The Witchcraft Reader

by Peter Haining

The first of these weird and gripping tales is firmly set in the present and from there the stories accelerate through various aspects of Witchcraft - including Black Magic and Voodoo - far into the future to find the ancient craft still alive ....

Genres: Horror, Fantasy, Short Stories

204 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

Peter Alexander Haining was an English journalist, author and anthologist who lived and worked in Suffolk. Born in Enfield, Middlesex, he began his career as a reporter in Essex and then moved to London where he worked on a trade magazine before joining the publishing house of New English Library.

Haining achieved the position of Editorial Director before becoming a full time writer in the early Seventies. He edited a large number of anthologies, predominantly of horror and fantasy short stories, wrote non-fiction books on a variety of topics from the Channel Tunnel to Sweeney Todd and also used the pen names "Ric Alexander" and "Richard Peyton" on a number of crime story anthologies. In the Seventies he wrote three novels, including The Hero (1973), which was optioned for filming.

In two controversial books, Haining argued that Sweeney Todd was a real historical figure who committed his crimes around 1800, was tried in December 1801, and was hanged in January 1802. However, other researchers who have tried to verify his citations find nothing in these sources to back Haining's claims. A check of the website Old Bailey at for "Associated Records 1674-1834" for an alleged trial in December 1801 and hanging of Sweeney Todd for January 1802 show no reference; in fact the only murder trial for this period is that of a Governor/Lt Col. Joseph Wall who was hanged 28 January 1802 for killing a Benjamin Armstrong 10 July 1782 in "Goree" Africa and the discharge of a Humphrey White in January 1802. Strong reservations have also been expressed regarding the reliability of another of Haining's influential non-fiction works, The Legend and Bizarre Crimes of Spring Heeled Jack.
He wrote several reference books on Doctor Who, including the 20th anniversary special Doctor Who: A Celebration Two Decades Through Time and Space (1983), and also wrote the definitive study of Sherlock Holmes on the screen, The Television Sherlock Holmes (1991) and several other television tie-ins featuring famous literary characters, including Maigret, Poirot and James Bond. Peter Haining's most recent project was a series of World War Two stories based on extensive research and personal interviews: The Jail That Went To Sea (2003), The Mystery of Rommel's Gold (2004), Where The Eagle Landed (2004), The Chianti Raiders (2005) and The Banzai Hunters (2007).

He won the British Fantasy Awards Karl Edward Wagner Award in 2001.

Reviews

[Abbey · Rating 5 out of 5]

BOTTOM LINE: superb short story anthology of psychological - and otherwise - creepy tales, collected by a gentleman who specialized in choosing the “odd and unusual” variety of reading matter, and in writing pithy, enticing introductions.

My favorites were: John Brunner, “All the Devils in Hell”, 1960, a superbly scary trip through relationship politics; Fritz Leiber, “The Warlock”, 1959, emotional manipulation leads to dire consequences, magnificent atmospherics; Theodore Sturgeon, “One Foot and the Grave”, 1949, superb characters and creepy setting.
Also includes: Robert Bloch, “Broomstick Ride”, 1963; Ray Bradbury, “The Mad Wizards of Mars”, 1949; Richard Matheson, “From Shadowed Places”, 1960; Keith Roberts, “Timothy”, 1966; A. E. Van Vogt, “The Witch”, 1942.

Robert Bloch, “Broomstick Ride”, 1963
— scifi twist on medeival witchhunters
Ray Bradbury, “The Mad Wizards of Mars”, 1949
— magnificently loopy literary romp
John Brunner, “All the Devils in Hell”, 1960
— femme fatale deluxe, and more; superb atmospherics
Fritz Leiber, “The Warlock”, 1959
— psychological malfeasance leads to murder
Richard Matheson, “From Shadowed Places”, 1960
— voodoo and anthropology in NYC
Keith Roberts, “Timothy”, 1966
— an extremely odd love affair, very smooth
Theodore Sturgeon, “One Foot and the Grave”, 1949
— love and and an old curse, smoothly superb
A. E. Van Vogt, “The Witch”, 1942
— creepy old lady comes to visit

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book as a part of my research into the causes of the European witch trials. It covers a vast array of topics over its many chapters and has helped me greatly in preparing to write my paper. I believe the most note worthy chapter was chapter 21 which commented on religion being a cause, i found this very useful as the content was accurate however the argument was narrow minded as it did not consider other causes I guess this just shows why you should view everyone's opinion with some scepticism. Overall I loved this book so vast and informative. I can not recommend it enough.

[Shantall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved most of the stories. I loved the theme of modernity and fantasy and how people in a modern or futuristic setting dealt with superstition and magic.

[Dirk Grobbelaar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somewhat niche, this kind of thing, I would expect.

Nevertheless, I find that I usually enjoy collections curated by Peter Haining, and this was no exception.

[Sara Gerot · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really great collection of stories. I have shared them with many people and everyone seems to enjoy them. Very slipstream. Good stuff.

[Rhonda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this collection of short stories in high school. I was recently cleaning out boxes and discovered it with a pile of books. What a great collection.