much like that of Lon Chaney Jr. in The Wolf Man, in effect a wolf-like man.  Governed by rage, these creatures could be controlled by someone of sufficient occult power.  The only way to hurt or kill one was with silver, so the iconic silver wolf’s head cane of the series proved very useful more than once.  Evidently women in the cursed bloodlines could see perspective prey of the werewolf with visions, as Amy did.

Perhaps most interestingly, in a later storyline it turned out werewolves were the natural enemy of a kind of Lovecraftian demon known as Leviathans.  When Jeb Hawkes, a human-form version of the Leviathans, learned a werewolf haunted Collinsport he went into a total panic.  He described their savagery as the only real danger to one of his kind.

Alas, on the show, Chris Jennings never found a cure for his affliction.  Sam Hall, one of the writers of the show, later wrote an article for T.V.Guide describing how he saw the stories continuing.  This included tragedy for Chris and Sabrina.  Eventually she was killed by the beast, and Chris in despair committed suicide.

For the new movie, Tim Burton and Seth Graham-Smith in the end also included a werewolf, to add to the vampire, ghosts and witch in the most recent version of the show.  Without revealing who it is, said werewolf looks much more like a blend of wolf with human, including legs that clearly show a more lupine shape.  We also learn this werewolf became that way via a bite.  Other versions, like the 1991 revival series, didn’t last long enough to bring in a werewolf.

- David

About the Author
David MacDowell Blue blogs at zahirblue.blogspot.com.  He graduated from the National Shakespeare Conservatory and is the author of The Annotated Carmilla. He’s currently writing a vampire novel titled Winter Isle and a nonfiction book Your Vampire Story (and how to write it).

Related posts:

1. The Werewolves of Dark Shadows
2. Big Wolf on Campus
3. The False Wolf

Rob Zombie just recently finished production on his latest film The Lords of Salem, and Screen Crush caught up with him to get an update on his very much talked about fake trailer for Werewolf Women of the SS, as well as his non werewolf-related project Tyrannosaurus Rex.

“Well neither of those are film projects I’m working on, ‘Werewolf Women of the SS’ was just what it was, it was a fake trailer for a Quentin Tarantino movie. That’s all it was ever suppose to be, it was never going to be a full movie. ‘Tyrannosaurus Rex’ is a script that I wrote, that I have but it’s not planned anytime soon.

We finished ‘Lords of Salem’ and I’ll be doing music for the next year and a half within that year in a half maybe we’ll do ‘Tyrannosaurus Rex’ maybe not. I don’t know what the next movie is – we’ll figure that out.”

So that confirms it, there will never be a full Werewolf Women of the SS movie, just a bizarre fake trailer.

For those that haven’t seen the trailer, check it out below.
Warning: 18+ NSFW. There is a lot of nudity in the trailer!

It would have made an interesting film. Not the type of movie I’d ever want to see, but I can imagine a lot of werewolf fans and nazisploitation fans loving it.

Anyone here disappointed that Werewolf Women of the SS won’t be made into a movie?

- Moonlight

About the Author
Moonlight (aka Amanda) loves to write about, read about and learn about everything pertaining to werewolves and other supernatural beasties. She writes for top genre sites like Vampires.com and Werewolves.com. You will most likely find her huddled over a book of folklore with coffee in hand. Touch her coffee and you may lose a limb. You can stalk her via her Twitter.

Related posts:

1. Werewolf Women of the SS Movie?
2. Little Women and Werewolves Rejection Letter
3. Little Women & Werewolves

“When fugitive magician Lucas MacGuffin bungles a museum robbery, he finds himself bound to an ancient amulet, trapped in a city in high-tech lockdown, and suddenly fighting the urge to scratch himself.

As a human, Lucas is agile and cunning. As a gigantic wolf, he’d rather smash anything in his way. Only by transforming between the two forms, cleverly utilizing both sets of skills, will he stand any chance of lifting his curse.

Along the way he’ll need to befriend a hilarious cast of characters, convince the city its most beloved citizen is a terrifying criminal mastermind, and hardest of all, teach his daughter it isn’t funny to fill the fridge with dog food.

This addictive puzzler will win over casual and seasoned players alike. Gamers on the go can enjoy a quick, fun fix, with a seamlessly integrated hints system to keep them moving. And veteran adventure game fans will be hooked by the razor-sharp dialogue, treasure-trove of secrets and engaging story.

With charming hand-drawn art, quirky quests and insanely catchy music, MacGuffin’s Curse is a story brimming with humour, personality and heart.”

Features:

• Switch between wolf and human forms to solve 150+ inventive and rewarding puzzle rooms.
• Combines the logical challenges of the classic top-down video games with the quick-witted dialogue and sidequests of a vintage point-and-click adventure.
• Thousands of lines of comedic dialogue and descriptions. You’ll want to examine each and every park bench!
• Challenge without frustration! Stuck on a room? P.I. Strump is on the line to help you along (between insults) with a multi-level hint system.
• Playable casually in tiny bursts, or as a sprawling full-length adventure.
• No shoddy ports! MacGuffin’s Curse was developed simultaneously for PC, Mac, iPhone and iPad.
• A rich, compelling world – explore the surreal nightlife and history of an ancient carnival city in high-tech lockdown!
• An insanely catchy soundtrack spanning spooky strings, acoustic gypsy power-rock and retro chiptunes.
• Unlockable Comics, Post-Game Challenges, Easter Eggs, Commentary and other bonuses to keep players coming back long after the credits have rolled

You can check out the game at its official website HERE.

Here’s the trailer for the game:

Who will give this game a play?

- Moonlight

About the Author
Moonlight (aka Amanda) loves to write about, read about and learn about everything pertaining to werewolves and other supernatural beasties. She writes for top genre sites like Vampires.com and Werewolves.com. You will most likely find her huddled over a book of folklore with coffee in hand. Touch her coffee and you may lose a limb. You can stalk her via her Twitter.

Related posts:

1. Werewolf – Curse of Pandora: Board Game for the iPad!
2. Latest Werewolf Video Game: Wolf Team
3. Attention Clawdeen Fans! Monster High Video Game Out Now!

First up is the trailer:

So much awesome! I wasn’t too excited about the second season until I saw this trailer. There is so much going down in Season 2 and I can’t wait. From the looks of the trailer the show is going to be edgier, darker and even bloodier than before.

Here’s what the trailer reveals so far:

• Allison is going to have a lot of issues with her love for Scott the werewolf and her werewolf hunting family. Her dad even tries to kill the young wolf.
• Derek is going around turning damn near everyone into a werewolf, including Jackson.
• There’s some new kind of monstrous shapeshifter in town that is going on a murderous rampage, and the new monster knows Stiles.
• The werewolf hunters have declared war and they’re no longer playing nice.

Lots of gory and dramatic goodies coming our way! I am definitely excited and I hope the second season is as good as it looks so far.

No for the brand new Season 2 cast photos:

I really like that cast photo. It has a bit of a message to it. It looks like Stiles still wants to save Scott, but Scott is pulling away. The other photos are great as well.

What do you guys think of the trailer? Are you excited for the second season? What do you think about the pictures?

- Moonlight

About the Author
Moonlight (aka Amanda) loves to write about, read about and learn about everything pertaining to werewolves and other supernatural beasties. She writes for top genre sites like Vampires.com and Werewolves.com. You will most likely find her huddled over a book of folklore with coffee in hand. Touch her coffee and you may lose a limb. You can stalk her via her Twitter.

Related posts:

1. First Teaser Trailer of ‘Teen Wolf’ Season 2: Trust the Instinct
2. MTV’s ‘Teen Wolf’ Trailer Leaked… and it’s lame
3. Teen Wolf Signed on for a Second Season!

“Discover the story of how one strange night forever transformed one teenager’s life, when MTV’s hit show “TEEN WOLF” Season 1 comes to DVD May 22 from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.  Nominated for six Teen Choice Awards®, Season 1 is a must-own for every fan, with an exclusive never-before-seen extended season finale, deleted and extended content and behind-the-scenes extras with the sizzling, breakout stars of the show.  “TEEN WOLF” stars some of young Hollywood’s finest, including Tyler Posey (Scott McCall), Crystal Reed (Allison Argent), Tyler Hoechlin (Derek Hale), Dylan O’Brien (Stiles), Holland Roden (Lydia Martin) and Colton Haynes (Jackson Whittemore).  The series will return for a second season this summer on MTV.

MTV’s “TEEN WOLF” is a sexy, suspenseful drama about transformation set against the backdrop of contemporary teen life, with a forbidden, romantic love story at its core, making it a fresh and different take on the iconic movie.  Always an outsider and often unnoticed, Scott McCall yearns to be recognized in some small way that takes him out of his typical state of high school anonymity. When his best friend Stiles convinces him to go into the woods one night to join a police search for a dead body, Scott encounters a creature in the darkness. Narrowly escaping an attack with a vicious bite in his side, the next day brings strange surprises for Scott at school and his life will never be the same.”

GIVEAWAY DETAILS
To enter into the giveaway all you have to do is send an email titled “Teen Wolf” to contest@darkness.com telling me why you want the DVD. On May 14, 2011 I will pick two winners for a copy of Teen Wolf Season 1. US and Canadian residents only.

Added note: the winner has 48 hours to respond, if they don’t within that time then the DVD goes to someone else, so make sure to check your email on the 14th!

- Moonlight

About the Author
Moonlight (aka Amanda) loves to write about, read about and learn about everything pertaining to werewolves and other supernatural beasties. She writes for top genre sites like Vampires.com and Werewolves.com. You will most likely find her huddled over a book of folklore with coffee in hand. Touch her coffee and you may lose a limb. You can stalk her via her Twitter.

Related posts:

1. First Look at Teen Wolf Season 2
2. Teen Wolf Signed on for a Second Season!
3. First Teaser Trailer of ‘Teen Wolf’ Season 2: Trust the Instinct

Here are some starting points. Some things to keep in mind…

• Is your werewolf CGI, a real wolf, or elaborate makeup and costume?
• Does it walk on all fours or does it stand upright.
• Is it a blend of wolf and human? Does it look more like a wolf or human? Does it have deep human eyes or eerie wolf eyes?
• What is its coloring? Black, white, gray… etc?
• How big will it be? How much muscle?
• Is your werewolf supposed to be scary?
• Think of little details like the tail, the ears, the eye color, the feet… etc.

Now that I have got you started, I shall leave the rest to you my Dear Readers.

If given the chance to design a werewolf for film, what would you make your werewolves look like?

- Moonlight

About the Author
Moonlight (aka Amanda) loves to write about, read about and learn about everything pertaining to werewolves and other supernatural beasties. She writes for top genre sites like Vampires.com and Werewolves.com. You will most likely find her huddled over a book of folklore with coffee in hand. Touch her coffee and you may lose a limb. You can stalk her via her Twitter.

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Why do I find this so unbelievable? Because they are remaking the Van Helsing movie that came out in 2004 and starred Hugh Jackman and Kate Beckinsale. Tom Cruise will be playing the exact role Hugh played just a few years ago. It seems so ridiculous to do a remake so quickly after the original.

The original, as every werewolf fan knows, featured one of the greatest looking werewolves in movie history. I have lost count of how many times readers have told me how much they loved the wolf of Van Helsing. On top of awesome werewolves, this flick made 300 million at the box office, so the remake is going to have to go above and beyond to even match the original.

According to E! Online, Universal Pictures will reboot the film with Cruise as the title character. This version will be produced by sci-fi fantasy vets Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, who are best known for writing  Star Trek, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Mission: Impossible III and Cowboys and Aliens.

As I have said many times in the past, I am not a fan of the original. I seem to be one of the very few people out there that feels this way, but I honestly hated Van Helsing.  It was way WAY too cheesy and campy. It didn’t help that one moment it was totally serious and the next it’s a campy comedy. That didn’t work for me, it felt off and messy. I hated it. I did, however, love Kate Beckinsale in a corset. That got the flick some sexy bonus points.

While I think it’s ridiculous that they are doing a remake so soon after the original and even though I despise Tom Cruise, I am surprisingly excited for the new Van Helsing. I think it’s mainly because I was so disappointed by the first one and I am hoping the second doesn’t fail so hard.

What do you think of them doing a Van Helsing remake staring Tom Cruise? Do you hope the werewolves in the remake are as awesome as the original?

- Moonlight

About the Author
Moonlight (aka Amanda) loves to write about, read about and learn about everything pertaining to werewolves and other supernatural beasties. She writes for top genre sites like Vampires.com and Werewolves.com. You will most likely find her huddled over a book of folklore with coffee in hand. Touch her coffee and you may lose a limb. You can stalk her via her Twitter.

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1. Teen Wolf Remake
2. Monster Squad Remake – Gasp!
3. ‘The Howling’ Gets A Remake

First up is the latest big casting news – Vik Sahay, who is best known for his comedic work on NBC’s Chuck and the recent American Reunion movie, has been signed on as one of the leading roles in Wer.

According to Sahay, his character and the world William Brent Bell and Matt Peterman created were just too fascinating to walk away from. “At first I struggled making the decision to do the film because I was offered a TV pilot and have had such a great experience with television.” said Sahay. “But I haven’t done much horror in the past and thanks to William and Matt’s script, I will be taken back into dramatic waters after many wonderful years in comedy.”

As for the story of Wer, well, it is set in Paris and follows an investigation of a gruesome slaying of a family. Sahay is a member of the defense team which learns its client, who is suspect in the slayings, is a werewolf.

Sahay joins A.J. Cook (Criminal Minds), Simon Quarterman (The Devil Inside) and Brian J. O’Connor (Epic Movie).

Wer starts shooting in Bucharest, Romania this month and is being produced by FilmDistrict (Insidious).

What do you think of what little we know about Wer so far?

- Moonlight

About the Author
Moonlight (aka Amanda) loves to write about, read about and learn about everything pertaining to werewolves and other supernatural beasties. She writes for top genre sites like Vampires.com and Werewolves.com. You will most likely find her huddled over a book of folklore with coffee in hand. Touch her coffee and you may lose a limb. You can stalk her via her Twitter.

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2. Craig and the Werewolf Plus! Exclusive Interview with Actor/Creator Brett Register!
3. Joss Whedon’s Upcoming Werewolf Flick

Focusing on right and wrong and friendship, the voice over claims, “Everyone wants to be a hero… You hope you’ll have what it takes to save someone. But not everyone does. And you’ll never know until you’re tested. Because when a friend’s in trouble, you don’t think. You trust the instinct.”

Check it out for yourself:

It’s not much, but hey, it’s better than nothing. From the sounds of that teeny clip, there’s going to be a lot of life and death drama between friends and a lot of choices to be made. Looks like Scott’s going to have a hell of a ride.

Speaking of his character, Tyler Posey recently said, “Last year he was dealing with his unwanted powers, but now that it seems like there is no cure, he’s trying to deal with it more maturely, almost like a superhero…he feels like he’s responsible because he has these powers.”

Scott’s love life is also complicated since he’s dating Allison, the daughter of werewolf hunters. Crystal Reed additionally shared that her character “wants to protect Scott and kill everyone else,” which is going to be “a major, major conflict” on the second season.

Just after the 2012 MTV Movie Awards on Sunday, June 3, Teen Wolf’s season 2 will premiere at 11:00 PM ET.

What are your thoughts on the first Teen Wolf Season 2 trailer?

- Moonlight

About the Author
Moonlight (aka Amanda) loves to write about, read about and learn about everything pertaining to werewolves and other supernatural beasties. She writes for top genre sites like Vampires.com and Werewolves.com. You will most likely find her huddled over a book of folklore with coffee in hand. Touch her coffee and you may lose a limb. You can stalk her via her Twitter.

Related posts:

1. First Kickass Teen Wolf Season 2 Trailer Released!
2. Teen Wolf Signed on for a Second Season!
3. First Look at Teen Wolf Season 2

Plot synopsis:

“At the Kingburger Drive-In, the food is fast, the service is sexy, and the price is right. But tonight, terror is on the menu when the Kingburger’s cantankerous boss leaves the late shift employees to wait for Donnie, the delivery driver. Meanwhile, Donnie is attacked by an animal in the woods on a deserted road. Under the full moon, he transforms into a vicious creature of the night – descending from the darkness and back to the Kingburger! Suddenly, the unsuspecting co-workers find themselves trapped in a bloody battle for survival against their feral friend! It’s babes, brawn and burgers versus fur, fangs and fury in this action-packed monster thriller!”

Sexy, bloody and very violent – Yup, sounds like grindhouse to me.

According to the reviews I have read on this film, it’s a low-budget horror that’s all about a rampaging werewolf killing everything in its path. Apparently there’s not much of a story, it’s just a werewolf going on a killing spree.

After writing about grindhouse professionally years ago, I learned very quickly that these movies are SO not for me, so I’ll be passing on Werewolf Fever. What about you, will you give this movie a watch?

Check out the Werewolf Fever trailer below?

What do you think?

- Moonlight

About the Author
Moonlight (aka Amanda) loves to write about, read about and learn about everything pertaining to werewolves and other supernatural beasties. She writes for top genre sites like Vampires.com and Werewolves.com. You will most likely find her huddled over a book of folklore with coffee in hand. Touch her coffee and you may lose a limb. You can stalk her via her Twitter.

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