WEREWOLF: A True Story of Demonic Possession

by Ed; Lorraine Warren & Bill Ramsey with Robert David Chase Warren ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1991

With werewolves now a hot fiction item (for instance, Michael Cadnum's St. Peter's Wolf, p. 416, or Dennis Danvers's Wilderness, p. 266), it's no surprise to see a ""true"" account of the hairy beasts. Too bad it's by the Warrens, those professional ""demonologists"" last seen facing down Satan and his minions (and Bigfoot too) in Ghost Hunters (1989). Before the Warrens enter the chronicle at hand (told in narrative, Q&A-interview, and diary forms), though, we're regaled in the alphabet-block prose of their usual coauthor, Chase, with the sad saga of Bill Ramsey, the book's fourth credited author. Ramsey, you see, was the werewolf--well, actually it turns out that he wasn't a werewolf at all but, as the text describes him, a ""wolfman"" like Eon Chancy, Jr., in those 40's horror films--well, actually it turns out that he wasn't a wolfman at all but a young working-class British bloke who thought he was changing into a wolf, which is why he tried to bite all those friends and young ladies and cops and nurses. But it wasn't his fault: The Devil made him do it. Which is where the Warrens come in. In England on a promotional tour (neatly continued in the text: "" 'The Warrens are the most fascinating people I've ever interviewed,' ""an anonymous TV producer is quoted as saying), they learn of Ramsey's plight and pinpoint it as demonic possession. A bit of persuasion and Ramsey is off with them to the States, where their old colleague Bishop McKenna, also last seen in Ghost Hunters (""He's a very earnest and devout man. You just don't see his kind around a lot anymore,"" says Ed) exorcises the invading ""demon,"" setting Ramsey free. Skeptics, please note the Warrens' assurance that this is ""a carefully documented"" case (they forgot to include the documentation, though). As for us: Grrrrrrrrrr....

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1991

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 256

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1991

Categories: NONFICTION