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The Mammoth Book of Wolf Men
This collection of 23 dark stories of the supernatural creature, half-man, half-wolf, and entirely unpredictable, is being re-released to coincide with the much-anticipated Wolf Man , starring Anthony Hopkins and Benicio del Toro. Top contributors include Clive Barker, Michael Marshall Smith, Graham Masterton, and Mark Morris.
576 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1994
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About the author
Stephen Jones
276 books345 followersStephen Jones is an eighteen-time winner of the British Fantasy Award.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
March 6, 2015
This was a fun anthology of stories about werewolves. There were several stand outs in this and a couple of stories I did not like. The ones I did not like were just not my type of story, they were written well. The stand outs for me were:
Twilight at the Towers by Clive Barker
Out of the Night, When the Full Moon is Bright by Kim Newman
Boobs by Suzy McKee Charnas
Only the End of the World Again by Neil Gaiman
and there were a lot more that I liked…...
I hated:
Essence of the Beast by Roberta Lannes (this was too much of a cheesy romance story)
The Cell David Case (the story was good but I hated the narrator)
Anyway, this still made my best reads pile because I had a lot of fun reading this. I recommend it if you like horror anthologies and short stories about werewolves.
Twilight at the Towers by Clive Barker
Out of the Night, When the Full Moon is Bright by Kim Newman
Boobs by Suzy McKee Charnas
Only the End of the World Again by Neil Gaiman
and there were a lot more that I liked…...
I hated:
Essence of the Beast by Roberta Lannes (this was too much of a cheesy romance story)
The Cell David Case (the story was good but I hated the narrator)
Anyway, this still made my best reads pile because I had a lot of fun reading this. I recommend it if you like horror anthologies and short stories about werewolves.
May 22, 2010
The third of Stephen Jones’ excellent MAMMOTH anthologies I’d read following on from TERROR and VAMPIRES. By now, I knew what to expect, so was looking forward to indulging myself in a huge compendium of every werewolf-themed horror story under the sun.
Clive Barker kicks off again with TWILIGHT AT THE TOWERS, an atypical Cold War thriller mixing in some shape-shifting shenanigans. It’s extremely gory, pretty much unique, and fairly enthralling. I was hooked. By comparison, Scott Bradfield’s THE DREAM OF THE WOLF is less impressive: a subtle, psychological approach to lycanthropy, about a man haunted by his eerie dream world. It’s readable if not profound.
Ramsey Campbell delivers an E.C. comic-style twist in NIGHT BEAT, a short outing in which a policeman tracks a murderer to a museum only to uncover a sinister secret. I found it very similar to Campbell’s vampire offering, CONVERSION, and the two could almost go hand-in-hand. R. Chetwynd-Hayes goes for the predictable with THE WEREWOLF, YET another story set in a ruined farmhouse on the moors. The ideas may be straightforward (sometimes mundane) but something keeps this one eminently readable.
Michael Marshall Smith hits the high notes with RAIN FALLS, another unique outing taking place in a single location: a crowded pub. It’s compulsive and harrowing, with Smith putting you into the thick of the action as few others can. Stephen Laws’ GUILTY PARTY, in which a man walking in a county lane on a cold winter’s night meets something hairy, is more typical, an able mix of grue and fear.
Roberta Lannes goes for the postmodernist approach with ESSENCE OF THE BEAST, a tragic-romance that’s one of the more original outings here. I would have liked a little more detail, but this is good, for the most part. Mark Morris goes for a no-nonsense, no-frills approach with IMMORTAL, a chilly police procedural with forensic gore and an excellent showdown in a deserted railway station.
Basil Copper’s CRY WOLF is a solid if unremarkable mystery yarn with a werewolf laying siege to a snowbound village. I found it a little disappointing in terms of plot, but the suspense moves it along. RUG is Graham Masterton’s spin on the sub-genre and, if you’re familiar at all with this author you’ll know to expect the grisliness on offer here.
Hugh B. Cave writers THE WHISPERERS, another couple-moves-into-haunted-house tale, and there’s a nihilism in his writing that reminded me of Stephen King. It’s not one of his best, but there’s far worse out there. David Sutton adopts a dreamlike approach in AND I SHALL GO IN THE DEVIL’S NAME, a beautiful ‘holiday horror’ set in some crumbling Celtic graveyards on the isle of Bute. Peter Tremayne’s THE FOXES OF FASCOUM is another one with Celtic folklore at heart, a fine Irish mix of scholarship and the supernatural.
Karl Edward Wagner was an author with a hugely varied talent, and ONE PARIS NIGHT is pure pulp. A cowboy and an English lord confront a werewolf in a shelled-out Paris church, and you don’t need to know anymore than that. It’s feisty, fun and bloody with it. Brian Mooney ploughs Native American folklore in SOUL OF THE WOLF, delivering a careful build-up and tons of bloody carnage in the wake of a wolf curse. I found it spellbinding.
Manly Wade Wellman features his number-one psychic sleuth, Judge Hilary Pursuivant, in THE HAIRY ONES SHALL DANCE (great title). It’s got a cracking pace, tons of atmosphere and white knuckle action to rival Robert E. Howard at his best – I loved it. After this, Adrian Cole’s guys-with-guns-vs-werebeasts story, HEART OF THE BEAST, is merely okay.
Les Daniels reveals some of his splendid imagination in WEREMAN, a typical werewolf story enlivened by artistic prose and a ton of creativity, all packed into a short narrative. Then there’s a were-panther at large in Nicholas Royle’s ANYTHING BUT YOUR KIND, in which an ageing teacher finds himself attracted to a student holding a dark secret. Believable psychology is this tale’s strength.
THE NIGHTHAWK, by Dennis Etchison, goes for the weird and wild approach, an ambiguous offering in which you’re dropped into the middle of a plot and have to piece together the clues to figure out what the hell’s going on. It’s different, as is David Case’s THE CELL, a novella in which a guy keeps a diary in which he describes gradually turning into a werewolf. At first I found it too simplistic, but then it turns full of torment and ends up malignant and disturbing. Suzy McKee Charnas delivers BOOBS, an award-winning short equating a lycanthropic curse with puberty: it’s high school horror a la CARRIE, and written very well.
Kim Newman has (almost) the final word with OUT OF THE NIGHT, WHEN THE FULL MOON IS BRIGHT, another novella. It’s set in a futuristic LA, a city of riots between gang members and police, and unique and unstoppable are two words I’d use to describe it. There’s extreme violence here, police corruption, werewolfism and even the Spanish legend of Zorro. Hats off to Newman for his breadth of knowledge and skill in storytelling: I was utterly enveloped in his world.
Jo Fletcher’s brief poem BRIGHT OF THE MOON sums the collection up with an evocative look at the topic.
Clive Barker kicks off again with TWILIGHT AT THE TOWERS, an atypical Cold War thriller mixing in some shape-shifting shenanigans. It’s extremely gory, pretty much unique, and fairly enthralling. I was hooked. By comparison, Scott Bradfield’s THE DREAM OF THE WOLF is less impressive: a subtle, psychological approach to lycanthropy, about a man haunted by his eerie dream world. It’s readable if not profound.
Ramsey Campbell delivers an E.C. comic-style twist in NIGHT BEAT, a short outing in which a policeman tracks a murderer to a museum only to uncover a sinister secret. I found it very similar to Campbell’s vampire offering, CONVERSION, and the two could almost go hand-in-hand. R. Chetwynd-Hayes goes for the predictable with THE WEREWOLF, YET another story set in a ruined farmhouse on the moors. The ideas may be straightforward (sometimes mundane) but something keeps this one eminently readable.
Michael Marshall Smith hits the high notes with RAIN FALLS, another unique outing taking place in a single location: a crowded pub. It’s compulsive and harrowing, with Smith putting you into the thick of the action as few others can. Stephen Laws’ GUILTY PARTY, in which a man walking in a county lane on a cold winter’s night meets something hairy, is more typical, an able mix of grue and fear.
Roberta Lannes goes for the postmodernist approach with ESSENCE OF THE BEAST, a tragic-romance that’s one of the more original outings here. I would have liked a little more detail, but this is good, for the most part. Mark Morris goes for a no-nonsense, no-frills approach with IMMORTAL, a chilly police procedural with forensic gore and an excellent showdown in a deserted railway station.
Basil Copper’s CRY WOLF is a solid if unremarkable mystery yarn with a werewolf laying siege to a snowbound village. I found it a little disappointing in terms of plot, but the suspense moves it along. RUG is Graham Masterton’s spin on the sub-genre and, if you’re familiar at all with this author you’ll know to expect the grisliness on offer here.
Hugh B. Cave writers THE WHISPERERS, another couple-moves-into-haunted-house tale, and there’s a nihilism in his writing that reminded me of Stephen King. It’s not one of his best, but there’s far worse out there. David Sutton adopts a dreamlike approach in AND I SHALL GO IN THE DEVIL’S NAME, a beautiful ‘holiday horror’ set in some crumbling Celtic graveyards on the isle of Bute. Peter Tremayne’s THE FOXES OF FASCOUM is another one with Celtic folklore at heart, a fine Irish mix of scholarship and the supernatural.
Karl Edward Wagner was an author with a hugely varied talent, and ONE PARIS NIGHT is pure pulp. A cowboy and an English lord confront a werewolf in a shelled-out Paris church, and you don’t need to know anymore than that. It’s feisty, fun and bloody with it. Brian Mooney ploughs Native American folklore in SOUL OF THE WOLF, delivering a careful build-up and tons of bloody carnage in the wake of a wolf curse. I found it spellbinding.
Manly Wade Wellman features his number-one psychic sleuth, Judge Hilary Pursuivant, in THE HAIRY ONES SHALL DANCE (great title). It’s got a cracking pace, tons of atmosphere and white knuckle action to rival Robert E. Howard at his best – I loved it. After this, Adrian Cole’s guys-with-guns-vs-werebeasts story, HEART OF THE BEAST, is merely okay.
Les Daniels reveals some of his splendid imagination in WEREMAN, a typical werewolf story enlivened by artistic prose and a ton of creativity, all packed into a short narrative. Then there’s a were-panther at large in Nicholas Royle’s ANYTHING BUT YOUR KIND, in which an ageing teacher finds himself attracted to a student holding a dark secret. Believable psychology is this tale’s strength.
THE NIGHTHAWK, by Dennis Etchison, goes for the weird and wild approach, an ambiguous offering in which you’re dropped into the middle of a plot and have to piece together the clues to figure out what the hell’s going on. It’s different, as is David Case’s THE CELL, a novella in which a guy keeps a diary in which he describes gradually turning into a werewolf. At first I found it too simplistic, but then it turns full of torment and ends up malignant and disturbing. Suzy McKee Charnas delivers BOOBS, an award-winning short equating a lycanthropic curse with puberty: it’s high school horror a la CARRIE, and written very well.
Kim Newman has (almost) the final word with OUT OF THE NIGHT, WHEN THE FULL MOON IS BRIGHT, another novella. It’s set in a futuristic LA, a city of riots between gang members and police, and unique and unstoppable are two words I’d use to describe it. There’s extreme violence here, police corruption, werewolfism and even the Spanish legend of Zorro. Hats off to Newman for his breadth of knowledge and skill in storytelling: I was utterly enveloped in his world.
Jo Fletcher’s brief poem BRIGHT OF THE MOON sums the collection up with an evocative look at the topic.
March 6, 2021
Continua la mia personalissima epopea alla ricerca di romanzi/antologie horror di qualità! E che epopea, ragazzi, che epopea! Se c'è un genere incredibilmente abusato e riempito fino all'orlo da ogni principiante o autore di cattivo gusto possibile, quello è l'horror. Il che è un vero peccato, perché quando si legge un Danza Macabra di Dan Simmons, se non un classico Dracula di Stoker o, ancora, un Apocalisse Z di Manel Loureiro o un Infernalia di Clive Barker, allora ci rende conto che sì, è possibile scrivere horror di qualità.
