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Charles Beaumont, Devil, Hell, John Carradine, Lucifer, monks, original, Robin Hughes, Rod Serling, script, short story, symbolism, The Howling Man, Twilight Zone
Good luck finding a copy of Charles Beaumont’s original short story “The Howling Man”. It’s out of print, and has been for years. You might get lucky and stumble across a dog-eared copy at an old bookstore, yard sale or flea market, or pay an outrageous “collector’s” price online, but other than that? Tough beans for you. Even most libraries don’t carry a copy anymore.
And I don’t like that. Not one bit. Not only was young Beaumont a supremely gifted writer, but “The Howling Man” itself is such an incredible piece of writing. It’s a terrible shame that today’s readers are being deprived of this masterpiece.
The Twilight Zone adaptation — be sure to read the previous sister post, “The Howling Man”: The Script” — which aired on this date in 1960, stays very true to Beaumont’s original story. The only real difference is the ending. So allow me to recap that alternate ending for you now.
Having just been told the identity of the strange howling man that the Brothers keep locked in a cell, David Ellington leaves Father Jerome (he’s Father Jerome in the story, but Brother Jerome in the adaptation), set to go to the authorities. Returning to his room where Brother Christophorus is asleep, he lies down and waits. Two hours later, he goes back to Jerome’s room and steals an iron key from around his neck – the key that opens the howling man’s cell.
Convinced the man is innocent and deserving of freedom, he makes his way to the cell. Sliding the key into the lock, the door opens and the howling man steps out into the corridor. “I felt a momentary fright as his clawed hand reached up and touched my shoulder; but it passed.”
The two make a run for it, leaving the Abbey and heading down toward the village. Ellington grows very ill and begs the howling man to wait for him. He cries out for help. “Help you?” He laughed once, a high-pitched sound more awful than the screams had been; and then he turned and vanished in the moonless night.”
Ellington tells the police everything, and all of it is, of course, denied by Father Jerome and the Brothers of the Abbey. They claim he was suffering from visions brought on by his pneumonia, denying that there was any howling man at the Abbey. Father Jerome tells Ellington, “I fear that you will be delirious a while, my son. The things you see will be quite real. Most real. You’ll think—how quaint!–that you have loosed the Devil on the world and that the war to come—what war? But aren’t there always wars?” Beaumont makes special note of Jerome’s disposition during this exchange: “those old eyes burning condemnation! Beak-nosed, bearded head atremble, rage in every word!” Brother Christophorus is more honest and sympathetic, telling Ellington, “Your weakness was his lever. Doubt unlocked that door. Be comforted: we’ll hunt him with our nets, and one day . . .”
With nothing else to be done, Ellington moves on with his life and goes about his daily work. But he is plagued by constant uncertainty and doubts. Were the monks mad? Was the howling man? Or did it even happen at all? He dreams every night and he can’t shake the uneasy feeling he gets when “… the pictures of the carpenter from Braunau-am-Inn began to appear in all the papers … when the carpenter invaded Poland, I was sure.” And that superbly clever yet subtle reference to Hitler just makes Beaumont’s story that much more poignant, relevant and striking.
The story comes to a quiet, gratifying end when Ellington receives a card from the Abbey. “On … the card is a message. It is signed “Brother Christophorus” and reads (and reads and reads!): “Rest now, my son. We have him back with us again.”
And there you have it — the same story with two different endings. Both are superb. Both are fitting. Both are brilliant. If you haven’t yet, revisit last year’s “Howling Man” anniversary post, “The Devil Made Me Do It,” and read my analysis of the two endings. Which ending do you prefer? The short story or the episode? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
“The Howling Man” was originally published in the November 1959 issue of the men’s magazine Rogue, and certainly represents some of Beaumont’s best work. Plagued by a horrible degenerative aging disease that destroyed both his mind and his body, Charles Beaumont died at only 38, leaving behind a legacy enviable of any writer today.
But Beaumont lives on in his stories and scripts. He was a prolific writer, friend and colleague to other literary giants including Richard Matheson, Ray Bradbury and of course Rod Serling. Like all of these men, the spirit in which Beaumont wrote is plainly seen in the writing itself. Heart, spirit, soul… he was a natural talent, a candle glowing in the darkness whose light was snuffed out far too soon.
