Karen White

"Honey, you're from Los Angeles. The wildest thing you've ever heard is Wolfman Jack."

- Bill Neill

Karen White was a television broadcaster and investigative journalist for KDHD Channel 6 news in Los Angeles, California. Having lived in L.A. all of her life, she eventually married Bill Neill, though chose to keep her maiden name for professional reasons.

Tracking a Serial Killer
In 1981, Karen earned the attention of a serial killer known only as Eddie. Working with police as well as the KDHD production crew, Karen decided to keep in communication with Eddie in the hopes of drawing him out. Eddie arranged for Karen to meet with him at an adult book store. Karen went to the shop wearing a wire, but the excessive neon found in this particular neighborhood prevented the police from keeping track of her movements.

She met Eddie inside a private movie booth and Eddie forced her to watch a film of a woman being raped. He wouldn't let Karen see his face, but spoke to her in low, even tones. After extolling his personal philosophy to her, he entreated Karen to turn around. Upon doing so, she saw Eddie undergo the beginning of a transformation into a werewolf. At this time, police officers entered the establishment and upon hearing Karen scream in terror emptied their firearms into the booth, seemingly killing Eddie in the process. Karen was so traumatized by the incident that she blanked the entire experience from her memory. Although she couldn't remember the details surrounding her encounter with Eddie, she began to receive flickering images from the film he forced her to watch.

The Colony
Karen met with famed psychiatrist Doctor George Waggner and told her about the incident and her subsequent memory loss. Waggner invited her to visit a community outreach program that he ran called the Colony. Bill drove Karen out to the site where they were greeted by Waggner's other patients including Jerry Warren, his wife Donna, Charlie Barton, Erle Kenton, T.C. Quist and his sister, Marsha.

Living in the open country did little to either settle Karen’s nerves or help her to recall her lost memory. One evening, Donna Warren and she came upon the mutilated remains of a cow that they found on the perimeter of Charlie Barton’s ranch. This, in combination with the frequent wolf howls she would hear at night, only served to frustrate her even further.

Her relationship with Bill suffered as well. While walking through the forests, Bill was attacked and bitten by a werewolf. Immediately following this, he began having an affair with Marsha Quist, who was also a werewolf (possibly even the one who bit him). Karen took note of the scratches on Bill's back and knew that he had been unfaithful. When she accused Marsha of following Bill around like a "bitch in heat", Bill backhanded her.

Things went from bad to worse for Karen. After only a few nights, she began to suspect the truth about Waggner's colony – that it was actually a community of werewolves. When she went to Doctor Waggner's office to ask him some questions, she found the mutilated remains of her friend Terry Fisher. The man responsible for the murder then made his presence known – Eddie Quist, the serial killer that had been stalking Karen. Eddie was alive and while, though still suffered the scar of the police officer's bullet in the middle of his forehead. Eddie cornered Karen, determined to give her "a piece of his mind". He then slowly began to shape-shift into a werewolf. Karen watched the transformation in horror, but interrupted it when she threw a jar of sulfuric acid at Eddie. Karen escaped from Eddie Quist and later met up with co-worker Chris Halloran who had come to the Colony to rescue her. They were later captured by the other werewolves and taken to a barn (or ritual center as they called it) on the property. Chris helped her to escape and they succeeded in corralling most of the werewolves into the barn, locking it. Chris then set the place on fire and let it burn.

The werewolves managed to claw their way out and one of them, Bill, chased Chris' car as Karen and he tried to get away. He pounced on top of the roof and tore his way inside whereupon he bit Karen on the shoulder. Chris shot him with his shotgun and Karen saw the beast fall into the back seat where it transformed back into Bill Neill.

Returning to L.A., Karen knew that she would become a werewolf on the next full moon. With Chris' help, she decided to transform for the first time on live television. She began reading an editorial piece that she had written, then turned into a werewolf. As per their plan, Chris then shot Karen with a rifle filled with silver bullets. Karen's live broadcast was later played off as a hoax.

The Howling II
"Your sister is a werewolf."

- Stefan Crosscoe

Although Karen White was now dead, her spirit was not yet at rest. Her funeral was attended by friends and loved ones as well as other werewolves who knew that Karen would rise from her own grave. Karen's brother, Ben White, met with an occult scholar Stefan Crosscoe who pointedly informed him, "Your sister is a werewolf". He went on to tell him that a creature such as she could not be killed with regular silver weapons. Only titanium could end her existence once and for all. Ben didn't believe a word that Crosscoe had to say and angrily admonished him for even thinking about desecrating Karen's grave. Crosscoe could not be swayed however and he went to the funeral home where Karen's body layed in order to finish her off once and for all. While Ben bore witness to the horrible truth concerning his sister, Crosscoe ended her existence by driving a titanium stake through her chest.

Notes & Trivia

 * There are a few discrepancies with the portrayal of Karen White between the first two Howling films, not the least of which involves casting. Actress Dee Wallace played the part in The Howling, but did not reprise the role for the character's cameo appearance in The Howling II. Actress Hana Ludvikova played the role in the sequel. Also, the flashback scenes from The Howling II detailing Karen's fatal shooting was new footage and not stock footage from the first movie. There is a notable difference in visual style between the two different scenes. Another irregularity is the notion put forth in The Howling II that a werewolf must be killed with a weapon made of titanium. Karen was originally bitten by one of the Colony werewolves who were all vulnerable to silver. This additional element to werewolf lore raises a question about the characters featured in the first film: Do all of the werewolves have the potential to rise from the dead?


 * Karen's full name, Karen Marie White, is revealed during her funeral in The Howling II.