| "A Witch Shall Be Born" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Short story by Robert E. Howard | |||
 | |||
 Text available at Wikisource | |||
| Country | United States | ||
| Language | English | ||
| Genre(s) | Fantasy | ||
| Publication | |||
| Published in | Weird Tales | ||
| Publication type | Periodical | ||
| Publisher | Rural Publishing Corporation | ||
| Media type | Pulp magazine | ||
| Publication date | December 1934 | ||
| Chronology | |||
| Series | Conan the Cimmerian | ||
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"A Witch Shall Be Born" is one of the original sword and sorcery novellas by Robert E. 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.[1] A book edition was published in 1975 by Donald M. Grant, Publisher with illustrations by Alicia Austin.[2]
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. The novella as a whole is considered an average example of the series, but 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. A variation of this scene was included in the 1982 film Conan the Barbarian with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
- ^ Howard, Robert E. (1934). "A Witch Shall Be Born". Weird Tales. Indianapolis: Popular Fiction Publishing Company. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
- ^ A Witch Shall Be Born at WorldCat