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Alfred Hitchcock's Witches' Brew (book)

"Witches' Brew" has been used as the title for at least two different short story collections.

US Dell paperback

Alfred Hitchcock's Witches' Brew

  • published in April 1965 in the USA by Dell Publishing (paperback)
  • 192 pages

Contents

  1. To Whet Your Appetite... by Alfred Hitchcock (ghost written)
  2. The Wishing-Well by E.F. Benson
  3. That Hell-Bound Train by Robert Bloch
  4. As Gay As Cheese by Joan Aiken
  5. Madame Mim by T.H. White
  6. Blood Money by M. Timothy O'Keefe
  7. His Coat So Gay by Sterling E. Lanier (a Brigadier Ffellowes novelette)
  8. They'll Never Find You Now by Doreen Dugdale
  9. The Widow Flynn's Apple Tree by Lord Dunsany
  10. In the Cards by John Collier
  11. Strangers in Town by Shirley Jackson
  12. The Proof by John Moore
US Dell paperback

Alfred Hitchcock's Witches' Brew

  • published in April 1975 in the USA by Dell Publishing (paperback)
  • 192 pages
  • Contains a different collection of stories to the previous 1965 paperback

Taglines

  • A grisly gourmet's cauldron of criminal delights

Contents

  1. Introduction by Alfred Hitchcock (ghost written)
  2. Premonition by Charles Mergendahl
  3. A Shot from the Dark Night by Avram Davidson
  4. I Had a Hunch, and... by Talmage Powell
  5. A Killing in the Market by Robert Bloch
  6. Gone as by Magic by Richard Hardwick
  7. The Big Bajoor by Borden Deal
  8. The Gentle Miss Bluebeard by Nedra Tyre
  9. The Guy that Laughs Last by Philip Tremont
  10. Diet and Die by Wenzell Brown
  11. Just for Kicks by Richard Marsten
  12. Please Forgive Me by Henry Kane
  13. A Crime Worthy of Me by Hal Dresner
  14. When Buying a Fine Murder by Jack Ritchie

Inner Page

Alfred Hitchcock's SPECIALTIES OF THE HOUSE

A deliciously greedy killer who ironically blows his cool for a taste of some hot bread.

A tantalizing thrill-seeker who gets no kicks from champagne, women or money and tries to get a bang out of life with murder.

An epicurean lover who likes his meat lean and trimmed and his women just the opposite, so much so that he plans to have his wife die instead of diet.

Plus a choice of ten other superbly chilling masterworks of prime crime—and terror!

Introduction

It is not often that I find myself with a sinister problem of major proportions.

I have a secretary who works for me on such projects as this volume, and she is an absolute terror. She is efficient, horribly efficient, and I find the situation most unnerving.

For the benefit of the uninitiated, a secretary is a bipedal, female mammal. In general, such a mammal is given to high heels, severely tailored business suits, and long hair—and this combines to form a regal manner. My secretary, unhappily, is given to flat heels, middy blouses, and short hair (I believe the coiffure is termed a "pixie"—heaven alone knows why!). Her bearing is decidedly unregal.

Now, there is nothing wrong with a secretary—either of the long-haired or short-haired variety—if she realizes that she is to provide an ordered existence for one's business life, but one must take offense when she begins to order one's existence.

I am known as a man of moderation, an admirer of womanhood, and a gentleman in the oldest and truest sense of the word—but even I must bridle at the sheer single-mindedness of being told not only what to do, but when to do each smallest thing.

I bridle.

I object.

I, ultimately, must revolt.

Let me cite as example the volume that you now hold in your hand. I enjoy such books. I do not mind the reading of several hundreds of thousands of words of stories; in fact, it is the most pleasant aspect of the undertaking.

However, my publishers insist that each volume contain an introduction by me, and such pieces, albeit short, take much labor and consume many hours of the most concentrated effort. Naturally, I must have absolute quiet for such work, and I must allow nothing to interfere with my thought processes during the time I am composing.

Because of the press of other matters, the introduction for this present book was very, very late; and my publishers in New York were howling for the manuscript.

I had planned to write it during a forthcoming weekend, which was free of commitments. I had thought to closet myself in my library on Saturday and then not emerge until the work was done.

Imagine my horror when, on Friday afternoon, my secretary informed me that she had made arrangements for me to appear on a television program in New York City over the weekend! She handed me my ticket, wished me a good trip, and left for a jolly time in Malibu.

It was impossible to work on the airplane, and my time in New York was so taken up with interviews that I had no extended period in which I was alone and could collect my thoughts. My publishers called several times, but I thought it wiser to defer talking with them until I had a manuscript to present.

At last, the terrible weekend was done with, and on the flight home to California I resolved that I would go to my office early the next morning and devote myself to my composition. Unhappily, I was so tired that I overslept and did not arrive at the office until almost noon.

I tried to make clear to my secretary that I had to cancel all appointments for the day in order to clear up this obligation. She smiled sweetly, and I thought she at last understood—and then she informed me that she had approved a schedule for me to film two openings for my television program. By the time this work was completed, Monday was finished. With sinking heart, I returned to my office. My secretary had left for home, and I checked the day's mail and phone messages. There were two calls listed from my publishers.

The next morning, during the drive to my office, the car had two flat tires. The car was equipped with only one spare, which shows a certain short-sightedness on someone's part, I must say. I again arrived late, but vowed that nothing would prevent me from preparing the manuscript for immediate post to New York. I did not reckon with my secretary, for she had arranged script meetings for the entire day. I endeavored to change the appointments to the following day, but was told that one director was leaving that night to begin work on a Biblical drama in Europe, and that another was leaving to film a jungle epic in Africa. The day was again lost in frustration, and again there were two phone calls from my publishers—and a telegram: TIME SHORT BOOK ON PRESS PULLING OUT HAIR WHERE INTRODUCTION?

It is now Wednesday morning, and I find myself once more being thwarted by this fearsome woman—and I must revolt. I found a note on my engagement calendar for a ten-thirty appointment with a gentleman whom I do not know, to discuss I know not what. I therefore must take decisive action.

Fortunately, I am reminded of an interview once given by Robert Bloch, the able young man who wrote Psycho, a film which I trust you may have seen. Mr. Bloch also writes excellent short stories of terror and fantasy—one of which appears in this book, by the way—and when asked if he felt the type of story he wrote had any effect on him personally, he said "Oh, no, I have the heart of a small boy. ... I keep it in a jar on my desk."

I believe I shall send my secretary out to look for a jar for me.

I do not know if she shall be successful in her quest, but enough for now of my little problems. I have a call in to my publishers to explain the situation to them, and before that call comes through, let me close, as always, by wishing you a shudderingly good time.

Alfred Hitchcock

Back Cover

BUBBLE, BUBBLE, BLOOD AND TROUBLE

For those of you who crave the spine-tingling taste of terror, Alfred Hitchcock, that macabre master of sorcerous suspense, has cooked up a petrifying potpourri of diabolic mystery and murder. It's a hearty, heart-stopping brew, fiendishly seasoned with heinous homicides guaranteed to chill the marrow of even the most cold-blooded gourmands...

Notes

US hardback

Alfred Hitchcock's Witch's Brew

Contents

  1. The Wishing-Well by E.F. Benson
  2. That Hell-Bound Train by Robert Bloch
  3. As Gay As Cheese by Joan Aiken
  4. Madame Mim by T.H. White
  5. Blood Money by M. Timothy O'Keefe
  6. His Coat So Gay by Sterling E. Lanier (a Brigadier Ffellowes novelette)
  7. They'll Never Find You Now by Doreen Dugdale
  8. The Widow Flynn's Apple Tree by Lord Dunsany
  9. In the Cards by John Collier
  10. Strangers in Town by Shirley Jackson
  11. The Proof by John Moore
UK hardback

Alfred Hitchcock's Witch's Brew

Contents

UK Puffin paperback

Alfred Hitchcock's Witch's Brew

Back Cover

Witches, sorceresses and a modern vampire feature in Alfred Hitchcock's cauldron of horrors. This heart-thumping collection of stories, put together by the man who — till his death in 1980 — was regarded as the master of terror, is guaranteed to give you the jitters!

Contents

  1. To Whet Your Appetite... by Alfred Hitchcock (ghost written)
  2. The Wishing-Well by E.F. Benson
  3. That Hell-Bound Train by Robert Bloch
  4. As Gay As Cheese by Joan Aiken
  5. Madame Mim by T.H. White
  6. Blood Money by M. Timothy O'Keefe
  7. His Coat So Gay by Sterling E. Lanier (a Brigadier Ffellowes novelette)
  8. They'll Never Find You Now by Doreen Dugdale
  9. The Widow Flynn's Apple Tree by Lord Dunsany
  10. In the Cards by John Collier
  11. Strangers in Town by Shirley Jackson
  12. The Proof by John Moore

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