31 Nights of Horror Hosts | Nights 2, 3, 4 | The Three Witches

This month we take a look at some of the classic Horror Comics Hosts and Hostesses from DC Comics, Charlton Comics, and other companies. 

Unlike Charity and the Dark Mansion, the "Three Witches" appeared in the very first issue of their book, The Witching Hour #1, cover dated March 1969.  The first pages set up the book's format.  Each of the three witches will tell a tale beginning at 12 o' clock midnight--the Witching Hour--and allow the reader to decide witch, I mean which, tale is the best.  

In the first issue, Mildred tells her tale first.  She "prefers to tell 'inhabited object'-type stories... houses with souls, ships with minds of their own..."  Mildred is depicted as a round witch with a warty, hairy chin.  

Mordred's tales are filled with thunder and lightning... and strange twisting shapes and creatures... stories of ghosts that walk...  Cynthia, "child of the late 1960s," likes tales of E.S.P. and psychic phenomena... and hypnotism... of strange perversions of science (...SCIENCE!!!).  

And the variety of stories in this horror anthology is part of what has made it enjoyable reading for me.  The witches each tell a tale, and the reader is the judge of which witch is the best storyteller.  As the comics have been released issue by issue on the comixology digital platform during this scary year of 2020, I have bought each of them.  

After The Witching Hour was cancelled, I am told, the Witches moved on to "The Unexpected."  Later, Neil Gaiman incorporated the characters into his Sandman universe as "The Kindly Ones," tapping into the long history of three witches in other tales and traditions.  As for the title they hosted, The Witching Hour returned as a 70 page special, produced in 2013 under the Vertigo imprint, perhaps to keep the trademark of the title up-to-date.

In the panel below, Mordred is on the left, a traditional looking witch with hooked nose, pronounced chin, long hair, and pointy hat.  Mildred is in the center, a plump witch with warts and hairy chin.  Cynthia, is hip, sexy, and blonde, often depicted with cat eyes.     


  

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