Stella Oleson

 was a central character featured in the 30 Days of Night comic book limited series by IDW Publishing. The character was also featured in the 2007 film adaptation 30 Days of Night where she was played by actress Melissa George. Actress Kiele Sanchez played Stella in the sequel film 30 Days of Night: Dark Days.

Biography
Stella Oleson was a resident of Barrow, Alaska where she worked as a Fire Marshall. She was married to Sheriff Eben Oleson, but their marriage was strained when Eben didn't share Stella's enthusiasm for having children. The two were separated, but Stella kept in contact with Eben and continued to work in Barrow.

Every year, from November to December, the northernmost community in the world was plunged into thirty days of endless, sunless night. Stella tried to leave Barrow before the winter season started, but a traffic collision with a man named Malekai Hamm prevented her from getting to the airport in time. Stella was reluctant to call upon her husband for aide, but a man named Adam Colletta offered her a place to stay.

A group of vampires, led by a man named Marlow Roderick, decided that such a climate would make for an ideal feeding ground, and they could hunt indiscriminately without fear of the deadly sun to drive them back. Marlow sent a human agent, a stranger, ahead of his group to cut off all ties between Barrow and the outside world. The stranger did as instructed and destroyed all of the cell phones in the area as well as sabotaging the communications center, and every other means of personal travel. He then went to the Ikos Diner where he encountered Stella and Eben. When the man proved unruly and prone to violence, Stella pulled her firearm and pointed it at the back of his head. Eben arrested him and brought him back to the station.

The damage was already done however. Roderick and his vampire brood descended upon the town and began slaughtering people at random. Eben and Stella were driving away from the police station when a vampire landed on the roof of the sheriff's truck. While Eben leaned out the window to try and shoot him down, Stella took control of the steering wheel.

They managed to meet up with a small group of survivors and they all took shelter in the attic of the empty home of a man named Charlie Kelso. They managed to remain there for seven days before their supplies began to run low. One of the group, an elderly man named Issac Bulosan began growing frantic and left the security of the house. His son Wilson tried to chase after him, but Stella restrained him, warning Wilson that if they go out into the snow, they will give away their position. Wilson shrugged her off and Stella fell backward, slamming her head upon the newel post of a banister.

Before long, the group was left with little choice but to leave the shelter to restock on food and supplies. They went to Steve's General Store where they had a harrowing encounter with a little girl vampire. It was Stella's teenage brother-in-law, Jake Oleson, who mustered up the strength to destroy the creature. By Day 27, the surviving members of the group agreed that the safest place for them to go would be the utilidor. While trudging through the snow, Stella noticed a young girl, Gail Robbins, stumbling about. Gail had just lost her family to a vampire attack and was now totally alone. Stella separated from the group to help her, but was unable to reach the utilidor. To hide from the vampires, Stella and Gail crawled underneath an abandoned truck. The vampires did not notice them, but by this point, they had more to fear from the elements as they quickly began to freeze to death.

Marlow and his brood knew that there were very few humans left in Barrow and that it was time to leave. They cut into an oil pipeline and set it on fire with the intent of burning the entire town to the ground. Eben saw what they were doing and knew that the flames would quickly reach Stella's location. Eben realized that the only way to truly defeat these monsters was with another monster. Embarking upon a risky gambit, Eben took a syringe from a first aid kit and collected a sample of Billy's blood from his now-headless body. He then injected the vampire blood into his forearm. He believes that he could hold on to his humanity long enough to hopefully make a difference.

Eben went out into the snow to face the vampire leader, Marlow Roderick. The two began fighting and Eben surprised Marlow with how strong he had become. The two traded blows and Marlow maintained the upper hand, but ultimately, Eben was able to end Marlow's undead existence by punching his fist through his head. When the others saw that their leader had fallen, they left Eben alone and elected to leave Barrow.

A tearful Stella understood the sacrifice that Eben was required to make to save their lives. Though he still held onto his humanity momentarily, Eben was now a full vampire and this was the last night of winter. Stella and he went out onto the ridge to watch the sun rise. As the sun came up over the horizon, Eben's skin turned black and he died in Stella's arms.

Notes & Trivia

 * The character of was created by writer Steve Niles and artist Ben Templesmith.


 * In the original comic book series, Stella Oleson's name was Stella Olemaun. Also, she was a deputy and not a fire marshall. It was Eben and Stella who watched the sunset together in the beginning of the story, whereas in the film, Eben watched the sunset with Billy Kitka.


 * The reason behind Stella and Eben's separation is never fully explained in the film. One possible insight into their break-up however is supplied when Stella asks Eben, "I guess this is why you never wanted to have kids."