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The Weird Tales of Dorothy K. Haynes
The fabric of Dorothy K. Haynes' weird fiction is truly the stuff of nightmares, where horrors cruel and mundane are interwoven with threads of dark fairy folklore and twisted witchcraft to deliver heady supernatural thrills.
In this new collection, Haynes expert Craig Lamont presents the essential classics of her strange storytelling alongside rarities from obscure anthologies and magazines - and several stories exhumed from the family archive which have never been published before.
Featuring illustrations by Mervyn Peake from the Library's collections, this volume knits the irresistible pull of Haynes' unique brand of the uncanny with a rare opportunity to discover new material from one of the great weavers of Scottish horror.
In this new collection, Haynes expert Craig Lamont presents the essential classics of her strange storytelling alongside rarities from obscure anthologies and magazines - and several stories exhumed from the family archive which have never been published before.
Featuring illustrations by Mervyn Peake from the Library's collections, this volume knits the irresistible pull of Haynes' unique brand of the uncanny with a rare opportunity to discover new material from one of the great weavers of Scottish horror.
288 pages, Paperback
First published October 24, 2024
28 people are currently reading
317 people want to read
About the author
Dorothy K. Haynes
32 books3 followersDorothy K. Haynes spent her childhood with her twin brother Leonard, in Aberlour Orphanage, Banffshire. Later she moved to Lanark, where she married John S. Gray (who was also a former Aberlour Orphanage resident). She had 4 children - Alison, Micheal, Leonard and Ian, with the first two dying from cystic fibrosis.
Haynes worked extensively in support of Girl Guides movement and remained involved with Aberlour Orphanage until its closure. She published the autobiographical novel Haste Ye Back in 1973 in memory of her time there.
She was diagnosed with breast cancer, and died in December 1987.
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorot...]
Haynes worked extensively in support of Girl Guides movement and remained involved with Aberlour Orphanage until its closure. She published the autobiographical novel Haste Ye Back in 1973 in memory of her time there.
She was diagnosed with breast cancer, and died in December 1987.
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorot...]
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
September 6, 2025
Review of the story, Changeling
Human babies and small children, swapped for doppelgangers by witches and fairies, feature in the folklore of many lands. This story created and left a nasty taste, which is a credit to the writing.
Moreen is seven and enjoys crushing flies under the curtain.
Not a likeable child.
She notices a witch sitting astride a gargoyle of the church across the street:
“Like a lump of black carrion festering on a rock”.
I’m not sure many seven year olds think like that, but no matter.
She’s a strange child:
“Moreen did not like the thought of the witch being feminine. You could not think of it. Undressing a witch, there would be nothing under the black clothes, nothing but a broom-stick and a short stalk for the head to go on.”
Image: Mervyn Peake’s illustration of the witch sitting on a gargoyle
As the title suggests, the witch takes Moreen away (in this story, it's to “the little people”), leaving a changeling in her place.
The ending is nicely/nastily done, right down to the squished fly.
Fear of age
Changeling is more imbued with fear and revulsion of the elderly than of anxiety about swapping children.
The witch’s hand is green and “palsied… crippled with warts”, but the repugnance gets worse:
“The witch was horrible with the many horrors of the old, the shawlies who swear at closes and smell of gin, the cretins who gape and do not understand, and the fusty poor who never wash.”
The little people, who put Moreen to work and also want her to play, are described as repellent too:
“They were hostile, these dark little red and brown people, hostile, and far too old for her. The youngest had age written on their faces; the oldest were spry and dreadful. They resented her, resented her youth and her strangeness, and the way she did not want to stay. They tormented her in little stabs of spite.”
See also
* The rest of the stories in Haynes' collection Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Witch, which I reviewed HERE.
* For a slightly less disturbing story on the same theme, see Ali Smith's The Child, which I reviewed HERE.
Short story club
I first read Changeling in Black Water 2: More Tales of the Fantastic, by Alberto Manguel, from which I’m reading one story a week with The Short Story Club, starting 24 March 2025.
