1.02 The Werewolf of Dogdyke

The Season 1 Titlecard.

## Episode

The episode begins with narration from Shane: "I've always been drawn to the supernatural. The unknown and the unexplainable have fascinated me since I was a kid however I never took this interest seriously however now...I'm in my early 20s and I've become a hunter of the things that go bump in the night - I've encountered ghosts, demons and other creatures that I never would have believed existed if I hadn't seen them with my own eyes, but that's just the tip of the iceberg, there are endless types of creatures out there from the classic vampires and werewolves to local urban legends that people thought were just stories - It's a dangerous world out there, but I'm determined to face it head-on because when you hunt the supernatural, there's never a dull moment...and who knows what kind of creatures are waiting for me out there in the dark?"

Shane can then be seen walking into Lincoln City Library, he has seemingly taken an interest in the urban legends of the surrounding county of Lincolnshire and wants to know if any of them have any weight behind them besides the way of mouth and news reports, he begins to search through the bookshelves in the library and finds one book that seems to be focused on the local folklore, he opens it up and reads aloud from it "We all have our favorite urban legends, the tales we tell ourselves over and over again so that each time the story is told, the ending changes slightly, the monster under your bed might not be as scary as you think, and the old woman living next door may be your best friend, but maybe she isn't quite as harmless as you thought" he then scoffs and dryly says out loud: "Monster under the bed my arse" he is then told to shush by a librarian and pulls a whoops face, he is about to give up on the book as it continues its exaggerated way of telling its own story before coming across the Werewolf of Dogdyke story, he puts down the book and begins to read out loud from it "The year is 1926..." a flashback begins as Shane speaks: "This is the story of a young man who lived on Langrick Fen, not far from the miniscule settlement of Dogdyke, deep in the Lincolnshire countryside, he was an archaeologist and a committed one at that and one day while digging in the endless stream of mud, he discovered some ancient remains and among them was what looked like a human skeleton with a wolf's head" - the flashback then shows all this happen as the young man, dressed in 1920s attire from the time period, is shown with his back to us, kneeling on the ground like he's trying to figure out what he's found and holding a skull in his hands, he then turns around and we see that the skull is indeed that of a wolf - the story continues as Shane's tone seems to have changed from one of dismissal to complete intrigue: "He carried the peculiar object into his cottage and carefully examined it but could not make sense of it, he speculated that perhaps it was a strange creature that showmen showcase at fairs to draw in crowds (which was quite common during these times) however, that night, he was unable to sleep and heard suspicious noises in the back of his home - As he investigated, he unexpectedly heard a knock on his window and saw a dark figure with a wolf's head staring at him, the creature raised its arm as if to break through the glass and attack. the young archaeologist was terrified and froze in place for a moment before running into the kitchen as the creature tried to break down the door, but the young and agile man quickly barred it and created a barricade of furniture, all night long, he heard footsteps outside until the break of dawn when he found that the ghostly creature had vanished, leaving behind overturned furniture and shattered glass - he buried the remains of the monster in the same spot where he found them under layers of peat, never to be disturbed again." - the flashback shows this happen, especially the young man's encounter with the supposed Werewolf of Dogdyke, which can be seen standing almost 6 foot 6 inches tall. - the flashback ends and Shane mutters "Might be worth chasing up" he soon gets home and searches for more stories of the Werewolf of Dogdyke.

He finds another story, this time from 2016 (90 years after the first and only story to that point), on a local Lincoln City news site: "Thick black hair, savaged rabbits and large paw prints have been spotted across the country sparking rumors the Werewolf of Dogdyke is back..." Shane reads from the site however he sighs when he reads that this was just a way to get local kids to behave on Halloween night, he then shuts down the computer and gets ready to go on an expedition into rural Lincolnshire to see if he can find anything himself as details on this creature are almost nonexistent due to its rarity, he takes a car out to the country town of Coningsby and walks a long way to Dogdyke, as he does this he comments: "I'm glad I'm doing this in the daytime" as he puts his hands on his hips seemingly anticipating the walk ahead.

