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Tales of Witchcraft
In the figure of the witch, our ancestors summed up their fears of nature, women, and social outsiders. Today, this archetype still possesses the power to disturb and unnerve us--especially in the hands of such masters of the horror genre as Saki, M. R. James, and Stephen King, all of whom are represented in this collection of seventeen tales. Each story skillfully explores the psyche's night side. Jessica Amanda Salmonson's "The Toad Witch" concerns a girl who believes her dead brother has been changed into a toad. In taking revenge on the recluse she holds responsible, she is initiated into realities more terrible than any witchery. Ron Weighell's "Carven of Onyx," written for this collection, is set in the Middle Ages. Renovations at a convent lead to the discovery of a strange altar--and the unleashing of an obscene, irresistible supernatural force. Even surer to trouble reader's sleep is Stephen King's "Gramma," in which a boy left home alone with his dying grandmother suspects she is a still-powerful witch--"an ancient she-bear that might have one good swipe left in her paws." After reading Tales of Witchcraft , even skeptics will have second thoughts about sleeping alone in the house on a dark, rainy night.CONTENTS"Gavon's Eve" by E.F. Benson"The Executor" by David G. Rowlands"Unburied Bane" by N. Dennett"The Yew Tree" by Shamus Frazer"Carven of Onyx" by Ron Weighell"Furze Hollow" by A.M. Burrage"Catnip" by Robert Bloch"The Day of The Underdog" by R. Chetwynd-Hayes"The Peace of Mowsle Barton" by H.H. Munro"The Fenstanton Witch" by M.R. James"One Remained Behind (a 'Romance a la mode Gothique')" by Marjorie Bowen"Gramma" by Stephen King"The Hollow of Three Hills" by Nathaniel Hawthorne"The Taking" by Roger Johnson"The Witch's Cat" by Manly Wade Wellman"The Toad Witch" by Jessica Amanda Salmonson"Miss Cornelius" by W.F. Harvey
245 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1991
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Richard Dalby
125 books22 followersRichard Dalby (1949-2017) was an editor and literary researcher.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 7, 2010
An anthology of stories about witches (mostly) and witchcraft (occasionally), noteworthy for having a recently (1991 date of publication) discovered Montague Rhodes James story that had only appeared one other place before this. Unlike traditional monsters, witches have a lot of flexibility for stories, since they can be molded to almost anything: Satanism, local misunderstood midwifery, pagan relic or revival, new-age Goddess worship, cartoon spell-casting, Shakespearean weird sisters, outcast old ladies, etc. etc.
That having been said, this anthology is a mixed bag of 17 stories, for good and ill. As per the standard format, least to most....
I'll admit to not (re)reading two of the stories ("Gavon's Eve" by E.F. Benson and "The Executor" by David G. Rowlands) as my notes told me I had read them before and found them wanting (I liked the Benson a bit more than the Rowlands, but neither impressed). So those'll be a crap-shoot for you (Benson is usually reliable but, hey, I read The Collected Ghost Stories of E.F.Benson and not *every* story was great, but then no talent is *that* reliable).
Okay-but-nothing-spectacular tales include "Unburied Bane" by N. Dennett from 1933, which is a pulpy, reasonably entertaining blood-and-thunder spook story swimming in adjectives. A playwright and his wife take lodgings in a ramshackle old home in the desolate country as "inspiration" for his next stage thriller, but the house is occupied by a crazy old lady (that term will crop up quite a bit) who claims to have the skull of a notorious witch killed ages ago. It's an overwritten yarn that resolves with the wife trapped alone in the house with the witch, snowbound during a blizzard as a ghoulish corpse rises from the pond. Nothing wrong with that but pretty by-the-numbers. "The Yew Tree" by Shamus Frazer features an abandoned valley, a loathsome yew tree and a mysterious thing that flaps overhead - it borrows, possibly, from H.P. Lovecraft's The Colour Out of Space with it's valley-about-to-be-flooded-by-a-dam setting and, more probably, from M.R. James' "The Ash Tree" for its resolution, but inbetween it's another pulpy monster story, with little but some nice writing to recommend.
