History Literature / TheWhiteWolfOfTheHartzMountains

* AdultFear: Two of the Krantz children, aged only nine and five, get eaten by their stepmother and by shooting her to avenge them and protect the third, he dooms the third because he himself offered his children's lives as payment were he to ever harm his new wife. The third, seven at the time, does get to live a decade or two more and even finds peace in his fate. Mr. Krantz himself dies mere months after the stepmother's death, so he dies not knowing he did somewhat save his son.

Marryat is primarily a writer of [[SeaStories nautical fiction]] and his oeuvre contains little supernatural horror. ''The Phantom Ship'' is his biggest attempt and within that "The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains" stands out as being supernatural horror that isn't even nautical fiction. Some precedent does exist to the duo of Wilfred and Christina in the duo of Vanslyperken and his dog Snarleyyow in ''Snarleyyow'', named after the [[{{Hellhound}} German-American black dog]]. That reference and the folkloric aspects of "The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains" make for some insight into what type of stories caught Marryat's interest and his potency for non-nautical literature, because "The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains" is a founding work in [[GothicHorror Gothic]] [[WerewolfWorks werewolf fiction]], to the {{Uberwald}} setting, and while female werewolves existed in folklore, Marryat's story is credited as one of the first literary instances of a female werewolf. It's also credited as popularising werewolves with white fur. Notable works "The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains" inspired include "Literature/JohnBarringtonCowles", "The White Wolf of Kostopchin", and "The Were-Wolf".

Chapter XXXIX's first solo reprint occurred in ''Purkess's Library of Romance'' #42 in 1853 as "The Demon Hunter, [[EitherOrTitle or]] The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains". Probably adapted by Thomas Frost, this version switches the narration from first-person to third-person and [[NamedByTheAdaptation gives Mr. Krantz the first name Hugo]]. The title refers to Wilfred, who was originally identified as a [[TheWildHunt spirit-hunter but here is a demon-hunter]]. The second solo publication is part of the ''Great Ghost Stories'' by Joseph Lewis French from 1918. This version is called "The Were-Wolf" and [[NoEnding ends with Wilfred's confrontation with Mr. Krantz]]. All publications hereafter are reprints of the original chapter or either adaptation.

** Christina, the Krantz children's stepmother, beats the children whenever their father isn't around. Like him, she's got it out for Marcella in particular, but her reason is different. She targets Marcella in particular because the girl has the strongest notion that Christina isn't human and intends way worse than beatings.
* AdultFear: Two of Mr. Krantz children, aged only nine and five, get eaten by their stepmother and by shooting her to avenge them and protect the third, he dooms the third because he himself offered his children's lives as payment were he to ever harm his new wife. The third, seven at the time, does get to live to a decade or two more and even finds peace in his fate. Mr. Krantz himself dies mere months after the stepmother's death, so he dies not knowing he did somewhat save his son.

* SoleSurvivor: Hermann Krantz is the only one of his family that survives, if only for a time, a series of devastating murders. His father murders his mother because she's a cheater and remarries a woman who is a werewolf. The werewolf murders Hermann's brother and sister. Hermann's father kills the werewolf in retaliation and shortly after dies from what may or may not be natural fever. About two decades later, Hermann is eaten by a tiger as his siblings were by a wolf, but he did get those extra years.

* WouldHurtAChild: The spirits of the Hartz Mountains only have power over murderers, but this power extends to the ability to harm people the murderer is affiliated with. It's left open if the spirits ever meant to cause Mr. Krantz physical harm, as their target was his three little children. Two they kill and dig up the corpses of to consume. Mr. Krantz can't save his third child from this fate, but he manages to delay the curse so that it doesn't come for him until he's an adult.

Chapter XXXIX's first solo reprint occurred in ''Purkess's Library of Romance'' #42 in 1853 as "The Demon Hunter, or The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains". Probably adapted by Thomas Frost, this version switches the narration from first-person to third-person and [[NamedByTheAdaptation gives Mr. Krantz the first name Hugo]]. The title refers to Wilfred, who was originally identified as a [[TheWildHunt spirit-hunter but here is a demon-hunter]]. The second solo publication is part of the ''Great Ghost Stories'' by Joseph Lewis French from 1918. This version is called "The Were-Wolf" and [[NoEnding ends with Wilfred's confrontation with Mr. Krantz]]. All publications hereafter are reprints of the original chapter or either adaptation.

