Plot:
Around Christmas time in the year 18—, our hero Fritz lies fast asleep at the Cygne in Fribourg in the Black Forest when someone awakens him, telling him:
“I have good news for you; I am going to take you to Nideck, two leagues from this place. You know Nideck, the finest baronial castle in the country, a grand monument of the glory of our forefathers?”
At first, Fritz does not recognize his caller, which hurts the other man’s feelings.
“Was it not I who taught you to set a trap, to lay wait for the foxes along the skirts of the woods, to start the dogs after the wild birds? Do you remember me now? Look at my left ear, with a frost-bite.”
“Now I know you,” Fritz says. “That left ear of yours has done it; Shake hands.”
The visitor is Gideon Sperver, Fritz’s friend and foster father. Fritz hasn’t seen him for sixteen years.
Gideon, the old poacher, has honest work now. He’s a huntsman for the Count of Nideck at Nideck Castle. The old count has taken ill. The malady is a strange one, coming and going. No doctor has been able to help him, but Gideon is convinced Dr. Fritz can cure him.
They set off immediately despite the miserable weather. Gideon insists they arrive before nightfall.
On the way to Nideck Castle, they notice an old woman in a black, tattered dress crouching on a hillside some distance from them. She gives Fritz the creeps. Gideon calls her “The Black Plague” and wants to be clear of the sight of her. He calls her a witch and claims that she is “killing the count by inches.”
This makes no sense to Fritz.
When they get to the castle, various servants meet them before Fritz meets his patient and his daughter, Countess Odile. Although confined to his bed, the count seems cheerful and friendly. The count’s appearance rattles Fritz:
“A grey head, covered with short, close hair, strangely full behind the ears, and drawn out in the face to a portentous length, the narrowness of his forehead up to its summit widening over the eyebrows…”
He calls the older man an old wolf.
Word comes that a traveler, Baron of Zimmer-Bluderich, lost in the mountains, wishes to shelter at the castle. The countess agrees but tells the servant to let the baron know the count is ill and cannot receive him.
The count starts an old fight with his daughter. He wants her to marry. Then all his troubles would be over, knowing his line would continue. She demurs, having decided to dedicate herself to God.
Dr. Fritz stays out of the family argument. Once he sees his patient resting comfortably, he leaves. He assures the countess that her father is not in imminent danger and that he may, in fact, recover.
Gideon then leads Fritz to the old Hugh Lupus (hmmm… interesting nickname) Tower, where he’ll stay the night. Nideck greatⁿ granddaddy, for whom the tower was named, built the edifice in the time of Charlemagne.
Gideon and Fritz drink and eat a lot—but that’s probably not what gives Fritz those oddball dreams after he retires to sleep under the bearskins in the alcove.
Thoughts:
This story was originally serialized, so there are many little cliffhangers and colorful characters that serve as red herrings. Some of these may not wear well with the modern reader; the castle porter is a dwarf named Knapwurst. He’s described as ugly, but he’s also learned. He and Fritz become friends. The head butler is Tobias Offenloch, an old soldier from the Nideck regiment. He lost a leg in a battle and has grown fat. His wife is French, Marie Lagoutte. Rounding out the servants is Sébalt Kraft, master of the hounds, a dismal fellow. The servants don’t do much—the master is laid up, after all—and they like to party in the kitchen.
In true gothic fashion, Fritz witnesses the count’s grotesque transformation as a “fit.” He recovers but remains in danger of death. Fritz is a doctor. He should know.
And it is long, making it a nice winter read to enjoy with a cup or three of fortified hot chocolate.
What is the connection between the count and the “Black Plague”? Is she human, or something more? Why has this baron appeared out of nowhere, and why is he so determined to go into the mountains during the snowstorm?
While not all the mysteries are solved, the reader sees a centuries-old family curse unravel amid derring-do, tragedy, and loss. However, this is a nineteenth-century work that includes melodrama and flowery language. The foreshadowing is about as subtle as a kick in the shins. It is in no hurry to get where it’s going. All that said, I rather liked this, more for the company of the characters than the plot.
Bio: Émile Erckmann (1822-1899) and Alexandre Chatrian (1826-1890) were French writers and playwrights who collaborated on much of their work. However, it is now believed that Erckmann wrote the novels and Chatrian largely wrote the plays.
Among their best-known supernatural works are “L’Oeil Invisible” (“The Invisible Eye”), “L’Araignee Crabe” (“The Spider Crab”), “Le Blanc et le Noir” (“The White and Black”), and “La Maison Forestière” (The Forest House).
This story can be read here:
This story can be listened to here:(4:19:36)
Title: “The Wolf-Man”
Author: Erckmann-Chatrian (a pen name used by Émile Erckmann (1822-1899) and Alexandre Chatrian (1826-1890))
First published: in French “Hugues-le-loup,” Le Constitutionnel, (1859); in English 1876
Length: novella
Reviews of Old and New Stories. Mostly Old 
That is a great review. It makes the story seem very intriguing even though old fashioned
Thanks for your kind words, Thomas! Yes, it is old-fashioned. I liked it, but it is a bit of a slog.