The Bear Lodge is a compact of hunters that first appear in the book Spirit Slayers. The compact is dedicated to hunting down strange supernatural creatures, particularly werewolves, for sport.
History[]
Claiming to draw inspiration from nearly legendary hunters from centuries past, the first real recorded meeting of what was to become the Bear Lodge was in 1901, in the small town of Glasgow, Montana. A small group of American big game hunters had decided to meet and share stories of the strange and bizarre creatures they had encountered in their hunts. Don Edwards, a local hunter, had the others tales beaten, when he described an encounter with a group of monstrous creatures that tore his hunting party to shreds, but not before he managed to kill one of the beasts. When he brought the other townspeople in for a rescue attempt, they only found remains and a bullet-riddled body, which Don knew was the wolf he killed, the dead man having the same eyes as the creature.
Realizing that there were creatures in the wild that were deadlier than wolves and mountain lions, the men decided to come together, starting the first lodge a half hours ride from Glasgow. Soon, hunters flocked to the lodge, and those who survived the earliest hunts learned what could kill their enemies. They made sure that all groups had an experienced hunter accompany them, and felt no shame in fleeing from a stronger opponent.
In 1946, a second lodge was founded by a group of lodge hunters in Washington, and in ten years, five more were founded across the country, as well as a lodge in Saskatchewan, the only lodge outside of the US. Since then, the Lodge has continued to embrace new technologies, such as the Internet, creating a forum accessible by password to allow lodge members to communicate and share advice on hunting.
Unfortunately for the Lodge, their original home in Montana was taken from them in 1987, continued werewolf attacks forcing the last members out. Lodge members occasionally try to recapture the lodge, only to be repulsed by the wolves. Despite this, some members see the retaking of the files and photos in the lodge as invaluable.
Purpose[]
Since its founding, the only real target for the lodge has been werewolves. Though occasionally encountering vampires and other creatures, every Lodge member knows that werewolves are the only beings that matter. To members of the Bear Lodge, the thrill of pitting human reason and thought against pure animal instinct is a challenge that cannot be ignored. Using traps, vehicles and disguise, the hunters of the Lodge are able to focus primarily on the weakest members of a wolf tribe, mirroring the same behaviors of the creatures they hunt.
Organization[]
Despite the small number of Lodges, a member in one of the lodges is a member of any lodge. To gain entrance, a new hunter must prove himself in a new hunt by killing a werewolf and taking the creature's fingers and ears as a prize. The reason that Bear Lodge hunters continue to fight and kill werewolves when others would refuse to face the wolves again is what makes a Lodge hunter's Motivation.
Sportsmen go after werewolves to show they are the best hunters. They are willing to put themselves above other members to prove themselves.
Trappers are more pragmatic about their approach, using traps and wits to kill werewolves, primarily to keep people safe, or using experimental techniques to kill werewolves. Among the membership of the Lodge, trappers are the most willing to retake the original lodge in Montana.
Vigilantes are members who hunt for what they believe is a sense of justice. They not only hunt werewolves, but vampires and other killers as well. Interestingly, some may refuse to kill werewolves that have not killed a human.
References[]
- HTV: Spirit Slayers, p. 87 -91