The Howling is a 1977 horror novel by Gary Brandner. It was the inspiration for the 1981 movie The Howling, although the plot of the movie was only vaguely similar to that of the book.Brandner published two sequels of the novel, The Howling II during 1979 (later republished as Return of the Howling) and The Howling III: Echoes during 1985.