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Cover of Weird Tales 1934 December
Contains Robert E. Howard’s work
REH World editorial overlay

Weird Tales 1934 December

Popular Fiction Publishing Company

1934
Publication type
PeriodicalPulp magazine
Contains
Stories

Publication date: December 1934

Introduction

"A Witch Shall Be Born" is one of the original sword and sorcery novellas by Howard about Conan the Cimmerian. It was written in only a few days in spring of 1934 and first published in Weird Tales in December 1934. A book edition was published in 1975 by Donald M. Grant, Publisher with illustrations by Alicia Austin.

The story concerns a witch replacing her twin sister as queen of a city state, which brings her into conflict with Conan who had been the captain of the queen's guard. Themes of paranoia, and the duality of the twin sisters, are paramount in this story but it also includes elements of the conflict between barbarism and civilization that is common to the entire Conan series. One scene stands out. Conan's crucifixion early in the story during the second chapter ("The Tree of Death") is considered one of the most memorable scenes in the entire series.

Notes

Volume 24, Number 6.
Page numbers run from 657 to 784 excluding covers.
Cover illustrates a scene from "A Witch Shall Be Born".

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Edition and production details

Language
English
Edition format
Pulp
Publication date
December 1934
Pages
132
Publisher / imprint
Popular Fiction Publishing Company
Cover art
Margaret Brundage
Illustrations
Se above
Media details
Girasol May 2013

