Final Project Proposal

For my final project I am choosing option # 2, which is to do a study on a specific monster. The monster of my choice is Werewolves. As a child I developed a fear of werewolves after seeing the movie " An American Werewolf In London". I'm sure it is a cheesy movie and I imagine that I would laugh at its context today. I have not seen this movie since I was 8 years old. I remember that night in vivid detail. It was close to Halloween and an older cousin was staying the night. My dad rented this movie for us to watch. Dad had that kind of sick sense of humor. He was always hiding in closets, just to grab your arm and yell "Rawr" when you opened the door. So it was not uncommon for him to bring home scary movies for us to watch. Definitely the soul source of my enjoyment of horror films and literature today. Needless to say, this movie scared the hell out of me. Thankfully, my dear cousin slept with me that night.

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I originally was going to pick option one and read Tim O'brien. I had red "The Things They Carried" about 10 years ago and found it an exceptional, intriguing read. But I felt that in order for me to obtain the greatest benefit and gain the most from the learning experience of this project, that it would be best for me to study a subject that I was less familiar with. So, I chose a monster instead. I was leaning towards Zombies, but they don't intrigue me at all. Besides, Zombies and Vampires are big business these days. So naturally, I picked a monster that had actually affected me at one point in my life. I'm still afraid of the Boogey Man and didn't pick him so as not to entertain or increase the source of my fears. There's still a child in us all.

I plan to use the online YC Library resource as my data base. One book in particular that I do intend to read is " The Mysteries of Vampires and Werewolves" by Chris Oxlade. It appears to be a research about the legends of werewolves in different cultures and it also explains some of the scientific reasons behind old werewolf stories. Another book I will research is " The Encylopedia of Vamppires, Werewolves and Other Monsters" by Rosemary Guilley. Honestly I have just randomly chose these reading because they are listed as non- fiction. For old times sake maybe I will rent " An American Werewolf in London". Maybe I can scare the hell out of my 7 year old too.

With this project I hope to discover if there is a common meaning in the creation of werewolf stories culturally. Specifically I would like to see what the significance is in American culture. I imagine its significance comes from the European immigration into America.