You can join the group here.
Human babies and small children, swapped for doppelgangers by witches and fairies, feature in the folklore of many lands. This story created and left a nasty taste, which is a credit to the writing.
Moreen is seven and enjoys crushing flies under the curtain.
Not a likeable child.
She notices a witch sitting astride a gargoyle of the church across the street:
“Like a lump of black carrion festering on a rock”.
I’m not sure many seven year olds think like that, but no matter.
She’s a strange child:
“Moreen did not like the thought of the witch being feminine. You could not think of it. Undressing a witch, there would be nothing under the black clothes, nothing but a broom-stick and a short stalk for the head to go on.”
Image: Mervyn Peake’s illustration of the witch sitting on a gargoyle
As the title suggests, the witch takes Moreen away (in this story, it's to “the little people”), leaving a changeling in her place.
The ending is nicely/nastily done, right down to the squished fly.
Fear of age
Changeling is more imbued with fear and revulsion of the elderly than of anxiety about swapping children.
The witch’s hand is green and “palsied… crippled with warts”, but the repugnance gets worse:
“The witch was horrible with the many horrors of the old, the shawlies who swear at closes and smell of gin, the cretins who gape and do not understand, and the fusty poor who never wash.”
The little people, who put Moreen to work and also want her to play, are described as repellent too:
“They were hostile, these dark little red and brown people, hostile, and far too old for her. The youngest had age written on their faces; the oldest were spry and dreadful. They resented her, resented her youth and her strangeness, and the way she did not want to stay. They tormented her in little stabs of spite.”
See also
* The rest of the stories in Haynes' collection Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Witch, which I reviewed HERE.
* For a slightly less disturbing story on the same theme, see Ali Smith's The Child, which I reviewed HERE.
Short story club
I first read Changeling in Black Water 2: More Tales of the Fantastic, by Alberto Manguel, from which I’m reading one story a week with The Short Story Club, starting 24 March 2025.
You can join the group here.
October 29, 2024
These are beautifully strange short stories, mainly set in Scotland in the early to mid 20th century. There are ghosts, wee beasties, time slips, witches and all kinds of supernatural fellas. I don't know why she isn't more well known to be honest. If you like MR James, Robert Aikman, Shirley Jackson, Edith Nesbit or Walter De la mare then do give these a read. This is a new edition from the British Library with a fascinating introduction and wonderful artwork including a fan letter and drawing by Mervyn Peake. Great stuff.
March 17, 2025
Really some highs and lows, with 5* stories alongside some which are falling completely flat, eg 1* ! Anyway, these are all on the weird side, with a couple bringing a bit of a fright too!
October 20, 2024
Each story held its own, absolutely no filler stories. I tore through this collection within two days and adored every creepy moment.
December 2, 2024
3.5
This was a slightly mixed collection. When Dorothy Haynes is at her best, her best is magnificent. Many of her stories have an intensely disturbing undertone to them and explore what may seem familiar themes in deeply unsettling ways.
This is a bit of a mixed bag as a collection though and hasn't been particularly well put together, meaning that you jump around between themes, tones and time periods in ways which don't let you really sink into the stories and don't allow for the stories to rest in conversation with those around them. I've seen some people mention that they found these stories repetitive and there are certainly repeated motifs but I think the 'jumble' of their presentation adds to this impression. Going back over the tales and reading my summary notes, I realised how many of them I had enjoyed and I recommend the collection as a whole. I would potentially recommend dipping in on the stories a few at a time and not really sticking to the order in the book for the best experience.
Some of my favourites included 'Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Witch' (of course), 'The Head', 'The Vocation' and 'Suspended Sentence'. If you go on expecting everything to be as devastating as her most famous work 'Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Witch', you might find yourself disappointed as not every story can reach that kind of pitch. But there's a lot in here to love!
