What do you think?
Rate this book
Witch War
Witch War is a short story written by Richard Matheson. It was first published in 1951. Young witches are being used as secret weapons in a war.
Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1951
About the author
Richard Matheson
742 books4,887 followersBorn in Allendale, New Jersey to Norwegian immigrant parents, Matheson was raised in Brooklyn and graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School in 1943. He then entered the military and spent World War II as an infantry soldier. In 1949 he earned his bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and moved to California in 1951. He married in 1952 and has four children, three of whom (Chris, Richard Christian, and Ali Matheson) are writers of fiction and screenplays.
His first short story, "Born of Man and Woman," appeared in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1950. The tale of a monstrous child chained in its parents' cellar, it was told in the first person as the creature's diary (in poignantly non-idiomatic English) and immediately made Matheson famous. Between 1950 and 1971, Matheson produced dozens of stories, frequently blending elements of the science fiction, horror and fantasy genres.
Several of his stories, like "Third from the Sun" (1950), "Deadline" (1959) and "Button, Button" (1970) are simple sketches with twist endings; others, like "Trespass" (1953), "Being" (1954) and "Mute" (1962) explore their characters' dilemmas over twenty or thirty pages. Some tales, such as "The Funeral" (1955) and "The Doll that Does Everything" (1954) incorporate zany satirical humour at the expense of genre clichés, and are written in an hysterically overblown prose very different from Matheson's usual pared-down style. Others, like "The Test" (1954) and "Steel" (1956), portray the moral and physical struggles of ordinary people, rather than the then nearly ubiquitous scientists and superheroes, in situations which are at once futuristic and everyday. Still others, such as "Mad House" (1953), "The Curious Child" (1954) and perhaps most famously, "Duel" (1971) are tales of paranoia, in which the everyday environment of the present day becomes inexplicably alien or threatening.
He wrote a number of episodes for the American TV series The Twilight Zone, including "Steel," mentioned above and the famous "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet"; adapted the works of Edgar Allan Poe for Roger Corman and Dennis Wheatley's The Devil Rides Out for Hammer Films; and scripted Steven Spielberg's first feature, the TV movie Duel, from his own short story. He also contributed a number of scripts to the Warner Brothers western series "The Lawman" between 1958 and 1962. In 1973, Matheson earned an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for his teleplay for The Night Stalker, one of two TV movies written by Matheson that preceded the series Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Matheson also wrote the screenplay for Fanatic (US title: Die! Die! My Darling!) starring Talullah Bankhead and Stefanie Powers.
Novels include The Shrinking Man (filmed as The Incredible Shrinking Man, again from Matheson's own screenplay), and a science fiction vampire novel, I Am Legend, which has been filmed three times under the titles The Omega Man and The Last Man on Earth and once under the original title. Other Matheson novels turned into notable films include What Dreams May Come, Stir of Echoes, Bid Time Return (as Somewhere in Time), and Hell House (as The Legend of Hell House) and the aforementioned Duel, the last three adapted and scripted by Matheson himself. Three of his short stories were filmed together as Trilogy of Terror, including "Prey" with its famous Zuni warrior doll.
In 1960, Matheson published The Beardless Warriors, a nonfantastic, autobiographical novel about teenage American soldiers in World War II.
He died at his home on June 23, 2013, at the age of 87
http://us.macmillan.com/author/richar...
His first short story, "Born of Man and Woman," appeared in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1950. The tale of a monstrous child chained in its parents' cellar, it was told in the first person as the creature's diary (in poignantly non-idiomatic English) and immediately made Matheson famous. Between 1950 and 1971, Matheson produced dozens of stories, frequently blending elements of the science fiction, horror and fantasy genres.
Several of his stories, like "Third from the Sun" (1950), "Deadline" (1959) and "Button, Button" (1970) are simple sketches with twist endings; others, like "Trespass" (1953), "Being" (1954) and "Mute" (1962) explore their characters' dilemmas over twenty or thirty pages. Some tales, such as "The Funeral" (1955) and "The Doll that Does Everything" (1954) incorporate zany satirical humour at the expense of genre clichés, and are written in an hysterically overblown prose very different from Matheson's usual pared-down style. Others, like "The Test" (1954) and "Steel" (1956), portray the moral and physical struggles of ordinary people, rather than the then nearly ubiquitous scientists and superheroes, in situations which are at once futuristic and everyday. Still others, such as "Mad House" (1953), "The Curious Child" (1954) and perhaps most famously, "Duel" (1971) are tales of paranoia, in which the everyday environment of the present day becomes inexplicably alien or threatening.
He wrote a number of episodes for the American TV series The Twilight Zone, including "Steel," mentioned above and the famous "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet"; adapted the works of Edgar Allan Poe for Roger Corman and Dennis Wheatley's The Devil Rides Out for Hammer Films; and scripted Steven Spielberg's first feature, the TV movie Duel, from his own short story. He also contributed a number of scripts to the Warner Brothers western series "The Lawman" between 1958 and 1962. In 1973, Matheson earned an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for his teleplay for The Night Stalker, one of two TV movies written by Matheson that preceded the series Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Matheson also wrote the screenplay for Fanatic (US title: Die! Die! My Darling!) starring Talullah Bankhead and Stefanie Powers.
Novels include The Shrinking Man (filmed as The Incredible Shrinking Man, again from Matheson's own screenplay), and a science fiction vampire novel, I Am Legend, which has been filmed three times under the titles The Omega Man and The Last Man on Earth and once under the original title. Other Matheson novels turned into notable films include What Dreams May Come, Stir of Echoes, Bid Time Return (as Somewhere in Time), and Hell House (as The Legend of Hell House) and the aforementioned Duel, the last three adapted and scripted by Matheson himself. Three of his short stories were filmed together as Trilogy of Terror, including "Prey" with its famous Zuni warrior doll.
In 1960, Matheson published The Beardless Warriors, a nonfantastic, autobiographical novel about teenage American soldiers in World War II.
He died at his home on June 23, 2013, at the age of 87
http://us.macmillan.com/author/richar...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
August 15, 2020
"Siete chicas bonitas sentadas en fila. Fuera, la noche, la lluvia a cántaros; tiempo de guerra. Dentro, calidez confortable. Siete chicas abrigadas cantando(...)Siete gestos, siete posturas, siete risas tintineando bajo los truenos. Dientes asomando en carcajadas de chica..."
Un relato de guerra, de poderes inusuales usados como arma en favor de los que están "al mando".
Un relato de violencia e inocencia .
Un relato simple y contundente, pero que solo mentes prodigiosas como la de Matheson podrían lograr.
Un relato de guerra, de poderes inusuales usados como arma en favor de los que están "al mando".
Un relato de violencia e inocencia .
Un relato simple y contundente, pero que solo mentes prodigiosas como la de Matheson podrían lograr.
January 3, 2023
Audiobook.
Very short story. Compactly written. What an imagination!
Very short story. Compactly written. What an imagination!
November 6, 2022
Writing style wasn't his best.
March 9, 2021
Repetitive with annoying characters.
September 22, 2019
Witch War is a horror short story written by Richard Matheson in 1951.
Witch War is about 7 teenage girls with psychic abilities who work for the government as secret weapons of war. They are tasked with taking out an encroaching army with their powers and they do so in a brutal show of power. The story is pretty descriptive about the destruction that they wreak as well, with multiple people being burned alive, and some who are crushed under boulders, and others simply tossed around like rag dolls only to die in an explosion. Lots of explosions and death in this story, and it’s pretty disturbing how nonchalant and giggly the girls are after the destruction of an entire army.
The audiobook for this story clocked in at around 13 minutes in length, but I found it entertaining enough to write a small review for it.
Overall, for such a short story, it’s surprisingly descriptive about the brutality these girls wrought. That said, I’m a pretty big fan of dark stories, and this was right up my alley. I give the story a 3.8 out of 5 stars. Entertaining, but only if you’re into this sort of thing.
Witch War is about 7 teenage girls with psychic abilities who work for the government as secret weapons of war. They are tasked with taking out an encroaching army with their powers and they do so in a brutal show of power. The story is pretty descriptive about the destruction that they wreak as well, with multiple people being burned alive, and some who are crushed under boulders, and others simply tossed around like rag dolls only to die in an explosion. Lots of explosions and death in this story, and it’s pretty disturbing how nonchalant and giggly the girls are after the destruction of an entire army.
The audiobook for this story clocked in at around 13 minutes in length, but I found it entertaining enough to write a small review for it.
Overall, for such a short story, it’s surprisingly descriptive about the brutality these girls wrought. That said, I’m a pretty big fan of dark stories, and this was right up my alley. I give the story a 3.8 out of 5 stars. Entertaining, but only if you’re into this sort of thing.
July 1, 2018
"Seven pretty little girls sitting in a row."
A group of young teenagers are sitting around in a building one evening, you can imagine. They gossip, talk smack, fix their make up. And at the request of an unnamed military man, they use their psychic powers to annihilate an approaching army. With ease. And giggles. For the sheer nature of these girls' nonchalant attitude towards death and destruction, I was creeped out.
A group of young teenagers are sitting around in a building one evening, you can imagine. They gossip, talk smack, fix their make up. And at the request of an unnamed military man, they use their psychic powers to annihilate an approaching army. With ease. And giggles. For the sheer nature of these girls' nonchalant attitude towards death and destruction, I was creeped out.
June 17, 2022
This is an excellent short story about soldiers in battle. The first look at warriors are a group of young women in a camp environment. The men who were fighting come back to the bass where the young women are located. The the girls gather and make war. They cause magical beasts to kill the opposing forces, and they even make poisonous snakes rain down from the sky over the enemy on the field. They magically fight the enemy with forces that seem unconquerable..
January 9, 2025
This story is so very well told! The author played with the sentence structure and cadence to make it feel like war and did an amazing job. The difference between the short, clipped phrases and the littering of the little girls way of speaking drew quite the scene. It has a premise I had never heard before. This story is for adults.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 6, 2025
My first story from Richard Matheson, just reading it to see if I will like it before committing to I am Legend. I like the writing style, atmosphere and concept seems original with interesting subtext. Entertaining enough to read more by the author but better as part of a collection of stories not on its own.
February 23, 2018
I didn’t like this story as much as some of the authors’s other books. This one lacked the creepiness factor of books like I Am Legend.
In this story young witches are used as weapons in modern warfare. Cleary the imaginings of young girls can be deadlier than modern weapons.
In this story young witches are used as weapons in modern warfare. Cleary the imaginings of young girls can be deadlier than modern weapons.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 11, 2020
As a witch, this is a real fear.
July 22, 2021
Very detailed descriptions. Repetition felt overused at points in the story. All the same it kept my interest for a short story.
September 8, 2021
3.5 out of 5
May 21, 2022
Paints a chilling portrait of cold, tired and dull-minded soldiers marching along a dark and muddy road toward an unknown battle.
Read
December 18, 2023Honestly I couldn’t really get this one to click in my head, meaning I couldn’t really picture it in my mind. Probably the lack of characters/dialogue was the cause
August 3, 2025
Einfach, aber nicht ohne Reiz.
September 12, 2025
A fun premise, though the gender conventions of how Matheson writes about the girls in question feel incredibly dated.
November 13, 2025
I didn't feel my sanity bending like I often do with his other stories. But it did have the creepy coexistence of innocence and evil that also seems to be a common theme.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews