Burn, Witch, Burn! by A. Merritt
"Burn, Witch, Burn!" is a tale that delves into the realm of dark magic and the struggle between science and the supernatural. The story follows Dr. Lowell, a scientist who uses a pseudonym due to fears about how his experiences might affect his credibility, and a gangster named Julian Ricori. Together, they investigate a series of unexplained and tragic events linked to a powerful witch named Madame Mandilip. The narrative begins with Ricori seeking Lowell’s expertise to help his lieutenant, Thomas Peters, who is inexplicably struck by a severe shock, leading to his unresponsive state. As the plot unfolds, Lowell discovers that Peters, along with others, falls victim to a sinister presence linked to Madame Mandilip, who is revealed to possess formidable necromantic powers.
Through a series of chilling encounters and the uncovering of a diary belonging to a deceased nurse, Lowell and Ricori learn about the witch's dark influence and her ability to manipulate individuals from afar. Their investigation culminates in a confrontation at Madame Mandilip's eerie doll shop, where they face off against her malevolent magic. The battle is a significant moment in the story, showcasing the clash between human resilience and supernatural evil. Ultimately, while they succeed in vanquishing the witch, both characters endure lasting physical and psychological scars from their harrowing experience. The story serves as a reflection on the tension between rationality and the inexplicable, making it a compelling piece in the genre of American fantasy fiction.
On this Page
Burn, Witch, Burn!
First published: 1933 (serial form, Argosy Magazine, October 22-November 26, 1932)
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Fantasy—superbeing
Time of work: The 1930’s
Locale: New York City, with a climactic visit to the “unknown world” of magic
The Plot
The story revolves around the efforts of a scientist, Dr. Lowell (a pseudonym he uses because of his fear that the incredible and irrational events he relates will discredit him as a scientist), and a gangster, Julian Ricori, as they first uncover the existence of the powerful witch of the title and then try, unsuccessfully, to find an effective countermeasure to her lethal magic. They track her to her lair, where they confront and finally kill her.
In the beginning, Dr. Lowell relates that Ricori has sought Lowell’s services on behalf of the gangster’s lieutenant, Thomas Peters, who suffers from a severe shock that has destroyed his nervous stability. His eyes are wide open, his posture is rigid, and, although neither unconscious nor dead, he is unresponsive to treatment. Lowell struggles to find a medical solution to the problem but cannot. He slowly (if grudgingly) concludes that Peters suffers from some sort of undiscoverable evil “presence.” Peters is under the influence of Madame Man-dilip, whom Lowell has not yet met, though he infers her power to manipulate her victims psychically and from a great distance.
Peters dies while Lowell helplessly attends him. Lowell and Ricori discover that other persons have met similar fates. The death of one in particular, Nurse Walters, provides them with a diary that details her visits to Madame Mandilip’s doll shop. It contains both one of the greatest gothic descriptions of an occult event in American fantasy fiction and enough information to allow them to identify Madame Mandilip as the source of the necromancy that they have decided is the root of the eerie and lethal events that they have been investigating.
Later, Lowell and Ricori abduct the witch’s assistant, the pitiful and frightened Lascha, and learn enough to reach the conclusion that Madame Mandilip is an ancient witch of great and malign power and that she is capable of assuming many physical forms. They then make their plans to confront her in her hellish doll shop and engage her in a battle to the death, an encounter that is among the best of its kind in American fantasy fiction. Although they finally conquer supernatural evil, they do not escape unscathed, either physically or psychologically.