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Was she murdered by the doctor or werewolves? A “What if?” story based on fact.

Oklahoma author Steven E. Wedel released a novella in 2004 called Murdered By Human Wolves. He rereleased the novella in 2008 with a couple of extra chapters near the end to keep the finale from seeming so rushed, available through Scrybe Press.

The story is based on an old piece of folklore out of a cemetery in Konawa, OK. A young girl by the name of Katherine Cross died at the age of 18 in 1917. Her epitaph simply reads the same as the title of the novella. Although no one knows for sure how young Katherine really died, some suspect it was from an abortion gone wrong. Some of the people who are characters within Wedel’s book actually existed and are a part of this story. Wedel lets the reader know which characters are based on real people in his preface.

Since the truth of her death is a mystery, Wedel chose to take the epitaph and turn it into a story that involves werewolves and a plan for an evolutionary process to progress their race. This makes for an interesting possibility of the horrors that existed on the prairie and what atrocities may have occurred to curse Katherine and to reveal who the real predators are in society.The story has gotten enough attention that there are online letters and articles blasting Wedel for being libelous and ruining the reputation of the families involved. Since the truth is unknown, I’m not sure what leg or paw the offended parties may have to stand on.

Wedel also includes an interview entitled “On the Trail of Werewolves” with paranormal researcher Mary Franklin and information supplied by Elise Stone, the Indian Territory Archivist. Wedel leaves it up to the reader to disseminate and extract the truth from the article.

An interesting read at what could be historical fiction; Murdered By Human Wolves is an interesting, quick read that should appeal to werewolf fans, history lovers and those who enjoy a good mystery.

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