Woodstake

Check out our episode here! Woodstake by Darin S. Cape and illustrated by Felipe Kroll

March 1927, Upstate New York.

An ancient evil has woken up and wants revenge, but he’s weak and needs to feed on creatures and critters to build his strength. As the animal blood replenishes him, his memories also return, and he remembers his enemy following him across the ocean and nearly succeeding in driving a stake through his heart. This ancient evil is cunning and had already set up a safe house with soil from his homeland which helps replenish him. When he’s stronger, he’s able to shapeshift into a wolf and hunts a hunter, feasting on his blood. This ancient evil is… Dracula.

A local farmer, Jack Howard, loves the beautiful Lucy Westin. He asks her to marry him and she accepts. However, Lucy has also drawn Dracula’s attention. Throughout her engagement to Jack, Dracula visits her and drinks her blood, promising to give her eternal life. Meanwhile, Sheriff Wood is investigating the hunter's killing. The death looks like a wolf attack but the coroner, Marius Van Helsing, knows it’s Dracula. He's back. 

Jack and Lucy are married, and on their wedding night, Dracula comes for Lucy. She’s gone by morning. Jack goes to the Sheriff and Doctor Van Helsing is at the station when Jack reports Lucy’s disappearance. Van Helsing knows it’s Dracula. The three men go vampire hunting with Van Helsing’s son following along. They go deep into the woods and find an old, abandoned farmhouse. They venture into the basement.

Inside, vampire Lucy is waiting, but is quickly staked through the heart. A giant wolf attacks them then and they fire their guns, but the wolf escapes. They’ve failed and know the creature will come back. But when? In the meantime, Van Helsing changes the family name TO VAN HALEN!, his son grows and studies medicine, the Sheriff's son takes over from his father, and Jack eventually remarries. Time passes… 1931… 1946… 1965…

July 1969, San Francisco. 

Jon Harper is giving away copies of his magazine, trying to gain interest so he can actually start charging for it. A street musician passes, not his thing, but if he got an interview with Jimi Hendrix, that would be a different matter. He needs to start making money so he can start making rent because his dad is only going to help him out for a couple more months. On the plus side, he’s seeing The Who that night with his girlfriend, Nina Murray. Unfortunately she can’t get her folks' car for the trip to Woodstock, so he asks his friend Artie who agrees to drive.  

Meanwhile in upstate New York, the townsfolk are none too pleased about Woodstock. They see a bunch of free-loving, music-appreciating, anti-war, weed-smoking youths as a menace. The festival is happening despite their protests. Doctor Van Halen is concerned too, but not for the same reasons as the townsfolk. He remembers Dracula from when he was a kid and is worried so many people coming to the area will draw him out. 

A few days before the festival officially starts, people start arriving. Someone else comes to town, too, and visits Jack Howard’s farmhouse first, drawing out his wife Freya. Before turning her, Dracula instructs Freya to prepare the house for him and to write a letter to Jack informing him to expect a delivery for her. The next day, the box is delivered and placed in the basement. The following night, Freya wakes as a vampire and attacks Jack in the barn, but he escapes and knocks a lantern over. As the barn begins to burn, Jack stakes Freya through the heart. Realizing what is in his basement, Jack heads there. Meanwhile, the Sheriff receives a call of a possible disturbance at Jack’s. 

Inside his basement, as Jack makes to confront Dracula, the Sheriff arrives. Dracula exerts control over the Sheriff and makes him a renfield before snapping Jack’s neck. The sheriff then disposes of the bodies, sets fire to the house, and calls in to the station saying Jack went crazy. When Doc Van Halen looks at the bodies on scene, something feels off. 

Meanwhile, a guy called Bill visits his friend Robert, a Vietnam vet who is suffering from being in the war. Bill persuades Robert to go for a drive and they end up at a diner where Jon, Artie, and Nina have also stopped and they hassle them because they’re hippies. As they eat, Artie suggests Jon see a high school friend, Susan, who's helping organize the festival. She might be able to get Jon an interview with Jimi Hendrix. 

