C. Petrie's Green Wood Demon Abduction — Weird Tales August 1926
A green-skinned, horned wood demon clutches a pale, limp woman against its bark-textured body, eyes burning with malevolent intent beneath a weeping willow canopy. Behind him, a turbaned woodsman charges with a raised red axe, orange cloak billowing in urgency. The twilight palette of muted purples and glowing oranges grounds this supernatural abduction in an eerie forest glade. Illustrating A. Merritt's 'The Woman of the Wood,' the cover perfectly distills Weird Tales' signature blend of folklore horror and pulp melodrama.
The vision of a living, demonic tree-man abducting a woman while a turbaned hero charges with an axe is gloriously unhinged genre pulp. Merritt's mythic fantasy source material gives the image an ambitious folkloric-supernatural dimension beyond mere shock value.
“Weird Tales The Unique Magazine THE WOMAN OF THE WOOD By A. Merritt Author of 'THE MOON POOL' AUGUST 1926 25¢ Read — THE MONSTER-GOD OF MAMURTH, in This Issue C. Petrie”
