The Werewolf By Night / EC Comics / Ray Bradbury / Curt Siodmak Connection 0

[PovertyRow]

Just an intriguing tidbit for those into "panelogical history". As many of us, especially PCH fans, know, Al Feldstein and Bill Gaines and others in the EC "Bullpen" used to brainstorm stories for EC Comics. During that time a couple of Ray Bradbury stories "unconsciously" made their way into the mix and Feldstein merged the two into a single story ("Home to Stay") in Weird Fantasy #13. Author Ray Bradbury saw this and sent a very polite letter to Gaines thanking him for using his story and reminding him he had forgotten to send Bradbury a check for using his story. Gaines paid and this began a very successful relationship between EC and Bradbury. No fool, Gaines would boldly announce an issue with a Bradbury story, billing him as either "America's Top Horror Writer!" or "America's Top Science Fiction Writer!"

Fast forward twenty or so years to Marvel Spotlight #2, introducing Jack Russel as the Werewolf By Night. On page thee of this book is a poem with the attribution "Old Folk Poem":

Even a man who's pure in heart,

And says his prayers at night,

May become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms,

And the moon is full and bright.

... Old Folk Poem

 

 

In actuality the poem was written by Curt Siodmak when he wrote the screenplay to Universal's 1941 movie The Wolf Man movie. There the poem originally ended with "And the Autumn Moon is Bright". For subsequent Universal Monster films which Siodmak wrote the screenplays for such as Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man or House of Frankenstein, Siodmak changed the poem's last line to "And the moon is Full and Bright".

Siodmak also created the concepts of silver to kill a werewolf and the werewolf's aversion to the plant wolfsbane. Prior to Siodmak's screenplay neither existed in Werewolf Lore. (You can see in Universal's first werewolf movie, the 1935 Werewolf of London, the werewolf was killed by an ordinary bullet).

I think it would have been fascinating had Siodmak written to Stan Lee and mentioned attributing his work to an "Old Folk Poem"!

Just a fun factoid in the midst of the current WWBN showing.

 

Edited October 9, 2022 by PovertyRow
spelling

[Ken Aldred]

As an EC science-fiction fan, always really liked their adaptations of Bradbury’s Martian Chronicles stories.

The only horror comic story I recall is the one with the Ferris Wheel.

Edited October 9, 2022 by Ken Aldred

[shadroch]

Silver bullets were around long before The 1941 movie. He might have introduced the lore into Hollywood, but Europeans have used silver bullets to ward off evil for centuries.

[PovertyRow]

On 10/10/2022 at 4:22 AM, shadroch said:

Silver bullets were around long before The 1941 movie. He might have introduced the lore into Hollywood, but Europeans have used silver bullets to ward off evil for centuries.

I said Siodmak introduced the concept of silver to kill a werewolf. Before Siodmak, werewolves have always been vulnerable to any ordinary weapon. A lead bullet. A steel knife. Etc. No silver needed. With Siodmak silver was required, and not just a bullet but any silver weapon. As the old woman Maleva said in the movie "A werewolf can only be killed by a silver bullet, or a silver knife or a stick with a silver handle." This  simply did not exist before Siodmak's screenplay. The Wolf Man in the 1941 film was killed by being beaten with the now legendary walking stick with a silver wolf head handle. 

[shadroch]

On 10/10/2022 at 10:07 AM, PovertyRow said:

I said Siodmak introduced the concept of silver to kill a werewolf. Before Siodmak, werewolves have always been vulnerable to any ordinary weapon. A lead bullet. A steel knife. Etc. No silver needed. With Siodmak silver was required, and not just a bullet but any silver weapon. As the old woman Maleva said in the movie "A werewolf can only be killed by a silver bullet, or a silver knife or a stick with a silver handle." This  simply did not exist before Siodmak's screenplay. The Wolf Man in the 1941 film was killed by being beaten with the now legendary walking stick with a silver wolf head handle. 

I don't think that is correct. It may have been the first time in Hollywood, or even in America but the legend preceeds it.  Many legendary tales tell of melting down silver to fight the supernatural.  One of the Eastern tyrants that was loosely used in Dracula was executed by silver bullets.

[PovertyRow]

Again, let me make this clear. I am not debating the use of silver over the centuries to ward off evil.  Siodmak did extensive research into folklore before writing The Wolf Man. I'm sure he came across references to silver vs evil. BUT until The Wolf Man, the werewolf had no particular vulnerability and could be killed by the same means as killing a person. Could a silver bullet kill a werewolf? Sure. So could a lead bullet. A steel knife. A wood baseball bat. Siodmak introduced the lore that only silver can kill a werewolf. As I cited above, Maleva the old woman said to Larry  "A werewolf can only be killed by a silver bullet, or a silver knife or a stick with a silver handle." That level of specificity simple did not exist before then and its influence can be felt in almost every werewolf film since then. 

 

 

 

Edited October 10, 2022 by PovertyRow
calrity ... errr ... clarity (yeesh)

[Gary Strange]

On 10/10/2022 at 12:31 PM, shadroch said:

I don't think that is correct. It may have been the first time in Hollywood, or even in America but the legend preceeds it.  Many legendary tales tell of melting down silver to fight the supernatural.  One of the Eastern tyrants that was loosely used in Dracula was executed by silver bullets.

Silver Bullets to kill werewolves didn't exist until The Wolfman Movie.