Burn, Witch, Burn! (Magill’s Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature)
At a glance:
- Author: A. Merritt
- First Published: 1933
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Fantasy—superbeing
- Time of Work: The 1930’s
- Setting: New York City, with a climactic visit to the “unknown world” of magic
- Genres: Long fiction, Fantasy
- Subjects: New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., United States or Americans, Folkloric or magical people, Magic or magicians, New York City, Other worlds, 1930’s, Witches or witchcraft, Dolls or dollhouses
- Locales: New York, NY, Mythical lands
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...
[The entire page is 876 words long]

