"There Shall Be No Darkness" is a horror story by the American writer James Blish that was published in 1950. It concerns a group of people on a remote country manor who discover that one of their number is a ravenous werewolf. The story was adapted for the screen in 1974 as The Beast Must Die . Blish himself described the story as "a schoolboy pastiche of Dracula ". [1] The story originally appeared in Thrilling Wonder Stories . It was first published in book form by Twayne Publishers in 1952 in the fantasy anthology Witches Three , a volume that also included Fritz Leiber's Conjure Wife and Fletcher Pratt's The Blue Star .
The story attempts to offer a scientific explanation for lycanthropy. One of the characters, a psychiatrist named Christian Lundgren, states that the condition is the result of a mutation in the pineal gland of the afflicted person's brain. At the same time Blish also relies on established werewolf mythology for plot devices, such as the use of wolfsbane and silver. A female character named Doris is revealed to be a witch, and this subplot is important to the story's resolution.
The story takes place on a manor in the Scottish countryside. A wealthy man named Tom Newcliffe has invited a group of artists and friends together for a weekend gathering. Of particular importance to the story is Jan Jarmoskowski, a Polish concert pianist. Paul Foote, a painter, detects hints that Jan may in fact be a werewolf, and he is proven right. The musician transforms under the light of the full moon, and the guests at first prepare some makeshift silver bullets and attempt to track him, but this results in nothing more than a dead hunting dog and some wasted ammunition. Following this, the group fortifies itself inside the mansion to wait for their quarry to return, at which point they hope to be able to defeat him.
Conan the Barbarian is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, films, television programs, video games, and role-playing games. Robert E. Howard created the character in 1932 for a series of fantasy stories published in Weird Tales magazine.
James Benjamin Blish was an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He is best known for his Cities in Flight novels and his series of Star Trek novelizations written with his wife, J. A. Lawrence. His novel A Case of Conscience won the Hugo Award. He is credited with creating the term "gas giant" to refer to large planetary bodies.
In folklore, a werewolf, or occasionally lycanthrope, is an individual who can shape-shift into a wolf, either purposely or after being placed under a curse or affliction, with the transformations occurring on the night of a full moon. Early sources for belief in this ability or affliction, called lycanthropy, are Petronius (27–66) and Gervase of Tilbury (1150–1228).
The Death Eaters are characters featured in the Harry Potter series of novels and films. They are a radical group of wizards and witches, led by the dark wizard Lord Voldemort, who seek to purify the wizarding community by eliminating wizards and witches born to non-magical parents. They attempt to create a new order within the Ministry of Magic by spreading fear through the wizarding community and murdering those who speak out against them. Their primary opposition is the Order of the Phoenix.
Werewolf fiction denotes the portrayal of werewolves and other shapeshifting therianthropes, in the media of literature, drama, film, games and music. Werewolf literature includes folklore, legend, saga, fairy tales, Gothic and horror fiction, fantasy fiction and poetry. Such stories may be supernatural, symbolic or allegorical. A classic cinematic example of the theme is The Wolf Man (1941) which in later films joins with the Frankenstein Monster and Count Dracula as one of the three famous icons of modern day horror. However, werewolf fiction is an exceptionally diverse genre, with ancient folkloric roots and manifold modern re-interpretations.
The Buffyverse or Slayerverse is a media franchise created by Joss Whedon. The term also refers to the shared fictional universe in which the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel are set. This term, originally coined by fans of the TV series, has since been used in the titles of published works, and adopted by Joss Whedon, the original writer and creator of the fictional universe and its corresponding works. The Buffyverse is a setting in which supernatural phenomena exist, and supernatural evil can be challenged by people willing to fight against such forces. Much of the licensed Buffyverse merchandise and media, while released officially, is not considered to be canon within the universe.
The Wicked Witch of the West is a fictional character who appears in the classic children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900), created by American author L. Frank Baum. In Baum's subsequent Oz novels, it is the Nome King who is the principal villain; the Wicked Witch of the West is rarely even referred to again after her death in the first book.
Fleance is a figure in legendary Scottish history. He was depicted by 16th-century historians as the son of Lord Banquo, Thane of Lochaber, and the ancestor of the kings of the House of Stuart. Fleance is best known as a character in William Shakespeare's play Macbeth, in which the Three Witches prophesy that Banquo's descendants shall be kings. Some screen adaptations of the story expand on Fleance's role by showing his return to the kingdom after Macbeth's death.
