Horror Story Review: "The Werewolf Howls" by Clifford Ball

Tweet

Monsieur Etienne Delacroix, the wealthy owner of a vineyard, is getting a couple of things together for his three sons. He’s not as young as he used to be and wants them to be able to handle problems as they arise. The latest to crop up is a wolf prowling around, ravaging the ewes. It’s attacked a couple of the workers—even killed poor little Marguerite D’Estourie. That’s horrible, but what M. Delacroix sees as the real danger is the rumors spreading around about it being a supernatural wolf. He wants his sons to kill the animal to once and for all put an end to these stories. He’s even gone to the trouble to furnish them with silver bullets and insists that after they have the wolf, they burn its carcass until nothing is left but ash. While the ending of this story it not a surprise, great care is given to make each character an individual. And there is an underlying, if unacknowledged, sadness. Madame Delacroix died shortly after the youngest son was born. The widower is relieved all his children are boys. He’s done with all womenfolk. Yet, fifteen years after he buried her, he goes secretly to her grave to weep for her. This is a good, memorable story, another one I regret being unable to find online. I can only find it in print anthologies. According to Wikipedia, it’s something of a one-off for author Clifford Ball. All of his known work was published in Weird Tales, but most of it was Howard-esque sword-and-sorcery. _____ Title: “The Werewolf Howls” Author: Clifford Ball (1896-1947) First published: Weird Tales November 1941 Source: ISFDB