Mark of the Beast

Sample file Introduction Werewolves of London...and other places “ ven a man who is pure in heart and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and the au- tumn moon is bright.” So goes the famous line from the 1941 LonE Chaney Jr. monster movie, The Wolf Man. The figure of the half man, half beast werewolf is an iconic image, recognized all over the world; second only behind Count Dracula and his bloodsucking kind, the lycanthrope is a staple of horror. With very little classic literary works about the werewolf, however, most of what we know and recognize today comes from folklore and pop culture. Every civilization has some story or legend of creatures half man and half beast. Indigenous native peoples around the world held beliefs about shaman and witch doctors who could transform themselves into animals. The ancient Egyptians worshiped a whole pantheon of animal-headed gods. The superstitious folk of medieval Europe believed that a witch or a gypsy could curse a man to become a werewolf by night. Pacific islanders told tales of men changing into sharks. Certain African peoples feared leopard men. Coming from all over the world and from every culture, werebeast legends naturally vary. Among the ways said to become a werewolf include being bitten by a werewolf, being bitten by a normal wolf, a potion or curse from a gypsy or a witch, a family curse, a genetic disorder, drinking rainwater from the paw print of a wolf, wearing an enchanted pelt made from wolfskin, through a pact with Satan or a demon, through the act of cannibalism, etc. Some werewolves Samplehave no memory or control over their change while othersfile do. Some change only by the light of a full moon while others can change at any time. Some werewolves look like normal wolves, some look like giant wolves, and still others are mutant man-beasts. Some are solitary and some live and hunt in packs or clans. Although not always the case, today the one constant among all werewolf tales is the monster’s 7 8 w Scott David Aniolowski aversion to silver. Silver, a metal long associated in religious, occult and alchemenichal circles with purity, the moon and the night, is universally known for its power to slay a werewolf. One of the earliest and most infamous reports of a man becoming a werewolf is the sixteenth century story of German farmer Peter Stumpf. Known notoriously as the Werewolf of Bedburg, Stumpf is claimed to have raped, murdered and eaten over a dozen woman and children. Among the more despicable accusations against Stumpf was that he had raped his own daughter and had killed his son and eaten his brain. On October 31, 1589, he was tortured and executed, and his mutilated body burned on a pyre. Fairy tales with Germanic origins, famous for anthropomorphic animals, featured talking wolves in the story of Little Red Riding Hood and the Three Little Pigs. In both cases, the Big Bad Wolf met a grisly end, in one case being split open by a huntsman to rescue the still-living grandma, and in the other coming down a chimney only to be boiled alive and then eaten by the surviving pig. In both tales the wolf was portrayed as smooth talking, devious and conniving – certainly very human traits. The first film to feature the now-familiar man-beast werewolf was Werewolf of London in 1935, although undoubtedly it was Lon Chaney Jr.’s portrayal of the tragic Lawrence Talbot in the 1941 The Wolf Man that has shaped how the creature is portrayed today. In recent years the werewolf has become a staple of television and film. The campy Dr. Smith ran afoul of hillbilly space werewolves on Lost in Space; intrepid I.N.S. report Carl Kolchak found a werewolf aboard a cruise ship; the Gothic soap opera Dark Shadows featured a werewolf character; Eddie Munster was a werewolf-like boy complete with his doll Woof Woof; Supernatural featured a tragic werewolf love interest for one of the monster-hunting, angst-ridden brothers, Buffy’s pal Oz was a wolfman, and even the long-running iconic British sci-fi show Doctor Who has featured a lycanthrope in a recent adventure. Programs intended for children and family viewing such as Goose- bumpsSample and even the famous T.G.I.F. classic Boy Meets World file has used the werewolf legend as a metaphor for the hormonal changes that all adolescents face; kids in the 1970’s were treated to rock and roll werewolves (“inspired by” famous 1970’s DJ Wolfman Jack) in shows such as the animated Groovy Goolies and the Billy Van vehicle, the Canadian-produced The Hilarious House of Frightenstein. Popular 8 Introduction w 9 music has also embraced the werewolf, from Warren Zevon’s famous “Werewolves of London” where they drank pina coladas at Trader Vic’s and ate beef chow mein at Lee Ho Fooks’ Chinese restaurant, to the Backstreet Boys, one of whom transformed into a lycanthrope in one of their popular videos, and even Ozzie Osbourne took a turn as a werewolf. And who could forget the King of Pop himself, Michael Jackson, and his portrayal of a werewolf in his iconic “Thriller” vid- eo? In the 1990’s White Wolf Publishing produced a number of role playing games wherein players assumed the roles of various types of Monsters: vampires, mummies, ghosts and werewolves. Their lycanthrope line, “Werewolf: The Apocalypse,” took the werewolf genre in a more spiritual, eco-warrior direction. Although werewolves had featured in films throughout the twen- tieth century, including Michael Landon’s famous portrayal in the 1950’s I Was a Teenage Werewolf and in 1960’s Hammer films, werewolves really came into their own starting in the 1980’s with films such as An American Werewolf in London, The Howling and Wolfen. Lycanthropes continued to feature prominently in films with such offerings as the UK’s seminal Dog Soldiers to less-than successful little independent films like Hyenas. But no werewolf fan could predict what Stephenie Meyer and the films based on her novels would do to the popularity and image of the werewolf! The egregiously popular Twilight series turned the savage manbeast into a pouting, shirtless pinup! The floodgates opened and a torrent of bad werewolf fanfic and romance novels were e-produced and available on the internet for all who craved werewolf soft porn! But there’ll be none of that here! No, herein are gathered a number of tales portraying the glorious and bestial nature of the werewolf. I offer you horror, sci-fi, Gothic, cyber, fairy tale and fantasy stories and poems that embrace the essence of the beast, told by an assort- ment of scribes with diverse styles and voices. I offer you the works of both established names in the field as well as wonderfully talented newcomers. Authors from around the globe are featured here, from Samplethe UK and Europe to Australia to North and South file America and perhaps from Parts Unknown. This was truly an effort of editorial might, as I received well over 250 stories for consideration. When all was said and done I had narrowed the field down to about 45 that I really liked, and then had to agonize over which of those had to be cut for no reason but a lack of space for everyone. It was a tough decision, 9.

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