Klarion the Witch Boy is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, having first appeared in The Demon #7 and was created by Jack Kirby. The character is typically portrayed as a powerful but mischievous, immature extradimensional warlock who serves as both the archenemy of Etrigan the Demon and is a reoccurring adversary for various mystic characters and teams in the DC Universe.
The Werewolf by Night is the name of two werewolves appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first incarnation of Werewolf by Night, Jack Russell, first appeared in Marvel Spotlight #2. The second incarnation, Jake Gomez, first appeared in Werewolf by Night #1.
The Beast Must Die is a 1974 British horror film directed by Paul Annett. The screenplay was written by Michael Winder, based on the 1950 short story "There Shall Be No Darkness" by James Blish, originally published in Thrilling Wonder Stories. The film stars Calvin Lockhart, Peter Cushing, Marlene Clark, Charles Gray, Anton Diffring, Ciaran Madden, Tom Chadbon, and Michael Gambon. The plot involves a millionaire big game hunter who gathers six people at his remote English mansion, announcing that he suspects one of them is a werewolf. The viewer is invited to unfold the mystery along with the characters.
Mister E is a fictional character appearing in magazines published by DC Comics. Created by Bob Rozakis and Jack C. Harris, the character first appeared in Secrets of Haunted House #31 and was a recurring character for ten issues. He was then radically redesigned by Neil Gaiman for use in The Books of Magic, after which he appeared in his own mini-series and was a recurring character in Vertigo Comics titles owned by DC.
Dr. Jericho Drumm is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in Strange Tales #169 as Brother Voodoo. The character was created by Marvel publisher Stan Lee, writer Len Wein, and artist John Romita Sr. Since replacing Doctor Strange as Sorcerer Supreme in The New Avengers #53, the character has been referred to as Doctor Voodoo, a title originally assumed by his evil twin brother Daniel, whose ghost he controls.
Day Watch is a fantasy novel by Russian authors Sergey Lukyanenko and Vladimir Vasilyev. The second book in the saga of Watches, it is preceded by Night Watch and followed by Twilight Watch, Last Watch, New Watch, and Sixth Watch. Day Watch stands out as the only novel in the series not narrated mainly from Anton Gorodetsky's point of view.
Lawrence StewartTalbot, also known as the Wolf Man, is a title character of the 1941 Universal film The Wolf Man and its sequels, created by Curt Siodmak. He was portrayed by Lon Chaney Jr. In the 2010 remake of the film, he is portrayed by Benicio del Toro. The Wolf Man was part of the Universal Monsters ensemble.
The Blue Star is a fantasy novel by the American writer Fletcher Pratt, the second of his two major fantasies. It was first published by Twayne Publishers in 1952 in the fantasy anthology Witches Three, a volume that also included Fritz Leiber's Conjure Wife and James Blish's "There Shall Be No Darkness". Its first publication as a stand-alone novel was in paperback by Ballantine Books in May 1969, as the inaugural volume of the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series. The Ballantine edition included an introduction by Lin Carter; it was reprinted twice, in 1975 and 1981. It has also been translated into French, German, Italian and Spanish.
Dark Shadows is a 2012 dark fantasy film based on the gothic television soap opera of the same name. Directed by Tim Burton, the film stars Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter, Eva Green, Jackie Earle Haley, Jonny Lee Miller, Chloë Grace Moretz, and Bella Heathcote in a dual role. Christopher Lee has a small role in the film, his 200th film appearance and his fifth and final appearance in a Burton film. Jonathan Frid, star of the original Dark Shadows series, makes a cameo appearance. He died shortly before the film was released. One of the film's producers, Richard D. Zanuck, died two months after its release.
Witches Three is an anthology of three original fantasy stories, edited by the uncredited Fletcher Pratt and published in hardcover by Twayne in 1952. No further editions of the anthology were issued, but each of the stories was later republished.
Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Heart of the Forest is a visual novel role-playing video game developed by Different Tales and published by Walkabout Games. It was originally released on October 13, 2020 for Linux, MacOS, Microsoft Windows. A Nintendo Switch version was released on January 7, 2021, and it is planned to be released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on February 24, 2021. It is based on the tabletop role-playing game Werewolf: The Apocalypse, and is part of the larger World of Darkness series.
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