As he arrives in the area he sees the countryside is covered in thick fog, the sun is shining bright, and the wind is blowing hard. he continues walking until he reaches the outskirts of the village where he begins to hear screaming from a nearby woodland area, he hides in a bush that overlooks said area to see if he can observe any happenings, he has also come prepared with various items like Salt and matches in his backpack in case of any encounters with anything Supernatural, after waiting for a few seconds he sees the source of the screaming as it is a small girl who seems to be scared out of her wits, she runs off into the woods and disappears causing Shane to run into the woods to try and help her, he soon regrets this idea though as he says: "Oh...god...now I've done it, if I become a three course meal for some freak with a wolf head...." he then finds the courage to keep going and to try and find the young girl, he follows her voice until he comes upon a clearing in which the Werewolf of Dogdyke can be seen, Shane hides behind a tree and observes the lanky figure, it doesn't appear to have that much of a muscular build and doesn't look like much of a Werewolf at all (only the head has any form of resemblance) with most of its body looking human, Shane says quietly to himself: "He looks like he got caught mid-transformation...stories said it looked weird" as he observes the creature, the Werewolf appears to notice Shane hiding and stares at him, Shane gulps and tries to stay calm before it notices him, the Wolfman growls at him and stalks towards Shane, "Hey, I mean you no harm...Where's the girl that ran into these woods?" he says trying to reason with the creature, the Werewolf is very large and intimidating, and Shane is unsure how to handle the situation however the creature shows no interest in this reasoning so chases Shane through the woods in pursuit of the boy, Shane continues trying to reason with the creature: "I mean you NO harm" the Werewolf lunges at Shane from nowhere however Shane moves out the way and the wolf finds its claws embedded in a nearby tree trunk, Shane has taken cover again and keeps on talking to the creature: "There, there. No need to worry about me...I am a friend. You don't want to hurt your friends do you?" he then mutters to himself: "What am I even saying?" as he thinks over what he just said. The Werewolf begins to tear the tree apart using its powerful jaws, the boy quickly rushes away to avoid the Werewolves wrath, he runs back to the place he last saw the little girl, he quickly goes into his backpack to try and find any hunter's equipment that maybe of use, he hopes to find some kind of Silver weapon or contraption that could help him stop the beast however as he looks around he realizes there is nothing inside that backpack that could do anything against the Werewolf of Dogdyke.

The Werewolf then turns towards Shane with a huge snarl, a breathless Shane holds his hands up: "I know you can't talk but you can listen, I just want to know where the girl you chased is and I will be on my way, you have my word" Shane says hoping to win over the creature however the Werewolf doesn't seem very interested in talking so Shane continues to run, he tries to make his way back to the road however before he can even go 10 feet he feels something hard slam into the back of his head, he collapses onto the ground with no time to react, he slowly opens his eyes and sees that a rock has been thrown, but not by the wolf, however Shane loses consciousness and everything goes black.
Shane soon reawakes with a splitting headache, he sits up groggily looking around. He then hears a voice say "You're alive!" and looks to see a young girl standing next to him. She looks around 7 years old, she has brown hair and blue eyes - "Where am I?" Shane asks confused, the little girl grabs Shane's hand and starts to pull him however he seems tied to a chair in a small room with shelves and a fireplace, he notices there is a bookcase full of books and a desk with a computer - the girl answers: "I can't say, my parents will be home soon, they wanted me to run through the woods and bring you here" Shane becomes wary of the situation he is in at this point: "Did they say why?" he asks nervously, the girl nods her head: "They said you were hunting us!" which confuses Shane who rebutles that he was trying to learn about the creature that inhabits the woods, before he can finish though a male and a female walk in - they look like they are in their late 20's and have brown hair and matching brown eyes, they both wear farming gear that seems very dirty and smelly. The man's tone is stern: "Well, there are hunters here after all...I have to say it's very impressive how fast you got here" he says with sarcasm - the woman then speaks up: "You probably have alot of questions for us, we've been waiting for someone like you, I'm Caroline, this is my husband John, so tell us your name and explain yourself" Shane replies: "Why would I? You could do anything to me right now" the two seem to appreciate the answer but quickly go back to their stern ways: "Our daughter, Cara, said you were looking for the wolf out there...don't take this personal by the way, every hunter that comes here gets the same treatment" John says referring to Shane being knocked out earlier as he walks over to a shelf and grabs a book - Caroline then asks: "And what exactly were you doing in our woods?"

