We all know the stories and have heard the legends. Hungry creatures rampaging through the night in the hopes of murdering one last soul with

tooth and claw. Feeding appetites that know no border, no boundary.

I’m talking about the werewolf. A creature of supernatural myth and tale who is just as richly ingrained in us as the vampire. The werewolf is a creature of great subjective. Like the vampire one can do nearly anything with it. There are stock fundamentals to follow to be sure, but every civilization is different in their specifics about them.

Moving away from the technical side for a moment. The thing we all seem to love: preternatural and loud, primal sound that cuts through the silence of the night. It is this that gives all of us that wonderful shudder as all are notions of safety are ripped from us. The howl is the werewolf. The very thing that is the signature of the beast.

We love it and can’t get enough of it—even though we know full well what it means. Then we all breathe an easy sigh to know that we are in a theater watching a movie, or home at night reading a book. The beast is still with us. We can walk out of the theater and put down that book, however, the monster is always with us.  Larger than our sense of all we know, and we cling to in safety telling ourselves it could never ever be real.

In centuries past there have been accounts of werewolves as far back as the 16th century.  Several years ago we had many reports of werewolves in Wisconsin. They called it “The Beast of Bray Road. ” Is the beast immortal, unstoppable?  The creature has existed this long. It has staying power.

The truth is, werewolves want to stay with us. Next to us. In our senses, our bodies, filling our thoughts, and chewing and biting at bloody chunks of succulent fear our soul produces, like fat ripe fruit in a garden, just aching to be plucked. Then the first bite that we feel sink into our bodies as the creature’s jaws slam home around our bodies.  Excitement quickened and that rush of feeling truly alive as we are released and made whole in one moment.  Death and really iryh by the soul of the monster.  In one terrifying moment we are answered on a very primal level. Yes. The answer is yes, we are animals. Each of us are animals in the dark, but by the full moon we are powerfully aware of the truth. A truth we shout out to the night under a full and bright moon with a lonely and powerful HOWL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Andy Bove is the author of  “Once Upon a Grave” under the name William Bove https://www.amazon.com/Once-Upon-Grave-William-Bove-ebook/dp/B00F2C6WB2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1492713433&sr=8-1&keywords=once+upon+a+grave+william+bove