The Season to Read About Witches

Since we were on the subject of vampire books last week, I thought this week would be a great time to revisit some novels about accused witches. After all, witches and witchcraft are popular themes in novels, especially historical fiction.

I’ve done more than my fair share of reading and writing historical fiction set around witches, witch accusations, and witch trials. The key to remember, at least with three of these novels, is that while the characters are accused of witchcraft, they aren’t actually witches.

The novel that stands out in this crowd is Daughters of the Witching Hill by Mary Sharratt, where Mother Demdike and her granddaughter Alizon do indeed seem capable of casting spells.

Daughters of the Witching Hill

I was drawn to this book because it’s about a witch hunt in Pendle Hill that took place in late 16th and early 17th century England. Sharratt’s narrative style caught me from the first page. The novel has an interesting premise.  What if those accused of witchcraft were actually witches who interacted with familiars? Sharratt’s main characters, Mother Demdike and her granddaughter Alizon, may suffer the consequences for their knowledge of magic.

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane

I enjoyed reading this one because it’s similar to the Loving Husband Trilogy in that it goes back and forth between the past and the present. I read this while completing my own dissertation for my doctorate, so I could relate to Connie, a history graduate student, very well.

Connie is working on her graduate thesis when she begins to have visions of a woman who was condemned for being a witch since she used healing herbs in Salem in the 1690s. Connie must unravel the mystery behind Deliverance Dane and her physick book to save herself and others.

The Witch of Blackbird Pond

I loved this book when I was a teenager and I still love it. Though Speare only wrote three books for young adults, each of the three are classics. More than any other book I read when researching Down Salem Way, The Witch of Blackbird Pond pulled me into life in a 17th-century Puritan colony.

One of the things I had been struggling with was finding what day-to-day life in Puritan New England looked like. The Witch of Blackbird Pond helped me uncover that daily life in detail. Also, the main character, Kit Tyler, grows a lot during this story, as strong protagonists do.

Down Salem Way

I couldn’t have written Down Salem Way without reading the previously mentioned novels. Yes, it’s important to research the history behind your story when you’re writing historical fiction, but often other historical novels bring the past to life in a more visceral way than nonfiction history books.

Even though Daughters of the Witching Hill and The Witch of Blackbird Pond weren’t specifically about the Salem Witch Trials, they still dealt with how and why someone might be accused of witchcraft. The general story of what happens to Elizabeth Wentworth is already known to readers of the Loving Husband Trilogy.

Uncovering the specifics of how and why Elizabeth is accused of witchcraft was the joy and the challenge of writing Down Salem Way. Reading other historical novels about similar times and similar circumstances helped to get my imagination rolling toward the answers.

Read Fiction About the Era You’re Writing About

If you’re writing historical fiction, by all means, yes, research the history behind what you’re writing. You must do that, or else why write historical fiction? But don’t forget to read other novels set during similar eras. Often the creativity of fiction will prompt your imagination to soar.

And if you’re as into Halloween as I am, any of these stories can provide a night of haunted autumn reading. Get your cup of tea, a comfy blanket, and a place by the fire ready. A cat (or two) will help to secure the mood. Any variety of cats will do. I happen to have a six-year-old dilute tortie and a five-month-old Siamese handy.

Happy witchy reading!