La community che ruota attorno all'horror è incredibilmente becera, l'ho potuto constatare coi miei occhi, e leggerebbe letteralmente qualunque cosa con anche un solo accenno di macabro o sessuale, non importa quanto sia banale, scritto male e sviluppato peggio. E quest'antologia, curata da Gianni Pilo, non fa differenza. Mi fa ridere il fatto che, sul mio gruppo telegram, qualcun altro abbia letto — sempre a cura di Pilo — l'equivalente sui vampiri e che il risultato sia lo stesso: metà dei racconti sono spazzatura, metà tra il buono e l'a malapena decente, buttati dentro alla rinfusa senza alcun criterio apparente. Bella storia. È un po' come quando acquistate un CD musicale (comincio a essere vecchio, ai miei tempi c'erano ancora i CD, altro che Spotify) e la prima traccia, l'ultima e quella di mezzo sono buone, tutte le altre una cagata atta solo a riempire il disco.
E così, eccoci qui. Questo Lupi mannari! non è del tutto privo di contenuti, altrimenti gli avrei dato direttamente zero stelle, ma di certo te li fa sudare, mentre dribbli un racconto brutto, ne scavalchi uno ignobile e ne schivi un altro raccapricciante. Tra l'altro, nota di colore, l'impaginazione! Il margine interno è letteralmente appiccicato al bordo del foglio, che bisogna spalancare a viva forza ad ogni pagina per poter leggere le frasi fino in fondo, seguendo la curva che tenta di infilarsi nell'attaccatura per sottrarti le ultime lettere. Mah!
Un vero peccato, l'ennesima occasione di tirare fuori un'antologia a tema orrorifico — e licantropico! Evviva i neologismi! — miseramente naufragata per mancanza di cura e/o buon gusto.
Sinceramente, considerando il tempo che mi ha fatto perdere e l'averlo letto inframezzato da altri tre romanzi per dare un po' d'ossigeno al cervello, avrei preferito fosse lungo la metà, ma con una selezione più curata!
La community che ruota attorno all'horror è incredibilmente becera, l'ho potuto constatare coi miei occhi, e leggerebbe letteralmente qualunque cosa con anche un solo accenno di macabro o sessuale, non importa quanto sia banale, scritto male e sviluppato peggio. E quest'antologia, curata da Gianni Pilo, non fa differenza. Mi fa ridere il fatto che, sul mio gruppo telegram, qualcun altro abbia letto — sempre a cura di Pilo — l'equivalente sui vampiri e che il risultato sia lo stesso: metà dei racconti sono spazzatura, metà tra il buono e l'a malapena decente, buttati dentro alla rinfusa senza alcun criterio apparente. Bella storia. È un po' come quando acquistate un CD musicale (comincio a essere vecchio, ai miei tempi c'erano ancora i CD, altro che Spotify) e la prima traccia, l'ultima e quella di mezzo sono buone, tutte le altre una cagata atta solo a riempire il disco.
E così, eccoci qui. Questo Lupi mannari! non è del tutto privo di contenuti, altrimenti gli avrei dato direttamente zero stelle, ma di certo te li fa sudare, mentre dribbli un racconto brutto, ne scavalchi uno ignobile e ne schivi un altro raccapricciante. Tra l'altro, nota di colore, l'impaginazione! Il margine interno è letteralmente appiccicato al bordo del foglio, che bisogna spalancare a viva forza ad ogni pagina per poter leggere le frasi fino in fondo, seguendo la curva che tenta di infilarsi nell'attaccatura per sottrarti le ultime lettere. Mah!
Un vero peccato, l'ennesima occasione di tirare fuori un'antologia a tema orrorifico — e licantropico! Evviva i neologismi! — miseramente naufragata per mancanza di cura e/o buon gusto.
Sinceramente, considerando il tempo che mi ha fatto perdere e l'averlo letto inframezzato da altri tre romanzi per dare un po' d'ossigeno al cervello, avrei preferito fosse lungo la metà, ma con una selezione più curata!
February 5, 2015
I've had a thing for werewolves for as long as I can remember; I've encountered Stephen Jones any number of times in my life of horror addiction. Between the two, this seemed a natural match. Unfortunately, the standard of quality in this collection is...well, it seemes pretty damned low. A majority of the lycanthropic tales herein are fairly modern, and perhaps it's my antiquated literary taste that's at fault, but most of the stories are just plain bad. Only a couple are out and out awful (the penultimate novella from Kim Newman and Jo Fletcher's doggerel 'Bright of the Moon' had me leaving the project with a bad taste in my head) and likewise a couple are just decent (Clive Barker's 'Twilight at the Towers' and Neil Gaiman's 'Only the End of the World Again' were better reads than they were stories, but were also the only two I'd read before this time). Some of these were written specifically for this collection (e.g., Newman's 'Out of the Night, When the Full Moon is Bright,' a clever concept REALLY badly executed), and the pressure of production shows in those. My personal favourite (and probably betraying my previously mentioned taste) also happens to be the oldest -- Manly Wade Wellman's 'The Hairy Ones Shall Dance' -- and is a truly strange take on the nature of the beast (one word: ectoplasm) written in perfect 1930s pulp fashion. The rest fall somewhere in the middle, often just below Good.
This is a hefty book, and several times I was tempted to skip a story or even drop the book entirely, and as long as it took to read I kind of wish I had. However, if you're a reader with a taste for modern quick-and-dirty writing and things werewolfy, this is clearly an excellent place to spend some time. For me, I'm glad to see the end of it.
This is a hefty book, and several times I was tempted to skip a story or even drop the book entirely, and as long as it took to read I kind of wish I had. However, if you're a reader with a taste for modern quick-and-dirty writing and things werewolfy, this is clearly an excellent place to spend some time. For me, I'm glad to see the end of it.
August 31, 2023
A lovely collection of werewolf stories, I especially liked Essence Of The Beast by Roberta Lannes & also Rug by Graham Masterton.
October 5, 2024
I liked the part with the werewolves :D
October 30, 2019
I liked this collection better than Greenberg's Werewolves. As with most short story anthologies, some of the stories are good and some are not so good. Unlike Werewolves, there were actually some better than average tales - and a number of authors that I actually enjoy. The stories in this collection range from 1938-1994 (although most were originally published in the 1980s and early 1990s. Most of the authors seem to be British and many, but not all, of the stories are set in the British Isles. Unlike Werewolves, none of these seem to be played for laughs and the majority of these werewolves are actively evil or under a curse. Some of these stories that I especially liked were Clive Barker's "Twilight at the Towers" (a Cold War-era espionage story with werewolves and brainwashing), Scott Bradfield's "The Dream of the Wolf" (not a conventional werewolf story by any means), Hugh Cave's "The Whisperers" (originally published in 1942 - having a very Lovecraftian feel), David Case's "The Cell" (a chilling tale of insanity and possibly lycanthropy), Kim Newman's "Out of the Night" (An unaging -but not immortal - lycanthrope Zorro stalking the streets of a cyberpunk Los Angeles - not as cheesy as it sounds, and, if you're familiar with Newman's style, totally him).
October 28, 2014
Some of these short stories were really good and I wnjoyed many of them. I especially liked the last story, Out of the Night, When the Full Moon is Bright. Others I enjoyed were The Cell and Boobs. I had never read any werewolf lore before and hadn’t realized people even wrote stories about them, so I’m glad I picked this book up and gave it a chance.
Read
January 11, 2009Have read this before, well worth reading again.
One of the few short story anthologies with more than one good story in it.
I bought this specifically for The foxes of Fascoum by Peter Tremayne and David case' The cell.
One of the few short story anthologies with more than one good story in it.
I bought this specifically for The foxes of Fascoum by Peter Tremayne and David case' The cell.
January 13, 2017
Fun collection of werewolf short stories, they vary in length and in style. my favorites were:
Basil Copper’s CRY WOLF
Karl Edward Wagner's ONE PARIS NIGHT
Brian Mooney's SOUL OF THE WOLF
David Case’s THE CELL
Suzy McKee Charnas's BOOBS
Stephen Law's GUILTY PARTY
Basil Copper’s CRY WOLF
Karl Edward Wagner's ONE PARIS NIGHT
Brian Mooney's SOUL OF THE WOLF
David Case’s THE CELL
Suzy McKee Charnas's BOOBS
Stephen Law's GUILTY PARTY
April 9, 2020
My favorite mammoth so far. Because I love werewolves.
Even so, it's just barely 5 stars for me. I was very close to rating this four...
It's got the same problems as every other mammoth title I've read: Too many stories that are simply not horror. This one had a handful of fantasy stories, a couple stories where nothing happens at all, a couple where things happen with no discernible rhyme or reason, and one incredibly cringey story that was like a cheesy romance wolf erotica thing...
Additionally there were a couple stories that were off topic: one about were-cats and one about a were-hawk... (Those stories weren't actually bad, but... it still bothered me, mainly because the title was "WOLFmen". The editor could have easily gotten around this by titling it 'Skin Changers' or something like that. It seems silly to include stories that are objectively not about werewolves/ lycanthropy in a book titled "Wolfmen"...)
I was able to put these minor faults aside however, because there were lots of incredible stories in this title, to the point where I am extremely satisfied with the book.
Special commendation for the following stories which were so damn good I couldn't in good conscience rate the book 4 stars.
"Twilight at the Towers" by Clive Barker
"Rug" by Graham Masterton
"Wereman" by Les Daniels
"Out of the Night, When the Full Moon is Bright" by Kim Newman (the best of the best in my opinion, and the one most responsible for pushing this book into the five star rating)
There were many other very good stories, but those four were by far my favorites.
Be warned there were also 3 or 4 stories in this collection that I thought were absolute trash.
But the variety in this collection may be one of its strengths. I'm sure there's something for everyone.
Even so, it's just barely 5 stars for me. I was very close to rating this four...
It's got the same problems as every other mammoth title I've read: Too many stories that are simply not horror. This one had a handful of fantasy stories, a couple stories where nothing happens at all, a couple where things happen with no discernible rhyme or reason, and one incredibly cringey story that was like a cheesy romance wolf erotica thing...
Additionally there were a couple stories that were off topic: one about were-cats and one about a were-hawk... (Those stories weren't actually bad, but... it still bothered me, mainly because the title was "WOLFmen". The editor could have easily gotten around this by titling it 'Skin Changers' or something like that. It seems silly to include stories that are objectively not about werewolves/ lycanthropy in a book titled "Wolfmen"...)
I was able to put these minor faults aside however, because there were lots of incredible stories in this title, to the point where I am extremely satisfied with the book.
Special commendation for the following stories which were so damn good I couldn't in good conscience rate the book 4 stars.
"Twilight at the Towers" by Clive Barker
"Rug" by Graham Masterton
"Wereman" by Les Daniels
"Out of the Night, When the Full Moon is Bright" by Kim Newman (the best of the best in my opinion, and the one most responsible for pushing this book into the five star rating)
There were many other very good stories, but those four were by far my favorites.
Be warned there were also 3 or 4 stories in this collection that I thought were absolute trash.
But the variety in this collection may be one of its strengths. I'm sure there's something for everyone.
