Cycle of the Werewolf

Plot

In the small Maine town of Tarker's Mills, a werewolf kills during each full moon over the course of a year, with each chapter covering a month from January to December. In January, railroad flagman Arnie Westrum is trapped in a remote signal shack during a severe blizzard; a massive wolf-like creature forces its way inside, its snarls resembling human speech, and overpowers him despite his attempt to defend himself with a pickaxe. February's full moon falls on Valentine's Day, when lonely Stella Randolph, who runs a failing sewing shop, fantasizes about romantic love; a shadowy figure at her window transforms into the werewolf, which enters and kills her. In March, during the last major blizzard, the werewolf claims a drifter found frozen near downed power lines. April sees young Brady Kincaid attacked and killed on the town common while flying a kite under a rising full moon.

Characters

Marty Coslaw, a 10-year-old paraplegic, is the protagonist. He hears the werewolf howling in March and is attacked in July, blinding it in one eye with Black Cat firecrackers. He discovers the creature's identity as Reverend Lester Lowe in October and kills it with a silver bullet in December. Marty's mother Nan treats him as no different from any other boy.

His father Herman, the high school coach, speaks to him in a patronizing 'Big Pal' voice. Grandpa Coslaw, a heavy sleeper, lives with the family and has a good relationship with Marty. Uncle Al, Marty's wild-living maternal uncle, treats him better than anyone else; he buys the fireworks Marty uses and later supplies the silver bullets and gun. Reverend Lester Lowe, the werewolf, is a pillar of the community.

In May he has a nightmare where his congregation and then he transform into werewolves; the next morning he finds custodian Clyde Corliss dead on the church pulpit. Lowe does not know how he became a werewolf but suspects it may relate to flowers he picked at a cemetery months before his first transformation, which turned black and died before he could put them in vases.

Background and reception

The story originated as a calendar project by Christopher Zavisa of Land of Enchantment Press, with illustrations by Bernie Wrightson. Each month was to feature a Wrightson drawing with a short vignette by King, but King found the vignettes too small and limited. He instead wrote a short novel, published by Land of Enchantment in 1983 with Wrightson's illustrations. In author's notes, King acknowledges taking liberties with the lunar cycle—for instance, a full moon on New Year's Day would not also occur on Valentine's Day—to focus readers' minds on the relevant months. Dave Langford reviewed the work for White Dwarf #72, calling it a werewolf yarn competently told despite wearying heaps of bodies before any plot emerges.

Film adaptation

In 1985, the novella became the movie Silver Bullet. Its cast included Corey Haim as Marty, Everett McGill as Reverend Lowe, Gary Busey as the uncle, Megan Follows as the sister, Terry O'Quinn as the sheriff, Kent Broadhurst as Brady's father, and James Gammon as Arnie Westrum. Critical response was mixed, and the film later became a regular television staple. That same year, Signet Books republished Cycle of the Werewolf as Silver Bullet, pairing King's screenplay with the original story and adding a foreword from the author about the book's origin and the film's background.