Sunday, September 9, 2012

All of Them Witches

I can't really think of any horror fiction I've read that features witches - I suppose Leiber's Conjure Wife counts, though - but that can't stop me from appreciating some ghastly cover art of them. Witch Child (Zebra 1987) is absolutely blood-curdling. The witch's face is horrifying enough, but then you see her skull--! Yikes. Witch House's (Del Rey 1979) cover below is just fucking terrifying. If I were that little girl I think I'd have dropped dead of fright instead of gone into a rendition of "Good Ship Lollipop."

6 comments:

William Malmborg said...

Wow, these are really cool covers. That first one is really creepy and the Witch House one with the witch coming out from above the fireplace would have frightened me when I was little.

Like you I can't really think of anything I have read that has featured a witch. I do have a short story collection that is all witch tales but haven't opened it yet. Might have to take a peek inside now.

Ron Dionne said...

Check out DARK SISTER by Graham Joyce. Very witchy, and very good.

Tim Mayer said...

The Wild White Witch sounds like a song from a Coven album.

Luis said...

The one that intrigues me is the one simply titled "Witch" with the subtitle "a novel of quiet horror". Also, "The Wild White Witch" sounds like a fun read.

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James Seger said...

I'm actually reading Witch Child by Elizabeth Lloyd now. It's available as an e-book from B&N, though surprisingly doesn't seem to be available from Amazon...

Anyway, I bought it due to the wonderfully lurid cover (the same as the one shown here). But the book is completely unlike the cover. it's actually presented as the diary of a young girl living in Salem in 1692. At the beginning of the book, she catches the eye of a woman being hung as a witch and then becomes convinced (and convinces others) that she is possessed by the witch.

I almost quit reading it when I realized it wasn't going to be the cheese-fest I was in the mood for, but it's actually pretty interesting. I'm about two thirds done and am surprised at how much I'm liking it.