Next up were some solid but uninspiring tales. "Carven of Onyx" by Ron Weighell has a tone somewhat informed by M.R. James as well, with a focus on church histories and relics, but not as controlled and insular as that master. A priory is discovered to have been built on the site of an ancient Templar temple and an uncovered altar releases...something that infects the nuns. The story isn't bad, really, although Weighell's desire to have the source of evil remain undefined enough to be unnatural (alien) or supernatural (demonic) weakens (or perhaps cheapens) the story a bit. "Furze Hollow" by A.M. Burrage is an unremarkable, if well-told, tale of gypsy vengeance 100 years after the fact. Robert Bloch's "Catnip" is a typical offering from the writer - a very EC Comics/TALES FROM THE CRYPT plot (slightly predating those publications, of course) in which a young bully gets his well-deserved comeuppance after causing the death of an old lady. Of course, it all turns on an ironic/literal phrase. Snappy writing and brevity save it from sinking to the level of later Bloch. R. Chetwynd-Hayes is kind of like the British version of Robert Bloch, and his "The Day of The Underdog" is a humorous piece about a nebbish who is given the power to revenge himself on his oppressors. Of course, it ends ironically. Solid, cute, but no great shakes.
Master cynicist H.H. Munro (a.k.a. Saki) appears with "The Peace of Mowsle Barton", in which a vacationing urbanite gets caught between two cantankerous old biddies out to curse each other. Dry, witty & cute. M.R. James' "The Fenstanton Witch" was one of those tales he'd mentioned as having never finished - well, a scholar dug it up and here it is in all its unpolished glory. Two Fellows at Cambridge embark on an excursion to raise a recently executed witch from her grave in order to increase their occult power, with unhappy results. The two stand-out "Jamesian" moments are a meeting on the midnight road with a strange crowd of faceless beings and the witch herself, who squats behind a tombstone, more giant bat than human. Good stuff. "One Remained Behind" (a 'Romance a la mode Gothique', as the subtitle frames it) by Marjorie Bowen is another creepy and cute story in which an arrogant young student dabbles in black magic and gets exactly what he asks for. "Gramma", by a guy named Stephen King, is a well-written (if possibly a tad too long) tale, written in King's charismatic and homey style, about an 11-year-old boy stuck taking care of his monstrous grandmother alone on the night she dies. A great creep-fest! I've read "The Hollow of Three Hills" by Nathaniel Hawthorne before - it's a classic, briefly sketching a scene in which a troubled young woman asks a powerful old lady to conjure some sounds for her. The ending is amazingly dark and mean-spirited, and a specific detail could be read a few ways. Roger Johnson's "The Taking" is a familiar but well-told story in which an innocent, persecuted for witchcraft hundreds of years ago, is somewhat avenged with modern help. "The Witch's Cat" by Manly Wade Wellman is another of his backwoods tale in which a nasty old woman makes of herself a witch and her loyal cat makes for himself a better home, foiling his mistresses plans in the bargain. Charming.
There were two absolutely outstanding stories to be found here. One is fairly new and one a classic: "The Toad Witch" by Jessica Amanda Salmonson is told in a touching, humane, Ray Bradbury style as a young girl blames a local old woman for her brother's death because she has no one else to blame. It's a wonderful tale of scapegoating and empathic maturity. The classic is "Miss Cornelius" by W.F. Harvey (his favorite of his own output) in which a rational professor easily solves a supposed outbreak of poltergeist activity by blaming an old women, but not so easily deals with his world unraveling from an apparent curse. A nicely observed psychological tale.
Really, there are very few "bad" stories in this collection and I imagine that different tastes may find much delight in the offerings.
That having been said, this anthology is a mixed bag of 17 stories, for good and ill. As per the standard format, least to most....
I'll admit to not (re)reading two of the stories ("Gavon's Eve" by E.F. Benson and "The Executor" by David G. Rowlands) as my notes told me I had read them before and found them wanting (I liked the Benson a bit more than the Rowlands, but neither impressed). So those'll be a crap-shoot for you (Benson is usually reliable but, hey, I read The Collected Ghost Stories of E.F.Benson and not *every* story was great, but then no talent is *that* reliable).
