Abel

Abel was a werewolf who lived in the town of Collinsport, Maine in the early 1900s.
Abel once worked as a lumberjack, but an accident at his job cost him not only his employment, but also the use of his left leg.
Soon after, Abel became infatuated with a village girl named Anne Bodley. He would follow after Anne wherever she went and became quite intrusive in her life. Anne finally spurned Abel’s affections and commanded him to leave her alone – an act that would have disastrous consequences for the poor girl. Abel transformed into a werewolf and slaughtered Anne, tearing her throat out. Local authorities blamed the matter on a vicious animal attack.
By 1910, Abel and his curmudgeonly sister, Peg found themselves in the employ of Christopher Jennings at his newly acquired seaside mansion known as Cranshaw House. Chris knew that Abel was a werewolf, and deliberately hired him as a means of bringing the gruesome man into his nascent wolf-cult. Chris had the ability to transform into a wolf as well, and the two became close friends.
In March of that year, Chris Jennings brought a new bride back to Cranshaw House – Paula Collins-Jennings. Paula took an instant dislike to Abel and watched him closely. One night, while looking outside her bedroom window, Paula witnessed Abel transform from a wolf into a man. She told her husband Chris about the incident, but he dismissed her claim as a product of her fanciful imagination.
Paula soon became friendly with a house servant named Lizzie Wells. Lizzie knew a little of Abel’s reputation in the village and told Paula that there were rumors that Abel was some sort of wolf-man. Paula soon became convinced that Abel was a monster and she informed her newfound friend, Barnabas Collins of the potential danger.
Barnabas confirmed Paula’s suspicions and the two engaged upon a plan to do away with Abel’s threatening presence. Barnabas hypnotized Lizzie Wells and instructed her to walk alone on the beach late in the evening. While Lizzie did as instructed, Barnabas and Paula hid behind some shoals. Abel, in the form of a wolf, came loping across the sands ready to attack Lizzie and tear her throat out. He stepped on a buried bear trap, which latched firmly onto his leg. While the wolf reeled about in pain, Barnabas came out from behind the shoals and bludgeoned Abel across the skull with a large rock until he was dead.
== Description ==
Abel was an extremely tall man, with gruesome animal-life features. Paula once commented that he resembled a "great timber wolf".
Abel walked with a limp, due to an injury suffered upon his left leg.
== Notes ==
* It has been rumored that Abel’s initial leg injury was caused by stepping into a trap, while roaming the forests as a wolf. Chris Jennings explained his injury as having occurred during Abel’s lumberjack days. The true nature of Abel’s injury has never been revealed.
* Abel’s sister, Peg, was rumored to be a witch. However, no information has been supplied to confirm or deny such an allegation.
* Very little is known about the nature of Abel’s lycanthropy. In all likelihood, he was a werewolf similar to Chris Jennings, which is to say, he transformed into a full-grown wolf by way of ritual. Abel was able to transform at any time he chose (though he preferred the night) and was not restricted by the stereotypical phases of the moon.
* There is an amusing coincidence surrounding the death of Abel. In the Marilyn Ross novel, The Foe of Barnabas Collins, the character of Abel is slain by a vampire. Abel’s namesake is the biblical son of Adam and Eve from the book of Genesis, who had been slain, by his brother, Caine. White Wolf Publishing, authors of the Vampire: The Masquerade role-playing supplement expanded the role of Caine and established him as the world’s first vampire.
== Appearances ==
The Foe of Barnabas Collins
Abel