Shortly after he first became the Werewolf (by Night), Jack Russell saved his sister Lissa from an assault by a group of bikers.  He drove them off after slashing two of them, unwittingly passing on his curse.  The newly cursed bikers embraced the change, in turn passing the curse on to others in the gang.  In time, they numbered in the dozens.  Calling themselves the Braineaters (and often living up to their name), they terrorized the less urban areas of Southern California.  Most of the gang was wiped out by the Sword, the holy army led by Silver Dagger.  The few survivors rebuilt the gang, and were defeated by the Werewolf and Ghost Rider (Dan Ketch).