Weird Tales, July '42: M W Wellman, A Derleth & H Bok

Let's take another step in our eldritch journey--our quest to read at least one story from each issue of Weird Tales, the unique magazine of the bizarre and unusual! Today, we consider the July 1942 issue and we've got three stories lined up, one each by historian of the American South and chronicler of the adventures of John the Balladeer Manly Wade Wellman, founder of Arkham House and creator of Solar Pons August Derleth, and top tier weird artist Hannes Bok. I'm reading all these stories in a scan of the magazine, which was edited by D. McIlwraith and sports a cover by Margaret Brundage that features more clothing on its female figure than do so many of Brundage's more famous covers."Coven" by Manly Wade WellmanThe narrator of "Coven" is Cole Wickett, 14-year-old cavalry private in the Confederate Army. Captured by the Federals, he is pressed into an esoteric service by a Union Chaplain and sergeant when they are certain that Wickett is a virgin. You see, Sarge and the chaplain are…