The Silver Bullet

It is truly insane and bizarre what some would believe. There was a rumour a very long time ago, that Henry Miles was a werewolf. Now before you think this is a supernatural horror story, let me assure you that it is not. However, there are people out there who genuinely think terrifying monsters straight out of a Joseph Roy Wright horror novel are actually real. His books are just fun little horror stories (although for a mature audience, so if you're under 18 please leave, this story is too naughty for you!). In reality, there really is no such thing as ghosts, goblins or demons, but real monsters do exist. Those being serial killers and kidnappers, alongside other unspeakable criminals from cannibals to terrorists. The world is already a scary enough place without Werewolves and Vampires, don't you think? Unfortunately, that doesn't stop people from confusing fact from fiction. When Henry was rumoured to be a Werewolf, a few lunatics actually took it seriously. This was in 1891 and sadly many were still superstitious when it came to the occult and paranormal activity. We enjoy horror stories nowadays, reading about them in anthology books and online. It's all just a bit of thrilling fun as of 2025, however back then; when people talked of covens and witches, they genuinely believed it. Crazy to think, isn't it? To hear about green skinned women, flying on brooms with impossibly pointy noses. It all sounds so silly and dare I say childish, like a spooky campfire story you tell the kids on Halloween night or on a holiday camping trip in the woods. Yet in 1600, the people of Salem had actual witch trials in courts and everything. Bizarre. Well, that's what the people of the small American town of Wicket thought back in 1892 too, it all started when the outlaw named Little Ben began telling the locals that Henry Miles was a Werewolf! History tells us that Little Ben was a prankster as well as a gun tooting asshole! He told people at a church, that the priest was a demon in disguise and people believed that too, chasing the poor virgin down with wooden torches, screaming bible verses at the poor man of God who did no wrong. There are countless other cruel tales just like that, caused by the hands of evil Little Ben. However what makes the tale of Henry Miles so interesting, is that to this very day, nobody knows who actually killed him. I'm getting ahead of myself, because I haven't even explained how this poor man even died. It was on a hot summer's night, he was walking home from the nearby tavern, drunk as a shunk, slurring his words and stumbling everywhere. It was getting dark and all businesses were shut for the night. Then, at approximately one in the morning (approximately because nobody is alive today to confirm the story) three gunshots were heard, coming from a long range rifle (or so many guessed) waking the whole town up. On the third shot there was a horrifying scream! That of Henry Miles' final breath. Everyone awoke and walked out to investigate, Henry Miles was dead. Two of the gunshots missed, but the third landed directly into Henry's chest, destroying his heart, much like how a Vampire is killed with the wooden stake through their dark hearts. Some even celebrated his death, believing the Werewolf was slain. However their celebrations were shortly lived, as the town's Doctor (a man of science who even back then did not believe in such madness) pointed to the dark blue sky. There to everyone's horror was a full yellow moon, yet Henry was still human and his clothes had not ripped, proving to everyone once and for all that the Werewolf rumour was nothing but a cruel lie. Those who cheered his passing suddenly frowned, feeling guilty and utterly ashamed of themselves for even thinking such lunacy to begin with (perhaps one of them was the killer).

The next morning, coroners found out that the bullet lodged into Stan's heart was a long silver round. This proved that the gun was that of a long range rifle, but the fact it was silver also indicates that whoever killed Stan genuinely believed he was a Werewolf. Either that, or it was Little Ben who shot him purposely with a silver bullet, just to mess with the innocent folk of Wicket one last time before departing town. The town's Sheriff believed it must've been the pranking outlaw and ordered a bounty of $2,000 for his head. However, despite the large sum of cash, no bounty hunter had any luck tracking down Little Ben or the rest of his gang. It's entirely possible Little Ben had nothing to do with Stan's murder, perhaps it was simply a terrified local who thought Stan was about to turn feral. Whether or not Stan was murdered as a cruel joke or because of occult hysteria, we'll never truly know who or why the murderer did what they did.