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I'm not crazy, I'm just passionate.
Shane to Bonnie in Catch Me If You Can

Atticus Shane was a major recurring character and antagonist who first appeared in the fourth episode of the fourth season of The Vampire Diaries. He was a professor of the Occult at Whitmore College, with Sheila Bennett as a predecessor. He knew "a thing or two" about the paranormal and worked quite closely with Sheila's granddaughter Bonnie.

Atticus was a member of the Shane Family.

Early History[]

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Shane sees his dead wife.

Atticus Shane had a wife, Caitlin, who was also a witch. They had a son named Sam. When Sam died in a tragic accident, a grief stricken Caitlin used Expression magic to try to revive him but instead it backfired and killed her. This left Shane alone and desperate to find a way to reclaim his dead family.

In 2009, Shane arrived on the Island in search of the well which can apparently let you see the dead. By spilling some of his blood Shane was able to see Caitlin. She then told him about Silas and that raising him would result in her and their son's revival. She then explained what he must do in order to free Silas and this is what led to all of his current actions and is his ultimate goal.

Throughout The Vampire Diaries Series[]

Season Four[]

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Connor and Shane

In The Five, Shane is seen teaching a class when Elena, Damon, and Bonnie come into his class. He mentions witches, vampires, and doppelgängers. Shane sees Damon and Elena chatting and asks if he is disturbing them or is the other way around. Shane is seen again at the murder house party and gives Bonnie some of Sheila Bennett's old things. He also tells Bonnie that there are different ways to practice magic. He is seen again later with a symbol from the Hunter's Mark in his office. Connor comes into his office after he escapes from Klaus and his hybrids. He was revealing that he had sent Connor to Mystic Falls to kill vampires.

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Shane with Bonnie

In The Killer, it is shown he offered to tell Connor about his tattoo if he kept killing vampires. Shane asked Connor if he could spare a witch he had plans for, but Connor assured him anyone who comes in his way are dead. Shane then decides to keep her in his office and tells Connor do what he does best. Later he attempts to hypnotize Bonnie Bennett to help her practice magic and let her let go off the fear of what the witches will do to her Grams. Although after 7 hours of hypnotizing he says she should try to light the candle in front of her, but she is seemingly unable to light the candle, he shows her she lit all the other candles in the room.

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Shane meets with Bonnie.

In We All Go a Little Mad Sometimes, Shane is first seen when he walks up to Jeremy and Matt with April, carrying artifacts. He thanks the two for helping and walks away, with April questioning herself on why he looks so familiar. He is later seen giving a lecture on artifacts and mentions a powerful witch named Silas and a witch named Qetsiyah, Shane also told of Silas' possible return and that he would bring havoc on the world. He comes up to meet Bonnie and she says "Qetsiyah sounds like a bad ass." Shane replies "Nothing compared to Silas."

Bonnie, Shane and Damon

Damon, Bonnie and Shane

Then Damon and Bonnie later question him on the hunter's mark and he tells him, "Legend says that if a hunter is killed by that which it hunts, then that person will be cursed to walk the Earth in torment until a new hunter is awakened and their legacy is passed on. They're called potentials." Later on, in Shane's office, Bonnie and Shane are talking. When Bonnie asks Shane how he knows so much, he says that he is Bonnie's biggest ally and when Jeremy completes his mark, she will want to come to him as he is the only one that can help her and she needs to trust him on that.

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Shane and Damon.

In My Brother's Keeper, in the Miss Mystic Falls Pageant, Shane walks past Elena and Caroline, looking for the judges and ask where they are. Later Shane and Damon talk, he asked if Shane had a name for another of the Five. He told him he couldn't help him with that. Damon then tells him no pity votes for April Young despite her father dying a week ago, and says that he knew him since they talk a little before the farm explosion. Shane told Damon if he wanted to know more about him, he only had to ask. Damon asked how he convinced Pastor Young to kill all those people. Shane was shocked Damon thought he was behind this and asked if Damon just accuse him off mass murder and then told him he had to meet the other judges.

Hayley and Shane

Hayley and Shane.

