Last night was the debut of American Horror Story’s new season. As the best horror show on television you should really check it out. And yes, last year’s season was a bit of a downer compared to seasons one and two, so hopefully they right the ship this year. Anyway, and as such, it’s time we redirect our popular culture coverage to the upcoming Halloween festivities.

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I hope it is yours as well. To kick things off I would like to begin with a much maligned and abused genre: werewolf films. A follow up post in weeks to come will delve more into what makes a great werewolf film, which one’s I think were the best, and so on. In the meantime, and to get your juices flowing, I thought I would leave you with the two greatest werewolf transformation scenes of all time (by the way if you disagree feel free to write in with your thoughts or clips of your favorites).

Now, both these clips come from films released in 1981: The Howling and American Werewolf in London. Along with The Wolfen 1981 is perhaps the best year ever in werewolf film or television history. Enjoy:

From The Howling:

Now from American Werewolf in London: