LOUISE HASTINGS

Real Name: Professor Louise Hastings

Identity/Class: Human, occult associate; nationality uncertain

Occupation: Occult Investigator, Archeologist

Group Affiliations: Darkhold Redeemers (Sam Buchanon, Jinx, Victoria Montesi, Modred the Mystic)

Affiliations: Midnight Sons (Blade, John Blaze, Frank Drake, Dr. Strange, Ghost Rider/Dan Ketch/Noble Kale, Hannibal King, Morbius, Vengeance);
Blood (Caretaker, Foundry, Raydar, Regent, Seer, Truthsayer, Xoc),
Quincy Harker, Agatha Harkness, Vittorio Montesi, Punisher (Frank Castle), Sabretooth, Scarlet Witch, Werewolf

Enemies: Chthon, Darkholders (DeGuzman), Diabolique, Dwarf,
Fallen (Atrocity, Embyrre, Metarchus, Patriarch, Ranter),
General Mark Hamilton, Mr. Hayward,
the Lilin (Bad Timing, Blackout, Bloodthirst, Dark Legion, Doc, Fang, Girth, Infinks, Meatmarket, Nakota, Outcast, Parasite, Pilgrim, Pixil, Short Circuit, Sister Nil, Skinner, Skitter, Spitfire), Lilith, Mercy, N'Garai demons, Paralyzer, Spider-X, Reverend Styge, Switchblade, Morton Thurnton, Troids, Donald J. Walsh, Zarathos, Zzzax

Known Relatives: Caprice (daughter, deceased) and William Hastings (Jinx, grandson); eight (?) ex-husbands

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Her mansion, New Hope, Connecticut (see comments);
   formerly Oxford, England

First Appearance: (In Prophecy) Ghost Rider III#28, Darkhold#1 (October, 1992)

Powers/Abilities: None. Louise Hastings had extensive knowledge of the occult, and most likely new at least a few spells she could use if a pinch. Her greatest assets were her extensive knowledge, and her cool head. She is reasonably experienced in combat, and is a surprisingly sharp markswoman.

History: Louise Hastings was born in Barbados, and then raised in England. She studied at Oxford University, and attained several degrees. She made a career as an archeologist and occult expert.

In the course of her adventures, Louise Hastings is known to have encountered and assisted Quincy Harker and his band of vampire hunters.

(Darkhold#1) - During the events of the storyline referred to as the "Rise of the Midnight Sons", the demon-queen Lilith and her children, the Lilin, were released from a long period of imprisonment. In the chaos that ensued, a number of groups and individuals gathered together to combat these demons. At the same time, the Dwarf and the Other began actively manipulating people to use pages from the Darkhold, in order to gain power for their lord, the Elder God Chthon.
Louise Hastings was hired by John Blaze, alongside Ghost Rider/Dan Ketch, to uncover the secrets behind these recent events. She ended up joining forces with Victoria Montesi and Sam Buchanon against Donald Walsh, who had activated the Darkhold's Chameleon Worms spell. The struggle was joined by Lilith and some of her Lilin. Together they succeeded in destroying Walsh and driving off the Lilin.

 

(Ghost Rider III#31) - Vicki, Sam, and Louise again encountered the Lilin, alongside the rest of the Midnight Sons.

(Darkhold#2) - The"Darkhold Redeemers" encountered Mark Hamilton and Morton Thurton, who were using a Darkhold "Spell of Finding."

(Darkhold#3, 4) - Louise and the others were joined by Sabretooth in the town of Perfection, South Carolina, where Aurora Poule used a Darkhold Spell--summoning the N'Garai to slaughter the residents of the town.

(Darkhold#5) - Alongside the Punisher, Louise and the others battled the zombies of Rev. Styge, who was using a Darkhold spell of resurrection.

(Darkhold#6, 7) - Louise and the others traveled to Hawaii, where they opposed the Darkhold "Memory Spell" of Mr. Haywood, which sought to repeat the events of the Pearl Harbor attack. They also encountered Dr. Strange, Agatha Harkness, and the Scarlet Witch, as well as Modred the Mystic, during this struggle. It was Louise who convinced Haywood to abandon the spell and prevent further bloodshed.

(Darkhold#8-10) - Aboard an airplane, Louise and the others fought the effects of a Darkhold "Wish Spell". These events joined them with Jinx, Louise's grandson. Jinx was placed in Louise's custody after the death of his mother, Caprice. Louise contemplated using the Wishing Spell page herself, to bring her daughter back to life. However, she managed to resist the urge, and summoned the Other, only to tell it that she denied its offer.
Meanwhile, Sam Buchanon had never believed in magic, and thought all of their encounters involved high-tech tricks. He also believed that the reason Victoria knew about the use of the Darkhold pages was because she was secretly in league with the Darkholders. Working with his superior in the CIA, DeGuzman, he ambushed Victoria and the others, knocked out Louise, and then turned Victoria in. However, DeGuzman was the leader of a sect of the Darkholders, and attempted to have Victoria killed. Buchanon realized his mistake before it was too late, and rescued Vicki. DeGuzman and his Darkholders, meanwhile, were slain by the demon-child Diabolique.

(Midnight Sons Unlimited#1/2) - Vicki, Sam, and Louise encountered Mercy, a criminal using another page of the Darkhold.

(Midnight Sons Unlimited #2/2) - Vicki, Sam, and Louise encountered Frank West who had utilized a Darkhold spell and became a victim of the Troids.

(Midnight Sons Unlimited#3) - Vicki, Sam, and Louise, alongside the rest of the Midnight Sons, encountered Spider X, Zzzax, and the Paralyzer.

(Darkhold#11, Spirits of Vengeance#13) - Blade used the Demogorge page of the Darkhold to gain great power in an effort to wipe out all forces of magic. Vicki was one of his first victims, and was killed by him in his new Switchblade persona.
Louise led the others to Dr. Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum where she sacrificed a portion of her own soul by using the Darkhold itself to put an end to the Deomogorge spell. Blade was reverted back to his original form, and Vicki and all others slain by Switchblade were conveniently resurrected. Louise was never the same after this.

(Darkhold#12) - Diabolique learned the truth about Victoria from another demon, the Whisperer.

(Morbius#13) - Louise was present as Victoria sensed the use of the Darkhold Page of Resurrection.

(Darkhold#13, 14) - In an effort to save Nash, Victoria used a Darkhold "Spell of Healing", which resulted in the creation of Monstrosity, which retraced Vicki's steps and slew all it encountered. Eventually Vicki realized what was going on and managed to renounce the spell. Monstrosity was banished, but Victoria's lover Nash died as well.
The fact that the Montesi family was supposed to be "incorruptible," and yet Victoria had used a page of the Darkhold, led Hastings to investigate Victoria's past. Louise learned Victoria's true nature, as actually being a creation of the Darkhold.
Jinx began training under Modred the Mystic, despite Louise's disapproval.

(Nightstalker#14, Ghost Rider III#44, Darkhold#15) - During the events known as the Siege of Darkness, Louise was attacked and killed by Morbius, who was possessed by the Lilin Bloodthirst.

Comments: Created by Christopher Cooper and Richard Case.

Quincy Harker's career is quite extensive, spanning several decades, and so it is uncertain exactly when Louise's encounters with him took place. In addition, it is uncertain which vampire hunters he was working with at the time.
Interestingly, Harker was forced to wear sunglasses, because his repeated vampire bites over the years had made him sensitive to light. Louise also wore dark glasses all the time, although no reason is specified.

