These are Halloween times for many of us, and All Saints' times for others...Rather than post something on a tradition that is not mine (I am not American nor Irish!) , I found my inspiration both in medieval European folklore and in a video game which fascinated me years ago, namely 'Gabriel Knight-The Beast Within' . The script weaves werewolf mythology and Bavarian history in G.Knight's pursuit of lycanthropy fanatics, in other words, people believing in the ability to shapeshift into wolves or wolf-like creatures, either purposely, being bitten by another werewolf or after being placed under a curse.

Many European countries and cultures have stories of werewolves, and in my country, werewolf lore is sometimes associated with documented events. The Beast of Gévaudan terrorized the general area of the former province of Gévaudan, now called Lozère, in south-central France. From the years 1764 to 1767, an unknown entity killed 80 men, women, and children.The creature was described as a giant wolf by the sole survivor of the attacks, which ceased after several wolves were killed in the area.

In the video game 'Gabriel Knight, the 'Schattenjägger' is the only one capable of detecting werewolves ( lycanthropes) among humans and put an end to the terrible curse most of them are not responsible for. I chose King Ludwig II of Bavaria's castle as the background for my montage, as part of the actual setting of Gabriel Knight's adventures.The 'Shadow Hunter'(Schattenjaeger, in German) in the foreground, as well as the other figures are all citizens from my hometown who dressed in Medieval costumes for the 700th anniversary of Belfort (France). Hope you will like my Schattenjäger, Virginie!

Not really spooky, granted, but nevertheless unnerving and rooted in the 'old world' traditions !...More info on werewolves in an excellent report at www.wikipedia.org. Thank you very much for your comments and messages, always sincerely appreciated and treasured.