Okay-but-nothing-spectacular tales include "Unburied Bane" by N. Dennett from 1933, which is a pulpy, reasonably entertaining blood-and-thunder spook story swimming in adjectives. A playwright and his wife take lodgings in a ramshackle old home in the desolate country as "inspiration" for his next stage thriller, but the house is occupied by a crazy old lady (that term will crop up quite a bit) who claims to have the skull of a notorious witch killed ages ago. It's an overwritten yarn that resolves with the wife trapped alone in the house with the witch, snowbound during a blizzard as a ghoulish corpse rises from the pond. Nothing wrong with that but pretty by-the-numbers. "The Yew Tree" by Shamus Frazer features an abandoned valley, a loathsome yew tree and a mysterious thing that flaps overhead - it borrows, possibly, from H.P. Lovecraft's The Colour Out of Space with it's valley-about-to-be-flooded-by-a-dam setting and, more probably, from M.R. James' "The Ash Tree" for its resolution, but inbetween it's another pulpy monster story, with little but some nice writing to recommend.
Next up were some solid but uninspiring tales. "Carven of Onyx" by Ron Weighell has a tone somewhat informed by M.R. James as well, with a focus on church histories and relics, but not as controlled and insular as that master. A priory is discovered to have been built on the site of an ancient Templar temple and an uncovered altar releases...something that infects the nuns. The story isn't bad, really, although Weighell's desire to have the source of evil remain undefined enough to be unnatural (alien) or supernatural (demonic) weakens (or perhaps cheapens) the story a bit. "Furze Hollow" by A.M. Burrage is an unremarkable, if well-told, tale of gypsy vengeance 100 years after the fact. Robert Bloch's "Catnip" is a typical offering from the writer - a very EC Comics/TALES FROM THE CRYPT plot (slightly predating those publications, of course) in which a young bully gets his well-deserved comeuppance after causing the death of an old lady. Of course, it all turns on an ironic/literal phrase. Snappy writing and brevity save it from sinking to the level of later Bloch. R. Chetwynd-Hayes is kind of like the British version of Robert Bloch, and his "The Day of The Underdog" is a humorous piece about a nebbish who is given the power to revenge himself on his oppressors. Of course, it ends ironically. Solid, cute, but no great shakes.
Master cynicist H.H. Munro (a.k.a. Saki) appears with "The Peace of Mowsle Barton", in which a vacationing urbanite gets caught between two cantankerous old biddies out to curse each other. Dry, witty & cute. M.R. James' "The Fenstanton Witch" was one of those tales he'd mentioned as having never finished - well, a scholar dug it up and here it is in all its unpolished glory. Two Fellows at Cambridge embark on an excursion to raise a recently executed witch from her grave in order to increase their occult power, with unhappy results. The two stand-out "Jamesian" moments are a meeting on the midnight road with a strange crowd of faceless beings and the witch herself, who squats behind a tombstone, more giant bat than human. Good stuff. "One Remained Behind" (a 'Romance a la mode Gothique', as the subtitle frames it) by Marjorie Bowen is another creepy and cute story in which an arrogant young student dabbles in black magic and gets exactly what he asks for. "Gramma", by a guy named Stephen King, is a well-written (if possibly a tad too long) tale, written in King's charismatic and homey style, about an 11-year-old boy stuck taking care of his monstrous grandmother alone on the night she dies. A great creep-fest! I've read "The Hollow of Three Hills" by Nathaniel Hawthorne before - it's a classic, briefly sketching a scene in which a troubled young woman asks a powerful old lady to conjure some sounds for her. The ending is amazingly dark and mean-spirited, and a specific detail could be read a few ways. Roger Johnson's "The Taking" is a familiar but well-told story in which an innocent, persecuted for witchcraft hundreds of years ago, is somewhat avenged with modern help. "The Witch's Cat" by Manly Wade Wellman is another of his backwoods tale in which a nasty old woman makes of herself a witch and her loyal cat makes for himself a better home, foiling his mistresses plans in the bargain. Charming.