Then later Damon told him to give him a name of another hunter, Shane told him that finding more then one hunter in a lifetime was next to impossible. Damon then appeared in front of him and told him to give him a name or he would die, Shane then revealed that the thing he was looking for is sealed with a spell only a certain witch could perform. Damon then pressures him more and Shane then reveals that Bonnie is that witch and says "Between the two of us, who do you think she trusts the most." Damon then lets him go and Shane told Damon his 5 seconds are seeing he needs him alive. Later, he was talking with Hayley at his office, Hayley said that she unsired one more hybrid.

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Shane finds Hayley at his office.

In We'll Always Have Bourbon Street, he walks into his office finding Hayley looking for something and tells her that he'll give her information about her biological parents when she's done unsiring 12 hybrids. While on the girls' night, Bonnie reveals that he calls the magic he's teaching her Expression (the dark kind of magic Nandi tells Damon about) and later when Hayley comes with the news that he now has 12 unsired hybrids, he tells her that her parents are dead but he could make her see them again and says "We are the Beginning."

In O Come, All Ye Faithful, Elena invites Shane to the Gilbert Family Lake House to help Jeremy conquer some of his inner demons. Shane explains his ideas on giving Jeremy a choice between killing a vampire, and remembering who they really are. He is trying to get Jeremy to recognize Elena as his sister. It doesn't work, however, and Jeremy says some hurtful things, such as how he will kill her, even if he dies himself.

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Shane and Damon.

Outside, Elena and Shane talked about her relationship to Damon. Shane reveals that he once loved someone too much as well. His son and wife had died and Shane had been trying to figure out a way not to miss them. Damon interrupts their conversation, once again threatening to kill Shane. Luckily, Shane doesn't get killed by Damon and tells them that he could lead them to the cure for vampirism. He knows where the cure is because he has already been there. Shane tells Elena and Damon that if they dig up Silas (someone who he talked about episodes ago) they will find the cure and when Jeremy's mark is complete, it will have the map that contains the spell to dig up Silas. Shane won't reveal the location of Silas, because it's his way of staying alive and he will lead them there.

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Jeremy, Bonnie and Atticus

When Damon later tells Elena his theory that Shane killed Pastor Young and the other Council members, Shane explains that the Pastor had lost his wife to cancer and he sought him out for supernatural assistance. He says that Pastor was "too far gone." Their conversation was interrupted when Jeremy and Bonnie entered, ready to prove Jeremy was fine now. As Jeremy walked towards Elena with a stake in his hand, Shane told Jeremy to choose the right path. He watched as Elena and Jeremy hugged.

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Shane gives Bonnie the necklace.

In After School Special, Shane listens to Bonnie complain about her dad, because her dad does not want her involved with the supernatural. To take her mind off things, Bonnie wanted Shane to help her with magic, but he tells her that she has graduated. He gives her a necklace that belonged to Qetsiyah, the witch that created the immortality spell. When Bonnie leaves, she sees Kol walking by her into Shane's office. She does not at first recognize Kol, but then she realizes who it is and runs back into Shane's office, where Shane has just been kidnapped by Kol.

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Kol and Shane

Kol brings Shane to Mystic Falls High School and then Kol and Rebekah try to compel Shane to tell them where the cure is, but Shane cannot be compelled. Once Kol and Rebekah find out he cannot be compelled, Kol starts to drown Shane into telling where the cure is. Rebekah asks Shane why he wants the cure and he says that he doesn't. Shane tells her that he just wants Silas. Kol then tells them that Silas will kill them all and Rebekah says that Silas is just a fairy tale. Shane then says that Silas is in fact real and that he knows where Silas is buried. Shane also admits that he was responsible for the deaths of the Council and that once Silas is awoken he will bring them all back from the dead.

Meanwhile Bonnie has gotten to the school and runs into April. April tells her that she knows about vampires, that everyone had been lying, and that Kol and Rebekah have Shane. Bonnie knew that Shane could not be compelled, so she cast a protection spell on him.

Once Kol hears what Shane had to say he kills Shane, Rebekah then starts to yell at Kol saying that he just killed her chance at finding the cure, but Kol tells her that Silas would be "hell on earth". Rebekah and Kol then leave and Shane wakes up from pretending he is dead.

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Kol kills Shane.