This was a slightly mixed collection. When Dorothy Haynes is at her best, her best is magnificent. Many of her stories have an intensely disturbing undertone to them and explore what may seem familiar themes in deeply unsettling ways.
This is a bit of a mixed bag as a collection though and hasn't been particularly well put together, meaning that you jump around between themes, tones and time periods in ways which don't let you really sink into the stories and don't allow for the stories to rest in conversation with those around them. I've seen some people mention that they found these stories repetitive and there are certainly repeated motifs but I think the 'jumble' of their presentation adds to this impression. Going back over the tales and reading my summary notes, I realised how many of them I had enjoyed and I recommend the collection as a whole. I would potentially recommend dipping in on the stories a few at a time and not really sticking to the order in the book for the best experience.
Some of my favourites included 'Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Witch' (of course), 'The Head', 'The Vocation' and 'Suspended Sentence'. If you go on expecting everything to be as devastating as her most famous work 'Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Witch', you might find yourself disappointed as not every story can reach that kind of pitch. But there's a lot in here to love!
May 4, 2025
3 stars!
This collection was a mixed bag for me. I liked about half of the stories and out of this half really enjoyed a handful. This collection can be roughly categorized into: timeslip tales, ghost stories, Scottish folklore, and existential dread, with some unique concepts thrown in.
Firstly, I think Haynes is able to instill atmosphere incredibly well. She can paint a scene so vividly. There is a surreal disassociated quality to her stories wherein reality and illusion are perfectly blended. Unfortunately, said quality isn't present in all of them. One major gripe I had with this collection is that each installment felt too short. At times she would be exploring a very interesting concept but before I could get properly intrigued or invested it would end. I never felt I got enough detail for the story to linger in my mind. The other gripe I had was that many of these stories were just "fine", particularly the ghost and Scottish folklore tales. They weren't bad by any means but they didn't "wow" me either.
All in all, there are some true gems here but as a whole this collection will not be joining my favorites of the British Library Tales of the Weird.
This collection was a mixed bag for me. I liked about half of the stories and out of this half really enjoyed a handful. This collection can be roughly categorized into: timeslip tales, ghost stories, Scottish folklore, and existential dread, with some unique concepts thrown in.
Firstly, I think Haynes is able to instill atmosphere incredibly well. She can paint a scene so vividly. There is a surreal disassociated quality to her stories wherein reality and illusion are perfectly blended. Unfortunately, said quality isn't present in all of them. One major gripe I had with this collection is that each installment felt too short. At times she would be exploring a very interesting concept but before I could get properly intrigued or invested it would end. I never felt I got enough detail for the story to linger in my mind. The other gripe I had was that many of these stories were just "fine", particularly the ghost and Scottish folklore tales. They weren't bad by any means but they didn't "wow" me either.
All in all, there are some true gems here but as a whole this collection will not be joining my favorites of the British Library Tales of the Weird.
December 18, 2024
What an excellent introduction to the work of Dorothy K. Haynes. The stories collected in here are all atmospheric and full of some deeply disturbing themes, with a relative shortness illustrating that a piece of fiction need not be long to be effective.
Particularly impressive how contemporary the short stories read. RIP, Dorothy K. Haynes, you would have loved r/NoSleep.
Favourite entries: "The "Bean-Nighe", "The Man in the Wall", "Oblige Me with a Loaf", "The Head", "Scots Wha Ha'e", ""Barleyriggs", "Don't Look in My Window" (what a universal fear!), "Dorothy Dean", "Vocation", "Those Lights and Violins"
Particularly impressive how contemporary the short stories read. RIP, Dorothy K. Haynes, you would have loved r/NoSleep.
Favourite entries: "The "Bean-Nighe", "The Man in the Wall", "Oblige Me with a Loaf", "The Head", "Scots Wha Ha'e", ""Barleyriggs", "Don't Look in My Window" (what a universal fear!), "Dorothy Dean", "Vocation", "Those Lights and Violins"
February 11, 2026
An uneven collection, but at this point I think the collecting of Haynes' stories is getting tougher and tougher to find new ones. She died in 1987 at age 69.