* TheWildHunt: Wilfred of Barnsdorf and Christina are mountain spirits and hunters of murderers. It's just the two of them, but they allude to more of their ilk. Wilfred demonstrates the ability to become intangible, for which Philip dubs him a spirit-hunter (demon-hunter in the ''Purkess's Library of Romance'' adaptation)

Chapter XXXIX's first solo reprint occurred in ''Purkess's Library of Romance'' #42 in 1853 as "The Demon Hunter, or The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains". Probably adapted by Thomas Frost, this version switches the narration from first-person to third-person and gives Mr. Krantz the first name Hugo. The title refers to Wilfred, who was originally identified as a spirit-hunter but here is a demon-hunter. The second solo publication is part of the ''Great Ghost Stories'' by Joseph Lewis French from 1918. This version is called "The Were-Wolf" and omits Hermann's final fate as it ends with Wilfred's confrontation with Mr. Krantz. All publications hereafter are reprints of the original chapter or either adaptation.

* TheOathBreaker: Mr. Krantz vows to protect Christina and never cause her harm. This is a vow he is manipulated into making but all the same consciously and willingly makes. After Christina kills two of his three children, he breaks his vow by shooting her to protect the third. Futile, because his vow includes a debt for him and his children to pay were he to harm Christina: that they'd be hunted down by the beasts of the forests and consumed. Hermann gets more years than his siblings ever got, but in the end he's eaten by a tiger in Indonesia. Mr. Krantz himself is spared by the spirits to die raving mad from fever.

Chapter XXXIX's first solo reprint occurred in ''Purkess's Library of Romance'' #42 in 1853 as "The Demon Hunter, or The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains". Probably adapted by Thomas Frost, this version switches the narration from first-person to third-person and gives Mr. Krantz the first name Hugo. The title refers to Wilfred, who was originally identified as a spirit-hunter but here is a demon-hunter. The second solo publication is part of the ''Great Ghost Stories'' by Joseph Lewis French from 1918. This version is called "The Were-Wolf" and omits Hermann's fate as it ends with Wilfred's declaration that Mr. Krantz gets to live. All publications hereafter are reprints of the original chapter or either adaptation.

* InMediasRes: "The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains" is Chapter XXXIX of ''Literature/{{The Phantom Ship|1837}}'' presented as a standalone short story. Chapter XXXIX opens with the immediate consequences of Chapter XXXVIII and this build-up is consequentially missing from "The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains". So, the action with which "The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains" opens is accidental and doesn't get any explanation, but it does set the tone for violence the rest of the story thrives in.

"The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains", also known by the ambiguous title of "The Werewolf", is Chapter XXXIX of Frederick Marryat's ''Literature/{{The Phantom Ship|1837}}'' reprinted as a stand-alone ShortStory. It was originally published in Volume 56 of ''The New Monthly Magazine and Humorist'' in 1839 as one of the final eleven chapters of the novel, and of all the novel's chapters it's the longest. Chapter XXXIX takes a step away from the main narrative to give the [[WholeEpisodeFlashback backstory of one character]], Hermann Krantz, who in his youth [[SoleSurvivor lost his siblings and father]] to a [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolf]]. Due to its contained nature and engaging narrative, Chapter XXXIX survived the mixed reception that was dealt to ''The Phantom Ship'' as "The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains", a separate piece of literature with its own print history.

Marryat is primarily a writer of [[SeaStories nautical fiction]] and his oeuvre contains little supernatural horror. ''The Phantom Ship'' is his biggest attempt and within that "The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains" stands out as being supernatural horror that isn't even nautical fiction. There does exist some precedent to the duo of Wilfred and Christina in the duo of Vanslyperken and his dog Snarleyyow in ''Snarleyyow'', named after the [[{{Hellhound}} German-American black dog]]. That reference and the folkloric aspects of "The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains", starting with the titular setting, are a rare insight into what type of stories caught Marryat's interest and his capacity for non-nautical literature, because "The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains" is a founding work in [[GothicHorror Gothic]] [[WerewolfWorks werewolf fiction]], to the {{Uberwald}} setting, and while female werewolves existed in folklore, Marryat's story is credited as one of the first literary instances of a female werewolf. It's also credited as popularising werewolves with white fur. Notable works "The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains" inspired include "Literature/JohnBarringtonCowles", "The White Wolf of Kostopchin", and "The Were-Wolf".

Marryat is primarily a writer of [[SeaStories nautical fiction]] and his oeuvre contains little supernatural horror. ''The Phantom Ship'' is his biggest attempt and within that "The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains" stands out as being supernatural horror that isn't even nautical fiction. There does exist some precedent to the duo of Wilfred and Christina in the duo of Vanslyperken and his dog Snarleyyow in ''Snarleyyow'', named after the [[{{Hellhound}} American black dog]]. That reference and the folkloric aspects of "The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains", starting with the titular setting, are a rare insight into what type of stories caught Marryat's interest and his capacity for non-nautical literature, because "The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains" is a founding work in [[GothicHorror Gothic]] [[WerewolfWorks werewolf fiction]], to the {{Uberwald}} setting, and while female werewolves existed in folklore, Marryat's story is credited as one of the first literary instances of a female werewolf. It's also credited as popularising werewolves with white fur. Notable works "The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains" inspired include "Literature/JohnBarringtonCowles", "The White Wolf of Kostopchin", and "The Were-Wolf".

Marryat is primarily a writer of [[SeaStories nautical fiction]] and his oeuvre contains little supernatural horror. ''The Phantom Ship'' is his biggest attempt and within that "The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains" stands out as being supernatural horror that isn't even nautical fiction. There does exist some precedent to the duo of Wilfred and Christina in the duo of Vanslyperken and his dog Snarleyyow in ''Snarleyyow'', named after the [[Hellhound American black dog]]. That reference and the folkloric aspects of "The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains", starting with the titular setting, are a rare insight into what type of stories caught Marryat's interest and his capacity for non-nautical literature, because "The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains" is a founding work in [[GothicHorror Gothic]] [[WerewolfWorks werewolf fiction]], to the {{Uberwald}} setting, and while female werewolves existed in folklore, Marryat's story is credited as one of the first literary instances of a female werewolf. It's also credited as popularising werewolves with white fur. Notable works "The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains" inspired include "Literature/JohnBarringtonCowles", "The White Wolf of Kostopchin", and "The Were-Wolf".

For context, the Hartz Mountains of the title are the Harz Mountains in Germany, going by an older spelling. These mountains, among which the famed Brocken, have a long history in folklore and literature as a place where the supernatural dwells and witchcraft is performed. Marryat's oeuvre doesn't contain a lot of supernatural horror. ''The Phantom Ship'' is his biggest attempt and within that "The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains" stands out as being supernatural horror that isn't even nautical fiction.


''Snarleyyow''


It is a rare insight into what type of stories caught Marryat's interest and his capacity for non-nautical literature, because "The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains" is a founding work in [[GothicHorror Gothic]] [[WerewolfWorks werewolf fiction]], to the {{Uberwald}} setting, and while female werewolves existed in folklore, Marryat's story is credited as one of the first literary instances of a female werewolf. It's also credited as popularising werewolves with white fur. Notable works "The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains" inspired include "Literature/JohnBarringtonCowles", "The White Wolf of Kostopchin", and "The Were-Wolf".

The Hartz Mountains of the title are the Harz Mountains in Germany, going by an older spelling. These mountains, of which the famed Brocken is the highest point, have a long history in folklore and literature as a place where the supernatural dwells and witchcraft is performed. Now, Marryat's oeuvre doesn't contain a lot of supernatural horror. ''The Phantom Ship'' is his biggest attempt and within that "The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains" stands out as being supernatural horror that isn't even nautical fiction. It is a rare insight into what type of stories caught Marryat's interest and his capacity for non-nautical literature, because "The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains" is a founding work in [[GothicHorror Gothic]] [[WerewolfWorks werewolf fiction]], the {{Uberwald}} setting, and while female werewolves existed in folklore, Marryat's story is credited as one of the first literary instances of a female werewolf. It's also credited as popularising werewolves with white fur. Notable works "The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains" inspired include "Literature/JohnBarringtonCowles", "The White Wolf of Kostopchin", and "The Were-Wolf".

