Wicked Reading: 7 Books to Prep for ‘The Witch’

The horror genre has long been fickle – at least in terms of film. Prone to fits and starts, there have been periods of rising quality offset by weaker additions to the genre – with the better fare dominating these last couple years, specifically with “Let Me In” and “The Walking Dead” and original films like “The Babadook” and “It Follows.” This week, “The Witch” drops into theaters and the film has generated a lot of buzz since its premiere at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and a strong showing at the Toronto Film Festival. Witches, like supernatural creations of all stripes, have a long literary tradition. Whether you’re looking for reading material to set the mood for “The Witch” or perhaps something to hold your interest after you’ve seen the film, here are a few of our favorites to get you started.

The Witching Hour by Anne Rice
From bestselling author Anne Rice, The Witching Hour is the first book in a series chronicling the Mayfair family of New Orleans. Neurosurgeon Rowan Mayfair discovers that she is heir to an ancient, matriarchal line of witches and soon falls prey to the power – and dangers – such a revelation entails. Taking full advantage of her New Orleans backdrop, Rice weaves an unnerving tale of supernatural consequences steeped in her trademark attention to detail and dense prose.

The Woman in White by Wilke Collins
From its gripping opening moments, Wilke Collins’s The Woman in White draws you into a surreal and unnerving tale that sees a man pulled into a world of mistaken identities, the supernatural, and unsettling secrets amid the asylums of Victorian England. More importantly, the novel and its combination of Gothic horror and psychological underpinnings had a profound on the suspense genre of fiction when it was published in 1859.

The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike
Set in the fictional Rhode Island town of Eastwick, The Witches of Eastwick follows three women who develop supernatural powers after leaving or being left by their husbands. The charming and malignant presence of a man named Darryl Van Horne soon sees the women delving into the darker reaches of their abilities. The Witches of Eastwick is a witty supernatural thriller equal parts dark fantasy and biting satire. If you can handle the camp, check out the 1987 adaptation starring Cher, Susan Sarandon, Michelle Pfeiffer, and gleefully manic Jack Nicholson.

Wytches by Scott Snyder
Wytches is a wholly disturbing entry in the recent resurgence of the horror comic book. Written by superstar writer Scott Snyder (Batman) who cut his teeth co-creating American Vampire with Stephen King, Wytches follows Sailor Rook whose family moves to a small town to escape a series of tragedies and start a new life. However, Sailor soon finds herself caught in the Grimm-esque horror lurking at the edges of the community.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
The Ocean at the End of the Lane follows a man who returns to his small hometown for a funeral. Once there, he finds himself drawn to a ramshackle farmhouse and is soon reliving a series of long-forgotten memories from his childhood and a series of horrific events that defy imagination. The Ocean at the End of the Lane is an adult fairy tale as only Neil Gaiman could conjure.

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe
Howe’s debut novel centers arpimd a young woman, Connie Goodwin, preparing for her doctoral thesis and handling the sale of her grandmother’s home outside Salem, Massachusetts. After the discovery of a seventeenth-century bible and the name “Deliverance Dane” written on a piece of parchment attached to a key, Connie is plagued by haunting visions of the Salem Witch Trials and is drawn into a harrowing quest to locate a rare book of immense power.

The Witches: Salem, 1692 by Stacy Schiff
Now that you’ve gotten your fill of witches in fiction, turn to Stacy Schiff’s recent release that details the events surrounding the Salem Witch Trials, beginning in 1692. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author spares the reader no moment in recounting the mystery, violence, and truth of this moment in time.