January 30, 2018
The stories in this collection range from good to downright awful, and unfortunately, most of the awful stories come after the first quarter of the book, and last until the final quarter of the book. But what's good here is really good, ranging from Scott Bradfield's wistful "Dream of the Wolf," R. Chetwynd-Hayes melancholy "The Werewolf," Les Daniels' wry and sardonic "Wereman," Suzy McKee Charnas' feminist-slanted "Boobs," and many others. The collection ends on a very strong note with Kim Newman's novella "Out of the Night, When the Moon is Full and Bright...," an absorbing reimagining of Zorro as a werewolf defender of the downtrodden. Unfortunately, the sagging middle of the collection, full of stories so generic and limply written that they feel like stale horror tales from 100 years ago, keeps it from being a full on recommendation. But what's good here is really good.
September 16, 2017
Mostly not great. Even the Barker and Gaiman stories are substandard, disappointing. Skip the "The Cell," boring and monotonous (although the editor touts it as one of the best). "Boobs," the sole entry by a female writer, is enjoyable, but hinges on "girl themes" and I got the sense the only reason it was included was to avoid a chauvinist label for this compilation. Warning, it is male-oriented. The best in the book is the last, by Kim Newman, "Out of the Night..." but I'd look for it in a different place.
July 9, 2025
Some were good, one or two quite fun.
Some silly and basil Cooper writes wolves avoid water.Er...wolves are excellent swimmers and are comfortable in the water. They can swim long distances, sometimes up to 8 miles, to find food, territory, or pack members. Coastal wolves, in particular, have adapted to swimming between islands to forage for food like seals and carcasses.
Do your research writers!
The cover looks like a man with pointy teeth an unkempt beard and interesting hair style. Were-ape perhaps? Should humans transform into hairy apes anyway?
An average collection.
Some silly and basil Cooper writes wolves avoid water.Er...wolves are excellent swimmers and are comfortable in the water. They can swim long distances, sometimes up to 8 miles, to find food, territory, or pack members. Coastal wolves, in particular, have adapted to swimming between islands to forage for food like seals and carcasses.
Do your research writers!
The cover looks like a man with pointy teeth an unkempt beard and interesting hair style. Were-ape perhaps? Should humans transform into hairy apes anyway?
An average collection.
October 15, 2025
3/5 - 10/11/25 - "Twilight at the Towers" (Clive Barker)
2/5 - 10/15/25 - “The Dream of the Wolf” (Scott Bradfield)
3/5 - 10/15/25 - “Night Beat” (Ramsey Campbell)
4/5 - 10/15/25 - “The Werewolf” (R. Chetwynd-Hayes)
2/5 - 10/15/25 - “The Dream of the Wolf” (Scott Bradfield)
3/5 - 10/15/25 - “Night Beat” (Ramsey Campbell)
4/5 - 10/15/25 - “The Werewolf” (R. Chetwynd-Hayes)
August 26, 2018
Some very good and quite different takes on the werewolf mythos.
April 19, 2025
took ages to read, mostly bored
October 18, 2016
Anthologies are always tricky to be collated well, The Mammoth Book of Wolf Men admitted failed to impress me but some of the stories were still entertaining. There were a few obvious winners (Guilty Party, Twilight at the Towers, Boobs) a few were really disappointing (The foxes of Fascoum, Night Beat, And I shall go in the Devil’s Name). I am not really a big fan of werewolf stories to begin with, so I guess I can't be the best of judges but it was cool to see different interpretations of the mythology.
August 27, 2012
Stephen Jones had done a commendable job in assembling some of the best stories dealing with werewolves in this anthology (first printed in 1994, later re-released as a tie-in with a well hyped Hollywood production in 2009). The contents are:
• “Even a Man Who is Pure in Heart”: introduction by Stephen Jones
1. Twilight at the Towers: a taut and surprisingly elegant novella from Clive Barker (otherwise known for making his works stand-out for their visceral gore & sex) dealing with cold-war era espionage in Berlin. VERY GOOD.
2. The Dream of the Wolf: a novella from Scott Bradfield that deals with psychological trauma & loneliness in the garb of escapist dreams dealing with werewolves. TOO ELUSIVE.
3. Night Beat: a short story from Ramsey Campbell. MEDIOCRE.
4. The Werewolf: a poignant and compact story from R. Chetwynd-Hayes. GOOD.
5. Rain Falls: a well-written, yet predictable story from Michael Marshall Smith. GOOD.
6. Guilty Party: Stephen Laws’ darkly comic story that had riveted me, and had compelled me to find out more of his shorter works. ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT.
7. Essence of the Beast: a poignant & touching story from Roberta Lannes about loss of humanity and yet its survival within the animal. VERY GOOD.
8. Immortal: a suspenseful & twisting short story from Mark Morris. VERY GOOD.
9. Cry Wolf: Basil Copper’s simple, economical, and yet dark story about a village in the grip of terror. VERY GOOD.
10. Rug: Graham Masterton (again, known mostly for his semi-pornographic works of macabre & violence) delivers a chilling & brief story that remains enigmatic till the end. GOOD.
11. The Whisperers: Hugh B Cave delivers a masterly pulp work in this story. VERY GOOD.
12. And I shall go in the Devil’s Name: David Sutton presents a story that gets lost in its own labyrinth of ambitions. POOR.
13. The Foxes of Fascoum: I had grown really wary of Peter Tremayne and his ‘Irish’ cause, but in this story he offers a unique ‘take’ on the concept of werewolves, combined with the theme of revenge. VERY GOOD.
14. One Paris Night: Karl Edward Wagner’s immensely enjoyable story involving Adrian Becker (why Centipede Press decided to omit these works and the fragmentary ‘Satan’s Gun’ from the 2 volumes would remain a mystery). EXCELLENT.
15. Soul of the Wolf: Brian Mooney’s novella deals primarily with the concept of the bestiality lurking behind human mask and its eventual emergence under the garb of shape-changing. GOOD.
16. The Hairy Ones shall Dance: Manly Wade Wellman’s classic novella of shape-changing is a legend on its own, and should be a compulsory read for everybody interested in horror. BRILLIANT.
17. Heart of the Beast: Adrian Cole delivers a chilling tale of the hunter and the hunted. GOOD.
18. Anything But Your Kind: Nicholas Royle presents a tale that deals with the legend of the Cat People, against the backdrop of polytechnics and murders that are rocking the communities. GOOD.
19. The Nighthawk: Dennis Etchison’s novella meanders among themes that have been done-to-death before ending rather half-heartedly. MEDIOCRE.
20. The Cell: David Case’s classic novella that can be read as a work dealing with lycanthropy, an actual werewolf, or insanity, has been thankfully brought back to print. VERY GOOD.
21. Boobs: Suzy McKee Charnas’ award-winning novella is so good that I would not like to summarise it here. TOO GOOD & ESSENTIAL READING.
22. Only the End of the World Again: Neil Gaiman presents a tale of his werewolf hero Lawrence Talbot and the Cthulhu Mythos. VERY GOOD.
23. Out of the Night, When the Full Moon is Bright: Kim Newman’s rare novella gives the legend of Zorro a re-interpretation and a fitting finale. SIMPLY SUPERB.
24. Bright of Moon: Jo Fletcher’s short poem. TOO SHORT.
Overall, one of the best anthologies to be brought out from the stable of Constable & Robinson, and THE BEST anthology of stories dealing with werewolves presently available. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
• “Even a Man Who is Pure in Heart”: introduction by Stephen Jones
1. Twilight at the Towers: a taut and surprisingly elegant novella from Clive Barker (otherwise known for making his works stand-out for their visceral gore & sex) dealing with cold-war era espionage in Berlin. VERY GOOD.
2. The Dream of the Wolf: a novella from Scott Bradfield that deals with psychological trauma & loneliness in the garb of escapist dreams dealing with werewolves. TOO ELUSIVE.
3. Night Beat: a short story from Ramsey Campbell. MEDIOCRE.
4. The Werewolf: a poignant and compact story from R. Chetwynd-Hayes. GOOD.
5. Rain Falls: a well-written, yet predictable story from Michael Marshall Smith. GOOD.
6. Guilty Party: Stephen Laws’ darkly comic story that had riveted me, and had compelled me to find out more of his shorter works. ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT.
7. Essence of the Beast: a poignant & touching story from Roberta Lannes about loss of humanity and yet its survival within the animal. VERY GOOD.
8. Immortal: a suspenseful & twisting short story from Mark Morris. VERY GOOD.
9. Cry Wolf: Basil Copper’s simple, economical, and yet dark story about a village in the grip of terror. VERY GOOD.
10. Rug: Graham Masterton (again, known mostly for his semi-pornographic works of macabre & violence) delivers a chilling & brief story that remains enigmatic till the end. GOOD.
11. The Whisperers: Hugh B Cave delivers a masterly pulp work in this story. VERY GOOD.
12. And I shall go in the Devil’s Name: David Sutton presents a story that gets lost in its own labyrinth of ambitions. POOR.
13. The Foxes of Fascoum: I had grown really wary of Peter Tremayne and his ‘Irish’ cause, but in this story he offers a unique ‘take’ on the concept of werewolves, combined with the theme of revenge. VERY GOOD.
14. One Paris Night: Karl Edward Wagner’s immensely enjoyable story involving Adrian Becker (why Centipede Press decided to omit these works and the fragmentary ‘Satan’s Gun’ from the 2 volumes would remain a mystery). EXCELLENT.
15. Soul of the Wolf: Brian Mooney’s novella deals primarily with the concept of the bestiality lurking behind human mask and its eventual emergence under the garb of shape-changing. GOOD.
16. The Hairy Ones shall Dance: Manly Wade Wellman’s classic novella of shape-changing is a legend on its own, and should be a compulsory read for everybody interested in horror. BRILLIANT.
17. Heart of the Beast: Adrian Cole delivers a chilling tale of the hunter and the hunted. GOOD.
18. Anything But Your Kind: Nicholas Royle presents a tale that deals with the legend of the Cat People, against the backdrop of polytechnics and murders that are rocking the communities. GOOD.
19. The Nighthawk: Dennis Etchison’s novella meanders among themes that have been done-to-death before ending rather half-heartedly. MEDIOCRE.
20. The Cell: David Case’s classic novella that can be read as a work dealing with lycanthropy, an actual werewolf, or insanity, has been thankfully brought back to print. VERY GOOD.
21. Boobs: Suzy McKee Charnas’ award-winning novella is so good that I would not like to summarise it here. TOO GOOD & ESSENTIAL READING.
22. Only the End of the World Again: Neil Gaiman presents a tale of his werewolf hero Lawrence Talbot and the Cthulhu Mythos. VERY GOOD.
23. Out of the Night, When the Full Moon is Bright: Kim Newman’s rare novella gives the legend of Zorro a re-interpretation and a fitting finale. SIMPLY SUPERB.
24. Bright of Moon: Jo Fletcher’s short poem. TOO SHORT.
Overall, one of the best anthologies to be brought out from the stable of Constable & Robinson, and THE BEST anthology of stories dealing with werewolves presently available. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
October 8, 2011
All over the world it is believed there are cursed human beings with the horrifying destiny of changing at full moon and destroying those they love the most -individuals who hide beneath the face of the beast, and beasts who kill with the tortured soul of man. Bound by ancient maledictions, captives of man’s primal side, bearers of insatiable bloodlust and brute strength…they are the wolf men.
The Mammoth Book of Wolf Men edited by Stephen Jones consists of twenty-five werewolf themed tales. Each story delves into the werewolf mythos in unique and imaginative ways.
My personal favourites are listed below.
Twilight at the Towers by Clive Barker – I’m a strong believer that the first story that appears in any collection needs to capture the readers imagination straight off the bat. This blending together of cold war paranoia, and the espionage of a thriller, with the brutality of the werewolf is a great start. This has a similar premise to the classic The Wolf’s Hour by Robert McCammon.
The Werewolf by R. Chetwynd-Hayes – A young boy befriends a mysterious loner living in a remote house. This is one of the older stories in the book and focuses on the tragic nature of a werewolf’s existence. The author makes it easy to empathize with a traumatized young man who doesn’t want to hurt anyone.
Rain Falls by Michael Marshall Smith – Years ago I read Marshall Smith’s short story collection, What You Make It. His writing has always struck me as fun and he often throws the reader a literary curveball. In Rain Falls a werewolf hides in plain sight on the streets of modern London.
Immortal by Mark Morris – I have a confession to make. Before reading Immortal I had never read anything by Mark Morris. Now that I have remedied this oversight, I hope to read more very soon. This story of a PC tracking down a savage, animalistic serial killer who wants nothing more than to stop, is exceptional.
Rug by Graham Masterton – A young boy becomes obsessed with a wolf rug that sits in a lonely attic room. This story has a wonderfully unexpected twist that caught me completely by surprise. There is a real sense of creepiness that builds nicely to a shocking conclusion.
Boobs by Suzy McKee Charnas – One of only two entries in the entire anthology that is written by a woman, Boobs is a uniquely female interpretation of werewolves. This story follows a teenage girl going through some rather drastic changes. This was my favourite story of the entire collection. I always enjoy when an author takes a well-established theme and twists it into something fresh and entirely their own.
Only the End of the World Again by Neil Gaiman – A darkly comic tale that finds a grumpy werewolf pitted against the servants of The Deep Ones in the New England town of Innsmouth. I don’t think I have ever read a story by Gaiman that I didn’t like. Hardly a surprise then that I was won over by this strange, surreal and wonderfully atmospheric yarn.
Overall, The Mammoth Book of Wolf Men is a perfect introduction for those who have never read any werewolf themed horror before. Bringing together numerous different visions of the bestial, ranging from a couple of pages long to novella length, this is a great anthology worthy of your time.
The Mammoth Book of Wolf Men edited by Stephen Jones consists of twenty-five werewolf themed tales. Each story delves into the werewolf mythos in unique and imaginative ways.
My personal favourites are listed below.
Twilight at the Towers by Clive Barker – I’m a strong believer that the first story that appears in any collection needs to capture the readers imagination straight off the bat. This blending together of cold war paranoia, and the espionage of a thriller, with the brutality of the werewolf is a great start. This has a similar premise to the classic The Wolf’s Hour by Robert McCammon.
The Werewolf by R. Chetwynd-Hayes – A young boy befriends a mysterious loner living in a remote house. This is one of the older stories in the book and focuses on the tragic nature of a werewolf’s existence. The author makes it easy to empathize with a traumatized young man who doesn’t want to hurt anyone.
Rain Falls by Michael Marshall Smith – Years ago I read Marshall Smith’s short story collection, What You Make It. His writing has always struck me as fun and he often throws the reader a literary curveball. In Rain Falls a werewolf hides in plain sight on the streets of modern London.
Immortal by Mark Morris – I have a confession to make. Before reading Immortal I had never read anything by Mark Morris. Now that I have remedied this oversight, I hope to read more very soon. This story of a PC tracking down a savage, animalistic serial killer who wants nothing more than to stop, is exceptional.
Rug by Graham Masterton – A young boy becomes obsessed with a wolf rug that sits in a lonely attic room. This story has a wonderfully unexpected twist that caught me completely by surprise. There is a real sense of creepiness that builds nicely to a shocking conclusion.
Boobs by Suzy McKee Charnas – One of only two entries in the entire anthology that is written by a woman, Boobs is a uniquely female interpretation of werewolves. This story follows a teenage girl going through some rather drastic changes. This was my favourite story of the entire collection. I always enjoy when an author takes a well-established theme and twists it into something fresh and entirely their own.
Only the End of the World Again by Neil Gaiman – A darkly comic tale that finds a grumpy werewolf pitted against the servants of The Deep Ones in the New England town of Innsmouth. I don’t think I have ever read a story by Gaiman that I didn’t like. Hardly a surprise then that I was won over by this strange, surreal and wonderfully atmospheric yarn.
Overall, The Mammoth Book of Wolf Men is a perfect introduction for those who have never read any werewolf themed horror before. Bringing together numerous different visions of the bestial, ranging from a couple of pages long to novella length, this is a great anthology worthy of your time.
Want to read
December 10, 2018Placeholder review: I'm reading a bunch of Manly Wade Wellman right now, so I pulled this off the shelf for a pre-read of "The Hairy Ones Shall Dance."
This novella (originally serialized in three parts in Weird Tales magazine in the 1930s) introduces another of Wellman's "Occult Detective" characters, one Judge Hilary Pursuivant. Yet, Pursuivant is not the main character, and only enters the narrative at about the halfway point (he just happens to live nearby). Instead - an ex-stage magician/escape artist (and rationalist) teams up with a spiritualist/occultism expert (and believer) to investigate a woman purported to have great powers as a medium. While in her isolated small town, during the middle of their seance in fact, a murder takes place and our stage magician is arrested, then has to flee a (rather hasty) lynch mob before stumbling across the previously mentioned Judge, who puts the details together and concludes that perhaps a werewolf is involved.
This story was a bit longer than I usually like, but I'll give it to Wellman for filling it with well-paced incident (the jail breakout/lynch mob scene is some good suspense writing, and brought to mind the "escaping the hotel" bit of Lovecraft's "Shadow Over Innsmouth" from 2 years earlier) and an interesting angle. Essentially, this come from an interesting time when Spiritualism/Theosophy was still presenting itself as some kind of science (as long as one was a little forgiving and dragged in a lot of psychological speculation) and so, once again, we have a semi-rational approach to lycanthropy (ectoplasmic projection, you see) and, as usual for a werewolf story, it turns into a "whodunnit". There are shout outs to Algernon Blackwood and (surprisingly enough) P.G. Wodehouse as well, a nice little bit where our male and female leads start to wonder if maybe the coincidentally well-placed Judge is himself the werewolf (he sure does seem to know a lot about them!) and all-in-all is a nice example of a pulp-action occult thriller. I'd sure like to know what that very specific reference to Long Island, The Literary Digest and 1936 was all about!
This novella (originally serialized in three parts in Weird Tales magazine in the 1930s) introduces another of Wellman's "Occult Detective" characters, one Judge Hilary Pursuivant. Yet, Pursuivant is not the main character, and only enters the narrative at about the halfway point (he just happens to live nearby). Instead - an ex-stage magician/escape artist (and rationalist) teams up with a spiritualist/occultism expert (and believer) to investigate a woman purported to have great powers as a medium. While in her isolated small town, during the middle of their seance in fact, a murder takes place and our stage magician is arrested, then has to flee a (rather hasty) lynch mob before stumbling across the previously mentioned Judge, who puts the details together and concludes that perhaps a werewolf is involved.
This story was a bit longer than I usually like, but I'll give it to Wellman for filling it with well-paced incident (the jail breakout/lynch mob scene is some good suspense writing, and brought to mind the "escaping the hotel" bit of Lovecraft's "Shadow Over Innsmouth" from 2 years earlier) and an interesting angle. Essentially, this come from an interesting time when Spiritualism/Theosophy was still presenting itself as some kind of science (as long as one was a little forgiving and dragged in a lot of psychological speculation) and so, once again, we have a semi-rational approach to lycanthropy (ectoplasmic projection, you see) and, as usual for a werewolf story, it turns into a "whodunnit". There are shout outs to Algernon Blackwood and (surprisingly enough) P.G. Wodehouse as well, a nice little bit where our male and female leads start to wonder if maybe the coincidentally well-placed Judge is himself the werewolf (he sure does seem to know a lot about them!) and all-in-all is a nice example of a pulp-action occult thriller. I'd sure like to know what that very specific reference to Long Island, The Literary Digest and 1936 was all about!
November 18, 2010
This is a revised edition of a book that was originally published in 1994. I was curious, given my love for horror fiction anthologies, why I had no memory of purchasing the first edition back in the day and then I started reading. Oh yeah, the reason I never bought the first edition is because werewolf stories kind of bore me to death. Other than "Boobs", a really memorable story of teen girl lycanthropy by Suzy McKee Charnas, this is mostly boring, tedious reading. I wouldn't be surprised if I actually did buy a copy of this book back in the day and simply forgot that I had read all these forgettable stories.
September 7, 2022
A fun collection of werewolf tales by various different authors. As with any compilation, some of the stories were good, some bad, and some average. I particularly enjoyed ‘Essence of the Beast’ by Roberta Lannes, ‘Wereman’ by Les Daniels, and ‘Boobs’ by Suzy McKee Charnas. I disliked ‘Dream of the Wolf’ by Scott Bradfield (no actual werewolves), ‘The Whisperers’ by Hugh B. Cave (more of ghost story than a werewolf one), and ‘The Nighthawk’ by Dennis Etchison (just plain boring). A couple of the stories deal with shape-shifters other than werewolves, such as werefoxes, werepanthers and even a werehare, but the book as a whole is definitely worth reading if you’re a werewolf fan.
December 15, 2008
A very nice mix of traditional and modern werewolf tales.
With stories by: (those marked with asterisks I found to be exceptional)
Clive Barker **
Ramsey Campbell **
Suzy McKee Charnas **
Les Daniels
Dennis Etchison **
Roberta Lannes **
Graham Masterton **
Kim Newman **
Michael Marshall Smith
Peter Tremayne
Karl Edward Wagner
Scott Bradfield
R. Chetwynd-Hayes
Stephen Laws
Mark Morris
Basil Copper
Hugh B. Cave **
David Sutton
Brian Mooney
Manley Wade Wellman
Adrian Cole **
Nicholas Royle
David Case **
Jo Fletcher **
With stories by: (those marked with asterisks I found to be exceptional)
Clive Barker **
Ramsey Campbell **
Suzy McKee Charnas **
Les Daniels
Dennis Etchison **
Roberta Lannes **
Graham Masterton **
Kim Newman **
Michael Marshall Smith
Peter Tremayne
Karl Edward Wagner
Scott Bradfield
R. Chetwynd-Hayes
Stephen Laws
Mark Morris
Basil Copper
Hugh B. Cave **
David Sutton
Brian Mooney
Manley Wade Wellman
Adrian Cole **
Nicholas Royle
David Case **
Jo Fletcher **
March 18, 2010
This is probably the best anthology of werewolf stories currently in print. It is an updated version of an earlier text (re-printed for a tie-in with the movie, The Wolfman). It is not a “definitive” collection because many classic stories were omitted in favor of newer tales by more modern writers. My favorites are mostly the older stories however, such as The Werewolf, by R. Chetwynd-Hayes and The Cell by David Case. I also enjoyed Twilight at the Towers by Clive Barker and Guilty Party by Stephen Laws.
October 25, 2011
Anthologies are hard to rate because the stories vary so much. In this one there werea few exceptional short stories and others that weren't worth reading with the majority placed in the void imbetween. I found the stories by the following authors to be particularly good: Kim Newman, Suzy McKee Charnas, Graham Masterton and Roberta Lannes.
August 29, 2015
This is a nice, eclectic anthology of Werewolf stories! I liked some better than others, but the diversity in prose and writing styles on such a popular subject in horror fiction was refreshing. As a fellow author of horror/suspense fiction, I always benefit reading other author's perspectives! Great collection to read on a dark, windy night when the moon is full in the sky!
Currently reading
May 23, 2024"One Paris Night" by Karl Edward Wagner - Becker is trapped within a cathedral and menaced by a werewolf. He melts down a chalice to fashion silver bullets with which to slay the beast. He learns the following day that the chalice was purported to be the Holy Grail.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 25, 2010
I thought the Zorro story was particularly clever - and I LOVED "The Cell."
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