Werewolves and Shape Shifters: Encounters with the Beasts Within

by John Skipp (editor), George R.R. Martin (contributor), Charlaine Harris (contributor)

Werewolves and shapeshifters have morphed into the latest pop culture stars.  This mind-bending collection includes thirty-two new and classic stories from the best writers in the genre

Werewolves and shapeshifters are the latest literary craze following vampires and zombies.  The phenomenal success of the Twilight series, and the blockbuster movies that followed, has spawned a new obsession with these supernatural beings.  From John Skipp, the master of horror, comes this definitive collection of thirty-two classic and new stories, written by favorites of the genre including George R.R. Martin, Charlaine Harris, Chuck Palahniuk, Neil Gaiman, H.P. Lovecraft, Joe R. Lansdale, Angela Carter, David J. Schow, Kathe Koja, Bentley Little, and more. Skipp provides fascinating insight and details, through two nonfiction essays, into the history and presence of shape shifting in popular culture.  Resources at the end of the book include lists of the genre's best long-form fiction, as well as movies, websites, and writers.

Genres: Horror, Werewolves, Anthologies, Fantasy, Short Stories, Fiction, Mystery

640 pages, Paperback

First published September 22, 2010

About the author

John Skipp is a splatterpunk horror and fantasy author and anthology editor, as well as a songwriter, screenwriter, film director, and film producer. He collaborated with Craig Spector on multiple novels, and has also collaborated with Marc Levinthal and Cody Goodfellow.

Reviews

[J.P. Cane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Werewolves and Shape Shifters: Encounters with the Beasts Within is not a mere book, but a thick tome of wonderful, frightful shapeshifter stories. Editor John Skipp lovingly collected 30-plus pieces, introducing each with a remarkable photo-realistic illustration and brief insightful commentary. My hat’s off to his masterful effort.

While most tales are of werewolves, many show humans changing into other creatures or other things. The stories are all imaginative, many weird, some even more weird, others haunting and terrifying. There’s heartache, love, humor, mystery, redemption, and more.

Among the many great stories, two that stand out to me are, “The Skin Trade” by George R. R. Martin and “War Pig” by Carlton Mellick III. In Martin’s, we get a noir detective story that unfolds a slow-burn mystery sharpened with danger and surprise that’s truly satisfying. In contrast, Mellick’s bizarre story where shedding one’s humanity means a ticket out of poverty with the bonus of stardom (if but short-lived), is funny and surprisingly touching.

Another affecting one is “Strange Skin,” by Bentley Little. It’s a story of disturbing obsession, which includes not a metamorphosis of the entire body but a transformation of one particular piece of anatomy.

After the last story in the anthology, Skipp helpfully describes where you can read (and watch and play) more great stories. I’ll be certain to check those out too.

In the meantime, Werewolves offers readers a large pack of stories that they can enjoy again and again.

[Absinthe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book as a whole, though I wouldn't strongly recommend it to anybody. There are really only one or two stories that make it worth the read, the rest are sub-par or average. It was also a relatively quick read despite its size.

[Rhiannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of these stories were disturbing in ways that took a while to wash off. Most were quirky and enjoyable; stories about shapeshifters (not always wolves) dealing with mundane things like romance as well as situations far more extraordinary. The worst that I can say about any of the stories is that a few of 'em seemed written by incels. Apart from those, this is a worthwhile addition to any collection of supernatural literature. Editor John Skipp wrote a pretty fun opening essay and smartly followed it with Angela Carter's "The Company of Wolves", which for my money was the best in the whole book. Not to say it's all downhill from there; scattered throughout are stories like hers - in the shape of a fairy tale - that'll leave you lightly, whimsically haunted.

[Evil Necromancer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much like a lot of other short story anthologies, your mileage may vary when it comes to the actual quality of each story. While one is your typical bottom-of-the-barrel "dark and gritty" rewrite of a classic fairy tale (as if the Brothers Grimm hadn't already cornered the market on that), you also have great stories by H.P. Lovecraft and George R.R. Martin.

[Andria Potter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Early review, but plan to have a RTC soon.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've never been into reading short stories or werewolf books before but I thought I'd give this book a go considering it was only $3 at the book store. I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. Some of the stories weren't that exciting and dragged on (which is why I rated the book 3 stars) but others were gripping and had me not wanting to put the book down. My favourite story was the one by George RR Martin, it was the longest story in the book but it felt like one of the quickest to read. Even though you may not enjoy every story in this book there is definitely something for everyone.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just read 37 werewolf stories and I want MORE!!!
Awoooooo.
Top Twelve. One for every full moon in a year.
Pure Silver,
Side-Effects May Include,
IL Donnaiolo,
Not From Around Here,
The Skin Trade,
Strange Skin,
Warm in your Coat,
Howl of the Sheep,
Pieces of Ethan,
Dissertation,
Only the End of the World Again,
Sweetheart Come

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

A interesting collection of authors and stories.Highlighted by H.P Lovecraft The Shadow Over Innsmouth and G.R.R.M The Skin Trade.

[Steve Visel · Rating 3 out of 5]

More shape shifters than werewolves in this anthology.

[K.D. Bissonette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some interesting stories, some weird stories and some absolutely wonderful stories! Thanks for sharing!

[TaHraji · Rating 5 out of 5]

read

[David Agranoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Werewolves and Shapeshifters
Edited by John Skipp
Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers

This is a must read for fans of horror fiction. John Skipp has done here something that editors always try to do when they do a theme anthology. If this is not the ultimate collection of shapeshifter I want to pointed to one that is better.

Featuring classics from as far back as Hp Lovecraft’s Shadow over innsmouth to 80’s classics by David Schow and George RR Martin. The collection goes from strength to strength with original stories from some of my favorites Cody Goodfellow and Jeremy Robert Johnson.

The biggest surprise for me was an amazing short story by YA author Tessa Gratton. “The Cold that Flays the Skin,” this is emotional wreacking ball of a short story that is effective in a very short word count. Cody Goodfellow’s bizarro post werewolf takeover vision of San Diego is both funny and twisted. Jeremy Robert Johnson’s tale is of life changing parasite, a running theme in the life of this author and a strong edition in the comeback of this hibernating dark bizarro author.

For me the highlights were gonzo 80’s blood drenched novellas by splatterpunk legend David Schow and George RR Martin’s classic Novella “The Skin Trade.” I read both a long ago but I am realizing now I was too young and not cultured enough to get every level these tales were operating on.

Martin’s Skin Trade is excellent modern noir tale with a detective, haunted houses, werewolf cults and it’s all blood soaked as 80’s horror tended to be at the time. Skipp calls it the centerpiece of the collection and yes it is a must read classic.

I really want to hand it to Black Dog for working with Skipp on these books, they are not just another anthology. These are important documents of horror that track the evolution of the genre as well as highlight the bold new work coming out of the genre. Big thumbs up, get this book on your shelf.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm glad to be done with this book at last, not because I didn't enjoy but because it just took me so long to read, and because by the last hundred pages or so I just wanted to move on to something else. There were some real gems in here, and were I feeling up to the task I would thumb through the pages and find the names but George R.R. Martin's offering was actually one of my favourites in the selection, and the last one of the collection was lovely as well. Like I said, there were some real surprises in here, some great short stories, but that being said there were also some low points, some stories that made me feel uncomfortable, and not in a good way. They weren't badly written, just uncomfortable or what I would class as "too much", for one reason or another. I won't go into detail but they are short stories I wouldn't consider reading again, let's leave it at that.

All in all a refreshingly eclectic collection that had some real high points, and I did enjoy reading this, even if it did take me well over a month to do so, oh my goodness.

[Kari · Rating 4 out of 5]

For an anthology, this was a surprisingly well put together book! Many times when you read a collection of short stories of a particular theme, you come away with one or two stories that really caught your eye, and many you wish hadn't. But this one was quite opposite. There were only a few stories that I didn't like. "Strange Skin" by Bently Little is the one that most sticks out to me. It would have been better served in a vampire anthology than one on shapeshifters, even if one's genitalia is consumed and transformed into a Ken Doll-like groin. But other authors were well put to be included, and having nevwr read HP Lovecraft, I think "The Shadow over Innsmouth" was one of my favorites. All in all, this was (despite being read over a long period of time) a fantastic collection, and I would highly recommend it.

[Garrett Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Icons rub elbows with iconoclasts. The whimsical plays off the Gothic, the depraved off the magical. Werewolves and Shapeshifters: Encounters with the Beast Within is skillfully assembled, thoughtprovoking and constantly enjoyable from the Shadow Over Innsmouth to Nicole Cushing's brilliant All I Need to Know I Learned in Piggie Class and Carlton Mellick III's surprisingly tender War Pig. A great buy for any horror and Bizarro fan or just any reader curious about the hermeneutic movement of the lycanthrope.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reading this book was probably a case of the wrong expectations. The first half of the book had some very creative treatments of the Werewolf and Shapeshifter theme that fell on the supernatural fantasy side of the spectrum. There was also a classic horror addition by H.P. Lovecraft, who I have often enjoyed. Then the stories flipped into serious horror on the really disturbing end of the spectrum. I could recommend this book for hard core horror fans (just get through the first half) but I am not a hard core horror fan, so it really wasn't for me.

[Tessa Hatheway · Rating 2 out of 5]

A few real gems in these pages, sadly interspersed by dry tales that, for me as a reader, fell well short of the pumped-up, "you're gonna love this one!" previews given by the anthologist before each story. It appears John Skipp and I, simply put, have differing literary tastes... That being said, the entire anthology was well-worth slogging through, for the rich mystery of George R. R. Martin's contribution to the collection, "The Skin Trade". More of that, please!

[Colleen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think that John Skipp and I will be parting ways. I've read his Werewolves & Shapeshifters collection, and his Demons collection. He and I have very different opinions on what makes a good short story. He managed to put in two or three stories that I liked, but the rest was pretty much crap.

As near as I can figure, I won't get anything else out of his books unless I hollow them out for storage.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A highly enjoyable anthology and a must-read for fans of shapeshifters. There were some duds, but some amazing stories as well. I will never forget the gut-wrenching nature of David J. Schrow's "Not From Around Here," and I loved Violet Glaze's contribution. "War Pig" was also fantastic, like a cartoon for grown-ups.

[Walter · Rating 3 out of 5]

took me the better part of a year to finish the book. Doesn't mean it's no good or hard to read, but you can only read that many werewolf stories in a row. So I read one or two stories in between two books. As with every short stories book, some stories are brilliant, some are meh. Overall a good book.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this! Any time I read a story and think to myself "What is WRONG with this author?! They're sick! SICK, I tell you!" I know it was a good read. Short stories ranging from the funny & goofy to the truly disturbing.

[Leonca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a surprisingly quick read for its length. Overall there were more hits than misses for me, and fortunately those misses were among the shorter stories in the collection. Several choices left me wanting to look into the author’s other works, as a good anthology should.

[Nicholas Cavalier · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent collection of short stories and novellas which includes works by established masters of their craft as well as excellent introductions to some authors just starting out on their journey to become masters.

[Tamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would really like to give this collection a 4.5. What a great assembly of shapechanger stories!

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! I love most of the stories in this. Most are horror based while a few are comedic. I would definately recommend this book to fans the of horror genre

[Scott Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have story in this book, so I'm a bit biased. =)

[H.R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some stories were far better than others, but it was still a good read.