Tales of Witchcraft

In the world of Tales of Witchcraft, nothing is as it seems. In these stories of the supernatural, everything is open to question. The line between good and evil is sometimes exceedingly thin, and there is often no means of knowing whether the mysterious events described ar the product of forces beyond our comprehension or simply the fancies of an over-active imagination. Tales of Witchcraft is a macabre collection of chilling stories of witchery. It is peopled not only by wicked women and wily men, but by the most ordinary folk visited with strange powers. The stories have one thing in common: They are not explicable by resorting to rationality. Selected from the very best of the genre, this collection includes jeux d’espirit by authors such as E.F. Benson and Saki who are better known for their conventional writings, as well as stories by authors such as Stephen King and Robert Bloch, whose specialty is the weird and nightmarish. They all reveal that secret fascination for the uncertain and the unknown.

Tales of Witchcraft is a 1991 anthology of supernatural horror short stories edited by Richard Dalby and published by Michael O'Mara Books Limited. The collection assembles seventeen tales centered on witches, witchcraft, and the occult, spanning from early 19th-century works to contemporary pieces, and explores the enduring archetype of the witch as a figure of fear, nature's unpredictability, and social outsider status. Notable inclusions feature M. R. James's "The Fenstanton Witch," a posthumous fragment first appearing in this volume, Stephen King's "Gramma," Saki's "The Peace of Mowsle Barton," and Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Hollow of the Three Hills," alongside stories by authors such as Robert Bloch, E. F. Benson, and Jessica Amanda Salmonson.  Dalby contributes a foreword that frames the anthology's focus on the psyche's darker side and the chilling power of these narratives to disturb even skeptical readers. The anthology highlights a mix of classic and lesser-known horror fiction, including Ron Weighell's "Carven of Onyx," written specifically for this collection, and emphasizes tales that blend rational dread with supernatural elements across different historical settings. It has been praised in genre communities for curating effective, unsettling stories that reinforce the witch's role in evoking unease about the unknown.

Condition: Fine
Minor wear to dust jacket, book is in perfect condition