"Gabriel-Ernest" is a 1909 short story by British writer
H. H. Munro, better known as Saki. The story was included in ''
The Westminster Gazette
''The Westminster Gazette'' was an influential Liberal newspaper based in London. It was known for publishing sketches and short stories, including early works by Raymond Chandler, Anthony Hope, D. H. Lawrence, Katherine Mansfield, and Saki, an ...
'' and appears in the collection ''Reginald in Russia'' published by
Methuen & Co. in 1910.
Summary
"Gabriel-Ernest" starts with a warning: "There is a wild beast in your woods..." As the story progresses, we learn from that Gabriel is indeed wild, feral – a
werewolf
In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely or ...
in fact. The story uses the idea of lycanthropy as a metaphor for adolescence. The story's climax is when Gabriel is revealed to have taken a small child home from Sunday school. A pursuit ensues but Gabriel and the child disappear near a river. The only items found are the clothes of Gabriel and the two are never seen again.
Reprints
*''
The Supernatural Reader
''The Supernatural Reader'' is an anthology of horror short stories edited by Groff and Lucy Conklin. It was first published in hardcover by American company J. B. Lippincott in April 1953, with a Canadian edition issued the same year by Longm ...
'', ed. Groff Conklin & Lucy Conklin, London: World/WDL Books 1958
*''Alone By Night'', ed. Michael & Don Congdon, Ballantine 1962
*''Fantasy: Shapes of Things Unknown'', ed. Edmund J. Farrell, Thomas E. Gage, John Pfordresher & Raymond J. Rodrigues, Scott, Foresman 1974
*''Quickie Thrillers'', ed. Arthur Liebman, Pocket Books 1975
*''Deadly Nightshade'', ed. Peter Haining, London: Gollancz 1977
*''Shape Shifters'', ed. Jane Yolen, Seabury Press 1978
*''Werewolf!'', ed. Bill Pronzini, Arbor 1979
*''Horror Stories'', ed. Susan Price, Kingfisher 1995
*''The Literary Werewolf: An Anthology'', ed. Charlotte F. Otten, Syracuse University Press 2002
*''Classic Horror Stories'', ed. Charles A. Coulombe, Globe Pequot Press/The Lyons Press 2003
*''Unnatural Creatures'', ed.
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...
, HarperCollins Publishers 2013
External links
*
Reginald in Russia
1914 short stories
Works by Saki
Werewolf written fiction
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