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Witchcraft Short Stories: Folk Tales & Horror Stories
From the team that created Folk Horror Short Stories, here's a striking, terrifying, thoughtful and beautiful new book of short stories by award winning authors and new voices too.
An impressive new anthology of horror stories exploring what it means to be ‘witch’, including the rediscovery and reclaiming of that power, its links to nature, and witchcraft mythology from around the world. Award-winning anthologists Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane have commissioned and chosen an outstanding selection of tales, with contributions from authors including Ally Wilkes, Eliza Chan, Angela Slatter, Gabriella Buba and Lisa L. Hannett. Five brand new stories have also been selected from a popular open submissions call.
The full list of featured authors in this book Eugen Bacon, David Barnett, Melissa Bobe, Gabriella Buba, Mark Chadbourn, Eliza Chan, Aveline Fletcher, Helen Grant, Muriel Gray, Kay Hanifen, Lisa L. Hannett, Damien Kelly, Amanda Mason, Alison Moore, Buhlebethu Sukoluhle Mpofu, Angela Slatter and Ally Wilkes.
Flame Tree Beyond and Within short story collections bring together tales of myth and imagination by modern and contemporary writers, carefully selected by anthologists, and sometimes featuring short stories from a single author. Overall, the series presents a wide range of diverse and inclusive voices with myth, folkloric-inflected short fiction, and an emphasis on the supernatural, science fiction, the mysterious and the speculative. The books themselves are gorgeous, with foiled covers, printed edges and published only in hardcover editions, offering a lifetime of reading pleasure.
An impressive new anthology of horror stories exploring what it means to be ‘witch’, including the rediscovery and reclaiming of that power, its links to nature, and witchcraft mythology from around the world. Award-winning anthologists Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane have commissioned and chosen an outstanding selection of tales, with contributions from authors including Ally Wilkes, Eliza Chan, Angela Slatter, Gabriella Buba and Lisa L. Hannett. Five brand new stories have also been selected from a popular open submissions call.
The full list of featured authors in this book Eugen Bacon, David Barnett, Melissa Bobe, Gabriella Buba, Mark Chadbourn, Eliza Chan, Aveline Fletcher, Helen Grant, Muriel Gray, Kay Hanifen, Lisa L. Hannett, Damien Kelly, Amanda Mason, Alison Moore, Buhlebethu Sukoluhle Mpofu, Angela Slatter and Ally Wilkes.
Flame Tree Beyond and Within short story collections bring together tales of myth and imagination by modern and contemporary writers, carefully selected by anthologists, and sometimes featuring short stories from a single author. Overall, the series presents a wide range of diverse and inclusive voices with myth, folkloric-inflected short fiction, and an emphasis on the supernatural, science fiction, the mysterious and the speculative. The books themselves are gorgeous, with foiled covers, printed edges and published only in hardcover editions, offering a lifetime of reading pleasure.
416 pages, Hardcover
Published February 17, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 12, 2026
The Beyond & Within team have done it again. This collection is an anthology all about, yep you guessed it, witches! It holds seventeen stories all on the themes of witchcraft and witches, from well known authors and newer ones, blending together magic and witchery from around the world.
Since I was a kid I was fascinated/obsessed/scared witless with the idea of witches and it hasn’t waned over the years, so this book has been heaven (or should that be hell?) to me. It’s such a wonderfully enchanting mix of folklore, the supernatural and sorcery. I loved pretty much all of these stories (I think my favourite was by David Barnett but it was a close call) which is always a good sign.
It’s a beautiful small hardback, with a ribbon bookmark and stunning sprayed edges (see photo). Certainly a book you’ll want to prominently display and come back to year after year. The Beyond & Within series are all amazing, but I think this one might just have cast a special spell on me.
So if you fancy a trick or treat this Halloween, go for the latter and treat yourself to this. I promise you won’t regret it.
Since I was a kid I was fascinated/obsessed/scared witless with the idea of witches and it hasn’t waned over the years, so this book has been heaven (or should that be hell?) to me. It’s such a wonderfully enchanting mix of folklore, the supernatural and sorcery. I loved pretty much all of these stories (I think my favourite was by David Barnett but it was a close call) which is always a good sign.
It’s a beautiful small hardback, with a ribbon bookmark and stunning sprayed edges (see photo). Certainly a book you’ll want to prominently display and come back to year after year. The Beyond & Within series are all amazing, but I think this one might just have cast a special spell on me.
So if you fancy a trick or treat this Halloween, go for the latter and treat yourself to this. I promise you won’t regret it.
April 14, 2026
A really impressive set of takes exploring the concept of the witch with a mix of horror and fantasy that really works
Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...
Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...
May 1, 2026
Witchcraft, another in Flame Tree Publishing’s Beyond and Within series, edited by Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane, had a lot of living up to do with the previously published volumes in this long line of excellence. And while the stories were well written, I really felt that the editors could have done better with their selections. There were only six stories out of the seventeen included that I would call excellent and that I really enjoyed. There was so much that could have been done as far as unique approaches to witchcraft go, and for the most part, it just wasn’t there. I’d have liked to have seen some off-the-wall treatments of this subject, for example: how about a sci-fi story with witches in space, or as astronauts? How about a witch as a modern-day schoolteacher who is burned in the parking lot by her students, and the fallout from that? A witch as a librarian who gives you the books you need, not the ones you ask for…until a man plotting murder comes for a book? A witch who owns a toy store and sells odd dolls that do interesting things? A witch policeman? Can a computer be a witch? Why not? How about a witch who has writer’s block and what she does about it? A witch in the Air Force? And how about some male witches? Some child witches? A witch stuck inside an animal? There were so many interesting tangents that could have been explored, and weren’t, that it stuck me as a missed opportunity to do something really unique with this age-old subject.
At any rate, this is only my opinion.
Here’s what you get:
“Apotropaic” by Ally Wilkes—This is a ‘witch in the woods’ story. The witch has a reputation for evil, but it is undeserved. It is the people who come to see her who have evil intentions. This is the first of the six that I thought was excellent.
“Stranded” by Eliza Chan—A witch, an old house she’s restoring, and an entitled woman who realizes what a mistake she made demanding to be let in out of the rain.
“Murder Ballads by Moonlight” by Angela Slatter – A young witch helps four dead girls deal with their killer. The second of the six that I thought was excellent.
“The Smokeless Fire” by Mark Chadbourne—A witch on the battlefield in Afghanistan teaches an NGO medic to walk with the Djinn.
“Wedding Planner” by Muriel Gray—A couple has rented an old, deconsecrated church for their wedding. But this church comes with a tradition in that any wedding held in it must also be attended by a paid ‘Guardian.’ The couple decides not to honor this tradition and save on the fee. They learn, too late, that they would have been better off spending the money. This is the third of the six that I thought was excellent.
“What Bones Remember” by Buhlebethu Sukoluhle Mpofu. A young kitchen witch is possessed by a Yaga (a Death Witch or Bone Witch), and she learns that death is not an ending but a transition.
“Jackie’s Dust” by Alison Moore—An eccentric woman in town becomes the center of talk and rumor, and urban legends spring up around her.
“Oro, Plata, Mata” by Gabriella Buba—A Filipino girl with a witch background tries to keep a low profile, until one of the island’s noblemen calls on her for help. She married into a wealthy family with a set of very strange stairs and a family curse.
“The Witch of Withered Hill”—by David Barnett—A witch outwits the Owd Hob—the spirit of Withered Hill, who demands a yearly sacrifice for good crops and fat cattle. A cute twist at the end.
“Catharsis” by Aveline Fletcher—A journey into Greek Mythology, with a tale of Circe, her niece Medea, and a lesson about remaining true to yourself, no matter what men tell you or believe of you.
“Remembrance” by Helen Grant—A youngish witch who has visions of the future tries to help a friend and gets more than they both bargained for.
“A Woman Grown” by Lisa L. Hannett—A lonely witch wants company and attempts to create life in a most unorthodox way, revealing something about how the witch herself came to be. This is the fourth of the six that I thought was excellent.
“The Stone Boat” by Melissa Bobe—Lupe is a coder who created the Nairn—to study and tame rogue magic. The story brings us gamer manifestations into the physical world. It had a great beginning, but a weak ending.
“Kittycat” by Amanda Mason—It’s better to live in a town that holds a vestige from the past that you hate, rather than none at all, and cave to modernity.
“The Tallow Feast” by Damien Kelly—After her mother dies, Alma makes tallow from her fat to use to summon powerful beings in an offering of a ‘meal’ of it in exchange for power. The witch she summons learns not to underestimate Alma. This is the fifth of the six that I thought was excellent.
“Flame Water Turns” by Eugen Bacon—Domestic violence and the pursuit of motherhood by a witch and her familiar.
“The Weaver” by Kay Hanifen—Be careful who you call a witch—it can have consequences. This is the sixth of the six that I thought was excellent. As a matter of fact, this one was my favorite of the entire book.
So, there you have it. And let me reiterate—not one of these stories is bad or poorly written, most of them just aren’t as interesting as I thought they could have been.
3.5 stars out of 5.
At any rate, this is only my opinion.
Here’s what you get:
“Apotropaic” by Ally Wilkes—This is a ‘witch in the woods’ story. The witch has a reputation for evil, but it is undeserved. It is the people who come to see her who have evil intentions. This is the first of the six that I thought was excellent.
“Stranded” by Eliza Chan—A witch, an old house she’s restoring, and an entitled woman who realizes what a mistake she made demanding to be let in out of the rain.
“Murder Ballads by Moonlight” by Angela Slatter – A young witch helps four dead girls deal with their killer. The second of the six that I thought was excellent.
“The Smokeless Fire” by Mark Chadbourne—A witch on the battlefield in Afghanistan teaches an NGO medic to walk with the Djinn.
“Wedding Planner” by Muriel Gray—A couple has rented an old, deconsecrated church for their wedding. But this church comes with a tradition in that any wedding held in it must also be attended by a paid ‘Guardian.’ The couple decides not to honor this tradition and save on the fee. They learn, too late, that they would have been better off spending the money. This is the third of the six that I thought was excellent.
“What Bones Remember” by Buhlebethu Sukoluhle Mpofu. A young kitchen witch is possessed by a Yaga (a Death Witch or Bone Witch), and she learns that death is not an ending but a transition.
“Jackie’s Dust” by Alison Moore—An eccentric woman in town becomes the center of talk and rumor, and urban legends spring up around her.
“Oro, Plata, Mata” by Gabriella Buba—A Filipino girl with a witch background tries to keep a low profile, until one of the island’s noblemen calls on her for help. She married into a wealthy family with a set of very strange stairs and a family curse.
“The Witch of Withered Hill”—by David Barnett—A witch outwits the Owd Hob—the spirit of Withered Hill, who demands a yearly sacrifice for good crops and fat cattle. A cute twist at the end.
“Catharsis” by Aveline Fletcher—A journey into Greek Mythology, with a tale of Circe, her niece Medea, and a lesson about remaining true to yourself, no matter what men tell you or believe of you.
“Remembrance” by Helen Grant—A youngish witch who has visions of the future tries to help a friend and gets more than they both bargained for.
“A Woman Grown” by Lisa L. Hannett—A lonely witch wants company and attempts to create life in a most unorthodox way, revealing something about how the witch herself came to be. This is the fourth of the six that I thought was excellent.
“The Stone Boat” by Melissa Bobe—Lupe is a coder who created the Nairn—to study and tame rogue magic. The story brings us gamer manifestations into the physical world. It had a great beginning, but a weak ending.
“Kittycat” by Amanda Mason—It’s better to live in a town that holds a vestige from the past that you hate, rather than none at all, and cave to modernity.
“The Tallow Feast” by Damien Kelly—After her mother dies, Alma makes tallow from her fat to use to summon powerful beings in an offering of a ‘meal’ of it in exchange for power. The witch she summons learns not to underestimate Alma. This is the fifth of the six that I thought was excellent.
“Flame Water Turns” by Eugen Bacon—Domestic violence and the pursuit of motherhood by a witch and her familiar.
“The Weaver” by Kay Hanifen—Be careful who you call a witch—it can have consequences. This is the sixth of the six that I thought was excellent. As a matter of fact, this one was my favorite of the entire book.
So, there you have it. And let me reiterate—not one of these stories is bad or poorly written, most of them just aren’t as interesting as I thought they could have been.
3.5 stars out of 5.
October 2, 2026
‘’And there’s still a witch that lives on the outskirts of town.
There’s always a witch.’’
A witch is trying to warn a girl that the man she loves will make her miserable. But the girl refuses to listen.
Most men make you miserable, make no mistake. It’s a law of nature.
A woman finds herself stranded in a guesthouse owned by a strange lady who decides to show her the results of every wrong choice she made when she was a teenager. In a beautiful story, the secrets of Middle Eastern magic expose the tyranny of the Taliban regime and the terror that ‘civilised’ men inflict on women. The majority of women and, yes, you men, should finally deal with IT! Because we have had enough of your BS. In a story set in Scotland, a wedding ceremony in a mysterious church is plagued by a shadowy presence and the lies of the awful groom. The shadow of a witch who recently died falls heavy in a community in a suffocating summer. A feisty witch narrates the story of Withered Hill and the way men have always projected their lust and vanity onto the traditions and spirits of a landscape, contaminating everything.
I suppose us ‘fallen’ women aren’t missed by your pious societies, hypocrites…Oh Lord, yes…Some of you are the epitome of Jesus’ teachings…Keep telling yourselves how pious and humble and kind-hearted you are. Perhaps someone, somewhere will believe you…
A young witch wants to follow in her ancestor’s footsteps because all she really wants is company and comfort. In another bitter tale, domestic violence and feisty familiars meet African folklore.
In these stories, I could smell the damp soil and feel the wind from the forests and the moors. There are tales that eloquently express the madness that takes over us when we ‘think’ we are in love; there are references to female figures from World Folklore that have been reduced to archetypes by starved men. In all of the stories, the message is clear. Society has always feared the ones it named as ‘witches’ because these were women who decided to spit on man-made rules that have nothing to do with Christianity but were merely attempts to control female sexuality. The number one enemy of every man’s existence.
And yet, women are the ones men can’t stop thinking about. And this is exactly why they have always wanted free-spirited women dead. Yes, dead. Because the only women for the majority of men are the docile, the humble, the obedient.
The brooding mares who are kind and generous. Who accept the marriage yoke and the 100+ children because this is ‘your role’. To become a wife and a mother. What more do we want?
I’d take a death at the stake ANY day. Thank you very much!
Brilliant collection! It maximised my hatred towards hypocrites by the dozens!
‘’First they came for the witches, and you did nothing, because you weren’t a witch. Then they came for the fallen women, and you did nothing, because you weren’t a fallen woman. You get my drift. But I couldn’t do nothing, so I did something.
And this is how I died.’’
There’s always a witch.’’
A witch is trying to warn a girl that the man she loves will make her miserable. But the girl refuses to listen.
Most men make you miserable, make no mistake. It’s a law of nature.
A woman finds herself stranded in a guesthouse owned by a strange lady who decides to show her the results of every wrong choice she made when she was a teenager. In a beautiful story, the secrets of Middle Eastern magic expose the tyranny of the Taliban regime and the terror that ‘civilised’ men inflict on women. The majority of women and, yes, you men, should finally deal with IT! Because we have had enough of your BS. In a story set in Scotland, a wedding ceremony in a mysterious church is plagued by a shadowy presence and the lies of the awful groom. The shadow of a witch who recently died falls heavy in a community in a suffocating summer. A feisty witch narrates the story of Withered Hill and the way men have always projected their lust and vanity onto the traditions and spirits of a landscape, contaminating everything.
I suppose us ‘fallen’ women aren’t missed by your pious societies, hypocrites…Oh Lord, yes…Some of you are the epitome of Jesus’ teachings…Keep telling yourselves how pious and humble and kind-hearted you are. Perhaps someone, somewhere will believe you…
A young witch wants to follow in her ancestor’s footsteps because all she really wants is company and comfort. In another bitter tale, domestic violence and feisty familiars meet African folklore.
In these stories, I could smell the damp soil and feel the wind from the forests and the moors. There are tales that eloquently express the madness that takes over us when we ‘think’ we are in love; there are references to female figures from World Folklore that have been reduced to archetypes by starved men. In all of the stories, the message is clear. Society has always feared the ones it named as ‘witches’ because these were women who decided to spit on man-made rules that have nothing to do with Christianity but were merely attempts to control female sexuality. The number one enemy of every man’s existence.
And yet, women are the ones men can’t stop thinking about. And this is exactly why they have always wanted free-spirited women dead. Yes, dead. Because the only women for the majority of men are the docile, the humble, the obedient.
The brooding mares who are kind and generous. Who accept the marriage yoke and the 100+ children because this is ‘your role’. To become a wife and a mother. What more do we want?
I’d take a death at the stake ANY day. Thank you very much!
Brilliant collection! It maximised my hatred towards hypocrites by the dozens!
‘’First they came for the witches, and you did nothing, because you weren’t a witch. Then they came for the fallen women, and you did nothing, because you weren’t a fallen woman. You get my drift. But I couldn’t do nothing, so I did something.
And this is how I died.’’
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
The first thing you notice about this book is that it is beautiful. A gorgeous old-style hardback, it reminds me of the coloured Andrew Lang Fairy Books from my childhood, glistening slightly as it encourages you to crack open the cover and see what delights lie within.
The second thing I noticed was the lineup. From favourite authors of mine such as Ally Wilkes and Mark Chadbourn to a host of brand new names, the editors have done an amazing job in compiling some of the best 'weird' writers working right now. Those who understand what magic means in the 21st century.
Because this is an anthology about witches and fairytales, yes, but it's also deeply modern. I think most readers will find a story that resonates with them in particular as the book crosses so many continents and settings, from the traditional Scary Woodlands of Europe to the historic Philippines and back to modern America. It was easy to visualise the woods of my own childhood, familiar path fading away into the trees as I realized how little it takes to become lost; an apt metaphor for this book!
I love anthologies that take an idea you believe has been done to death, only for multiple authors to breath new life into it, showing why the fairytales have always been so relevant. Stories advising us to Fear the Witch are as old as humanity, and this book reminds us why that is. Whether we relate to the witch for the way she acts or if she truly is a supernatural threat, this is about the Other, the Dark, the creeping dread of the unknown that trickles through our hearts when we realize that civilization is a fragile eggshell that can't always be relied upon to protect us.
My favourite tales here are at once similar and yet different, showing the difficulties and power of being a woman. 'Apotropaic' by Ally Wilkes speaks of the circular nature of humanity and storytelling both, as the same problems rise again and again, with each generation forgetting the lessons of the one before. 'What Bones Remember' by Buhlebethu Sukoluhle Mpofu transcends boundaries as it ties the witch to crucial roles within life and death. Both show that sometimes you have to take the monster's place as the very thing you once feared in order carry on some very necessary (if unspoken) roles in your society, no matter where or when you may be.
After all, most genre readers know that the wickedest of all creatures is humanity. This book isn't about whether you're a Good Witch or a Bad Witch - more that you understand Why the Witch is still here and needed.
Originally published on The Fantasy Hive, with grateful thanks to the publishers for the ARC.
The second thing I noticed was the lineup. From favourite authors of mine such as Ally Wilkes and Mark Chadbourn to a host of brand new names, the editors have done an amazing job in compiling some of the best 'weird' writers working right now. Those who understand what magic means in the 21st century.
Because this is an anthology about witches and fairytales, yes, but it's also deeply modern. I think most readers will find a story that resonates with them in particular as the book crosses so many continents and settings, from the traditional Scary Woodlands of Europe to the historic Philippines and back to modern America. It was easy to visualise the woods of my own childhood, familiar path fading away into the trees as I realized how little it takes to become lost; an apt metaphor for this book!
I love anthologies that take an idea you believe has been done to death, only for multiple authors to breath new life into it, showing why the fairytales have always been so relevant. Stories advising us to Fear the Witch are as old as humanity, and this book reminds us why that is. Whether we relate to the witch for the way she acts or if she truly is a supernatural threat, this is about the Other, the Dark, the creeping dread of the unknown that trickles through our hearts when we realize that civilization is a fragile eggshell that can't always be relied upon to protect us.
My favourite tales here are at once similar and yet different, showing the difficulties and power of being a woman. 'Apotropaic' by Ally Wilkes speaks of the circular nature of humanity and storytelling both, as the same problems rise again and again, with each generation forgetting the lessons of the one before. 'What Bones Remember' by Buhlebethu Sukoluhle Mpofu transcends boundaries as it ties the witch to crucial roles within life and death. Both show that sometimes you have to take the monster's place as the very thing you once feared in order carry on some very necessary (if unspoken) roles in your society, no matter where or when you may be.
After all, most genre readers know that the wickedest of all creatures is humanity. This book isn't about whether you're a Good Witch or a Bad Witch - more that you understand Why the Witch is still here and needed.
Originally published on The Fantasy Hive, with grateful thanks to the publishers for the ARC.
March 1, 2026
Entertaining collection of short stories about different witches in different time periods.
"thou could go fuck thyself"
"thou could go fuck thyself"
April 7, 2026
This is an amazing anthology! Hope they do another!
March 25, 2026
A good collection of spooky tales!
I was lucky enough to win a copy of this book, and I cannot get over how gorgeous it is. It's the perfect design for spooky seasonal tales, each of which draw on the character of the witch in different and often surprising ways.
As is often the case for anthologies, there were some stories that resonated with me more than others. That is always a challenge of the format, but there was enough variety to the content here that there's a bit of something for everyone.
I look forward to reading more Flame Tree Press collections.
Books with similar vibes - The Haunting Season: Ghostly Tales for Frosty Nights, The Inheritance by Robin Hobb, Vile Villains by Danai Christopolou, and The Styx by Elena Zaretsky.
I was lucky enough to win a copy of this book, and I cannot get over how gorgeous it is. It's the perfect design for spooky seasonal tales, each of which draw on the character of the witch in different and often surprising ways.
As is often the case for anthologies, there were some stories that resonated with me more than others. That is always a challenge of the format, but there was enough variety to the content here that there's a bit of something for everyone.
I look forward to reading more Flame Tree Press collections.
Books with similar vibes - The Haunting Season: Ghostly Tales for Frosty Nights, The Inheritance by Robin Hobb, Vile Villains by Danai Christopolou, and The Styx by Elena Zaretsky.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews