Abraham Merritt's Burn, Witch, Burn! -is like a detective novel masquerading as a dark fantasy novel. It’s a cross-genre experimentation from the late 20's, blending horror, fantasy, and crime drama.
An unfortunate neurologist named Dr. Lowell, finds himself confronted with a series of mysterious deaths. Each victim falls into a state of paralysis, before later convulsing and finally expiring, stiffening into an abrupt rigor mortis. Merritt weaves a mix of creeping dread, action and mystery of animated, demonic, murderous toy dolls and gangsters on the loose in NYC. Of all the evil "living doll" stories, this weird tale is definitely the most original and frightening and supports a great super villainess character in the shape- changing monstrous Madame Mandilip. It's an unforgettable performance reading by Oscar nominated Makeup FX Artist Edward E. French.