Shane explains: "I was following the creature that was after your daughter, simple as" John and Caroline nod at each other "They say destiny works in funny ways, you see whenever someone sees a child in distress they immediately want to help, yet they always end up here" Caroline adds - "So this is the family business?" Shane asks "Lure people to this hellhole using a child with an urban legend acting as a safeguard should someone accidentally stumble onto here?" Caroline shakes her head: "No, we don't need to protect ourselves from hunters, we were born here, raised here, our ancestors were here when this place was first built, we have grown up in this house and these woods" John says with pride, as he continues talking Shane notices that the two are getting defensive, the man appears to be more hostile than the woman, he seems to be losing it: "It's people like you that ruin things for everyone else! You come in here playing god and thinking you can just throw your weight around and get what you want - this is OUR land, there is nothing special about it!" he shouts, causing Caroline to hold back tears of fear: "John, calm down please" John stops talking and becomes silent, staring into the fire, Caroline continues: "To your earlier point, I wouldn't call this..." she shows off the room they're in to Shane "...the family business, we just protect our territory and the wolf grants it because no one is gonna argue with it" Shane tilts his head at this: "You control the wolf?" he asks incredulously "I wouldn't say that..." Caroline begins to show some anger before abruptly changing course and saying: "Yes! We have certain rules to keep it safe, it doesn't hurt anyone if they follow those rules, but hunters never do, so we have to make sure they stay away" John laughs sarcastically: "So you're making an example of them, fine work my boy, you've fell into the same trap and now we have to do this to you..." he signals for Caroline to bring something in the room behind her, she reaches over and brings out a wooden box, John opens it and inside are knives, some of which appear to be sharp, the entire group soon begin to laugh at Shane: "What's so funny?" Shane yells. The man who was speaking before suddenly all three members of the family point knives at the defenseless Shane - "I have a feeling you want to kill me but before dying I assume, in order for someone to have a connection the wolf and for someone to even see the wolf, you need to be in possession of the ancient remains that were found in 1926, at least that's what the Werewolf of Dogdyke legend says" he points out to the family.

John puts his knife closer to Shane and sadistically says: "Yes, we have the remains, of course we do, Cara found them one night - the wolf then appeared, it tried to kill us but now we have a connection through a common goal of living in isolation" Shane asks: "I assume killing anyone that steps onto this land was the small print? you do realize the more you do this, the less human you will feel until there will be nothing left but ruthless killing machines that practically worship that thing outside?" John answers back: "If you don't like it then leave! or should we say... run away!" Shane tells him: "You just don't get it - you don't understand that there might be no running from something that's been biding it's time, I feel like the wolf is playing you like a fiddle" this causes John to snap "NO, WE CONTROL IT, THE ONLY ONE BEING PLAYED IS YOU!" he cuts Shane's face on both sides with his knife causing Shane to scream in pain as the wolf can be heard howling, "He is coming" Cara announces to her family, looking up to the sky - the three turn away from Shane and begin chanting around the ancient remains of the wolf as the Werewolf of Dogdyke bursts into the house, using this as a distraction, Shane grabs one of the knives with his foot and quietly tries to untie himself as the family continue their chant; "In the name of the father, the son and the holy spirit" Shane starts to cut the ropes from his ankles, causing the family to stop chanting as they turn to look at him, they begin to form a circle and approach Shane with their weapons, the wolf however seems confused as it looks down at it's remains and then too the family multiple times.

Meanwhile, Shane has recovered enough to kick John in the shins causing him to fall down but before he can strike again, he feels a heavy weight on top of him, he opens his eyes to see the wolf looking down upon him, it growls, it's tongue lashing out towards Shane's face - Shane once again tries to reason with it: "Look around you, look at this family, they are using you...they are using your story, they are the reason you roam these woods, they have binded you to them..." the wolf seems to be listening intently to him as it just stands there awkwardly "DON'T LISTEN TO HIM" John shouts "WE NEED YOU!" - the wolf continues to stand there and, in a flashback, we see the family find the remains of the Werewolf of Dogdyke back in 2016 (referencing the article that Shane dismissed earlier) they seem to chant something over the bones, a possible binding link spell, which would explain why the wolf patrols only the area around the family's house - as this is happening, John and Caroline beat up a tied up Shane in an effort to silence him however the wolf grabs Cara, their daughter, and the two immediately stop beating up Shane and face the wolf as it snarls at John and Caroline, who try to reason with the wolf: "The hunters will keep coming if we don't keep doing this for you, we aren't doing this for us, we are doing this so that you don't have to, we are trying to protect you, we want to help you." The wolf shakes its head as its grip tightens on Cara, it now fully realizing it's being used for the family's own gain however their motive is yet unknown, it soon becomes clear though as Caroline blurts out that the family wish to live in isolation however never intended for any of this too happen, Caroline then seemingly claims responsibility saying that it was her that tried to bind the wolf to her however the chant went wrong, as she doesn't understand magic all that well, and the people around her (mainly John) started to change because of this botched binding spell, she then begs the wolf to forgive them, the wolf looks down at Cara and releases her from its grasp, allowing her back to Caroline however John is irate as he watches Caroline and Cara free Shane from his restraints.