This collection contains some of her best previously published work:
The Head
Dorothy Dean
Up, Like a Good Girl!
Changeling
and Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Witch...
I re-read all of those again and found they all held up at least as well as my first reading of them, if not better.
And there were these new-to-me stories plus some never before published:
The Man in the Wall
Black Chain
Day of Wrath
The Curator
and A Horizon of Obelisks
That makes 10 standouts and 16 fair to high middling stories. Those 10 easily make this a very readable collection!
Haynes doesn't just write ghost or weird stories, she writes ghost or weird stories with an empathetic understanding of her hapless protagonists who find themselves up against forces bigger than themselves. Most of the characters aren't all that sympathetic, some verge on downright unlikeable, but she still treats them with insights into their unique pathos.
She herself grew up in a Scottish orphanage run by Episcopalian nuns and the child's view abounds in the stories. Her writing was encouraged at the orphanage by the nuns and even so, there is no doubt that is where her morbid sensibilities began. Her stories highlight Scottish lore and lingo, and she's not afraid to include religious aspects to her stories--religion that is sometimes righteous, but often is a deeper dive into Christianity's unique psychology. Indeed, my two favorite stories, "Black Chain" and "Day of Wrath" have a focus on either a religious person (a monk in "Black Chain") or a child's fear/adoration for the crucified Christ (in "Day of Wrath").
Haynes could have written in any genre, including straight literature. But her inspiration no doubt came from those years in the orphanage, where a child's flights of fancy and ability to tell a good story were given high premium by the other children. I'm glad she stuck with her roots because she has written stories that have a unique focus in the genre she grew up refining for herself.
I don't care for the cover much, it's a take-off of a better Mervyn Peake version; Peake was an enthusiastic fan of Haynes. I carried this book with me to visit my Littles in Colorado as my own bedtime read. That cover, icky as I find it, intrigued especially the 9 year old and she asked me to read one of the stories. So, with some trepidation I picked one, read it aloud to her. She loved it and wanted another. So I did that again. Before I returned home we had read 5 stories together, and both of the Littles were rapt. Following each story we had discussions where they shared deeper insights than I expected.
I was more than a little relieved that--so far--I haven't given the Littles nightmares. I thank Haynes for creating that kind of weird story, one that can be scary about ghosts, witches, men hidden walls, even a little girl murderer, but all fascinating to a 7 or 9 (or 66) year old. That's just like she must have done all those years in the orphanage.
This collection contains some of her best previously published work:
The Head
Dorothy Dean
Up, Like a Good Girl!
Changeling
and Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Witch...
I re-read all of those again and found they all held up at least as well as my first reading of them, if not better.
And there were these new-to-me stories plus some never before published:
The Man in the Wall
Black Chain
Day of Wrath
The Curator
and A Horizon of Obelisks
That makes 10 standouts and 16 fair to high middling stories. Those 10 easily make this a very readable collection!
Haynes doesn't just write ghost or weird stories, she writes ghost or weird stories with an empathetic understanding of her hapless protagonists who find themselves up against forces bigger than themselves. Most of the characters aren't all that sympathetic, some verge on downright unlikeable, but she still treats them with insights into their unique pathos.
She herself grew up in a Scottish orphanage run by Episcopalian nuns and the child's view abounds in the stories. Her writing was encouraged at the orphanage by the nuns and even so, there is no doubt that is where her morbid sensibilities began. Her stories highlight Scottish lore and lingo, and she's not afraid to include religious aspects to her stories--religion that is sometimes righteous, but often is a deeper dive into Christianity's unique psychology. Indeed, my two favorite stories, "Black Chain" and "Day of Wrath" have a focus on either a religious person (a monk in "Black Chain") or a child's fear/adoration for the crucified Christ (in "Day of Wrath").
