Indy the Werewolf
Friendly, loyal and only a little clumsy when the moon was full
Who are the Hill City Howlers?
Learn more about Lynchburg's baseball-loving creatures
The Night the Howlers Took the Field
Everyone in Lynchburg knew the old baseball stadium had a strange reputation. Night guards quit. Lights flickered. And sometimes, on full-moon nights, you could hear a howl echo across the outfield.
You see, the stadium's neighbor was Spring Hill Cemetery and it had been there long before baseball came to Lynchburg. In fact, the cemetery was so old that tunnels ran beneath it and under the current baseball stadium!
Some said the stadium was haunted -- but that wasn't true. In fact, the tunnels were just... occupied.
Five friends who found their way to Hill City by way of the cemetery now lived in the tunnels under the stadium and had been hiding together for years:
Gilly the Creature
Loved the grounds crew because they kept the grass perfect
Murray the Mummy
Wrapped in bandages and extremely careful not to trip, he always held his breath whenever someone dove for a ball
Victor the Vampire
Wore a cape but preferred sunflower seeds to bats
Daisy the Bride
Clever, calm and a brilliant tactician who always had the best ideas
For all their differences, they had one thing in common - they loved baseball.
In fact, they watched every game through a crack in a tunnel wall, howling when the fans cheered so no one would notice.
Then came the season everything went wrong.
The Lynchburg team couldn’t win a game. Fans stopped coming. Rumors spread that the team might leave town.
The monsters were worried too - if Lynchburg lost baseball, what would they do? Would they have to leave their home?
Then one night, during a game that Lynchburg was losing - and under a bright full moon - a foul ball found its way into the tunnel where the monsters were watching. It rolled right up to Indy's paw. He picked up the ball and looked around at his friends. They all looked back at him.
“That’s it,” said Indy, "we've gotta help."
They all agreed.
In unison, the monsters came out of the tunnels and stepped onto the field.
The few fans at the game didn't know what to make of the strange sight in front of them. Neither did the players. And especially the manager!
You could hear a pin drop in the stadium.
Indy looked around the field - his eyes wide. Then, he fired the ball back to the pitcher. The pitcher didn't even have to move his glove! In fact, the pitcher had to check his hand because the throw was so hard!
The pitcher looked at the manager who shrugged. The pitcher climbed back on the mound and the monsters took up positions around the stadium. The game continued.
Gilly the Creature took up with the grounds crew along the left field line.
Victor the Vampire fluttered just high enough to track fly balls and shout out advice to the fielders.
Murray went down to the dugout and applied first aid with the trainers to the players.
Daisy the Bride met with the pitching coach and helped strategize.
And Indy? Well, Indy howled right before every big hit. He had a keen sense of strikes and balls for the hitters.
The team won.
At the next game, they won again.
And again after that.
Soon fans noticed the shapes in the shadows: the pointy ears on the grounds-person pushing out the tarp, the man who's cape waved in the sky over right field, the limping form helping players in the dugout, the white dress fluttering from the bullpen, the furry figure howling from atop the scoreboard.
Instead of fear, the crowd felt excitement. The manager finally went down to the tunnel and said, “You Howlers are the best thing to happen to this team.”
So the Howlers stepped into the light.
They became the official mascots of the Hill City Howlers.
The team never left Lynchburg.
And to this day, if you go to a game and hear a howl rise with the crowd, you’ll know the Howlers are still watching—still cheering—and still part of the team.