The Witch's Tale
Encyclopedia
For the video game with a similar name, see A Witch's Tale
.
The Witch's Tale was a horror-fantasy radio series which aired from 1931 to 1938 on WOR and Mutual and in syndication. The program was created, written and directed by Alonzo Deen Cole, who was born February 22, 1897 in St. Paul, Minnesota and died April 7, 1971.
Cole's spooky show was hosted by Old Nancy, the Witch of Salem, who introduced a different terror tale each week. The role of Old Nancy was created by stage actress Adelaide Fitz-Allen, who died in 1935 at the age of 79. Cole replaced her with 13-year-old Miriam Wolfe
, and Martha Wentworth was also heard as Old Nancy on occasion. Cole himself provided the sounds of Old Nancy's cat, Satan. Cole's wife, Marie O'Flynn, portrayed the lead female characters on the program, and the supporting cast included Mark Smith and Alan Devitte.
For syndication, the shows were recorded live during broadcast and distributed to other stations. These recordings were destroyed by Cole in 1961, so few episodes survive. Cole was also the writer, producer and director of the radio mystery-crime drama, Casey, Crime Photographer
.
In November 1936, Alonzo Deen Cole edited The Witch's Tale magazine with the lead story by Cole. It ran for only two issues.
' publisher Bill Gaines was inspired by Cole's Old Nancy host to create the character the Old Witch, illustrated by Graham Ingels
as the host of EC's The Haunt of Fear
.
A Witch's Tale
A Witch's Tale, released in Japan as , is a video game for the Nintendo DS. It was published by Nippon Ichi Software and developed by Hit Maker.-Plot:...
.
The Witch's Tale was a horror-fantasy radio series which aired from 1931 to 1938 on WOR and Mutual and in syndication. The program was created, written and directed by Alonzo Deen Cole, who was born February 22, 1897 in St. Paul, Minnesota and died April 7, 1971.
Cole's spooky show was hosted by Old Nancy, the Witch of Salem, who introduced a different terror tale each week. The role of Old Nancy was created by stage actress Adelaide Fitz-Allen, who died in 1935 at the age of 79. Cole replaced her with 13-year-old Miriam Wolfe
Miriam Wolfe
Miriam Wolfe was an American actor, director, producer and writer, who worked in theatre, television and radio from the 1920s to the 1950s. She is mainly remembered for her character roles on radio's weekly Let's Pretend.She was born Miriam Wolff in Brooklyn, New York on 2 January 1922 to...
, and Martha Wentworth was also heard as Old Nancy on occasion. Cole himself provided the sounds of Old Nancy's cat, Satan. Cole's wife, Marie O'Flynn, portrayed the lead female characters on the program, and the supporting cast included Mark Smith and Alan Devitte.
For syndication, the shows were recorded live during broadcast and distributed to other stations. These recordings were destroyed by Cole in 1961, so few episodes survive. Cole was also the writer, producer and director of the radio mystery-crime drama, Casey, Crime Photographer
Casey, Crime Photographer
Casey, Crime Photographer was a media franchise, in the 1930s through the 1960s...
.
In November 1936, Alonzo Deen Cole edited The Witch's Tale magazine with the lead story by Cole. It ran for only two issues.
Television
An effort was made to bring the series to television. In 1958 Television Programs of America made plans to film a pilot with Cole as consultant and story supervisor. The associate story editor was Raymond Levy. However, the show never made it to TV.Influence
EC ComicsEC Comics
Entertaining Comics, more commonly known as EC Comics, was an American publisher of comic books specializing in horror fiction, crime fiction, satire, military fiction and science fiction from the 1940s through the mid-1950s, notably the Tales from the Crypt series...
' publisher Bill Gaines was inspired by Cole's Old Nancy host to create the character the Old Witch, illustrated by Graham Ingels
Graham Ingels
Graham Ingels was a comic book and magazine illustrator best known for his work in EC Comics during the 1950s, notably on The Haunt of Fear and Tales from the Crypt, horror titles written and edited by Al Feldstein, and The Vault of Horror, written and edited by Feldstein and Johnny Craig...
as the host of EC's The Haunt of Fear
The Haunt of Fear
The Haunt of Fear was a bi-monthly horror comic anthology series published by EC Comics in 1950. Along with Tales from the Crypt and The Vault of Horror, it formed a trifecta of popular EC horror anthologies. The Haunt of Fear was sold at newsstands beginning with its May/June 1950 issue...
.