Shane eventually returns to his office and then Bonnie furiously comes in. He tells her that Kol is going to be a problem; she responds and says that she can't be doing black magic anymore. Shane then explains that expression is not black magic. He says it's how you use it that determines whether it's good or bad. It's just a way to do limitless magic not monitored by nature or the spirits. He tells her she is the key to everything and he's not gonna let anything bad happen to her. Bonnie then trusts him.

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Shane convinces Bonnie she is in complete control with her magic.

In Catch Me If You Can, Shane is teaching Bonnie how to control all of her newfound power in his office. However they are interrupted by Sheriff Forbes and Mayor Hopkins for the deaths of the Town Council. Shane is taken to the Mystic Falls Police Station where he is questioned to no avail. It is only when he has some time with Bonnie where he admits to orchestrating the barn explosion. Bonnie questioned how he managed to get Pastor Young to massacre 11 people, Shane told her that it was not a massacre, but a ritual to resurrect Silas and explained that Silas would bring them all back.

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Shane and Rudy talk about Bonnie.

Bonnie believed him to be crazy and get's ready to leave, but he makes her stay by offering information on her Grams and asks her if she would like to see her again. Then when he starts belittling her she quickly loses it and starts using magic on him to hurt him. Mayor Hopkins tries to intervene but she creates a wall of fire. By using the methods he taught her earlier he is able to calm her down. He then relays to Mayor Hopkins that Bonnie is a "ticking time bomb" and that only he can help her.

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Damon and Shane.

In Into the Wild, Shane is freed from jail and takes Elena, Damon, Stefan, Bonnie, Jeremy and Rebekah to the Island on which Silas is entombed. While there he remembers being there a year ago. Shane reveals more about Silas, Qetsiyah and the cure as well as his and the Island's history. Shane reveals to them that there is a magical well that allowed him to see his dead wife after offering up some of his own blood. After having a confrontation with Damon and Bonnie on his motivations and usage of them, he is interrogated by Damon.

After revealing more information he starts questioning Damon on how he feels about the prospect of a human Elena. A furious Damon tries to kill him though Elena stops him. Shane takes the opportunity to escape with Silas' Headstone and meets up with Massak who has kidnapped Jeremy and a confused Bonnie. They then head for Silas' tomb.

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Shane tells Bonnie to relax while she makes Jeremy tattoo disappear.

In Down the Rabbit Hole, when they get to the cave above Silas' Tomb, Massak announces he will not go any further and demands his payment. Shane gives Massak Silas' Headstone as per their agreement and Massak leaves. Bonnie asks why he gave him the stone, and Shane explains that inside the stone contains a small amount of Qetsiyah's blood. He compares the worth of the Headstone to that of the Hope Diamond. Shane harnesses Bonnie and Jeremy down the well to the underground caves and rappels himself down afterwards. He tells them to find anything out of the ordinary in the cave, when he stumbles upon a perfect circle carved onto the rock floor. He says that that is the spot and ushers Bonnie to channel her magic there as Jeremy stands idle to be used to channel. She triggers a cave-in, which causes a rock to tumble onto Shane's leg. As the two prepare to venture into the opening to Silas' tomb, Shane calls out to them and begs them to help him up as he could not walk. However, they simply leave Shane where he was as he continues to plead in vain for their help.

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Atticus Shane found in the woods by Rebekah

As Shane attempts to stop the bleeding, he once again sees his wife, Caitlin, who assures him that he has done everything he was told to do and to not give up, claiming Silas will heal him when he is freed. A while later, Stefan runs into Shane, still sitting helplessly against the rocks and begs him to feed him vampire blood to help heal his wound. Stefan does not feel that Shane deserves his help. Shane pleads that all he wanted was to bring his family back which was why he wanted to free Silas in the first place. However, because of him having full responsibility for the deaths of so many innocent people, Stefan leaves Shane for dead.

Personality[]

Shane was an enthusiastic academic who has traveled the world pursuing his interest in the occult. He used his unassuming, charismatic facade to his advantage when smooth-talking those who are vulnerable to manipulation, and even proves adept at deflecting unwanted attention from those that suspect him of his true motives. Despite the horrible massacres he had orchestrated, Shane's motivation stems from a profound devastation about losing his son and wife, something any one of the other characters could relate to. Still, his inability to toe the line between grief and madness had not earned him much sympathy.

