Innocent
Publication(s)
- First publication
- Full Moon City, eds. Darrell Schweitzer and Martin H. Greenberg, 2010
- Audio
- Tales to Terrify 8 (audio version online), 2 March 2012
Summary
A modern-day werewolf gives an interview to a priest from his jail cell. He is accused of child molesting, but he claims to have saved the eight-year-old girl from another man.
Analysis
- There are echoes of Little Red Riding Hood. The narrator clearly intended to eat the girl.
- The werewolf can be burned by holy water. This is a weakness more commonly associated with vampires and demons.
- He studied meat-cutting at Braciola Vocational School. Braciola is the name of an Italian beef dish.
- This story is similar to Monster, which also has a narrator proclaiming his innocence from prison (and revealing his actual guilt).
Unanswered Questions
- What is the significance of the name Paul, his first victim?
- Failing to remember names and calling everyone Paul suggests a lack of interest in other people, similar to the main character in Pirate Freedom.