Weird Halloween
SHADOW
OF THE
WOLF-MAN

Autumn Rose
HELLO FRIENDS OF
THE ORANGE MOON

[First Published: October 31, 2021]

Well, friends, I s’ppose the big day has finally come around. That is to say, of course, Halloween is here at last.

And while a right happy time, occasionally, don’t you wish this season would just go on and on forever? Well, this is true, but way I see it, moments, well, they ain’t made to be around forever, which being why we are probably so fond of ’em.

And so here you and I find ourselves, back around the campfire, near ready to conclude this season’s festivities. So time and time again, it is up to your dear old friend, I, the precocious Autumn Rose, to tell one final tale to pinch the nerves.

Now, I don’t aimed to disappoint none neither. So better y’all nestle up and get real close while the fire’s good and hot, ’cause ya just might need somethin’ to warm those chills what’ll come a-runnin’ up and down your spine. Well, without further delay, I bring to you “Shadow of the Wolf-Man”
* * *
So it isn’t an easy thing to admit to. And who knows, really? Maybe I’m just seein’ things. I certainly don’t feel like it. And I could swear I saw what I saw. And what I saw isn’t like anything you’re gonna believe.

But to be fair, I think most people can agree that occasionally we might spot somethin’, and we don’t know what on earth it was. We just don’t. We’re human, sometimes we make mistakes. But other times, we see somethin’ and our mind just doesn’t process it, y’know? And take it from me, I was in the Army, I’ve seen some things but nothin’ like this.

Now, the long and short of it, I was stationed at Spinelli Barracks over in Mannheim, Germany. Nice area, locals are friendly, and we had decent dining on post. Still the weather left some things to be desired, mostly overcast in the winter but springs there are simply beautiful.

Anyway, ’round about January ’08, on a Saturday night, right after Sergeant Gripper’s safety brief, me and some buddies went out on the town. We hit up a few places, and all and all a pretty good night, y’know? Well, we were pretty out of it by night’s end and decide to take the S-bahn, that’s the street train, back to the base. Well, only we didn’t quite know well where we were at or where we were headed.

Now, it was me, Mitchell, Olijnik, we called him “Ollie,” and Diaz. We end goin’ up way off track, near a stop called Rheingoldhalle. Still, all cards on the table, we didn’t know where we were at the time.

Anyway, we get to walkin’ and start arguin’ amongst ourselves which way to the barracks. Well, finally we end up followin’ Mitchell, of all people, down some random side street and straight off into the boonies.

Now, this was before cell phone GPS was a thing, and it was cold out, as you can imagine Germany in January would be. Can’t remember if there was snow on the ground or not. But basically, we eventually sobered up enough to figure out that our base wasn’t built in the middle of no forest.

So we do some “land nav” as we call it, trace our steps, ’bout as well as we could that is.

After a few, we come up across some horses. Think to ourselves a farm, great, ’cause we vaguely remember something of the kind along our way. So trippin’ over some brush and knockin’ into some trees, we climb right over a fence.

Now, if this point in the story I am boring you, well, you’re in luck. Because that’s when our night changed. As we crossed the field over towards the road, we see two red lights in the distance. In all honesty, we didn’t think much of them until they start kind of boundin’ back and forth, back and forth, y’see? Almost like they were cuttin’ us off.

We thought for sure, someone was screwin’ with us. Y’know, some farmer tryin’ to teach us a lesson about tresspasin’. Scare us out of our wits, but it was gonna take a whole lot more than a pair of laser pointers to show us up.

Well, we start headin’ in that direction ’cause worse case scenario, what? We get chewed out in a language we can’t understand? But as we get closer, we notice the red lights get bigger, lookin’ like they were attached to somethin’ else. And a noise like the rev of an engine.

I remember Ollie sayin’ like, “That a tractor or a plow or somethin’?” And y’know, I look at it, and, well, no tractor ever moved side to side like that.

Without fully realizin’ it, our steps grow a bit slower, almost in unison. And, we start cuttin’ across the field to pass the fence a bit quicker. Now, sure enough, we see this “thing,” whatever you call it, jump and shoot like twenty feet into the air. Stranger still, we didn’t see it land neither.

And that was all we needed to see. Next thing y’know, flight-or-fight mode is kickin’ in, and we sprinted, stumbled and half flew for that fence. But before we got there, a loud smack, like a barracks duffel hitin’ the floor. And right there, not thirty feet away stood somethin’. Somethin’ on two feet, like a person, but in the moon light lookin’ like a shadow, all dark from head to toe.

Well, I come to attention, flip out my multi-tool, Ollie draws forward a stick he had been carryin’, not even a sturdy one, and Diaz, my lord, he just grabs the cross from his neck and starts shakin&rsquo at the thing.

At that moment, I kept my footin’. Wish I could say I was being brave, but, probably, too scared to move. It didn’t take long for it to get to us.

It stood in front us about the average height for an adult person, which we took it for at first. It really did look very human but it was covered, covered in dark fur. The red lights seem to come from its eyes.

It gave out an eye-piercin’ yell, like the sound of a howler monkey, and lunged in our direction. It got to me first, I thought I was gonna die right then and there.

But the fool of a thing, managed to cut itself, dead center of its chest, on my multi-tool, which I hadn’t even realized I was still grippin’ in my hand.

Next, it shrieked, stumbled back, came at Ollie who thwacked it over the head with the stick. It shattered instantly upside its head, you could definitely hear that. Still, don’t think it left much of a mark.

Anyway, without any real effort, it pick Ollie up with one hand tossin’ him clean back about eight feet into the dirt.

Diaz raced forward holdin’ the cross and cursin’ at it in some pretty broken up German. Oddly, that seemed to work. As it took a couple steps back before leapin’ around then vanishing completely.

It took us a minute to bring ourselves together. By some miracle we made it back to the base. Ollie went to the clinic in the morning. Some cuts, a sharp pain and bruising but otherwise fine.

We told the others we got attacked by a dog and later got chewed out by our sergeant for messin’ around.

We discussed it among ourselves on and off again for the next few months, but eventually these conversations subsided. I guess we just preferred not to mention it.

Ollie was of the opinion it was a large dog on that stood on its hind legs, but I’m not sure if he really believed it. Maybe just tryin’ to make sense out of everything, I guess.

I can tell you it weren’t no dog, though you may be skeptical. It sure had fangs and claws like one, but the face, no. The face seemed so human except maybe the eyes and nose. But all the contours of a human face were exactly were they should be.

Strangest thing is, my sergeant, Gripper, he passed away not too long after. From an infected stab wound. Word was that he would have made it, if only he had the thing checked out sooner.

Yet at of all of this somethin’ still irks me. The cut? They say it was dead in the center of his chest— But I keep thinkin’ to myself, no, it couldn’t be.

Could it?
* * *
Whoa, b’gosh’lmighty! Story there makes me feel some kind of way, sure nuff. And I mean it, cross my heart, hope to die. Besides, I certainly ain’t one to cry wolf.

Well, anyways, take it or leave it. This is been our story for the evenin’ Remember all y’all stay safe, keep your distance, don’t skedaddle and keep on the narrow path. And last, here’s to sayin’ “Happy Halloween” from Autumn Rose and all your friends at Weird Halloween.

Oh and did I forget somethin’?

Perhaps, along the lines of—


’Til we meet again—stay together... keep nigh unto the fire.
Copyright © 2021 Thrill Land

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