There were two absolutely outstanding stories to be found here. One is fairly new and one a classic: "The Toad Witch" by Jessica Amanda Salmonson is told in a touching, humane, Ray Bradbury style as a young girl blames a local old woman for her brother's death because she has no one else to blame. It's a wonderful tale of scapegoating and empathic maturity. The classic is "Miss Cornelius" by W.F. Harvey (his favorite of his own output) in which a rational professor easily solves a supposed outbreak of poltergeist activity by blaming an old women, but not so easily deals with his world unraveling from an apparent curse. A nicely observed psychological tale.
Really, there are very few "bad" stories in this collection and I imagine that different tastes may find much delight in the offerings.
July 15, 2019
"Suuri noitakirja" (Book Studio, 1994) sisältää seitsemäntoista noita-aiheista kauhunovellia, joiden aikajana ulottuu Nathaniel Hawthornen "Kolmen kukkulan rotkosta" vuodelta 1830 aina 1990-luvun alkuun asti. Lukemisto on aika tasapaksu: mätiä omenoita ei joukkoon mahtunut, mutta eipä kokoelmasta oikein löytynyt mitään hirmuisen mieleenpainuvia kertomuksia. Parhaina tarinoina pidin Stephen Kingin klaustrofobista "Mummia", Shamus Frazerin astetta omaperäisemmällä otteellaan ilahduttavaa "Marjakuusta" ja Ronald Chetwyn-Heyesin hirtehisen humoristista "Sorretun päivää".
Kyllähän tämän kokoelman luki ihan mielellään. En taida kuitenkaan jättää sitä omaan kirjahyllyyni.
Kyllähän tämän kokoelman luki ihan mielellään. En taida kuitenkaan jättää sitä omaan kirjahyllyyni.
May 19, 2019
3.5 stars
February 22, 2017
Richard Dalby was one of the most consistently reliable of the horror anthologists working in Britain during the 1990s and TALES OF WITCHCRAFT is a fine example of his craft. This is a bumper collection of witchcraft-themed tales, mostly from the first half of the 20th century, with a good mix of British and American writers.
Saki's THE PEACE OF MOWSLE BARTON kicks off the collection with a story of the rivalry between two bitter old women. It goes for realism and has less of the humour you expect from the author. The second story, THE FENSTANTON WITCH, is by M.R. James and notable in that it had only recently been discovered after being lost for decades. The tale is traditional but interesting thanks to the historical context, and the ending is suitably gruesome. The third story is N. Dennett's UNBURIED BANE, which turns up time and again in horror anthologies and for good reason: it's fantastic. It's about a playwright and his wife ill-advisedly staying at a fungoid farmhouse and the terror that ensues. The sense of evil is palpable and I found the whole thing quite epic.
THE TOAD witch is by Jessica Amanda Salmonson and details ancient superstition meeting everyday reality in a painful way. It's a powerful piece of writing, not what you'd expect from a book like this. Ron Weighell's CARVEN OF ONYX is far more traditional and concerns a nunnery struck by a mysterious illness. The author seems heavily indebted to M.R. James and the story is all the better for it. FURZE HOLLOW sees A.M. Burrage's narrator discovering a strange gypsy camp in the middle of nowhere, and is a fine ghost story up there with the best of Benson and James. The Pan piping in the night reminded me, favourably, of Lovecraft.
MISS CORNELIOUS is a suspenseful effort by W.F. Harvey about a suspected poltergeist case and ensuing vendetta. Harvey always delivered psychological efforts and this is no different. Marjorie Bowen's ONE REMAINED BEHIND is even better, charting the life of a French student who dabbles in the black arts with disturbing consequences. The writing is incredibly detailed and loaded with atmosphere. CATNIP, by Robert Bloch, is completely different and sees the writer utilising his famed black comedy to fantastic effect.
Shamus Frazer's THE YEW TREE is about a flying killer tree. It sounds preposterous, but this ably-written and intelligent story is anything but. It's like a cross between De Maupassant and Lovecraft. Stephen King's GRAMMA is the populist piece and a spin on Lovecraft's THE THING ON THE DOORSTEP, with an ending that really jolts. Nathaniel Hawthorne's THE HOLLOW OF THE THREE HILLS is a lesser work, a mood piece about a female runaway who has a close encounter with somebody sinister. THE TAKING, by Roger Johnson, is about a renovated farmhouse haunted by a traditional ghost; it's hardly original, but well written and very likeable.
