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The Thing in the Forest

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What sort of sin could a priest commit that would force him to spend the rest of his existence as a werewolf? A village priest by day, but forced to haunt a Hungarian forest at night. The newly wedded wife of a woodsman befriends the fiend, but now has her sin become as great as the cursed priest?

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First published January 1, 1915

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About the author

Bernard Capes

140 books8 followers
Bernard Edward Joseph Capes was an English author.

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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
Profile Image for PinkPanthress.
263 reviews83 followers
October 10, 2021
It was a short and sweet read.
It must have been very scary at the time it was written and I can understand that.

The thought of how Elspet must have felt close to the end when she saw WHAT she saw. Awesome!
I just wish he would written a tiny bit better, more expansive. I know it is quick short-story but still a few words here and there would have rounded up that story in a positive way.

None the less, nice one!
Profile Image for Shuggy L..
485 reviews4 followers
October 5, 2020
Elspet, the wife of a woodcutter, returns home from the market and encounters forest dangers. Father Ruhl in the presbytery raises unease and the sacristan is senile -depicts village life in the Hungarian countryside in past times.

Ironically prohibited from helpful behavior, Elspet’s experiences raise questions about religious and moral beliefs.

This short story could have used more detail and imaginative sourcing - the implications surround a young attractive woman; also the abuse of power by wealthy institutions.

Reminds me of fairy-tales which it would be nice to read. Reading this story as part of the October ghost story a day series.
Profile Image for Summer.
206 reviews9 followers
June 18, 2020
A fun little snippet about a woman who offers a werewolf a scrap of meat from her basket and then rushes off, convinced she has committed a sin and put herself in the werewolf's power. There's basically nothing more to the story than that, but it was enjoyable.
Profile Image for aliaareadstoo.
242 reviews6 followers
August 1, 2023
Now this is a story where I would never expect the twist. Made some guesses here and there but it didn't happen until nearing its ending, it's the feeling when you know something certain is about to come and when it does, you're still be surprised by it.
Profile Image for Allison.
568 reviews1 follower
October 16, 2022
I guessed the ending pretty easily, but still had some suspense. Read as part of Tea-and-Ink Blog's Oct 2022 Haunted Read-Along.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews

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