New York largely stayed out of the witch trial hysteria that plagued much of New England in the seventeenth century. But nearly two centuries later, New York City was engaged in a different kind of witch hunt: cracking down on the working-class women who earned their bread as fortune tellers on the Lower East Side. This movement was led in large part by the journalists who entertained their readers by seeking out these women’s services only to write mocking, derisive articles about their experience in the papers. In Mortimer and the Witches, a new nonfiction book that came out earlier this year, historian and NYC tour guide Marie Carter interweaves the biography of one such journalist with a study of the fortune tellers whose livelihoods he so reviled. Continue reading Review of Mortimer and the Witches—Niche New York History
Tag: witches
Review of Coffin Hill—Gothic Comics
“Wicked witch of Coffin Hill, buried in the woods and lives there still. Hide your face and close your eyes, if you see her you will die. Only the crows to hear you cry…” So goes the nursery rhyme at the heart of the Coffin Hill comics by Caitlin Kittredge, with art by Inaki Miranda and coloring by Eva de la Cruz. This comic series, published by Vertigo between 2013 and 2015, consists of twenty issues which have been collected in three trade volumes: Forest of the Night, Dark Endeavors, and Haunted Houses. With stunningly macabre artwork and a storyline that features black magic, bloody murders, and generational curses, this series is the perfect gateway into comics for any Gothic literature lovers. Continue reading Review of Coffin Hill—Gothic Comics
The Year of the Witching Review
Witches lurk in the Darkwood … and they seem to be calling out to Immanuelle. A young woman struggling to be accepted by the Puritanical society she lives in discovers her true power in The Year of the Witching, a stunning debut fantasy novel by Alexis Henderson, which came out back in July. I know Halloween is well over, but it’s never too late in the year to pick up a good witchy book! Continue reading The Year of the Witching Review
Review of The Scapegracers—Queer Witches and Reckless Magic
It’s The Craft meets Mean Girls—except more heartwarming and queer. That’s the best way I can describe The Scapegracers, the start of a new YA fantasy trilogy by debut novelist Hannah Abigail Clarke. If you love a good found family trope, but also want to see some teen witches funnel their angst into reckless magic, then The Scapegracers is the book for you! It comes out tomorrow, September 15. Continue reading Review of The Scapegracers—Queer Witches and Reckless Magic
Review of The Invited—Helpful Hauntings
Would you intentionally invite spirits into your home? What about if you knew they had an important message for you? Jennifer McMahon explores these questions in her latest horror novel, The Invited, which comes out tomorrow, April 30. If you’re a fan of haunted houses, historic ghosts, and women who defy expectations, you won’t want to miss this one! Continue reading Review of The Invited—Helpful Hauntings
Bruja Born Review—The Right Way to Do Zombie Romance
Do not mess with death—That’s pretty much the golden rule of magic. You can have all the magic power in the world, but if you use it to bring someone back from the dead, things will not go as planned. I know that, you know that, even Harry Potter knows that. But apparently Lula Mortiz does not. Bruja Born is the second book in Zoraida Córdova’s Brooklyn Brujas series. Two years ago, I reviewed Labyrinth Lost, which Alex Mortiz accidentally sends her family to the underworld while trying to banish her magic. Now, in the sequel published last month, Alex’s sister Lula gets her own story. Continue reading Bruja Born Review—The Right Way to Do Zombie Romance
The Witch Literary Canon
I’ve been thinking lately about a certain iconic character that crops up again and again in gothic literature: the witch. Witches embody the greatest fears of the societies they belong to, from devil worship to the idea of women wielding power. They are some of literature’s most controversial figures, and some of my favorite to read about. Thus, I felt they deserved their own literary canon. (Click here to see the other literary canon lists I’ve done.) Below are a few of the central texts in the body of witchy literature: Continue reading The Witch Literary Canon
Review of Half Bad–Is He a Good Witch or a Bad Witch?
Recently, I’ve started playing a game with myself where I pick a book on my Goodreads “Want to Read” list that I don’t remember putting there, find the audiobook, and dive right in without reading any descriptions or summaries. This was how I stumbled upon the book Half Bad by Sally Green. Half Bad is the first book in a trilogy, and from the cover you can kind of get the idea that it’s a YA fantasy with a male protagonist, but that’s about all I knew going in. As it turned out, I think Half Bad may be one of the best books I’ve read so far this year! Continue reading Review of Half Bad–Is He a Good Witch or a Bad Witch?