___Transformation of the werewolf in literature made its greatest strides in the 19th century when the shape-shifting monster leaped from poetry to the short story. It happened when this shorter form of literature was morphing into darker shapes thanks in no small part to Edgar Allan Poe, Honoré de Balzac, E. T. A. Hoffmann, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Prosper Mérimée, James Hogg, and so many others in Europe and the United States.The fifty year period between 1800 and 1849 is truly the cradle of all werewolf short stories. For the first time in one anthology, Andrew Barger, award winning author of The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Horror Anthology, has compiled the best werewolf stories from this period.

  • 1831The Man-Wolf by Leitch Ritche (1800-1865)
  • 1846 A Story of a Weir-Wolf by Catherine Crowe (1790-1872)
  • 1828 The Wehr-Wolf: A Legend of the Limousin by Richard Thomson (1794-1865)
  • 1839 The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains by Captain Frederick Marryat (1792-1848)
  • 1838 Hugues the Wer-Wolf: A Kentish Legend of the Middle Ages by Sutherland Menzies [Mrs. Elizabeth Stone] (1806-1883)

Reviews

_WEREWOLFNEWS.COM:Barger's enthusiasm for the material is evident on every page: the commentary and the depth of the research which informs it . . ..
MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW: After an informed and informative introduction on the subject by Andrew Barger, five of these stories are presented in full, followed by a listing of short stories considered from 1800 to 1849, along with an index of Real Names. A seminal work of impressive scholarship, The Best Werewolf Short Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Werewolf Anthology is highly recommended reading for fantasy fans, and a valued addition to academic library Literary Studies reference collections._

Interview with Andrew Barger

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Q1: Okay Andrew, why did you decide to edit a book of the best werewolf short stories from 1800-1849?
 A1: I have never seen one that addresses a 50 year time period, especially this time period. I try to fill in the gaps in the literature when I find them. This is when werewolf short stories were in their infancy, yet the stories are very good. Plus, I was feeling a tad beastly.

 Q2: Were there many werewolf short stories written before 1800?
A2: I have been unable to find any. Shapeshifters in the literature go as far back as the ancient Romans and Greeks. They moved forward through poetry and jumped to the short story form in the early nineteenth century.

Q3: How do the werewolf stories of 1800-1849 compare to today's werewolf stories?
A3: They are not as graphic and some of the stories lack deep character development. Since werewolf short stories were an entirely new form of writing in this period, this is to be expected.

Q4: Did you include any werewolf stories that have not been collected in an anthology before?
A4: I did. "The Man Wolf" by Leitch Ritchie and "A Story of a Weir-Wolf" by Catherine Crowe.

Q5: Which of the werewolf stories is your favorite?
A5: "The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains" by Captain Frederick Marryat.
 
Q6 : Can you give us a list of the stories contained in the book?
A6 : Sure. "Hugues the Wer-Wolf: A Kentish Legend of the Middle Ages," "The Man-Wolf," "A Story of a Weir-Wolf," "The Wehr-Wolf: A Legend of the Limousin," and "The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains."

Q7: Edgar Allan Poe wrote his short stories during this time period. Did he write any werewolf short stories?
 A7: Not one, but he did have a furry cat named Caterina. (Laughs)

Q8: You also edited The Horror Short Stories 1800-1849 - The Best Ghost Stories 1800-1849 and The Best Vampire Stories 1800-1849. How does the werewolf genre compare for this period as far as robustness of stories?
A8: The genre is not as developed as the ghost and horror stories for the first half of the nineteenth century, but they are enjoyable stories nonetheless. The period in review is really the cradle of the werewolf short story genre, in my mind. It's were it all began.

Copyright Andrew Barger - All rights reserved.