Valancourt Books discussion

The Witch of Ravensworth (1808) by George Brewer was our best selling title for years and continues to be one of our best selling Gothic titles.

When we first began operation at Valancourt Books, we set out to make ultra rare Gothic texts available again to general readers and academics alike. Many of these titles were so scarce they were only known to survive in one or two copies worldwide, often held in special collections.

Most readers know the Gothic genre by the more lengthy and serious works that have survived over the ages, such as Ann Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho, Charles Maturin's Melmoth the Wanderer and of course, The Monk by M.G. Lewis.

There were, however, plenty of shorter 'high Gothic' terror tales out there that unfortunately the world forgot. The best example of these tales is the darkly humorous The Witch of Ravensworth, which will easily appeal to all fans of horror.



How good is The Witch of Ravensworth? It currently holds a 3.79 rating on Goodreads, and a 5 star rating on Amazon.

Read the first chapter below! If you enjoy it and want to purchase the rest of the book, the Kindle is only $4.99 and the paperback a low $14.99. Pretty cheap for such a rare text!

Book Description

First published in 1808 and long out of print, The Witch of Ravensworth is a masterful blend of Gothic horror, fairy tale, and bizarre dark humour. George Brewer's grotesque Witch is the clear precursor to later Gothic literary monsters like Frankenstein and Dracula. This edition features a new introduction and notes for modern readers, as well as the complete text of contemporary reviews.

CHAPTER I

Description of the Hag.

ON the extremity of a wild heath, known by the name of Ravensworth-Moor, in the county of Westmoreland; and in or about the time of the second crusade, stood a miserable hut, consisting but of one open to the rafters; which were in fact nothing more than rough-hewn poles sloping from the wall, covered with soot, and curiously embossed with cobwebs. The chimney was little else than a large hole made in the side, for the smoke to issue; and the window, if it could be called one, was so completely stuffed with hay, to keep out the weather, that but a few particles of light could be seen through the aperture.

Yet in this miserable hovel lived one solitary human being, an old woman named Ann Ramsay, but better known by the title of the Hag. She was little, thin, bent almost double, and very aged; her flesh was of a dark brown, and so lean and skinny, that it hung in a variety of folds from her arms; her face was wrinkled all over; her eyes small, and the sockets red, as if inflamed by disease, or anger; her head was long, and sunk between her shoulders; her nose was prominent and crooked, besides that it was constantly smeared with snuff; her lips were pale, and her single tooth, for she appeared to have but one, stood projecting its black arc over the front of her wide mouth: in short, she was so horribly ugly, that no one would come within two yards of her, when she approached. Such was the faithful portrait of the Hag of Ravensworth. The furniture of the cottage of dame Ramsay, was well suited to her miserable dwelling: it consisted of a straw mattress rolled up in one corner of the room, and covered over with a dirty and ragged rug, an antient carved wainscot-table, and a three-legged stool, always placed by the fire-side, and on which the old witch used to sit; a broken piece of glass, of a diagonal form, with a small remnant of quicksilver, placed upon the basso relievo of a part of the wall, its plaster mouldering with age; a pitcher, a birch-broom, and a large iron kettle, or cauldron, completed the inventory of the effects in this wretched hovel.

The Hag might be seen, sitting on her three-legged stool, the greater part of the day, bent nearly double, with her elbows fixed upon her knees, and her chin resting upon the props made for it by the palms of her hands. It was in this attitude that it was supposed Dame Ramsay designed her mischievous machinations, as it was then that frequent unintelligible utterings were heard to come from her lips, by such as happened to pass near: at these times, the witch appeared to be either threatening or blaspheming. Indeed there were not any who entertained the smallest doubt, of such appearances being caused by her being engaged in communications with the evil spirit.

In the opposite corner, by the fire-side, was usually seen seated, and looking the Hag full in the face, a large, meagre, slender grey cat, the constant companion of her evenings. The body of this creature was of an uncommon length, its neck and loins pinched in with want, its eyes large and full, starting, as it were, from the sockets, its immense whiskers were constantly spread abroad, as to scent the blood which it was its delight to lap, its tall slender legs raised it above the usual size of those animals, and its long talons could draw, with ease, the flesh from the tortured rat which had become its prey.

A large black raven was also an inhabitant of this miserable dwelling, and might be seen hopping about the floor, and flapping one of its large jetty wings, the other being cut close to prevent its excursions on the heath.

The Hag Ramsay was so much the terror of all the country round about, for several miles, that neither man, woman, nor child, would pass near that part of the moor, on the borders of which was her dwelling, unless it were from absolute necessity, or
from an ignorance of the road. It was current among the poor people of the nearest village, that the witch of Ravensworth had come invisibly to take possession of the hut, which had been empty for a great many years; the tradition was, that nobody knew how she had come thither, nor from whence she came; that she appeared all at once; that she had no father nor mother; that she had no relations; that she had given herself the name of Ann Ramsay, but that she had never been known to be called by any other appellation, than that of the Hag.

Many were the strange stories related by the country people, of this extraordinary woman, and out of number, the instances of her powers of witchcraft. It was stated by them, that innumerable children had been missed by their parents, in the neighborhood of the Hag, and had never been seen or heard of afterwards. They
were ready to swear to their belief of these infants having been carried away by the witch Ramsay, and destroyed. It was, besides, currently reported, and attested by many, that the Hag’s inclination was to feed on the flesh of young babes; and the cries of little children, being whipped or tortured to death by her, had been frequently heard.

It was in vain that the wardens of the forest had endeavored to bring the witch of Ravensworth to justice: there was not any thing, that could be established by certain testimony against her, although the presumptive proofs were strong enough to convince all. It was necessary, however, that witnesses should support the circumstantial evidence, from their own knowledge of facts; such evidence was not, however, easily obtained. One man, who had ventured to bring a charge of witchcraft against her, was stated to have been seized with dreadful convulsions in the audience chamber, at the very instant he was about to open his mouth, and soon after expired, without being able to give his testimony. Another, who had spoken of her wicked arts, became suddenly possest of an evil spirit; and a third was reported to have been struck dumb by her potency in the black art. Her skill in magic was, indeed, stated to be such, that she could with ease transform and alter the features of man, woman, or child, in so great a degree, that they could not be known even by their nearest relations, and that she could, if she pleased, change any, who were weak enough to offend her, into loathsome reptiles, such as bats, or efts, or lizards; in short, every one felt horror and terror, at the bare mention of the name of the hag, and the blood of the boldest villagers turned chill at her approach. Many never recovered, who had met her in the lane by accident, and some, who had been rash enough to visit her hut, had never been known to return.

Even the air, surrounding the dwelling of the hag, was pestiferous: snakes, vipers, and large loathsome worms, might be observed gliding through the rank weeds, and about the dunghill at her door; and, in summer days, a toad of the largest size might be seen basking itself in the full sunshine at the threshold of her hovel. The herds of cattle and sheep, which fed nigh the dwelling of the witch, were said to die daily of the rot; and round the hut itself, not even a blade of grass would grow. The other cottages on the heath had little gardens attached to them, in which might be seen the rose and the jessamine, with the wholesome vegetable for the humble board of their owners; but the hovel of the Hag was a waste piece of ground, filled with hemlock, and other poisonous, rank, and unwholesome weeds; a stagnant pool was in the midst,over which myriads of the transparent-winged Libellulæ might be
seen darting from side to side. The dearth around this spot was no other way accounted for, than that it was near the dwelling of a witch; while, though the other cottages belonged to poor people, yet they were honest.

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Here is a copy of the title page from the original 1808 edition:

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