Mirror Monday: The Women Who Made My Old School

I have been spending a lot of time lately looking back at the origins of my witches, both in Advanced Witches & Warlocks and in my Jackson, Illinois setting. Last time, I discussed why witches have been such an important part of my gaming and writing for nearly forty years. My fascination began with books on mythology, folklore, magic, and the supernatural, eventually finding its way into my games and the characters I created.But no one creates these things in a vacuum.When I look back at the books, illustrations, games, and stories that helped shape my understanding of witches, something interesting emerges. A remarkable number of the people who influenced me were women. Some were writers, some artists, some game designers, and others helped establish the hobby before many of us even knew what a roleplaying game was.Their contributions helped define what fantasy, horror, the occult, and old-school D&D looked like to me.More importantly, their work contributed to the mixture of ideas…