The Hartz Mountains of the title are the Harz Mountains in Germany, going by an older spelling. These mountains, of which the famed Brocken is the highest point, have a long history in folklore and literature as a place where the supernatural dwells and witchcraft is performed. Now, Marryat's oeuvre doesn't contain a lot of supernatural horror. ''The Phantom Ship'' is his biggest attempt and within that "The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains" stands out as being supernatural horror that isn't even nautical fiction. It is a rare insight into what type of stories caught Marryat's interest and his capacity for non-nautical literature, because "The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains" is a founding work in [[GothicHorror Gothic]] [[WerewolfWorks werewolf fiction]], the {{Uberwald}} setting, and while female werewolves existed in folklore, Marryat's story is credited as one of the first literary instances of a female werewolf. It's also credited as popularising werewolves with white fur. Notable works "The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains" is credited as having been an inspiration to include "Literature/JohnBarringtonCowles", "The White Wolf of Kostopchin", and "The Were-Wolf".

are implications that Wilfred and Christina

The Hartz Mountains of the title are the Harz Mountains in Germany, going by an older spelling.[[note]]This spelling is still seen in the Hartz Mountains in Australia, which are not the mountains referred to by the story.[[/note]] These mountains, of which the Brocken is the highest point, have a long history in folklore and literature as a place where the supernatural dwells and witchcraft is performed.

"The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains" is a founding work in [[GothicHorror Gothic]] [[WerewolfWorks werewolf fiction]], the {{Uberwald}} setting, and while female werewolves existed in folklore, Marryat's story is credited as one of the first literary instances of a female werewolf. Notable works it's credited as having been an inspiration to include "Literature/JohnBarringtonCowles" and "The Were-Wolf".

"The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains",[[note]]The story uses an old spelling for the Harz Mountains in Germany, which have a long history being linked to [[UsefulNotes/{{Walpurgisnacht}} witchcraft]]. This spelling is still seen in the Hartz Mountains in Australia, which are not the mountains referred to in the story.[[/note]] also known by the ambiguous title of "The Werewolf", is Chapter XXXIX of Frederick Marryat's ''Literature/{{The Phantom Ship|1837}}'' reprinted as a stand-alone ShortStory. It was published in Volume 56 of ''The New Monthly Magazine and Humorist'' in 1839 as one of the final eleven chapters of the novel, and of all the novel's chapters it's the longest. Chapter XXXIX takes a step away from the main narrative to give the backstory of one character, Hermann Krantz, who in his youth lost his siblings and father to a [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolf]]. The chapter serves to expand the sense of the supernatural and thereby give more weight to the danger posed by the curse of the ''Flying Dutchman''.

In the early 17th Century, a Transylvanian serf named Krantz murders his wife and the Hungarian nobleman she's been having an affair with. He flees with his children -- Caesar, Hermann, and Marcella -- to the Hartz Mountains in Germany, where they live for a few years. Wilfred of Barnsdorf

''The Phantom Ship'' wasn't reviewed as well as Marryat's other works, which was a factor in Chapter XXXIX becoming a piece of literature appreciated and reprinted on its own. "The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains" is a founding work in [[GothicHorror Gothic]] [[WerewolfWorks werewolf fiction]], the {{Uberwald}} setting, and while female werewolves existed in folklore, Marryat's story is credited as one of the first literary instances of a female werewolf. Notable works it's credited as having been an inspiration to include "Literature/JohnBarringtonCowles" and "The Were-Wolf".

* MustBeInvited: It's possible that Wilfred and Christina didn't need to

* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: Christina is a werewolf and a spirit of the Hartz Mountains. Her true form is suggested to be that of a white wolf, as this is the form she takes upon death. She has a human form that has a few peculiarities like overall paleness, intense eyes, and a big mouth, and like her father Wilfred she may be able to become intangible. Wilfred himself is not suggested to be a werewolf. Christina is able to switch between her forms at will and seems to prefer her wolf form. After marriage, she sneaks out of the cottage every night around the same hour to prowl around outside as a wolf. She doesn't like any food except for raw meat, which she hides poorly. After killing Caesar and Marcella as a wolf, she uses her human form to dig up their bodies post-burial and consume the meat. Christina is killed by an ordinary bullet while she's busy devouring Marcella.

In the early 17th Century, a Transylvanian serf named Krantz murders his wife and the Hungarian nobleman she's been having an affair with. He flees with his children -- Caesar, Hermann, and Marcella -- to the Hartz Mountains in Germany, where they live decently for a few years.