The Darkhold Redeemers team chose the building in New Hope as their base because it was literally right across the street from the hospital that Vicki's dying lover Nash was staying in. Nash's parents were her legal guardians, so they would have chosen the hospital. They hated Vicki, so the hospital wasn't chosen because it was convenient for where Vicki would be staying; rather the house was chosen as it was close to the hospital. This means none of the Redeemers could have owned it prior to the group moving in. It's possible Louise was the one who actually bought and therefore owned it.
--Loki

Profile by Snood

Profile updated/edited by Kyle Sims

CLARIFICATIONS:
Caprice Hastings has no known connection to:

Lilith, mother of the Lilin, @ Ghost Rider III#28, should not be confused with:

Mercy, Norman Zachos, @ Midnight Sons Unlimited#1, has no known connection to:

Modred the Mystic should not be confused with:

The Other, should not be confused with:

Switchblade (Blade), has no known connection with:

 

 

Caprice Hastings is the daughter of Louise (from her third husband), and the mother of Jinx. She did not get along well with her mother, and left her at the age of eighteen, after which she did not keep in touch. She was working as a flight attendant, and happened to be working the same flight which Louise, Sam, and Vicki were on--the one which was affected by the Darkhold page containing the Wishing Spell. Caprice was killed in the resultant chaos--she was shot when one of the passengers used a gun to try to destroy the demon, the page, or anyone else associated with it.
--Darkhold#8

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appearances:
Ghost Rider III#28 (August, 1992) - Howard Mackie (writer), Andy Kubert (pencils), Joe Kubert (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Darkhold#1 (October, 1992) - Chris Cooper (writer), Richard Case (pencils), Mark McKenna (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Ghost Rider III#31 (November, 1992) - Howard Mackie (writer), Andy Kubert (pencils), Joe Kubert (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Darkhold#2 (November, 1992) - Chris Cooper (writer), Richard Case (pencils), Mark McKenna (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Darkhold#3 (December, 1992) - Chris Cooper (writer), Tony Harris (pencils), Jimmy Palmiotti (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Darkhold#4 (January, 1993) - Chris Cooper (writer), Norman Felchle (pencils), Mark McKenna & Andrew Pepoy (inks), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
Darkhold#5 (February, 1993) - Chris Cooper (writer), Richard Case & Al Bigley (pencils), Mark McKenna & Ariane Lenshoek (inks), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
Darkhold#6 (March, 1993) - Chris Cooper (writer), Richard Case & Al Bigley (pencils), Stan Woch & Ariane Lenshoek (inks), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
Darkhold#7 (April, 1993) - Chris Cooper (writer), Rurik Tyler (pencils), Bud LaRosa (inks), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
Midnight Sons Unlimited#1 (April, 1993) - Chris Cooper (writer), Joe Quesada (pencils), Jimmy Palmiotti (inks), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
Midnight Sons Unlimited#2 (July, 1993) - Chris Cooper (writer), Dan Lawlis (pencils), Mike Esposito (inks), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
Darkhold#9-11 (June-August, 1993) - Chris Cooper (writer), Rurik Tyler (pencils), Bob Downs (inks), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
Spirits of Vengeance#13 (August, 1993) - Howard Mackie (writer), Adam Kubert (pencils), Joe Kubert, Dan Green, Klaus Janson & Frank Spinks (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Darkhold#12 (September, 1993) - Chris Cooper (writer), Rurik Tyler (pencils), Bud LaRosa (inks), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
Morbius#13 (September, 1993) - Gregory Wright (writer), Ron Wagner & Henry Martinez (pencils), Andrew Pepoy & Sam de la Rosa (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Midnight Sons Unlimited#3 (October, 1993) - Mort Todd (writer), Ken Meyer Jr. (artist), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
   Story 5: Mort Todd (writer), Dougie Braithwaite & Vince Giarrano (pencils), Cam Smith & Vince Giarrano (inks), Hildy Mesnik (editor)
Darkhold#13-14 (October-November, 1993) - Chris Cooper (writer), Rurik Tyler (pencils), Bob Downs (inks), Hildy Mesnik (editors)
Nightstalkers#14 (December, 1993) - Steven Grant (writer), Andrew Wildman (pencils), Frank Turner (inks), Chris Cooper (editor)
Ghost Rider III#44 (December, 1993) - Howard Mackie (writer), Ron Garney (pencils), Chris Ivy (inks), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Darkhold#15 (December, 1993) - Chris Cooper (writer), Rurik Tyler (pencils), Bob Downs (inks), Hildy Mesnik (editor)

First Posted: 04/11/2002
Last updated: 10/15/2020

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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