The "a beautiful woman enters into the life of a man who ends up getting into trouble because of said woman" thing is reminiscent of Clemence Housman's The Werewolf, but the result is not as atmospheric as that or Erckmann-Chatrian's The Man-Wolf. It is, however, more brutal (think Lucas Cranach's woodcut).

The awkward structure stems from being an excerpt from Marryat's The Phantom Ship. With a bit of editing it would have been fine, but the frame story adds unnecessary padding (the ending especially takes you away from the mood of the mountain cabin).

Which reminds me: I added Harz Mountains to my list of places to visit. Strange rock formations, witches, Walpurgisnacht celebrations, fairy tale houses, magical forests... Yes. Thank you.