Dear Werewolf Correspondent

A concerned parent has written in... okay, it was McNeil, he's the only one who ever writes in. His daughter had a question: "[My daughter] mentioned that she has noticed an increase in the number of werewolf movies out this year (3?)...and we were wondering if there were any rumblings in the blogvine as to why....also, she has noticed that if there is a story about werewolves, oftentimes the author will feel compelled to include vampires for some reason. Is there any reason the blogmaster can think of why this might be so? I'll hang up and take my answer on the blog." Tell your daughter that the "blog" has not noticed an increase in werewolf movies, though we will take her word for it. Vampires always seem more popular, which baffles us. After all, the vampire seems rather nonchalant about his or her monstrousness. The vampire seems to think highly of himself or herself and dress in a flashy manner. The vampire appears to get a "kick" out of stirring up trouble with a bunch of shenanigans - floating outside someone's window, for example. The werewolf, on the other hand, is just some poor dude who can't help himself. In fact, he (in his human guise) is sometimes unaware of his werewolf status. And if he is aware, he usually feels just awful about it. We have always had a soft spot for the werewolf. The werewolf is divided and nervous. So... Maybe the country feels werewolfy right now? I have no idea what I'm talking about. As for why vampires often end up in werewolf movies - if this is indeed the case - I can only assume it is because vampires think they are so cool and sometimes their attitude rubs off on movie producers. Like, "Let's stick some vampires in there! They're cool! Werewolves just make everybody sad!" (Pictured, Oliver Reed in CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF, a typically tragic werewolf picture. He's even a werewolf as a little boy in that one! It makes you feel pitiful inside.)