Shane's Plan[]

The purpose of Atticus Shane was to raise the first immortal, his plan included :

  • Witches - Shane helps restore Bonnie's powers and teaches her Expression magic.
  • Sacrifices - Shane used human and hybrids as sacrifices so Bonnie can channel their souls for Expression magic.
  • Werewolf and Hybrids - Hayley is helping Shane to break the sire bond of Klaus' hybrids, however, recently been mentioned which are twelve hybrids, the same number required for the Expression spell.
  • Hunters - Shane sends Connor, a member of Brotherhood of the Five to kill vampires in Mystic Falls, but apparently, the intention was to complete the Hunter's mark. He had replaced Conner with Jeremy.
  • Free Silas and Resurrection - Shane planned to bring his family back by freeing Slias so that he could resurrect them.

Physical Appearance[]

Atticus was of medium height and build. He had curly dark-brown hair and greenish eyes. He had an engaging demeanor and overall attractive appearance, though he can quickly be overcome by a manic, obsessive look the closer he gets to his goal. While physically fit, he would probably not win in a physical fight, even with another human; he has demonstrated he prefers using his mind rather than his body to accomplish what he needs to.

Relationships[]

Caitlin Shane[]

Caitlin was Atticus' wife who died while performing an Expression spell trying to resurrect their dead son. She appeared as a hallucination to him in the cave where Silas' tomb is located, though he wanted so much to believe it was really her that he was unable to recognize that Silas was creating her appearance to manipulate him.

Bonnie Bennett[]

Main article: Bonnie and Atticus
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Atticus and Bonnie

Shane's relationship with Bonnie was first shown in The Five, where they first are seen interacting at Whitmore College. In the next episode, Shane helps Bonnie get past her fear and guilt. It is also revealed in that episode that Bonnie is important to Shane's plans and he needs her out of harm's way. In another episode, Shane tells Bonnie that when her friend completes his hunters' mark, he'll want to tell her, since he's the only one that can help.

Connor Jordan[]

Connor was a hunter and member of the Brotherhood of the Five who was working for Shane. It is unknown how Shane found Connor; the earliest known point in their relationship is that Connor had agreed to work with Shane as his Hunter's Mark grew, in exchange for information about the mark and, presumably, his purpose in the whole matter. Shane had sent him to Mystic Falls because of the large number of vampires living and passing through there, which should have helped him to grow the mark quickly, but he was killed by Elena Gilbert before he could complete it.

Hayley Marshall[]

They were both seen together during My Brother's Keeper at the Miss Mystic Falls pageant, talking to each other while Damon Salvatore and Tyler Lockwood were looking at them from a distance. After Tyler texts Hayley, telling her that Kimberly was successful in breaking Klaus' sire bond, she was seen in Shane's office telling him about the news. After hearing the news, Shane commented that their goals is almost at its end meaning that the two are currently working together on a plan without anyone noticing.

Damon Salvatore[]

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Damon and Shane.

Main article: Damon and Atticus

Damon and Atticus first met in The Five, but first spoke to each other in We All Go a Little Mad Sometimes to learn more about the Hunters' Mark. Damon had later found out that Shane had ties to Pastor Young, who previously died in an explosion at his farm, taking eleven other people with him as well, which Damon had accused him of orchestrating twice. Damon has be shown that he doesn't trust Shane, who he calls, "Professor Shady Pants." Shane even expected Damon to kill him once they had found the cure.

Appearances[]

Season Four

Season Six

Name[]

  • Atticus is of Latin origin, and the meaning is "from Athens".[2]
  • Shane is an Anglicized version of the Irish name Seán, which is Irish for John and is pronounced as "Shayn", and means "God is gracious".[3]

Trivia[]

  • In My Brother's Keeper, Hayley estimates that Shane is about 30 years old.
  • He admitted to Rebekah and Kol that he organized the deaths of the Founder's Council and Klaus' hybrids.
  • He wrote three books, one of them being "Book of the Occult" as seen in The Killer.
  • Along with Bill Forbes, Shane is one of the two humans who can resist vampire compulsion.
  • With confirmation that human souls are found in the dimensions, he either found peace or went to Hell, prior to its destruction.