1 linked Howard work

57 contents entries

  1. "A Witch Shall be Born"
  2. A Witch Shall Be Born • [Conan] • novelette by Robert E. Howard 658 · novelette
  3. Non-REH Content
  4. A Witch Shall Be Born • interior artwork by Hugh Rankin 658 · artwork
  5. "The Vengeance of Ti Fong" by Bassett Morgan
  6. The Vengeance of Ti Fong • short story by Bassett Morgan 687 · story
  7. "Black God's Shadow" by C. L. Moore
  8. The Vengeance of Ti Fong • interior artwork by H. R. Hammond 687 · artwork
  9. "The Graveyard Duchess" by John Flanders
  10. Black God's Shadow • [Jirel of Joiry] • novelette by C. L. Moore 701 · novelette
  11. "Solitude" by Roderic Papineau (poem)
  12. Black God's Shadow • interior artwork by H. R. Hammond 701 · artwork
  13. "Xeethra" by Clark Ashton Smith
  14. The Graveyard Duchess • short story by Jean Ray (trans. of Le gardien du cimetière 1919) [as by John Flanders] 719 · story
  15. "The Trail of the Cloven Hoof (Part 6 of 7) by Arlton Eadie
  16. The Graveyard Duchess • interior artwork by H. R. Hammond 719 · artwork
  17. "Fog" by Mary C. Shaw (poem)
  18. Solitude • poem by Roderic Papineau 725 · poem
  19. "The Werewolf's Howl" by Brooke Byrne
  20. Xeethra • [Zothique] • novelette by Clark Ashton Smith 726 · novelette
  21. "A Matter of Faith" by August W. Derleth & Mark Schorer
  22. Xeethra • interior artwork by Clark Ashton Smith 727 · artwork
  23. "Pale Pink Porcelain" by Frank Owen
  24. The Trail of the Cloven Hoof (Part 6 of 7) • serial by Arlton Eadie 739
  25. The Eyrie (letter column)
  26. The Trail of the Cloven Hoof (Part 6 of 7) • interior artwork by H. R. Hammond 739 · artwork
  27. Fog • poem by Mary C. Shaw 759 · poem
  28. The Werewolf's Howl • short story by Brooke Byrne 760 · story
  29. A Matter of Faith • short story by August Derleth and Mark Schorer [as by August W. Derleth and Mark Schorer] 765 · story
  30. Weird Story Reprint • (1928) • interior artwork by Hugh Rankin 771 · artwork
  31. Pale Pink Porcelain • (1927) • short story by Frank Owen 771 · story
  32. The Eyrie • (1924) • interior artwork by Andrew Brosnatch 776 · artwork
  33. The Eyrie (Weird Tales, December 1934) • [The Eyrie] • essay by The Editor 776 · essay
  34. Letter (Weird Tales, December 1934): Miniature Jewels of Fiction • essay by Ernest M. Smola 776 · essay
  35. Letter (Weird Tales, December 1934): Rainbow-Colored Ink • essay by Louis C. Smith 776 · essay
  36. Letter (Weird Tales, December 1934): More Stories of Northwest Smith • essay by Herb Hock 776 · essay
  37. Coming Next Month (Weird Tales, December 1934) • essay by uncredited 777 · essay
  38. Letter (Weird Tales, December 1934): The Supreme Witch • essay by J. J. O'Donnell 778 · essay
  39. Letter (Weird Tales, December 1934): Reactions to Black God's Kiss • essay by Vennette Herron 778 · essay
  40. Letter (Weird Tales, December 1934): Reactions to Black God's Kiss • essay by Vennette Herron 778 · essay
  41. Letter (Weird Tales, December 1934): Reactions to Black God's Kiss • essay by Bert Felsburg 778 · essay
  42. Letter (Weird Tales, December 1934): Reactions to Black God's Kiss • essay by Fred Anger 778 · essay
  43. Letter (Weird Tales, December 1934): Reactions to Black God's Kiss • essay by Jack Darrow 778 · essay
  44. Letter (Weird Tales, December 1934): Reactions to Black God's Kiss • essay by Manly Wade Wellman [as by Manley Wade Wellman] 778 · essay
  45. Letter (Weird Tales, December 1934): Reactions to Black God's Kiss • essay by Alvin Earl Perry 778 · essay
  46. Letter (Weird Tales, December 1934): Reactions to Black God's Kiss • essay by Edwin F. Caswell 778 · essay
  47. Letter (Weird Tales, December 1934): A Few Orchids • essay by Lucy Leonard Kessler 778 · essay
  48. Letter (Weird Tales, December 1934): A Plea for Science-Fiction • essay by Stuart Ayers 778 · essay
  49. Letter (Weird Tales, December 1934): Pithy Comments • essay by Robert Bloch 779 · essay
  50. Letter (Weird Tales, December 1934): About Howard's Serial • essay by D. de Woronin 779 · essay
  51. Letter (Weird Tales, December 1934): Quinn, Howard vs. Moore, Smith • essay by Ernest H. Ormsbee 779 · essay
  52. Letter (Weird Tales, December 1934): Jirel of Joiry • essay by Virginia Kidd 780 · essay
  53. Letter (Weird Tales, December 1934): The Three Marked Pennies • essay by M. A. Reynolds 782 · essay
  54. Letter (Weird Tales, December 1934): The Lovely Ladies • essay by Mary A. Conklin 782 · essay
  55. Letter (Weird Tales, December 1934): A New Reader Comments • essay by V. A. McDowell 782 · essay
  56. Letter (Weird Tales, December 1934): An Embarrassing Experience • essay by Ian C. Knox 783 · essay
  57. Letter (Weird Tales, December 1934): Weird Story Reprint • essay by Jack McCoy 783 · essay

Contributors

Margaret Brundage
Cover artist
Andrew Brosnatch
Illustrator
Hugh Rankin
Illustrator
H. R. Hammond
Illustrator
Herb Hock
Essayist
Fred Anger
Essayist
Jack Darrow
Essayist
Stuart Ayers
Essayist
Robert Bloch
Essayist
Ian C. Knox
Essayist
Jack McCoy
Essayist

Additional related terms

Preserved from the former REH World tagging system; these terms have not yet been assigned as contributors, characters or subjects.

ConanPulpRobert E. HowardWeird Tales

Bibliographic and editorial layers

Bibliographic source layer

Title
Weird Tales Volume 24 Number 6
Publisher
Popular Fiction Publishing Company
Date
December 1934
Source file
weirdtalesV24N6-December1934.html

REH World editorial layer

Title
Weird Tales 1934 December
Publisher
Popular Fiction Publishing Company
Date
December 1934
Source provenance

This record combines the preserved source bibliography with a reviewed REH World editorial overlay. Editorial values are displayed when present; the imported bibliography remains the source fallback.