Brood of the Witch Queen by Sax Rohmer
"Brood of the Witch Queen" is a supernatural tale centered around medical student Robert Cairn, who becomes increasingly suspicious of his fellow student Antony Ferrara, the adopted son of a renowned Egyptologist. Ferrara is depicted as an enigmatic character, known for his peculiar habits, including an affinity for ancient Egyptian artifacts and rituals. As a series of mysterious deaths and supernatural events unfold, including the strangulation of a young woman and the demise of Sir Michael Ferrara under strange circumstances, Robert and his father, Dr. Bruce Cairn, delve into the darker aspects of Ferrara's life, suspecting he is practicing Egyptian magic.
The plot thickens when Myra Duquesne, Sir Michael's niece, sleepwalks and accuses Ferrara of being the brood of a witch, hinting at a connection to ancient witchcraft. The Cairns' attempts to protect Myra lead them into a confrontation with Ferrara, whose magical abilities pose a dire threat. The story escalates as they trace Ferrara's activities to Egypt, where he attempts to exert control over the Cairns and others through powerful magic, culminating in a dramatic ritual involving the body of Lady Lashmore.
In a climactic confrontation, Dr. Cairn uncovers Ferrara's true identity and the nature of his powers, ultimately leading to a battle against a malevolent elemental spirit that Ferrara cannot control. The narrative blends themes of mysticism, the occult, and the struggle between ancient powers and modern understanding, inviting readers to explore the complex interplay of these elements.
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Brood of the Witch Queen
First published: 1918 (serial form, The Premier Magazine, 1914)
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Fantasy—occult
Time of work: 1914
Locale: London, Oxford, and their environs in England; Cairo, Port Said, and the Pyramid of Meydum in Egypt
The Plot
As a medical student at Oxford University, Robert Cairn first becomes suspicious of fellow student Antony Ferrara, the adopted son of Sir Michael Ferrara, a noted Egyptologist and a close friend of Cairn’s father. The young Ferrara, whom Cairn finds “repellently effeminate,” dresses in furs and keeps fires burning in his quarters even at midsummer. His rooms reek of incense and are filled with ancient Egyptian relics, including a mummy. There is a photograph of the swan Apollo whose strange death Cairn witnessed. He observes Ferrara burning a waxen swan figurine. Later, in London, Cairn learns that a young woman he had seen outside Ferrara’s quarters has been strangled in an impossible situation. Sir Michael Ferrara then succumbs after attacks by a pair of ghostly hands that his niece and ward, Myra Duquesne, is powerless to stop. Cairn’s father, Dr. Bruce Cairn, is called in, too late, to save his old friend.
Himself an authority on Egyptian ritual and beliefs, Dr. Cairn quickly surmises from all that has happened that Antony Ferrara is practicing Egyptian magic, but he refuses to answer his son’s repeated demands to know just who Antony Ferrara really is. Myra, while in a sleepwalking trance, accuses Antony of being the brood of a witch and points to the witch’s ring, the ring of Thoth, that he wears. The Cairns are determined to protect Myra from Ferrara, who obviously covets her share of the inheritance.
Ferrara clearly is aware of their opposition. He launches a magical attack against the younger Cairn but is thwarted by Dr. Cairn. He turns his magic next against Lord and Lady Lashmore, causing the latter to be possessed by the spirit of Mirza, an ancestral sorceress and vampire, and then to kill her husband.
Antony Ferrara next appears in Egypt, where Robert Cairn is vacationing. Through his magic, Ferrara unleashes terrible sandstorms, nearly deceives Dr. Cairn into killing his son, and causes Lady Lashmore, who is also in Egypt, to disappear. Dr. Cairn is convinced that Ferrara is connected to the ancient Egyptian witch queen whose tomb he and Sir Michael Ferrara had searched for, unsuccessfully, years earlier. In the most vivid episode of the novel, Dr. Cairn and his son’s friend Sime enter the Pyramid of Meydum, one of the reputed centers of ancient Egyptian sorcery and the scene of recent unnerving occurrences. In a secret chamber, they witness Ferrara performing a ritual of anthropomancy (divination by human entrails) using the dead body of Lady Lashmore. The form of the witch queen materializes and begins to speak when Sime loses control and fires his gun. In the aftermath, he and Dr. Cairn barely manage to escape.
Back in England, Ferrara’s attempts to kill both Myra, by means of a sinister orchid, and Robert Cairn, with a magical cord, are foiled by Dr. Cairn. As the final conflict approaches, Dr. Cairn at last discloses what he knows—or suspects—of Ferrara’s true identity: He is the reanimated son of the witch queen and embodies the spirit of her high priest. Dr. Cairn uncovers the magician’s spell book, the Book of Thoth, and burns it. When Ferrara evokes a powerful elemental spirit to attack the Cairns and Myra, he cannot control it and is destroyed.