Quotes[]

Season Four[]

Shane: "Shouldn't you be in Mystic Falls killing vampires?"
Connor: "Why the hell did you send me there?"
-The Five

Connor: "You have any idea what I've been through? Spent the last two days chained up by an original vampire"
Shane: "So you met Klaus? Only know him by reputation, apparently he's a real monster."
Connor: "He's a vampire-werewolf-hybrid. Do you know how hard it is to kill them?"
Shane: "From what I gather you have to remove their head or their heart. That is according to lore. I'm just speculating."
Connor: "I had to figure how to do it on my own. I could have used some of this occult professor knowledge of yours. Then again, you've always been slow when it comes to providing answers."
Shane: "We had a deal. I'll give you answers about your hunters mark when it's growing to completion."
Connor: "In other words, kill as many vampires as possible."
Shane: "Come on Connor why do you think I sent you to Mystic Falls? Listen, there's a witch mixed up in all this. She's important to what I have planned. I want her to be kept out of harm's way."
Connor: "Anybody that get's in my way. Anybody. They're dead."
Shane: "Okay... Sure. I'll occupy her myself. Just do what you do."
Bonnie: "I can't believe you wrote a book!"
Shane: "I did. I wrote three books, actually. Two of them just, too mortifying to display."
Bonnie: "Oh, I'm finding them online."
Shane: "No! No you're not, hey come on you promised, remember. No cell phones and no internet during witch therapy! Here this is yours...right now I want you to focus. And I want your undivided attention."
Bonnie: "You really think you can help me start practicing magic again."
Shane: "Absolutely I can. I invited you here because I can. You know what right now just relax, drink your tea. I got this in Australia when I was backpacking with these Aborigines spirit guys. Trust me its better when you smoke it but I'm trying to be a role model. Bonnie, listen the thing is what I have in mind might come off as a little unorthodox."
Bonnie: "Now I'm officially curious."
Shane: "Good. What do you know about hypnosis?"
Bonnie: "Really think that will work?"
Shane: "You practice witchcraft and don't believe in hypnotism. Bonnie listen you are afraid to practice magic because those witch spirit's convinced you,...they threatened your grams and they made you feel guilty you just have to confront that fear and that guilt and remove it."
Bonnie: "Maybe, but I don't think hypnosis will work. Witches are naturally immune to any sort of manipulation."
Shane: "Really, well let me ask you something. Would you like to put that earring back on?"
-The Killer

Shane: "You're looking at what people believe to be the world's first tombstone. [...] A witch so powerful, in fact that Silas—that was his name—created a spell that would grant him immortality. Now the legend says that Silas did the spell with the help of a lady witch who loved him, a woman named Qetsiyah. Sadly for Qetsiyah, Silas wanted to give immortality to another woman. So Qetsiyah killed her and buried Silas alive, leaving him powerless, immortal, and alone. This might be the origin story of 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.' Now it's said that Silas wants to rise again, regain his power, wreak havoc on the world. Maybe we should be afraid. Or maybe it's all a bunch of crap and this is an old rock. Alright listen... Enjoy exploring the exhibit. I'll be around to answer any questions. Thank you for coming."
Shane: "Hey, you made it."
Bonnie: "Nice cautionary tale. Qetsiyah sounds like a bad-ass."
Shane: "Nothing compared to Silas."
-We All Go a Little Mad Sometimes

Shane: "Excuse me. I'm a little lost. I'm here to interview contestants."
Elena: "You are Professor Shane."
Shane: "Yeah! That's right. Professor by day. Pageant judge by other day. In spite of being absurdly unqualified, I am apparently awarding an scholarship."
Caroline: "Inside by the parlor."
Shane: "Right here?"
Caroline: "Ah hmm.."
Shane: "Alright. I'll just follow the scent of hairspray and world domination."
Shane: "Damon Salvatore. Looks like we travel in the same circuit."
Damon: "Professor Shane. Just the guy I wanted to see."
-My Brother's Keeper

Gallery[]

References[]

See also[]

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