After finishing reading the short story, In The Black Mill, I found several connections between the characters in the story and those in the story, Spikes. First, I believe that there could be a relation between the state of Bengt and Dexter as both dominant male influences in their lives have been taken away. This theme is also observed in Werewolves In Their Youth, where Paul's father is somewhat divorced from his mother, dramatically limiting the time he spends with him.

The title of the book that we have been assigned to read is called, "Werewolves in Their Youth". I initially
found that this title was odd. The title seemed arbitrary and contained no meaning to me at the time. Now that I
have read several of the short stories within "Werewolves in Their Youth" I am beginning to see why the book
was given this name.

First I would like to define the term "werewolf" and then to illustrate how I believe the implications of this
mythical creature have been attatched to certain characters throughout the various stories.

I thought In The Black Mill was a mysterious and thought provoking story. The story tells the tale of a young professor in archeology and his gruesome adventure in solving the mystery of the Black Mill. The story begins with an explanation of his presence in Plunkettsburg. He is interested in studying an Indian culture called Miskahannocks, and there is a mound site close to Plunkettsburg. As the story goes on the prof. loses interest in the site and becomes more curious about the looming black mill that stands in the city.

The short story of Spikes in the Werewolves In Their Youth book describes a man named Kohn and his past issues with his marriage, as well as his interaction with a child neighbor. After reading the story, I thought that there could be an explanation for Kohn's decision to miss the meeting with his lawyer and stay at Bengt's baseball practice. Earlier in the story, Kohn's loss of his son is explained, which aslo descibes why his wife left him.

The short story starts out with the professor arriving in Plunkettsburg to begin fieldwork with the burial complex of the Mound Builders. He starts his work at the site and as time progresses he hears about all the people who have been injured or the few that have even died due to working a the mill. As his time goes on in the town he becomes seduced by the mysteries of the mill causing the professor to forget about his archaeological studies. So one day he decides to sneak into the mill and see what all the mystery is all about.

Spikes involves Kohn's interaction with a local boy named Bengt. At first the story gives a brief summary of Kohn's past involving his failed marriage. Afterward the story transitions into his meeting with Bengt. Kohn seemed uneasy around Bengt not knowing what to say to him and not wanting to fully pronounce his name. It seems Kohn feels sorry for Bengt with his mismatched hand-me-down baseball uniform. Even though Kohn had to go meet up with his lawyer he drove Bengt to his baseball practice and stayed for the entire practice.