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Witchcraft Classics
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"Then with the agility of a cat she sprang on his shoulders, struck him in the side with a broom, and he began to run like a race-horse, carrying her on his shoulders." Nikolai Gogol, Viy
The cradle of modern witch short stories began in the first half of the 19th century. This anthology unearths the very best of these stories. Andrew Barger, a leading voice in the Gothic literature space, searched forgotten magazines, newspapers, journals and scholarly articles, to uncover the best witch stories written in the English language over one hundred years after the horrific events of the Salem Witch Trials. They had a lasting effect in both the U.S. and Europe, as these publications reflect from the many authors who penned witch stories in this genre. Andrew even includes in his introduction to the collection, actual text from the Salem Witch Trials.
The classic witch stories he has uncovered are unmatched. One is a humorous tale that stands, in the grand Irish tradition of great storytelling, shoulder to shoulder with Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” (1819) and Charles Dickens’s “The Goblins Who Stole a Sexton” (1836), as that rare combination of humor and horror that is so difficult to find. It is published for the first time in over 150 years. What Andrew calls America's "first great witch short story" is also published for the first time in nearly 200 years. As readers have come to expect from Andrew, he includes his scholarly touch to the anthology by providing introductions to each story and a foreword titled "Hags! Hags! Hags!" There are also illustrations for each story. Last, Andrew provides a list of stories considered at the end of the anthology. Read these witchcraft classics tonight!
*Hags! Hags! Hags (2023) by Andrew Barger
*The Hollow of the Three Hills (1830) by Nathaniel Hawthorne
*The Marvelous Legend of Tom Connor’s Cat (1847) by Samuel Lover
*The Witch Caprusche (1845) by Elizabeth Ellet
*The Brownie of the Black Haggs (1827) by James Hogg
*Lydia Ashbaugh, the Witch (1836) by William Darby
*Young Goodman Brown (1835) by Nathaniel Hawthorne
*Viy (1835) by Nikolai Gogol
*List of Witch Short Stories Considered (2023) by Andrew Barger
The cradle of modern witch short stories began in the first half of the 19th century. This anthology unearths the very best of these stories. Andrew Barger, a leading voice in the Gothic literature space, searched forgotten magazines, newspapers, journals and scholarly articles, to uncover the best witch stories written in the English language over one hundred years after the horrific events of the Salem Witch Trials. They had a lasting effect in both the U.S. and Europe, as these publications reflect from the many authors who penned witch stories in this genre. Andrew even includes in his introduction to the collection, actual text from the Salem Witch Trials.
The classic witch stories he has uncovered are unmatched. One is a humorous tale that stands, in the grand Irish tradition of great storytelling, shoulder to shoulder with Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” (1819) and Charles Dickens’s “The Goblins Who Stole a Sexton” (1836), as that rare combination of humor and horror that is so difficult to find. It is published for the first time in over 150 years. What Andrew calls America's "first great witch short story" is also published for the first time in nearly 200 years. As readers have come to expect from Andrew, he includes his scholarly touch to the anthology by providing introductions to each story and a foreword titled "Hags! Hags! Hags!" There are also illustrations for each story. Last, Andrew provides a list of stories considered at the end of the anthology. Read these witchcraft classics tonight!
*Hags! Hags! Hags (2023) by Andrew Barger
*The Hollow of the Three Hills (1830) by Nathaniel Hawthorne
*The Marvelous Legend of Tom Connor’s Cat (1847) by Samuel Lover
*The Witch Caprusche (1845) by Elizabeth Ellet
*The Brownie of the Black Haggs (1827) by James Hogg
*Lydia Ashbaugh, the Witch (1836) by William Darby
*Young Goodman Brown (1835) by Nathaniel Hawthorne
*Viy (1835) by Nikolai Gogol
*List of Witch Short Stories Considered (2023) by Andrew Barger
Reviews
Coming soon:
Interview with Andrew Barger
Q1: Andrew, why did you decide to edit a book of the best witch short stories from 1800-1849?
A1: I have never seen one that addresses a 50 year time period, especially this time period that kicked off the witch short story genre.
Q2: But there were witch short stories written before 1800, right?
A2: Sure. I go into some detail about them in my introduction to the anthology. Though not the form we know them today, witch tales and lore go back thousands of years. The Bible even speaks of the Witch of Endor.
Q3: How do the witch stories of 1800-1849 compare to today's witch stories?
A3: They are not as graphic and some of the stories lack deep character development. "Lydia Ashbaugh the Witch" is an exception and I believe it to be America's first great witch story.
Q4: Did you include any witch stories that have not been collected in an anthology before?
A4: Yes I did, as I am want to do. They are "The Marvelous Legend of Tom Connor's Cat (1847), "The Witch Caprusche" (1845) and "Lydia Ashbaugh, the Witch" (1836).
Q5: Do you have a favorite?
A5: "Viy" (1835) by Gogol. It could have been written last month. It has some genuinely terrifying parts to it.
Q6 : In the introduction, you call "Lydia Ashbaugh" America's first great witch story. Can you give a little more color as to why?
A6 : Sure. The only two before it are Hawthorne's "The Hollow of the Three Hills" (1830) and "Young Goodman Brown" (1835). Both pale in comparison to the scope and complexity of story that Darby brought to "Lydia Ashbaugh, the Witch." The story also has supernatural elements not found in Hawthorne's witch stories. To tell how a witch became a witch brought a new scope to the genre that had not been seen before. It's amazing to me that Darby published his story under his pseudonym, Mark Bancroft.
Q7: You also annotated and edited The Horror Short Stories 1800-1849 - The Best Ghost Stories 1800-1849 - The Best Werewolf Short Stories 1800-1849 and The Best Vampire Stories 1800-1849. How does the witch genre compare for this period as far as robustness of stories?
A7: The genre was finding itself in this period, but the stories are quite good. It really is the cradle of the modern witch short story genre.
Interesting Witch Short Story Trivia
Who was the first female to write a witch short story in the English language?
It appears to be Elizabeth Ellet's "The Witch Caprusche." Collected in this anthology, Ellet published it in 1845, though she admitted in the short preface that the idea was not her own.
Did Edgar Allan Poe Write a Witch Story?
Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) wrote scary stories in a number of supernatural genres. He did not invent the horror short story, but he took it to unbelievable heights. He was the first, however, to invent a closed room murder mystery (The Murders in the Rue Morgue of 1841) and a founding father of science fiction short stories. Poe also was the first to take us inside the head of a crazy man in "The Tell-Tale Heart" of 1843.
Yet, Edgar Allan Poe failed to cover a few crucial genres in his short stories. For instance, he did not write a vampire or monster story. I have blogged on why I believe Poe did not write a vampire story in the past. That is unfortunate as I am convinced that no one could have written a vampire story like Poe. What's more, zombie's had not been created in Poe's time. Unfortunately, Poe also did not write a witch story. He mostly liked Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Hollow of the Three Hills," which is included in my collection. I am convinced Poe would NOT have like Elizabeth Ellet's "The Witch Caprusche," primarily because he despised the author who spread rumors about him in the literary salons of the Northeast.
#WitchStories #BestWitchStories #WitchAnthology #VintageWitches #WitchTales #VictorianWitchStories #PoeWitchStory
It appears to be Elizabeth Ellet's "The Witch Caprusche." Collected in this anthology, Ellet published it in 1845, though she admitted in the short preface that the idea was not her own.
Did Edgar Allan Poe Write a Witch Story?
Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) wrote scary stories in a number of supernatural genres. He did not invent the horror short story, but he took it to unbelievable heights. He was the first, however, to invent a closed room murder mystery (The Murders in the Rue Morgue of 1841) and a founding father of science fiction short stories. Poe also was the first to take us inside the head of a crazy man in "The Tell-Tale Heart" of 1843.
Yet, Edgar Allan Poe failed to cover a few crucial genres in his short stories. For instance, he did not write a vampire or monster story. I have blogged on why I believe Poe did not write a vampire story in the past. That is unfortunate as I am convinced that no one could have written a vampire story like Poe. What's more, zombie's had not been created in Poe's time. Unfortunately, Poe also did not write a witch story. He mostly liked Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Hollow of the Three Hills," which is included in my collection. I am convinced Poe would NOT have like Elizabeth Ellet's "The Witch Caprusche," primarily because he despised the author who spread rumors about him in the literary salons of the Northeast.
#WitchStories #BestWitchStories #WitchAnthology #VintageWitches #WitchTales #VictorianWitchStories #PoeWitchStory
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