John agrees that the spell was botched however he claims that he has never felt more alive since the side effects of the botched spell began and states: "I have purpose now, we can live as a family and keep out ANYONE, don't you get it?" he asks Caroline as he tries to grab the bag that contains the wolf's remains however the wolf grabs the other side - "LET GO, THESE ARE MINE, I CONTROL YOU, WE HAVE A CONNECTION" John snarls, the side effects of the spell taking centre stage, the wolf snarls back and John realizes that he maybe in deep trouble so backtracks and gets in Shane's face: "AND AS FOR YOU, I WILL NEVER FORGET YOUR FACE, I WILL FIND YOU AND I WILL KILL YOU, IT WAS YOU THAT RIPPED US APART" John shouts in a clearly delusional manner however Caroline puts her shoulder on him and looks him in the eyes: "No John, you ripped the family apart...and you didn't even know" John scoffs and turns to leave however is stopped by Caroline: "John, there is no turning back here, you can't just run" this causes John to snap and grab the remains of the wolf once again however the wolf grabs John's hands this time and, in an act of revenge for being used, the wolf bites John's hand off in one go, biting through John's wrist and breaking his bone in the process. John screams in agony and drops to his knees as blood begins to gush from his stump, Caroline runs to John's side as John screams, he then runs at Shane in a rage however he trips on the rope used to tie Shane up, falling flat onto his face. He tries to scramble back to his feet but his leg is broken in two places, Caroline comes over to help John as he continues screaming in pain and clutching his stump however John just slaps her - Shane says: "I think he's too far gone to stop now" Caroline agrees and asks Cara to look away but before she can do anything, the wolf grabs John and takes him away at awesome speed whilst also carrying the bag of remains.

Shane gives chase and the three end up in a field with a hole in it, it was clearly dug, the wolf puts the remains in the hole before sitting by it and looking at Shane, who nods and pulls out his salt and matches: "Are you sure you want this?" he asks the wolf, the wolf barks and looks at Shane and licks its chops. Shane nods again and lights the match: "Would you like for this to end? I think it's time to rest my friend" he reassures the wolf as the white smoke starts to rise into the air, the wolf takes a deep breath and then seemingly nods as Shane salts the body but before he can burn it, John launches himself at Shane in one last attempt to get the remains back. The wolf snarls and bites down on John's shoulder, John screams in pain as the wolf finally lets go of him and throws him in the hole (with the remains) just as the match begins to burn the remains, the Werewolf of Dogdyke lets out a sigh of relief almost as it welcomes it's eternal rest - it disappears in a flash of light. Shane looks towards the sky as the final flames reach the bag of remains and the evil, stuck and injured John remains trapped in the deep hole where the charred remains now rest - "Fly high my friend" Shane says to thin air but is clearly referring to the Werewolf of Dogdyke whose remains were the only thing keeping it in the realm of the living, what it truly was will remain unknown and lost to time.

Later, when Shane returns back to his garage (which acts as his hunting headquarters) he carries out research on John and finds a record of him, his full name is Johnathan Mathers - it appears he's got a history of petty crime and even spent some time in jail, yet he always seemingly craved a family and to be a leader as his photos show, Shane puts the blame on Caroline's spell for John's erratic behaviour as they are known to change people's perspectives, moods and even ways of life at times , he also tries to find some information on Caroline but she doesn't have much of a social media presence but is keen on magic, hense the spell attempt and Shane believes she's capable of doing something like this so deems that he will keep an eye on her going forward, he finally looks through "The Paranormal Files" and ticks off "The Werewolf of Dogdyke" from the list, he makes a note to himself to check on John's family and calls up his mother for an update, she tells him that John has gotten worse since the incident and is now seeing a specialist, Shane does not seem happy about this but decides to leave it for now.

## Characters

* Shane
* Cara Mathers
* Caroline Mathers
* Johnathan Mathers

## Trivia

* The Werewolf of Dogdyke is a real urban legend in Lincolnshire and how it's introduced (the flashbacks in the episode) uses the story of the cryptid as it was told many years ago.