SOURCES: The Wolf Leader by Alexandre Dumas (1857)
 

DESCRIPTION: “'It is an animal that only goes about at night ; that is, an animal that creeps into the pigeon-houses and kills the
pigeons, like the pole-cat, or into the chicken-houses, to kill the chickens, like the fox ; or into the folds, to kill the sheep, like the wolf ; it means an animal which is cunning and deceitful, in short, a wily beast.'” (The Wolf Leader by Alexandre Dumas (1857)

NOTES: Thibault is a young shoe-maker who is beaten by the local gameskeeper. He encounters a giant wolf that teaches him how to make wishes by sacrificing a hair from his head. This power also allows him to control the wolves of the forest. Thibault makes many wishes, slowly becoming more and more bestial before finding redemption at the end.

HISTORY: Dumas claimed the story was based on a legend he had heard as a child. The novel appeared in Weird Tales in eight parts (August 1931-March 1932) but never received any covers. Anthony Boucher and Francis J. McComas's review of the novel was "Dumas's drabbest hack-work."