* AbusiveParents: Mr. Krantz becomes abusive to his children after they flee from Transylvania. It's a consequence of the confines of living in hiding in the middle of nowhere and severe ongoing distress. To his sons, ages nine and seven, he's emotionally distant and controlling. To his daughter, age five, he's that and violent to the point of causing her injuries because she's female, and he doesn't think highly of women ever since his first wife cheated on him.
* AdultFear: Two of Mr. Krantz children, aged only nine and five, get eaten by their stepmother and by shooting her to avenge them and protect the third, he dooms the third because he himself offered his children's lives as payment were he to ever harm his new wife. The third, seven at the time, does get to live for a few more decades, but his father dies long before that.

* FeudalOverlord: The Hungarian nobleman whose rule the Krantz Family lives under in Transylvania is not without vices. He rewards Mr. Krantz with stewardship for his intelligence and respectability, but he also desires Mrs. Krantz. Therefore, he sends Mr. Krantz away on a mission to create an opportunity to seduce his wife. She responds positively. The two are murdered by Mr. Krantz when he discovers their affair and the bitterness he's left with makes him susceptible to Wilfred's and Christina's story that they too fled Transylvania to keep Christina out of a lord's hands.
%%* FieryCoverup: after murdereing Caesar, burns nightgown
%%* FramingDevice:
%%* GutFeeling: All three Krantz children immediately sense that something isn't right about Christina. Marcella's reaction is most severe
%%* TheHunterBecomesTheHunted: The white wolf

%%* MiddleOfNowhereStreet: The Krantz Family inhabits a cottage in the Harz Mountains at a two mile distance from the next habitation, which is implied to be another singular cottage or something of the kind, but in any case not anything like a village. It was purchased from a forester who used it for hunting and burning charcoal. It is in this desolate settlement that.
%%* MyGodWhatHaveIDone
* TheOathBreaker: Mr. Krantz vowed to protect Christina and never cause her harm. This was a vow he was tricked into making but all the same consciously and willingly made. After Christina kills two of his three children, he breaks his vow by shooting her to protect the third. Futile, because his vow also included a debt for him and his children were he to harm Christina: that they'd be hunted down by the beasts of the forests and consumed. Hermann gets more years than his siblings ever got, but in the end he's eaten by a tiger in India.
* OurWerebeastsAreDifferent: It is possible that the tiger that kills Krantz is a fated but otherwise normal creature. It is also possible that it's a weretiger. For one, it does what the werewolf would've done had she not been killed beforehand. For two, the build-up to its appearance emphasizes a strength and size just a little unusual for a tiger, much like the werewolf's unusual appearance signaled that it wasn't an ordinary wolf.
* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: Christina is a werewolf -- human by day and, if she so wants, a white wolf by night. She's also one of the spirits inhabiting the Hartz Mountains.
* ParentalFavoritism: After being betrayed by his first wife, Mr. Krantz holds a negative opinion of all women. This brings about casual violence towards his one daughter, Marcella.
%%* {{Uberwald}}: Transylvania serf
* WickedStepmother: Christina is a werewolf and mountain spirit. She specifically marries Krantz to be able to hunt, kill, and feast on his children, which he had always valiantly protected form the wolves prowling around in the mountains.

"The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains", also known by the ambiguous title of "The Werewolf", is Chapter XXXIX of Frederick Marryat's ''Literature/{{The Phantom Ship|1837}}'' reprinted as a stand-alone ShortStory. It was published in Volume 56 of ''The New Monthly Magazine and Humorist'' in 1839 as one of the final eleven chapters of the novel, and of all chapters it's easily the longest. Chapter XXXIX takes a step away from the main narrative to give the backstory of one character, Hermann Krantz, who in his youth lost his siblings and father to a [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolf]]. The chapter serves to expand the sense of the supernatural and thereby give more weight to the danger posed by the curse of the ''Flying Dutchman''.

* AdultFear: Two of Mr. Krantz children get eaten by their stepmother and by shooting her to avenge them and protect the third, he dooms the third because he himself offered his children's lives as payment were he to ever harm his new wife.

* WickedStepmother: Christina is a werewolf and mountain spirit. She literally only married Krantz to be able to hunt, kill, and feast on his children.

''The Phantom Ship'' was reviewed poorly compared to Marryat's other works, which was a factor in Chapter XXXIX becoming a piece of literature appreciated and reprinted on its own. "The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains" is a founding work in [[GothicHorror Gothic]] [[WerewolfWorks werewolf fiction]], the {{Uberwald}} setting, and while female werewolves existed in folklore, Marryat's story is credited as one of the first literary instances of a female werewolf. Notable works it's credited as having been an inspiration to include "Literature/JohnBarringtonCowles" and "The Were-Wolf".