The Essential Guide to Werewolf Literature

7. Werewolf Anthologies

7 Werewolf Anthologies Because many of the short stories mentioned in this survey are buried in old books and magazines, the easiest way to gain access to a sizable chunk of them is through anthologies devoted exclusively to werewolf stories. Fortunately these anthologies are a relatively recent phenomenon-dating back only to the mid196os -and most, therefore, should still be available from used-book dealers specializing in horror material. The first all-werewolf anthology was way of the Werewolf (Panther, 1966), edited by Douglas Hill. Published in England, this well-balanced collection of stories contains "The Phantom Farmhouse" by Seabury Quinn, "Gabriel-Ernest" by Saki, "Running Wolf" byAlgernon Blackwood, "Wolves Don't Cry" by Bruce Elliott, "The GaIoup" by Claude Seignolle, "The 239 Werewolf Anthologies Refugee" by Jane Rice, "The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains" by Frederick Marryat, and "Canis Lupus Sapiens" by Alex Hamilton. After this pioneering effort came Book ofthe Werewolf (Sphere, 1973), edited by Brian J. Frost, about which I can obviously speak with some authority. It was, I can reveal, compiled at the behest ofa director of Sphere Books, who had been shown a copy ofthe British fanzine Shadow containing my first attempt at a survey ofwerewolffiction. The book sold over forty thousand copies and contained an expanded version of my original survey, as well as thirteen stories, ranging from Victorian classics to contemporary pieces. Mostly personal favorites, the stories selected were "Hugues, the Wer-Wolf" by Sutherland Menzies, "The White Wolf of Kostopchin" by Sir Gilbert Campbell, "The Eyes of the Panther" by Ambrose Bierce, "The Were-Wolf" by Clemence Housman, "Mere Maxim" by Elliott O'Donnell , "The Werewolfof Ponkert" by H. Warner Munn, "The Wolf of St. Bonnot" by Seabury Quinn, "The Kill" by Peter Fleming, "Eena" by Manly Banister, "The Drone" by A. Merritt, "The Adventure of the Tottenham Werewolf" by August Derleth, "Mrs. Kaye" by Beverly Haaf, and "Pia!" by Dale C. Donaldson. The only contentious selection in the book was "The Drone," to which some people objected on the grounds that it wasn't really a werewolf story. This is a valid point, and the only reason I can offer for including this story-apart from the fact that it included a couple of 240 Werewolf Anthologies references to shapeshifting in the prologue-is that I was a huge fan ofthe author at the time. Another interesting sidelight is that although Book ofthe Werewolf was not officially distributed in the United States, copies were imported in some quantity; and I have it on good authority that H. Warner Munn snapped up as many ofthese as he could find to present to friends. The first American anthology devoted solely to this type of material was Werewolf! A Chrestomathy ofLycanthropy (Arbor House, 1979), which was one ofa series ofsingle-theme anthologies edited by Bill Pronzini in the late 1970S and early 1980s. Generally regarded as a model of its kind, Werewolf! is divided into three sections: "Classic Stories," "Contemporary Tales," and "Two Visions of the Future." Gathered together in the first section are "The Were-Wolf" by Clemence Housman , "The Wolf" by Guy de Maupassant, "The Mark ofthe Beast" by Rudyard Kipling, "Dracula's Guest" by Bram Stoker, and "Gabriel-Ernest" by Saki. The second section contains "There Shall Be No Darkness" by James Blish, "Nightshapes" by Barry N. Malzberg, "The Hound" by Fritz Leiber, "Wolves Don't Cry" by Bruce Elliott, and "Lila the Werewolf" by Peter S. Beagle . The final section has only two stories: ''A Prophecy of Monsters" by Clark Ashton Smith, and "Full Sun" by Brian W Aldiss. Although the stories are all excellent examples of the form, perhaps more imagination might have been shown in the choice ofclassic stories, since those selected had been reprinted many times. 241 Werewolf Anthologies Peter Haining, who has compiled dozens ofsingletheme anthologies over the past thirtyyears has, surprisingly , only one all-werewolf anthology to his credit, Werewolf Horror Stories of the Man-Beast (Severn House, 1987). The usual mixture ofvintage and modern stories, the full lineup is as follows: "The Lycanthropist" by Catherine Crowe, "The Werwolves" by Henry Beaugrand , "The Wolves ofGod" by Algernon Blackwood, "The Master of the House" by Oliver Onions, "The Phantom Werewolf" by Montague Summers, "The Wolf Girl" by Guy Endore, "Fortune's Fools" by Seabury Quinn, "Wolfshead" by Robert E. Howard, "Beast of the Island" by Paul Selonke, "The Refugee" by Jane Rice, "The...