Oh this was an unexpected addition to my TBR but I’m glad I included it.
If you’ve been around for a while, you know that werewolf content is not a big favorite of mine compared to witches or vampires, demons, etc. Werewolf is low on the pole but I still respect it and what the story can be about. I think there’s a formula, like with vampires, where it can become predictable and there’s certain movies or tv shows or books for that matter that takes the genre and turns it into something else. For every Ginger Snaps or An American Werewolf in London, you get An American Werewolf in Paris or Howl which has small good moments but ends up disappointing.
So this short story was surprising and I’m glad I read it. It was offered up to review by the author himself and I did accept and put it in my tbr after I would get through some books. Nestled between The Essential Tales of HP Lovecraft and Fright Time (coming next week), is the story called The Beast of Loughby Island by Matt Doyle.
Spoilers beware!
Now, I read this on pdf and in between long hours at a cancer center and feeling exhausted, it took longer to read. But once I got into the groove, I couldn’t stop reading it. I wanted to see what would happen next and that’s a good sign of an author in my opinion. Either grab my attention or just let me go and DNF it which is rare for me. The story is quite simple, and this is how the novel describes it: ‘A young man named Tom Daniels is kidnapped by a local family and is dropped on Loughby Island in an attempt to ‘clean up their streets’.
This is pretty accurate but I love that there’s so much more. One big factor I really liked was the isolation. I love the concept of horror in general, the self contained, we’re staying in one area for one reason or another and rescue is very, very limited. Think of The Wicker Man (1973), Alien (1979), The Shining (1980), The Evil Dead (1983) and there are others but those are immediate. Isolation is key here, no one can just “leave”. And that’s what stands it apart for me.
Another aspect I liked was the take on werewolf mythology. One, it takes place during the daytime, which is rare. Two, how being a werewolf is created is a bit of a change, which is mostly through a bite BUT I like that there are distinguishable qualities about the creature that characters were able to see or connect the dots to being a fellow towns person. I liked that detail as well. And of course, the transformations were very detailed and very supernatural. And by that, I mean, it feels otherworldly. Almost demonic in a way, in a horror way. The mythology around werewolves in this story is a breath of fresh air and the downside that I could think of is that I wanted MORE of that. There is a book that is mentioned in the story and deciphers and a character was working on that and I wish we could get MORE of that aspect because I’m a history and art nerd (went to school for it), like gimme some deeeeeeep ties to that island’s history!
There were parts of the story that felt like I was pulled into An American Werewolf in London, especially the pub situation, it felt so familiar but I like the nostalgia. The characters are well written, we know just enough about them to have a bit of a connection as they go through a legit bloodbath so when they are preyed upon and picked off one by one, you feel for them. Like oh no, not them!
I really enjoyed this short tale, I believe I gave it a 4 out of 5 according to my book journal and I will be checking out more of his work. It is available for purchase I believe now on Barnes and Noble, Amazon, his own site I assume, and I had fun. It’s a quick read and if you’re into werewolves, you’d enjoy it or supernatural creatures.
I will see you guys next week for Fright Time… and then possibly getting back into the quirkier posts or vice versa! Random note, I wanted to keep saying The Beast of Bray Road and that is something ENTIRELY different, haha.
Shots of Horror 