>>76979292I always assumed the wolf was a red herring in 'His Face All Red', or that the wolf had been the beast and hadn't died. The brother-beast was digging the hole because I assume that was its nature when setting up home, and did it compulsively. I'm unsure about the body of the brother in the hole. Maybe it kept the body it was imitating there in a state of near death to study and better emulate? I have no idea honestly.
The ghost in Janna seems to have come from the rabbit, and I assumed it was a spiritual leech. As it sat on Janna's back and pulsed, it sucked her happiness and her life. The longer it stayed with its host, the more it inserted itself. I assume it going through her eyes was the late stages of infestation. After it was done with her, it moved on to the next host.
That seems like a big theme in the book- leeching off of someone or something else. The beast leeching off the brother's former life while the main character tried to leech the brother's belongings, the rich suitor leeching off women he married, the literal infestation of worms in peoples bodies. whole lot of leeching going on.