''The Witch's Tale'' is a horror-fantasy radio series which aired from May 21, 1931, to June 13, 1938, on WOR, the

Mutual Radio Network The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the golden age of U.S. r ...

, and in syndication. The program was created, written, and directed by Alonzo Deen Cole (February 22, 1897,

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 311,527, making it Minnesota's second-most populous city a ...

- April 7, 1971).

Production and casting

The first horror drama on radio, Cole's spooky show was hosted by Old Nancy, the Witch of Salem, who introduced a different terror tale each week. The role of Old Nancy was created by stage actress Adelaide Fitz-Allen, who died in 1935 at the age of 79. Cole replaced her with 13-year-old Miriam Wolfe, and

Martha Wentworth Verna Martha Wentworth (June 2, 1889 – March 8, 1974) was an American actress. Her vocal variety led to her being called the "Actress of 100 Voices". Biography Wentworth was born on June 2, 1889, in New York City. After graduating from ...

was also heard as Old Nancy on occasion. Cole himself provided the sounds of Old Nancy's cat, Satan. Cole's wife, Marie O'Flynn, portrayed the lead female characters on the program, and the supporting cast included Mark Smith and Alan Devitte. The majority of the scripts were original stories, but there were literary adaptations as well, including: * 1931: "The Bronze Venus," adapted from

La Vénus d'Ille LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...

Prosper Mérimée Prosper Mérimée (; 28 September 1803 – 23 September 1870) was a French writer in the movement of Romanticism, one of the pioneers of the novella, a short novel or long short story. He was also a noted archaeologist and historian, an import ...

. * 1932: "In the Devil's Name," adapted from the confessions of supposed real-life witch

Isobel Gowdie Isobel Gowdie was a Scottish woman who confessed to witchcraft at Auldearn near Nairn during 1662. Scant information is available about her age or life and, although she was probably executed in line with the usual practice, it is uncertain whet ...

. (Only the first half of this episode has survived.) * 1934: "The Wonderful Bottle," adapted from

The Bottle Imp "The Bottle Imp" is an 1891 short story by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson usually found in the short story collection ''Island Nights' Entertainments''. It was first published in the ''New York Herald'' (February–March 1891) and ...

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

. * 1934: "The Flying Dutchman," based on the legend of the ghost ship The Flying Dutchman. * 1935: an adaptation of

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 Gothic novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a Sapience, sapient Frankenstein's monster, crea ...

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...

. There were likely other adaptations that have not survived. For syndication, the shows were recorded live during broadcast and distributed to other stations. These recordings were destroyed by Cole in 1961, so few episodes survive. Cole was also the writer, producer, and director of the radio mystery-crime drama, ''

Casey, Crime Photographer ''Casey, Crime Photographer'' (also known as ''Crime photographer''; ''Flashgun Casey''; ''Casey, Press Photographer''; ''Stephen Bristol, Crime Photographer'') was an American media franchise that lasted from the 1930s until the 1960s. Created b ...

''. In November 1936, Alonzo Deen Cole edited '' The Witch's Tales'' magazine with the lead story by Cole. It ran for only two issues.

Television

An effort was made to bring the series to television. In 1958,

Television Programs of America Television Programs of America, Inc (TPA) was a New York-based United States, US television production company in the 1950s. TPA had a Canada, Canadian subsidiary, Normandie Productions. This television production and distribution company was be ...

made plans to film a pilot with Cole as consultant and story supervisor. The associate story editor was Raymond Levy. However, the show never made it to TV.

Influence

EC Comics E.C. Publications, Inc., (doing business as EC Comics) is an American comic book publisher. It specialized in horror fiction, crime fiction, satire, military fiction, dark fantasy, and science fiction from the 1940s through the mid-1950s, nota ...

' publisher

Bill Gaines William Maxwell "Bill" Gaines (; March 1, 1922 – June 3, 1992) was an American publisher and co-editor of EC Comics. Following a shift in EC's direction in 1950, Gaines presided over what became an artistically influential and historically i ...

was inspired by Cole's Old Nancy host to create the character the Old Witch, illustrated by

Graham Ingels Graham John Ingels (; June 7, 1915 – April 4, 1991) was a comic book and magazine illustrator best known for his work in EC Comics during the 1950s, notably on '' The Haunt of Fear'' and '' Tales from the Crypt'', horror titles written and edit ...

as the host of EC's ''

The Haunt of Fear ''The Haunt of Fear'' is an American bi-monthly horror comic anthology series that was published by EC Comics from 1950 to 1954 created by Bill Gaines and Al Feldstein. The magazine began in June 1947 as ''Fat and Slat''. It continued under this ...

''.

References

External links

Radio Lovers: ''The Witch's Tale'' (four 1934-37 episodes)
* ttp://www.RadioHorrorHosts.com/witchtale.html Radio Horror Hosts: ''The Witch's Tale''br>Internet Archive: The Witch's Tale
- plot summaries and reviews. {{DEFAULTSORT:Witch's Tale, The American radio dramas Anthology radio series Fantasy radio programs Horror fiction radio programmes 1930s American radio programs Mutual Broadcasting System programs 1931 radio programme debuts 1938 radio programme endings Syndicated American radio programs

Production and casting

Television

Influence

See also

References

Further reading

External links