The harassment continues as Jon, Artie and Nina leave the diner. In fact, Bill and Robert follow them. As they’re speeding down the road, a giant bat darts in front of their car giving them a jump-scare. Moments later, the Sheriff pulls both cars over for speeding. Things escalate quickly, the Sheriff being particularly aggressive, then Dracula attacks Bill, the Sheriff shoots Robert, and Jon, Artie and Nina get the heck out of there. Unfortunately for them, the Sheriff calls in the shooting and blames them. 

Dracula hasn’t killed Bill, he’s turning him. Dracula will find the others, too, because he can feel Jon’s hunger for power and recognition. Jon, Artie and Nina are freaking the heck out. They don’t know what to do but Jon definitely knows he doesn’t want to miss the festival. They decide to head to Woodstock where they can rest, regroup and hide in the crowds.  

The next day the Sheriff leaves a trailer at the festival. Apparently it’s filled with flares and emergency blankets and stuff. Yeah, right. Jon heads to get his press pass leaving Nina and Artie to set up camp. Unfortunately for them, the Sheriff spots them and has someone make an announcement calling Nina Murray to the stage for an urgent call from her father. Artie tells Nina to call home and check in case it’s the cop trying to trick them. He’s totally right and the Sheriff has to leave for the station without his scapegoats. 

Meanwhile, Jon has his press pass and is flirting outrageously with his high school friend, Susan. Susan shows Jon a remote cottage the talent can use that he’ll have access to for his interview with Jimi Hendrix, and they immediately have sex there. This happens while Nina and Artie worriedly look for him, but hope he’s just working. As night falls, Dracula rises from his earth-filled box that was of course stored in the Sheriff's emergency trailer. He starts drinking and turning pretty young girls. 

Doctor Van Halen has performed his autopsy on Robert and has found the bullet used to kill him is the same kind issued to the police department and alerts the Deputy. Privately he suspects an ancient evil at work too. At the festival, Artie is starting to put things together himself, he doesn’t say it’s a vampire to Nina, but gives her a cross to wear for protection. Dracula continues to feed, this time on a man who has dropped too much acid. The drug severs his control over the Sheriff for a short time, and in that period, the Sheriff realizes what he’s done. 

It’s night time and the Deputy and Doctor have arrived. They search the Sheriff’s trailer and find the box of earth inside with a human imprint in it. Dracula is back! (Fake gasp!) At the festival, the Sheriff walks through the tents, spots Jon, and communicates this to Dracula. Dracula visits Jon and offers him power, fame and respect. In another tent, vampire Robert attacks Artie and Nina but they’re able to drive him off. Artie wants to leave but Nina doesn’t want to leave without Jon. 

The next morning, a group of women are reporting their friend missing but the Sheriff dismisses them saying it’s a large crowd, they may have just gone off with someone. It's definitely not vampire attacks. The Deputy and the Doc, who aren’t corrupt pawns of an ancient evil, then question the women. At the same time, Artie and Nina are trying to find Jon and hear the names of missing people being called over the loudspeaker. They talk to some of the people doing the reporting and each one mentions a tall, dark man. 

Doctor Van Halen is trying to locate Dracula’s lair, knowing it will be somewhere close to the festival but isolated. He’s not actually said the word “vampire” to the deputy, but he has the officer's trust considering everything that’s going on. Artie and Nina, meanwhile, have found Susan. She was with Jon until 3 am and Nina finds out he’s a cheating piece of shit as well as an asshole. 

With all the preparations the Doc is making, the Deputy comes to the conclusion, finally, that they’re dealing with a vampire and mind-controlled Sheriff. As they look for the vampire's lair, they find a VW camper with some baby-vamps inside and quickly dispatch them. Dracula feels their death and sends the Sheriff; however, the Doc and Deputy have already gone back to the campgrounds. Meanwhile Artie and Nina have found the dead baby-vamps in the VW and decide to go skinny dipping until dark.