THE DAY OF THE UNDERDOG is a story by Ronald Chetwynd-Hayes and another one infused with the blackest of humour. The wish fulfilment subject matter makes for high entertainment, and you can't dislike a story with lines such as "there was a strange noise from the kitchen - reminiscent of pig finding a brick in its feeding trough". David G. Rowlands' THE EXECUTOR is a literate tale of a historical haunting, told subtly and to great effect. E.F. Benson's GAVON'S EVE is the weakest story in the collection, about strange goings-on at Pict's Pool in Sunderland. It focuses on characters at the expense of ghostly elements. However, things end on a high with Manly Wade Wellman's THE WITCH'S CAT, about an ancient grimoire that falls into the wrong hands. It's very odd indeed, with a fairy tale ambience, and Wellman is clearly having great fun and that fun rubs off on the reader.
Saki's THE PEACE OF MOWSLE BARTON kicks off the collection with a story of the rivalry between two bitter old women. It goes for realism and has less of the humour you expect from the author. The second story, THE FENSTANTON WITCH, is by M.R. James and notable in that it had only recently been discovered after being lost for decades. The tale is traditional but interesting thanks to the historical context, and the ending is suitably gruesome. The third story is N. Dennett's UNBURIED BANE, which turns up time and again in horror anthologies and for good reason: it's fantastic. It's about a playwright and his wife ill-advisedly staying at a fungoid farmhouse and the terror that ensues. The sense of evil is palpable and I found the whole thing quite epic.
THE TOAD witch is by Jessica Amanda Salmonson and details ancient superstition meeting everyday reality in a painful way. It's a powerful piece of writing, not what you'd expect from a book like this. Ron Weighell's CARVEN OF ONYX is far more traditional and concerns a nunnery struck by a mysterious illness. The author seems heavily indebted to M.R. James and the story is all the better for it. FURZE HOLLOW sees A.M. Burrage's narrator discovering a strange gypsy camp in the middle of nowhere, and is a fine ghost story up there with the best of Benson and James. The Pan piping in the night reminded me, favourably, of Lovecraft.
MISS CORNELIOUS is a suspenseful effort by W.F. Harvey about a suspected poltergeist case and ensuing vendetta. Harvey always delivered psychological efforts and this is no different. Marjorie Bowen's ONE REMAINED BEHIND is even better, charting the life of a French student who dabbles in the black arts with disturbing consequences. The writing is incredibly detailed and loaded with atmosphere. CATNIP, by Robert Bloch, is completely different and sees the writer utilising his famed black comedy to fantastic effect.
Shamus Frazer's THE YEW TREE is about a flying killer tree. It sounds preposterous, but this ably-written and intelligent story is anything but. It's like a cross between De Maupassant and Lovecraft. Stephen King's GRAMMA is the populist piece and a spin on Lovecraft's THE THING ON THE DOORSTEP, with an ending that really jolts. Nathaniel Hawthorne's THE HOLLOW OF THE THREE HILLS is a lesser work, a mood piece about a female runaway who has a close encounter with somebody sinister. THE TAKING, by Roger Johnson, is about a renovated farmhouse haunted by a traditional ghost; it's hardly original, but well written and very likeable.
THE DAY OF THE UNDERDOG is a story by Ronald Chetwynd-Hayes and another one infused with the blackest of humour. The wish fulfilment subject matter makes for high entertainment, and you can't dislike a story with lines such as "there was a strange noise from the kitchen - reminiscent of pig finding a brick in its feeding trough". David G. Rowlands' THE EXECUTOR is a literate tale of a historical haunting, told subtly and to great effect. E.F. Benson's GAVON'S EVE is the weakest story in the collection, about strange goings-on at Pict's Pool in Sunderland. It focuses on characters at the expense of ghostly elements. However, things end on a high with Manly Wade Wellman's THE WITCH'S CAT, about an ancient grimoire that falls into the wrong hands. It's very odd indeed, with a fairy tale ambience, and Wellman is clearly having great fun and that fun rubs off on the reader.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 3, 2012
I really enjoyed this short story collection. Covering a wide range of styles and time periods, with authors both traditional and modern, the only flaw for me was that most of the stories did stick with the rather hackneyed view of witch as 'ugly little old woman' - which is fine occasionally, but does get old when it's nearly every story in a collection.
That said, I don't think there were any complete duds in this collection.
The standout pieces for me were: 'The Toad Witch' by Jessica Amanda Salmonson, a touching and rather sad tale of children who believe their neighbour is a witch; 'One Remained Behind' by Marjorie Bowen, with its unexpected and rather amusing magical protagonist who has an equally unexpected and satisfying fate; and 'The Witch's Cat' by Manly Wade Wellman, purely for the fuzzy happy ending factor and my being a cat lover!
A good, strong, entertaining collection.
That said, I don't think there were any complete duds in this collection.
The standout pieces for me were: 'The Toad Witch' by Jessica Amanda Salmonson, a touching and rather sad tale of children who believe their neighbour is a witch; 'One Remained Behind' by Marjorie Bowen, with its unexpected and rather amusing magical protagonist who has an equally unexpected and satisfying fate; and 'The Witch's Cat' by Manly Wade Wellman, purely for the fuzzy happy ending factor and my being a cat lover!
A good, strong, entertaining collection.
July 23, 2024
Various (Editor: Dalby, Richard) - Tales Of Witchcraft
Like many here, I go through the shelves periodically, hunting books to cull or “glean.”
New lamps for old.
Alas, it always seems for two books pulled, I buy three more. Ever was it so.
I saw the spine. “Witchcraft? Why did I buy that?”
I may believe witches exist, but reading about them?
Then I noticed Dalby’s name. I would not have recognized him when I bought the book in 1991.
Contents, an M R James story I was unfamiliar with, “The Fenstanton Witch.”
Assortment of lesser known, “classic” authors, big names such as King, Wellman, Bloch, as well as the new. Promising unknowns such as Jessica Salmonson and Ron Weighell.
A fine collection, I enjoyed almost every story, which is a good percentage.
Like many here, I go through the shelves periodically, hunting books to cull or “glean.”
New lamps for old.
Alas, it always seems for two books pulled, I buy three more. Ever was it so.
I saw the spine. “Witchcraft? Why did I buy that?”
I may believe witches exist, but reading about them?
Then I noticed Dalby’s name. I would not have recognized him when I bought the book in 1991.
Contents, an M R James story I was unfamiliar with, “The Fenstanton Witch.”
Assortment of lesser known, “classic” authors, big names such as King, Wellman, Bloch, as well as the new. Promising unknowns such as Jessica Salmonson and Ron Weighell.
A fine collection, I enjoyed almost every story, which is a good percentage.
August 23, 2024
I found these stories very entertaining. Well, a couple of them I didn't quite enjoy as they differed a bit from the theme of the other stories. Some of the stories are quite fun, while others have a terrifying horror feel to them. But I enjoyed reading them. Although by the end of the book I almost felt like I was over reading about witches and witchcraft
October 28, 2020
Quite disappointing.., Could’ve been so much better. There were some good stories but on the whole a bit meh...
November 4, 2022
Most stories were boring, but I enjoyed three or four of them. Gramma by Stephen King was recently made into a movie, but I like the story better.
March 20, 2017
An excellent anthology. I particularly liked Stephen King's "Gramma" and Robert Bloch's "Catnip", great stories with twist endings.
January 26, 2013
This collection about witches contains seventeen creepy tales. I felt that most of them were quite good and fit the theme and a handful were actually rather scary. My favourites were Unburied Bane by N. Dennett, The Toad Witch by Jessica Amanda Salmonson, One Remained Behind by Marjorie Bowen, Catnip by Robert Bloch, and The Day of the Underdog by R. Chetwynd-Hayes. I found my copy in a second-hand bookshop for $2 and the thick scent of lavender it gave off added to its creepy charm. If you like tales of witchcraft and find a copy for a low price, grab it - it's pretty good, but not as chilling as I hoped it would be.
August 21, 2012
Good read, but not as good as I hoped.
October 12, 2016
Some of the stories were good, some were poor. Others ended abruptly when others were well rounded. However I am not sure if I wwould read it again.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews