The Witch's Tale

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Monsterwax
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Location: Tallahassee, FL
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The Witch's Tale

Postby Monsterwax » Thu Jul 30, 2009 12:36 pm

The Witch's Tale
by Alonzo Deen Cole (w/ introduction and editing by David S. Siegel)
Dunwhich Press, 1998
Yorktown Heights, NY 10598

This is a WONDERFUL book for fans of OTR Horror. I never realized how great a writer Alonzo Deen Cole was until I read his scripts-- and there are 13 of them reprinted here in this soft cover book. They are not dated at all, unlike the radio broadcasts, which are somewhat stilted by the 1930s theatrical style acting, and overall lack of music or detailed sound effects. Don't get me wrong, those short comings actually add some charm to the radio series, and I really wish they were all saved instead of so many having been lost, but what I'm saying is that the writing really conveys the horror to this day, even though it is in script form.

My only regret is that the introduction by David Siegel wasn't longer. I craved more information about Cole and the series, though David did a great job telling his tale. I just didn't want it to end. Cole kept all the transcriptions, and then threw them away when in moved in the 1970s, when he judged no body cared any more. What a loss! At least the bound scripts were kept though, thank God, I only wish they would publish them all! Cole's a delightful writer, and it's amazing how well these ancient stories hold up. Siegel deserves real credit for spear heading this project.

The sad part is that today, so few appreciate Cole's genius, both in making and writing his show, the first regular radio horror program. The fact that the vast majority of the shows were destroyed and all but these 13 scripts remain unpublished is a terrible heartbreak and loss for OTR.

If you enjoy OTR horror shows, GET THIS BOOK. You can probably find a copy on add-all used books (not a store, but a search engine of used books). (http://used.addall.com) I found my used copy there for $10 to $20 bucks. That's under a penny a page and a delight at twice the price-- or more!

250 pages, a handful of photos.

Monsterwax
Posts: 44
Joined: Fri Jul 24, 2009 10:31 pm
Location: Tallahassee, FL
Contact:

Re: The Witch's Tale

Postby Monsterwax » Tue Sep 22, 2009 10:59 pm

I wrote David (the author) a letter and he was kind enough to call me in response. A delightful fellow and a pleasure to speak with. He was very generous with his knowledge and still quite enthusiastic about the series. I wish he wrote more books, but it's a niche audience still and in order to make it profitable, more would have had to have sold. Then again, how fair is it to judge the audience on books of this sort when they are rarely advertised nor did they get any real publicity upon release? This is a problem with all these books on old time radio-- I never, ever heard about them on the radio, tv, or newspapers. I had to seek them out, and that's always a tough way to successfully market a product.

johntoh
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Nov 17, 2009 4:49 pm

Re: The Witch's Tale

Postby johntoh » Wed Nov 18, 2009 3:36 pm

I have a copy of this and I want to say that it is worth every penny. Not only is the introduction informative (you can learn a lot about this series), the scripts are a great read. The book is attractive and well bound for easy reading....


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