Curse of the Werewolf

The Curse of the Werewolf is an old horror folktale from Ireland about a priest who was attacked by a werewolf while travelling through the Irish countryside. This tale inspired Stephen King to write the novella “Cycle of the Werewolf” which was later turned into a movie called Silver Bullet.

The Curse of the Werewolf

The story begins with a priest from a thriving village in Ireland who was travelling to a nearby town on business for his church. The priest’s journey across the countryside was long and arduous and, as night grew near, he was forced to set up camp near a dark forest that was reputed to be haunted.

During the night, the priest heard a clawing and scratching outside his tent. When he went out to investigate, he was attacked by a wolf.

He was bitten severely and just as he thought the wolf was about to finish him off, the cross around his neck was exposed. The wolf suddenly ceased its attack and merely stood over him, staring into his eyes. Then, inexplicably, it ran off and left him lying on the ground, bleeding badly from his wounds.

The next day, he managed to crawl back to his village, where he was discovered by the local doctor. With good medical care, his wounds soon healed and he was back to work in no time. The priest was re-energised and tackled his preaching duties with renewed vigor. He inspired the villagers and helped them to build a new church. The faith of his parishioners was strengthened and every day his church was packed with worshippers.

But there were still problems in the village. Every full moon, someone in the village was found dead or went missing under mysterious circumstances. People said that they had seen a creature stalking through the village at night. A creature that walked like a man but whose body was covered in fur and bore the head of a wolf. There was talk of a curse on the village and many believed that a werewolf was stalking them and picking them off one by one.

The Priest began to wonder why God had cursed his village with these horrible murders. It seemed as if there was no end to the death and destruction.

One night, during a full moon, the villagers decided that they had to catch and kill the werewolf that was plagueing their village, once and for all. They set a trap by tying the most beautiful girl in the village to a tree, using her as bait to lure the werewolf. High above, in the branches of the tree, they rigged up a trap to catch the wolf. Then, they hid in the bushes and lay in wait for their prey.

Soon, they heard a crashing sound coming through the forest and suddenly, the werewolf appeared in the clearing. As it made its way towards the terrified young girl, the villagers cut the ropes that were tied to the tree and a huge cage crashed down on top of the wolf, trapping him behind its heavy iron bars.

The jubilant villagers rushed out from their hiding places and drove long spears into the body of the werewolf, piercing its heart. As the monster collapsed on the floor of the cage, the people watched his hairy body ripple and change.

Gradually, the creature changed from wolf to man, as the life ebbed from his body. The villagers fell to their knees and began to weep as they realised that they had killed their beloved priest.