Ай толуымен келген қорқыныш: Стивен Кинг повесі

1983 novella by Stephen King

Cycle of the Werewolf is a horror novella by American writer Stephen King, featuring illustrations by comic book artist Bernie Wrightson. Each chapter is a short story unto itself. It tells the story of a werewolf haunting a small town as the moon turns full once every month. It was published as a limited edition hardcover in 1983 by Land of Enchantment, and in 1985 as a mass market trade paperback by Signet. King also wrote the screenplay for its film adaptation, Silver Bullet (1985). It is King's shortest novel to date at 127 pages, which makes it technically a novella.

The story is set in the fictional town of Tarker's Mills, Maine. Each chapter is a month on the calendar. A werewolf is viciously killing local citizens at each full moon, and the otherwise normal town is living in fear. The protagonist of the story is Marty Coslaw, a 10 year old boy in a wheelchair. The story goes back and forth from the terrifying incidents to Marty's youthful day to day life and how the horror affects him. The werewolf's first victim is a railroad worker stuck in a tool and signal shack during a New Year's Day blizzard. Next is a woman in her bedroom who is depressed over not having a man on Valentine's Day, followed by a drifter on St. Patrick's, one of Marty's friends in the city park on April Fools, the janitor of the Grace Baptist Church on Homecoming Sunday in May, the owner of the town's only diner, the town constable while he sits in his pickup truck, a herd of hogs at a local farm on Labor Day, and finally an abusive husband around Thanksgiving. In July, the town's Independence Day fireworks have been cancelled. This is very upsetting to Marty, who has been looking forward to them all year. Feeling bad for his nephew, Marty's uncle brings him some fireworks, warning Marty to set them off really late so his mother will not find out. While outside enjoying his own private Independence Day celebration as the rest of his family is asleep, the werewolf attacks Marty, who manages to put out the monster's left eye with a package of firecrackers. The werewolf escapes and police ignore Marty's report because they are looking for a human murderer, not a werewolf. Marty is sent away to Vermont to stay with family for the rest of the summer. As the year continues, the bloodshed occurs again every full moon. Fall comes and so does Halloween. To celebrate, Marty goes trick or treating with his father. While out, he sees Reverend Lowe, the local Baptist preacher, wearing an eyepatch, and he realizes that the Reverend is the monster. However, Lowe does not recognize Marty, as his face is covered by a Yoda mask. Marty, whose family is Catholic, never attend services at Lowe's church, which is why he did not work out the werewolf's identity sooner. Over the next few weeks, Marty sends the pastor anonymous letters asking him why he does not kill himself and end the terror. In December, he sends the last letter—signed with his name. Unbeknownst to Reverend Lowe, Marty has convinced his somewhat reluctant uncle to have two silver bullets made and to come spend New Year's Eve (which falls on the full moon) with him. Right before midnight, the werewolf breaks into the house to kill Marty. Marty shoots the werewolf twice with the silver bullets, blowing out the beast's other eye. After the wolf dies, it changes back into Reverend Lowe, much to the shock of everyone present.

Reverend Lester Lowe, the werewolf, is first mentioned in the story in April, preaching a sermon about the coming of spring. Around May, he has a nightmare in which his entire congregation—and then he himself—transform into werewolves before he awakens. The next morning, he finds Clyde Corliss, a custodian, dead on the pulpit at his church. He is seen as a pillar of the community and has been viewed that way for years, coming to call Tarker's Mills home. Lowe has not been a werewolf his entire life, nor has he been a werewolf since he first arrived in Tarker's Mills. In fact, it is never explained (nor that he has any idea) about how he became a werewolf, but he suspects that it has something to do with some flowers he picked at a cemetery on Sunshine Hill months prior to his first transformation. He went to put them in vases at the church vestry, but they turned black and died before he could finish the relatively quick job. He has no reason to pinpoint this event as the beginning of his curse, but he believes that this was the beginning of the events. As the werewolf, he serves as the primary antagonist of the novella. Lowe comes to realize that he is the werewolf after having awakened with fresh blood on his fingernails and (to his horror) mouth. He also discovers his clothes are missing or sometimes finds scratches and bruises, which appear to have come from running through the woods. The nightmare in May serves as a further omen to his curse, but he does not fully realize his curse until July 5, when he awakens with his left eye blasted out. After Halloween, he began getting anonymous letters from someone who knows his secret, suspecting that it is the person whom he attacked in July and failed to kill, the person who blasted his left eye out. In November, he acknowledges that he is the werewolf and decides that he cannot risk going out in the woods, as he could be killed by the group of vigilantes who had taken to the woods that month. To avoid the vigilantes, he travels to Portland, where he coincidentally kills Tarker's Mills resident Milt Sturmfuller outside a cheap motel. After returning home, he decides to find out whom he attacked in July, and confront that person. Marty eventually signs his name to the last letter he sends in December, shortly before the next full moon. Lowe is killed by Marty on New Year's Eve.

The novella was adapted into a film, Silver Bullet, in 1985, starring Corey Haim as Marty, Everett McGill as Reverend Lowe, Gary Busey as Marty's uncle, Megan Follows as Marty's sister, Terry O'Quinn as the local sheriff, Kent Broadhurst as Brady's father, and James Gammon as Arnie Westrum. The movie received mixed reviews and it has since achieved cult status in the US, after appearing on television regularly. In 1985, Signet Books re issued Cycle of the Werewolf under the title Silver Bullet in an edition that included King's screenplay alongside the original novella. This edition also includes a foreword by King, recounting the impetus of the novella and the background of the film adaptation.