Werewolf Wednesdays (on any given day of the week except Wednesdays) returns, with a weirdly witchy one from the September 1953 issue of Beware #5. Does anyone else know of a precode horror tale that mentions exorcisms?
Nice one -- I like the ending, you don't see many that don't come with a definite close.
I do like how specific the gravestone is. Don't "move" it. Not disturb it, open it up, kick it, etc, but specifically, don't move it. And they didn't! They just opened it!
The half beautiful woman/half hag/half werewolf panel is great!
While not technically an exorcism as it's performed by a witch with a whip of all people, there is a story in issue #21 of Marvel's "Adventures into Terror" called "Possessed" in which a girl becomes possessed by an evil spirit after witnessing her uncle kill her beloved. The uncle and the wealthy suitor he has chosen for her seek the help of a witch to drive the spirit out--which she successfully does with a whip from Hades. Unfortunately for both the uncle and the suitor the evil spirit was the one making the girl behave "normally" (the spirit loved the suitor, the girl never did) while the girl was completely in control of her own body when she kept trying to kill them.
This is one of the few tales I've seen where a werewolf has been staked like a vampire. Usually silver is versatile for both werewolves and vampires, but I never thought a werewolf could be vanquished with a stake through the heart--unless the stake was silver of course.
I'm going to say the story muddies the waters between werewolves and vampires in another way. That is, if it's really possible to further muddy those waters. These monsters are very closely related in folk tradition after all, the motifs of their various lore throughout history nicely intertwined. And yet: Usually a werewolf story is about living people, cursed by the atavistic breakdown of self control. While vampire tales are most often about dead people, and the way in which mortality can proliferate in the aftermath of loss. This story definitely shakes up these norms.
I think the art here is pretty nice but terribly staid. I'd certainly love to see this one bloodied up a little bit. I think those sheep were probably traced. And maybe what Todd noticed about the critter's pronouns led directly to the illustrator's trouble establishing his/her/its gender identity, visually. Because this corpse was pretty darn androgynous.
8 comments:
Nice one -- I like the ending, you don't see many that don't come with a definite close.
I do like how specific the gravestone is. Don't "move" it. Not disturb it, open it up, kick it, etc, but specifically, don't move it. And they didn't! They just opened it!
The half beautiful woman/half hag/half werewolf panel is great!
Well, off to amazon to look for a wolf belt!
This seems to be a loose adaptation of FG Loring's "The Tomb of Sarah", but with the woman as a werewolf rather than a vampire.
Read the story here and give me your opinion: http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks08/0801001.txt
While not technically an exorcism as it's performed by a witch with a whip of all people, there is a story in issue #21 of Marvel's "Adventures into Terror" called "Possessed" in which a girl becomes possessed by an evil spirit after witnessing her uncle kill her beloved. The uncle and the wealthy suitor he has chosen for her seek the help of a witch to drive the spirit out--which she successfully does with a whip from Hades. Unfortunately for both the uncle and the suitor the evil spirit was the one making the girl behave "normally" (the spirit loved the suitor, the girl never did) while the girl was completely in control of her own body when she kept trying to kill them.
Thanks Glow Worm! It’s in my 2009 archivere:
https://thehorrorsofitall.blogspot.com/2009/12/possessed-doctor-molnars-corpse.html?m=0
This is bonkers.
Man, Paul sucks. Also, this is the only story where the same werewolf is referred to as "he," "she," and "it" on the same page.
I'd read this before and still didn't remember how ridiculous it is. Too bad the temptress was dead already; she'd have been hot stuff otherwise!
This is one of the few tales I've seen where a werewolf has been staked like a vampire. Usually silver is versatile for both werewolves and vampires, but I never thought a werewolf could be vanquished with a stake through the heart--unless the stake was silver of course.
I'm going to say the story muddies the waters between werewolves and vampires in another way. That is, if it's really possible to further muddy those waters. These monsters are very closely related in folk tradition after all, the motifs of their various lore throughout history nicely intertwined. And yet: Usually a werewolf story is about living people, cursed by the atavistic breakdown of self control. While vampire tales are most often about dead people, and the way in which mortality can proliferate in the aftermath of loss. This story definitely shakes up these norms.
I think the art here is pretty nice but terribly staid. I'd certainly love to see this one bloodied up a little bit. I think those sheep were probably traced. And maybe what Todd noticed about the critter's pronouns led directly to the illustrator's trouble establishing his/her/its gender identity, visually. Because this corpse was pretty darn androgynous.
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