Rod Serling’s Triple W: Witches, Warlocks and Werewolves from 1963 seems like a perfect anthology to include in the run-up to the Halloween month of October. My favorite story is Jack Sharkey’s “The Final Ingredient” where a young woman who wants to be a witch finds her spells not working…until she discovers the final ingredient.
Two classic stories, Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” and Kipling’s “The Mark of the Beast,” show witches, warlocks and werewolves engaged writers more than a century ago.
I remember reading Fritz Leiber’s “Hatchery of Dreams” in Fantastic back in 1961 and this story has lost none of its power decades later. A coven of witches are threatened by technology. Rod Serling’s Triple W: Witches, Warlocks and Werewolves delivers entertaining stories for the spooky season. GRADE: B
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
vii · Introduction · Rod Serling · i
1 · The Amulet · Gordon R. Dickson · ss F&SF Apr 1959
17 · The Story of Sidi Nonman · Anon. · ss
27 · The Final Ingredient · Jack Sharkey · ss F&SF Aug 1960
36 · Blind Alley · Malcolm Jameson · nv Unknown Worlds Jun 1943
69 · Young Goodman Brown · Nathaniel Hawthorne · ss New England Magazine Apr 1835
82 · The Chestnut Beads [Migma] · Jane Roberts · nv F&SF Oct 1957
109 · Hatchery of Dreams · Fritz Leiber · ss Fantastic Nov 1961
122 · The Mark of the Beast · Rudyard Kipling · ss The Pioneer Jul 12 1890 (+1)
134 · And Not Quite Human · Joe L. Hensley · ss Beyond Fantasy Fiction Sep 1953
141 · Wolves Don’t Cry · Bruce Elliott · ss F&SF Apr 1954
152 · The Black Retriever · Charles G. Finney · ss F&SF Oct 1958
161 · Witch Trials and the Law · Charles Mackay · ar 1841
This one, and ROD SERLING’s DEVIL AND DEMONS, were ghost -edited by Gordon R. Dickson. Both were very good anthologies.
Jerry, I have ROD SERLING’S DEVILS AND DEMONS around here somewhere. Gordon R. Dickson did a fair share of ghostwriting!
The only one of these I’m sure I’ve read is the one by Hawthorne, which I found boring. But otherwise it looks to be a pretty solid roster of contributors. I wouldn’t search for it but if I had a copy I’d read it.
Michael, I’m sure the Hawthorne story was included because it was free.
Now only do I remember this one, I KNOW I bought it when it was first out in 1963 and definitely read it then! (I was also buying “Alfred Hitchcock” anthologies.)
Interesting to see Joe Hensley had a story here. I used to correspond (remember letters?) with him when I was doing the fanzine, and I read most of his mysteries.
Jeff, as I recall, Joe Hensley was a friend of THE MYSTERY FANCIER editor, Guy Townsend.
As I recall he was Guy’s father-in-law and Joe was not fond of him!
Bob, I forgot Hensley was related to Guy. A lot of people were not fond of Guy…especially Ellen Nehr!
I have the reissue of this from the seventies featuring three models in very cheesy make-up/masks. It haunted the paperback racks of many a Montgomery Ward and drug stores in my hometown. It’s a solid collection and I’d recommend it without reservation. The title is a curious choice as Serling almost sold a horror anthology series to NBC in the early sixties right after “The Twilight Zone” ended its run. It was to be called something like “Rod Serling’s Wax Museum” and would have been essentially “Night Gallery” but with wax figurines instead of paintings. The network was keen on the show but insisted the title be changed to “Rod Sterling’s Witches, Warlocks and Werewolves.” Serling hated the title and refused to make the change so NBC walked away from the project. I didn’t know about the follow-up book. I’ll have to track that down.
Byron, Rod Serling was also in failing heath at that time.
Partial review of the other Dickson/Serling ghost-editing job. https://socialistjazz.blogspot.com/2018/08/ffb-supernatural-reader-edited-by-lucy.html
Todd, thanks for the link!