Dr. Litchfield's Journal

Episode 102 Shortly before the Bonfire

I am not crazy. This has to be my base premise. If I am insane, then I belong back in Littlemore. I will not go back there. So therefore, I must act on the premise that I am sane, as the alternative is unacceptable. Therefore, I am not crazy. It's simple logic really.

Given the fact that I am sane, I can only conclude that something very dangerous is going on. There was a thing outside my office a couple of nights ago. It seemed to be stalking me, toying with me. I think it is imperative that I record what I know about it. I never did get a good look at it. But I know it was tall, taller then I am. It walked on two legs, was furry and had claws. It also made a deep growling noise. I attempted to record the sound, but my memo recorder did not have sufficient fidelity to do so. It approached and stalked me, and dragged it's claws against the wall.

Since my encounter, I have verified the existence of the claw marks it made on the wall. I have also checked them against the arm I acquired in Ireland. They match, at least within the level of variation I would expect within a given species. And there have been other incidents. There was an attack inside the athletic center, where weights were reportedly buried in the wall. And there was also the attack in the ATO house.

What can I conclude from available information. It is strong. All three incidents indicate a strength well above Human average. It has claws and fur. It walks on hind legs. It has some degree of intelligence, given its apparently choosing targets and it's ability to avoid discovery.

These qualities fit no animal known to science. But they do fit two types of creature known to the cultural fabric. And only one of them has stretches to both the Native American Myth set and that of the British isles. While it sounds insane, I cannot help but wonder if I have encountered the inspiration for the stories of the werewolf.

I am not crazy. I know I am not. Now I just have to prove it.

I suspect that we might have another incident at the Bonfire tonight. I am afraid that this might be worse then the previous encounters.

Episode 102 The Morning After

I am at a loss for words. The night of the Bonfire was worse then I would have ever imagined. Much student debauchery happened in the first part of the evening, but it was mostly what any professor who does not have their head in the sand would expect. I had to rescue a young woman who had drunk too much, but with Henry's help we prevented anything actually untoward from happening. With Henry's help I was able to get her away from the two Fratboys who had here and get her sent back to campus. I'm glad I was able to get her out of there before what was to happen.

I have delayed enough, so I might as well write it out. Werewolves are real. Not in the sense of berserker warriors taking on wolf like behavior of the Norse Ulfhedinn, instead it is something much more concrete. Shapeshiffting werewolves are real, and something I have seen with my own eyes. The Bonfire desceneded into chaos when Renee came running in covered in blood.

Instead of reaching out to help my students, I documented what was happening in front of me. I took pictures of everything I could see, trying to record a wolf attack that was so much more. I must have used half a roll of film recording a disemboweled wolf as it transformed into the body of Cecil Eversley, a bartender at Crossroads. The other wolves behaved abnormally, bypassing easy targets to attack people further in. Once came up to me while I was down on the ground, and then moved on. It also appeared that their were two separate groups in conflicting with each other. This implies that one group was attacking and the other was trying to stop them. Possibly they were there to defend us, but it would not do to make such an assumption without further evidence.

I should feel guilty for not helping my students, for blithely ignoring the danger they were in, but I do not feel any guilt at all. Whatever help I could have given is nothing next to learning about the beasts that attacked us. If anything I feel vindicated. I was right, there is something hidden in this world. And I seem to be enmeshed in it. I must know more about these werewolves. I have so many questions. How does their Biology work? How do they handle the apparent mass difference between a fully grown wolf and an adult humans weight? What sort of culture do they have? Are they truly a separate species or are they spread by some form of infection vector? The questions are endless and I will have answers.

I would say that this is proof I was not crazy, that I was not delusional. But I cannot say that. I woke up in the middle of nowhere, having come out of some sort of fugue like state. I have no idea how I got there, but the crows were waiting for me. The crows seem to be always waiting for me.

Episode 103

It appears that several individuals who were bitten at the party have been infected with what can only be called Lycanthropy. I have yet to isolate the direct cause of the condition, other then the fact that it appears to be transmitted via bite. Those bitten do not always express Lycanthropy. While some become werewolves, other individuals will get sick and in several recorded instances will die after infection.

Those who begin to express Lycanthropy exhibit a number of changes in startling short order. Their sense begin to alter, notably both smell and hearing. They have accelerated healing, having completely healed from the original bite in less then a day. Their metabolism has altered to the point where alcohol seems to have no significant impact. I also believe that they can cause claws to grow out of their hands. Most significantly as I witnessed at the bonfire they should be able to physically alter their form to that of a large wolf. I doubt that what I have directly verified so far is a full picture of what being infected with Lycanthropy has altered in them.

While those affected exhibit some very significant enhanced capabilities, they also suffer from some unique weaknesses. Werewolves seem to have a severe allergy to Silver, the merest touch of the metal seems to burn them. In addition they seem to suffer from wild mood swings, subject to severe rage. I suspect that their condition might have some form of hormonal imbalance, but I have neither the facilities or knowledge to test this.

So far I have verified that both Stella Jalo and Warner Pelt are affected. I am going to encourage the two of them to work together to try and come to terms with their affliction. I believe that if they will work with me they might be able to find some way to cope with what is happening to them. And, in helping them I should be able to gather more data on what effects their condition has. I am concerned that I might not have sufficient resources to properly aid them. If that is the case, we might have to seek one of the werewolves involved in the bonfire attack. I was informed that a woman named Alice turned into a wolf at the bonfire. If need be, we can confront her and try to gain some answers.

To my mind their is one overriding question. Why have their been no reliable scientific reports of the existence of werewolves before now. There are only three probable explanations. The first is that the scientific community has simply missed their existence. . While scientists continue to discover new species, they are all in remote locations far from mankind. Given the fact that they will by default have some interaction with the humanity as a whole, I find this to be unlikely at best. Second, werewolves could be a very new phenomenon. However, this is also unlikely. Between my find in the Conigar bog and the prevalence of werewolf myths from numerous pre industrial societies this indicates they have been around for a very long time.

That bring me to the third possibility. Anyone who discoverers them is actively silenced. This could be due to either direct action by some form of community of werewolves or it could be due to pressures within the academic / governmental community. The more I think about it the more convinced I am that silence is being enforced. I believe I will have to keep my findings very close to my chest until I know more. If I do publish, I will need to have a preponderance of irrefutable evidence, and I will need to have some level of independent verification.

I am not ashamed to admit to feeling out of my depth in this issue. I am not a medical doctor, and I do not have the resources to properly analyze what is happening to Stella and Warner. I will try to do what I can to help them, but I fear that will be greatly limited. But I have no choice. I can neither turn my back on them or the mystery of their condition.

Episode 103 Downtime, Week 1

I am increasingly frustrated. I can find no biological agent for Lycanthropy. There are no signs in Subject S's blood work of any virus, bacteria, fungus or chemical. Anything that is working this level of change should leave at least some signs. The only thing I have been able to identify is a high red blood cell count and a highly elevated levels of Oxygen Saturation, which I would have expected with what appears to be an increased metabolism. But there is nothing that I can find in the blood work and what examinations I have given Subject S that would account for the reported tissue regeneration. I wonder if I could convince her to let me give her a slight cut and observer the healing process. Taking blood samples during this might give me some clue as to the actual mechanism of healing. Now if I can just get her to cooperate.

And don't get me started on the actual shape shifting. There is no obvious sign of the structural changes needed to allow shapeshifting. There should be some muscular structures or organs that allow for the changing of forms. There is nothing that would allow them to change. worse then that, wolves top out at around a 100 lbs and several of the people at the bonfire were pushing closer to twice that. Matter cannot simply appear and disappear. I should be able to something that indicates this ability.

I am so completely in over my head on this. Damn it, I am a Biologist,not a Medical Doctor. I need a CAT scan. I need a medical ultrasound machine. I need an MD who has experience with living people. There has to be a scientific explanation for what is going on her, but I cannot find it. While I am researching occult tomes to see what they know, the explanation cannot be supernatural in origin. It cannot be.

Episode 103 Downtime, week 2

Atropopaic Warding makes no bloody scientific sense. There is no theory in science that should allow a few pieces of non aromatic plants to debilitate someone by their mere presence. Allergies do not work this way. But multiple sources that have been reliable on other topics all swear that this works. I will have to test it, with some serious effort.

And that means I must confront the elephant in the room. I had visions of disaster before the bonfire. There is no way I could have subconciously anticipated