After lake-based shenanigans are done, Nina insists they need to contact the Deputy and they arrange to meet at the food tents. Unfortunately, Nina called the station who relayed the message to the Deputy on an open radio channel so the Sheriff also heads to the food tents. The Doc and Deputy distract the Sheriff, helping Nina and Artie escape, and they run to an occupied campfire in the woods. The Sheriff and some baby-vamps immediately attack the group. A few staked baby-vamps later, the Doc threatens the Sheriff’s life and the Sheriff calls a retreat.  Dracula meanwhile has visited a different campfire and regales the hippies with the story of the acid trip he had the night before, and then he drinks everyone. 

The next morning, the Doc, the Deputy, Nina and Artie come up with a plan. Secretly, the Doc gives Nina a cross and a bottle with an herb mixed in. If she drinks it and gives herself willingly to Dracula, he might die. The plan starts with a bunch of police hating, very stoned guys mooning the Sheriff, distracting him so the Doc and the Deputy can get into the Sheriff’s trailer. Despite the many full moons, the Sheriff still spots them and he stabs the Deputy with a huge hunting knife, killing him. Inside the trailer, Doc Van Halen has opened Dracula’s box. The vampire is inside but has been waiting for him. Boo! He grabs the Doc, drinks his blood and as he celebrates drinking a Van Helsing, the Doc shoots himself in the head. 

Nina and Artie were watching from a distance but after the gunshot, they run and regroup on the main festival ground. Artie wants to leave and get as far away as they can, but Nina still wants to find her cheating asshole boyfriend she’s not seen or heard from for three days. They agree to go to the cabin that night where he’s supposed to be interviewing Jimi Hendrix. In the meantime they just lie on the ground and sleep. 

When they wake, they have a supper of burgers and holy water before heading to the cabin. As they pass into the artist-only area, they see Jon and Susan. Both are vampires. They pull out crosses immediately. Vampire Susan attacks Nina, shouting “he’s mine, you bitch!” Honestly, she’s welcome to him. Artie and Jon are just having a standoff until Nina stakes Susan. Jon grabs Artie by the throat but Nina has turned her attention to her bloodsucking, cheating, asshole (ex?)boyfriend and stakes him too. Bye, loser. 

In the cabin, Jimi Hendrix is chilling with this guitar when Dracula comes in pretending to be Jon Harper of Psych & Roll magazine. The Sheriff is stationed outside the cabin and as Artie runs up, he arrests him for Robert’s murder. Nina arrives then, whacks the Sheriff across the head and is promptly attacked and bitten by vampire Robert. Artie throws holy water in Robert’s face before staking him. Thankfully, Nina is okay. 

Inside, Dracula and Jimi Hendrix are just chatting when Jimi is called to check out the crowds by a groupie. Artie and Nina see Jimi leave, and Nina takes out the herb vial the Doc gave her, drinking the whole thing. They try to sneak into the cabin but vampires have exceptionally good hearing so Dracula is not surprised. 

As Dracula starts to mind-control Artie, Nina offers herself willingly. Dracula chucks Artie away and takes Nina into his arms and starts drinking from her neck. He can taste something is wrong instantly. Vervain! He reminds Nina she gave herself to him willingly and is his forever before he changes into a bat and crashes through the window. Jimi Hendrix comes back then, not really all that surprised to see two bleeding hippies in the cabin instead of the one magazine guy he left there. After Artie and Nina leave, he chills with his guitar again.  

Later, as the sun is shining and Jimi Hendrix is onstage playing Purple Haze, Nina comments how bright the sun is and how nauseous she feels. She can feel Dracula, knows that he’s still alive and free, and worries about what that means to her. Artie suggests they go home.