“Short tales to appease your monstrous hunger for suspense” is how we describe SWC Horror Bites, an e-book chapbook series that reprints classic horror stories, and there’s no better time than the days (and nights!) leading up to Halloween to read a couple of classics to get you in the mood for the Spooky Season.
White Fell: The Werewolf, by Clemence Annie Housman, was originally published in 1896 as The Were-wolf, and is regarded by scholars as perhaps the first feminist werewolf story. In it, a beautiful woman named White Fell wanders into a snowbound village—and into the hearts of twin brothers, one of whom immediately becomes smitten by her. The other brother, however, soon grows suspicious of the enigmatic White Fell. Where did she come from? Why does she always carry an ax? And is her sudden appearance somehow related to the recent sightings of a bloodthirsty wolf in the area?He may come to regret being so inquisitive…
“White Fell is a powerful, independent woman, a fur-slinging, axe-wielding huntress descended satright from Hyperborea, [and] Housman shuns all of the werewolf traditions so dully repeated in many tales written before and after. White Fell is either a revenant from Valhalla or maybe just a good girl gone lupine.”—The Scream Factory
“For Housman, the female werewolf is a vehicle for her to present a strong feminist-inspired female character…. It is possible that Housman was telling the world that women had a hidden strength and that men should beware of their own hidden nature.”—The Nuke Mars Journal of Speculative Fiction
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, by Washington Irving, is the legendary tale of the Headless Horseman that has captivated readers ever since its first publication in 1820, in Irving’s collection The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. In the 200 years since, it’s become the quintessential Halloween story, as well as the basis for countless movies, TV shows, comic books, and other pop-culture adaptations. When schoolteacher Ichabod Crane arrived in Sleepy Hollow, New York, he had dreams of marrying beautiful socialite Katrina of the wealthy Van Tassel family, only to encounter the horrific Headless Horseman one fateful night—and the Horseman was looking to own Ichabod’s head and set it on his ghostly shoulders!
Both White Fell: The Werewolf and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow are available for download from the SWC webstore, so visit their respective product pages for ordering information.
