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It's time once again to curl up on the couch for some scary movies, including those that really pique the interest of the traveler and werewolf in all of us.
An American Werewolf in London continues to resonate with travelers, because it shows the highs and obvious lows of International travel. It also offers important tips: dress warmly and always bring walking shoes. Also, make sure not to get bitten by a werewolf thus passing on an old curse that leads to you wreaking havoc on an entire metropolitan area as a man-beast. Start with warm clothing, though.
This is the perfect time to stop and appreciate horror classics of the past, picking out those aspects that the travelers among us might appreciate-such as locating that creepy bar with the pentagram.
Well come along for a brief jaunt across the English countryside. Stay close, because this is treacherous land.
A Pleasant Journey:
First, we take a look at David Kessler (David Naughton) and Jack Goodman's (Griffin Dunne) familiar stroll through the countryside, leading to one of the more terrifying scenes from 1980s horror films.
Film aficionado Herve Attia has been known to visit a myriad of film locations in the past, posting the results to his Facebook page and YouTube. Thankfully, Attia and pal visited the locations in American Werewolf, showing off a side-by-side comparison for the results.
The following video does have NSFW language.
Attia is thorough in the video's description, giving us a sense where these places actually are for those so inclined. If you want to take a spooky stroll through the countryside, you need to meander about the Welsh border:
"The opening shots of the moors are near Hay Bluff, a mountain that straddles the Welsh border in Brecon Beacons National Park. The scenes were shot on the Welsh side of Hay Bluff, about four miles to the south of the town of Hay-on-Wye in the county of Powys. The scene where David and Jack get dropped off by the sheep farmer is by the stone circle, the same location where, later in the film, Dr. Hirsch stops and looks at the sign for East Proctor. The same road provides the scenery for the next two shots, where David and Jack talk about Debbie Klein."
Movie Locations helps us further by locating specifically where you need to go: "The moors were filmed around the Black Mountains in Wales, and 'East Proctor' is in reality the tiny village of Crickadarn, about six miles southeast of Builth Wells off the A479."
Good luck and please stay on the road, especially if there is an errant howling.
Slaughtered Lamb:
Unfortunately, as you see in the video, the Slaughtered Lamb isn't as ominous as depicted in the film. In fact, there is no Slaughtered Lamb, because the movie was shot at a pub named The Black Swan, which is apparently more homey, quaint locale than gloomy, foreboding watering hole.
About Entertainment's Mark H. Harris helps us out with the location, providing the unfortunate news that you will have issues with finding the place that served as the exterior shot: "The interior was filmed at the Black Swan pub in Surrey, England ( Old Lane, Martyr's Green, Cobham, Surrey, KT11 1NG ). The exterior was an anonymous cottage."
London:
We certainly hope your stay in London is far less eventful than David Kessler's, who scoured the depths of Tottenham Court Road Station and later woke in the London Zoo, both places you are welcome to visit in human form.
After which, you can visit the iconic Piccadilly Circus that once welcomed Kessler's passionate plea of guilt. Although, we would ask you to refrain from doing similar.
Now Attia does state that you can indeed visit the alleyway that closes the movie, although you might just miss it: "The final sequence in the alleyway was filmed at Clink Street, London. The location is now almost unrecognizable, the area having been redeveloped since."
Even if it were untouched, it would be hard to recognize without the general werewolf mayhem taking place all around.
California:
If you are near Universal Studios Hollywood for its Halloween Horror Nights, you are in luck. This year organizers are rolling out a maze dedicated to this monster with a maze aptly titled An American Werewolf.
Here is a very loud tour of that maze:
Now get on out there and enjoy all the sights and sounds from both sides of the pond. However, you may want to stay indoors during a full moon. It never hurts to err on the side of caution, because those werewolves can be a real chore to deal with.
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