When I read the first one, I said: ‘Yes. Very definitely. You are a writer.’ It showed immediately. It’s not like so many people who come to you with stories and you say, ‘Well, they’re okay,’ You know, if they keep working they’ll make it. Chuck’s talent was obvious from that very first story.
~ Ray Bradbury on Charles Beaumont
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Wow, wish I had seen this earlier today! I was thinking of Beaumont’s book this afternoon. (I used to have that old paperback above … hope I still do, somewhere.) Then I searched for Beaumont at Amazon’s Kindle store and, lo and behold, “The Hunger and Other Stories” is available. It includes a story called “The Crooked Man,” which I instantly confused with “The Howling Man.” And before the brain was fully engaged, the treacherous fingers had tapped that tempting “Buy now with 1-Click” button. It’s a fine collection anyway, but I was a little annoyed that it doesn’t include “The Howling Man.”
Oh, no! How maddening! Happy to hear that the collection was still good, but I know how you feel. And really, what’s the deal? Who publishes a collection of Beaumont works without including “The Howling Man”? (Very sorry for the terrible delay in replying to your comment, btw!)
Wendy,
Hope this helps.
“The Twilight Zone
The Original Stories”
has “The Howling Man” included
among many others.
It was published in 1997 and can be ordered through
abebooks for a minimum amount.
Gotta love used books! Thanks, Barney. :)
Wendy
I strongly agree with you regarding the Serling TV version as better
than the original story, for basically the same reasons.
Even though Ellington realized as Serling, the ancient saying,
“You can catch the devil…” (I thought it was “but you can’t keep him.”
Just catching him and holding him for a while could give us all a break,
for a while.
Yes, true enough! Better a little while than not at all, right?
Excellent follow-up to your last post, GF! I have a copy of “Night Ride,” an out-of-print paperback collection from the ’60s that includes this story, and yes, it’s very impressive. Like you (and most Twilight Zone fans), though, I prefer the Twilight Zone take on it.
I say that not merely because I’m biased in TZ’s favor, but because I believe it’s dramatically more satisfying to have Ellington “pay” for his misdeeds by tracking the Devil down … only to have someone turn around and do to him what he did to Brother Jerome. It’s a cynical lesson in human nature, to be sure, but a very accurate one, sadly. It’s a warning we all need to hear.
I believe Beaumont improved on the story quite a bit when he adapted it for The Twilight Zone. With this post, you’ve shown in detail just how much of an improvement it was. Well done!
Thanks so much, Boss! And thank you, of course, for being my resource for this original story! I unfortunately don’t own a copy, but I very much appreciated your assistance with this. :)
And yes, Beaumont’s adaptation work is beautifully done. This is such an incredibly powerful episode, but the short story is excellent too. Nice to be able to see where the TZ script started its life.
I absolutely couldn’t agree more about why the adaptation is better than the original. The whole crux of the story, to me, IS Ellington paying for what he’s done. Take that out and it sends a different message, and not a better one, as far as I’m concerned.
Thank you again, Boss. Without you, this post literally wouldn’t have been possible!
You’re very welcome, GF. I’m proud to have played a part in this wonderful post!
Btw, “The Howling Man” is included in the 2012 anthology “The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories” (Ed. by Jeff VanderMeer and Ann VanderMeer).
Excellent! Thanks for sharing this info, Randall!
Just watched this episode–my favorite? likely–again last night. I knew nothing of the Beaumont story, so thank you very much for enlightening. And yes, it is a shame that it’s not available more easily. I was delighted to find a used copy of Serling’s own TZ short story collection at my local used bookstore. I look forward to reading it sometime. Keep up the good work on here. Viva TZ.
Thank you so much! I’m happy to have helped introduce you to such a marvelous piece of writing. Enjoy your book, and I will join you in toasting TZ! Thanks for reading!
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I bought the book many years ago, and still have it in near pristine condition.
Charles was a great writer who departed far too early.
That wonderful collection of short stories should be reissued.
It would be a fitting tribute for the 50th anniversary of his death.
Oh, agreed, this would be the perfect time for it!
I purchased the softcover edition of “Perchance to Dream – Selected Stories” by Charles Beaumont. It includes “The Howling Man”.
Excellent! I love when people add a comment with another book the story can be found in. Thanks, Steven!