OK, this is going to bug me until I get an answer, or until I get home to my vast library of folk resources later this week. I'd call this song a "60's folk scare" song that predates all of the performers that the well-intentioned but sometimes-misinformed Pene Azul referred to. The name Terry Gilkyson came to mind when I saw the name of this song here, but I really don't know if Gilkyson was associated with it.
I hate to admit this, but the only recording of the song I'm actually familiar with is one by The Big Three, which featured Mama Cass Elliot as lead vocalist (before she became a Mama).
So, who wrote the song, and who first recorded it? Lyrics are in the Digital Tradition, but I can't link to it with this darn WebTV I'm using this week.
-Joe Offer, on the road-