Haynes could have written in any genre, including straight literature. But her inspiration no doubt came from those years in the orphanage, where a child's flights of fancy and ability to tell a good story were given high premium by the other children. I'm glad she stuck with her roots because she has written stories that have a unique focus in the genre she grew up refining for herself.
I don't care for the cover much, it's a take-off of a better Mervyn Peake version; Peake was an enthusiastic fan of Haynes. I carried this book with me to visit my Littles in Colorado as my own bedtime read. That cover, icky as I find it, intrigued especially the 9 year old and she asked me to read one of the stories. So, with some trepidation I picked one, read it aloud to her. She loved it and wanted another. So I did that again. Before I returned home we had read 5 stories together, and both of the Littles were rapt. Following each story we had discussions where they shared deeper insights than I expected.
I was more than a little relieved that--so far--I haven't given the Littles nightmares. I thank Haynes for creating that kind of weird story, one that can be scary about ghosts, witches, men hidden walls, even a little girl murderer, but all fascinating to a 7 or 9 (or 66) year old. That's just like she must have done all those years in the orphanage.
December 15, 2025
A changeling is a supernatural creature—often the sickly or malformed offspring of fairies, elves, or trolls—that is secretly substituted for a stolen human infant (thank you AI for the explanation).
Changeling is a story included in Dorothy Haynes' collection of short stories which also includes the disturbing story, Thou Shalt Not Suffer A Witch, previously reviewed elsewhere.
Haynes writes beautiful prose, steeped in atmosphere. I've only just begun my journey into her writing, and I can say that the hair at the nape of my neck is standing on end just remembering each of the several stories I have read by her over the past few weeks (Thank you GR Short Story Club for the introduction).
In this creepy atmospheric story by Haynes, a Young Child (YC) sees a witch resting on a gargoyle in a building opposite her home. Her mother does not believe her, and she may have been suffering from a fever and perhaps the whole story is the fruit of her delirium (who knows?). YC is "stolen" from her bed in the middle of the night by the witch who takes her on a journey and abandons her amongst strange creatures in a far-off alien place. Her memory is evaporating faster than water on the hot cement pavement of sweltering summer day. Never-the-less, at the end of the story, in a supernatural haziness, she ends up in front of the building where she lives/d - only to find an old woman (who?) living there who claims that the home is her own (the latter’s) where she grew up and lived all her life with her family.
The story is spooky on so many levels - who is she now? who is the old woman? where is the witch on the gargoyle? what is to become of her? who is the child playing the piano? how long has she been gone?...Chills creep up my spine just thinking about it ….
Changeling is a story included in Dorothy Haynes' collection of short stories which also includes the disturbing story, Thou Shalt Not Suffer A Witch, previously reviewed elsewhere.
Haynes writes beautiful prose, steeped in atmosphere. I've only just begun my journey into her writing, and I can say that the hair at the nape of my neck is standing on end just remembering each of the several stories I have read by her over the past few weeks (Thank you GR Short Story Club for the introduction).
In this creepy atmospheric story by Haynes, a Young Child (YC) sees a witch resting on a gargoyle in a building opposite her home. Her mother does not believe her, and she may have been suffering from a fever and perhaps the whole story is the fruit of her delirium (who knows?). YC is "stolen" from her bed in the middle of the night by the witch who takes her on a journey and abandons her amongst strange creatures in a far-off alien place. Her memory is evaporating faster than water on the hot cement pavement of sweltering summer day. Never-the-less, at the end of the story, in a supernatural haziness, she ends up in front of the building where she lives/d - only to find an old woman (who?) living there who claims that the home is her own (the latter’s) where she grew up and lived all her life with her family.
The story is spooky on so many levels - who is she now? who is the old woman? where is the witch on the gargoyle? what is to become of her? who is the child playing the piano? how long has she been gone?...Chills creep up my spine just thinking about it ….
July 18, 2025
Anyone who has encountered Dorothy Haynes' work will know that it is best consumed in small doses. This is partly because it is so bleak in content and tone: providence looks the other way when Dorothy's in town. However, it's also because she repeatedly circles themes of captivity and confinement, with many of her stories featuring women and girls who are trapped and held against their will by malign forces. It leads to some horribly memorable tales (I love her take on the apparently harmless bouncy castle) but it can be repetitive. What made Haynes such a good writer of short shockers sometimes works against her, in that a story becomes almost wholly 'idea' or plot device, and characterisation becomes broad-brush, or else has an idea which is so interesting it feels thrown away in a 12 page vignette.
This is a good collection of Haynes' work. Although I'd quibble with the running order, it has a useful introduction from an editor familiar with her archive. Johnny Mains offers a typically enthusiastic preface, but Craig Lamont's more measured critical introduction is informative and perceptive, notably on the significance of Haynes' early years in a Scottish orphanage. A welcome addition to the BL 'Weird' series.
This is a good collection of Haynes' work. Although I'd quibble with the running order, it has a useful introduction from an editor familiar with her archive. Johnny Mains offers a typically enthusiastic preface, but Craig Lamont's more measured critical introduction is informative and perceptive, notably on the significance of Haynes' early years in a Scottish orphanage. A welcome addition to the BL 'Weird' series.
June 21, 2025
this has the highest avg rating of all the british ‘tales of the weird’ anthologies i added to my TBR, so i read it first...they’re not rlly very frightening overall, mostly spooky and actually a bit cozy. haynes creates very vivid and morbid atmospheres with apparent ease, so ofc my favorites were: the bean-nigh, scots wha ha’e, barleyriggs, the boorees, changeling, and those lights and violins, which are those i felt combined plot and sinister setting best. i liked peake’s letter and illustration of a hag coddling a tiny dragon with a dozing cat at the end too, i’ve been trying to read his gormenghast for ages now.
October 20, 2024
I haven't come across this author before & what a find! An amazing atmosphere of errieness throughout, often collections are a mixed bag but I didn't think there was any filler here, each journey into this wierd collection is excellent unfortunately the destination often doesn't deliver the KO the quality of the stories deserved but as the old saying goes its the journey not the destination, throughly enjoyable even with this.
December 1, 2024
I'd never heard of Dorothy K Haynes until her book The Weird Tales of Dorothy K Haynes published by British Library of the Weird arrived by post through my letter box. How pleased am I that it did. What a great author she was. Her short stories are perfect for those who like weird and wonderful stories of witches and ghosts. She is certainly an author that I will rate highly. First class and 10/10.
July 7, 2025
another absolute treasure under the wing of the British Library weird tales collection.
Haynes told stories that could be told today, her keen perspectives as woman, scot, and a lover of human frailty combined to make her a fantastic story teller.
ghosts are a especially excellent medium for all Haynes had to say, and she said it well.
Haynes told stories that could be told today, her keen perspectives as woman, scot, and a lover of human frailty combined to make her a fantastic story teller.
ghosts are a especially excellent medium for all Haynes had to say, and she said it well.
Read
October 17, 2025- Thou shall not suffer a witch (Dorothy K. Haynes) - 3 estrellas. Me recordó algo a "Cuando yo era bruja" de Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Se maneja la ambigüedad porque lo vemos desde la perspectiva de la niña.
Leído para el reto "13 sustos lectores" del club "Clásico es leerte", consigna "cita bíblica" (octubre 2025)
Leído para el reto "13 sustos lectores" del club "Clásico es leerte", consigna "cita bíblica" (octubre 2025)
November 3, 2024
Beautifully written but rather repetitive in subject matter and themes
March 3, 2025
Cozy, yet unsettling tales, what a great collection!
April 30, 2025
‘Don’t Look in My Window’ is maybe the most unnerving short story I’ve ever read.
December 26, 2025
The orphanage story will haunt your dreams.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews