This is a simple story that probably has its roots in Melmoth the Wanderer and The Monk. A man finds himself on a snowy night at some kind of monastery (hermitage). He meets a group of staff carrying bearded men. The man is not welcomed by his hosts and is about to be turned out into the cold. He passes out on his way out the door. They tend to him and when he awakens, the begins to search the building. He runs across a man in a cell who asks for help. That is what sets up the story. This is a story about trust and about evil. It is carried out very well. While the men who live in the hermitage may seem threatening, their role in life is greater than any one of them. I have always had a great interest in the idea of how literature portrays the idea of evil as an entity, as a Satan, as a corporal being. I found this a very satisfying portrayal of the mythos.
Review of The Howling Man
