Killer Companions

GIF via Tenor

We’ve spent the month discussing the many ways that animals, both domesticated and wild, can add wonderful color and layers of emotionally satisfying richness to a short story or novel. We’ve talked about how animal companions may become even more popular than the human protagonist who was supposed to be the star of any given series. But we have not explored how animals—that readers expect to always be warm and fuzzy—may in fact, be killer companions instead.

Two instances jump immediately to mind. Sir Arthur Conon Doyle used animals as killers in two of his Sherlock Holmes titles. His third novel, The Hound of the Baskervilles, featured a large, spectral dog, the hound of the title, that was so eerie and terrifying in aspect that its mere appearance was enough to frighten victims to death.

In Conon Doyle’s short story, The Adventure of the Speckled Band, the villain used a venomous snake trained to respond to his whistles. The snake slithered down a bell pull into the unsuspecting victim’s bedroom when she was sleeping and bit her. The story opens with the dead woman’s twin sister seeking Holmes’ help as she now has reason to fear her own life is in danger. It created a sensation when it was first published in The Strand in February of 1892. Naturally, greed was at the heart of the plot, but the use of a dangerous trained animal to kill on command was something new.

Our own Elle Carter Neal pointed out that Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, continued Holmes’ tradition of employing deadly animals to good effect, with his villains using everything from sharks to piranhas to dispatch their victims. Somehow, the quick-witted and slyly humorous Bond always managed to narrowly evade the snapping jaws of death, but others weren't so lucky. In The Spy Who Loved Me, (1962) villain Karl Stromberg does away with his double-dealing assistant, Marilyn Galsworthy, by dropping her into a tank with a Great White shark. In You Only Live Twice (1964) the evil Ernst Blofeld got rid of Spectre Agent Number 11 by tipping her into a pool full of hungry piranhas, serving to prove that one should endeavor to never displease an ill-tempered boss.

Have you ever read a novel or short story featuring a killer animal? Did it make a lasting impression upon you? Share your favorite works featuring beasts gone bad in the comments below.

Patricia B. Smith is a journalist who is the author of 11 published books, including Idiot’s Guide: Flipping Houses, Alzheimer's For Dummies and Sleep Disorders for Dummies.

Pat is also an experienced professional developmental editor who serves as an Editorial Evaluation and Developmental Coordinator for Five Star Publishing. She works with private clients as well and has helped many authors land their first publishing contracts. Many of her clients have achieved notable success, including two winners of the Missouri Writers’ Guild Show-me Best Book of the Year Award.

Connect with Pat on Facebook or Linked In.