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How to Hang a Witch Author Adriana Mather Shares Her Favorite Witchy Reads
How to Hang a Witch is Adriana Mather’s debut, and it’s a story she’s particularly suited to tell: the actress-turned-author is a descendant of infamous minister Cotton Mather, perhaps the most influential figure behind the Salem witch trials. When her heroine Samantha Mather, herself a descendant, moves into her long-vacant family home in Salem, Massachusetts, she discovers her new classmates consider the Salem witch trials anything but ancient history. Because of her ancestor’s acts she faces the wrath of the Descendants, whose own ancestors were the witches Mather helped condemn to die. Supernatural occurrences—including the appearance of an angry (but sexy) ghost—lead Samantha to uncover an ancient curse kicked off by the very first hanging. Here’s Mather to share some of her favorite witchy reads, just in time for Halloween.
I’m completely biased, but I think witches are some of the coolest characters on the block. They’re the heroes and the villains. They’re the hunter and the hunted. And they provide a broad range of ways of being that subvert the typical archetypes. A witch isn’t defined by her relationships, her family, or her status, because she derives her power from within. She’s her own person, and if she doesn’t like you, she’ll turn you into something slimy.
Witch books make perfect October reads. Grab one and sit in front of a fireplace with a cup of spiced apple cider and a blanket to hide under just in case. Here are a few awesome witchy reads.
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For a classic, free-spirited witch, read The Witch of Blackbird Pond, by Elizabeth George Speare. This was one of the first books that made me fall in love with witch history.
Tiffany Aching Complete 5-Book Collection: The Wee Free Men, A Hat Full of Sky, Wintersmith, I Shall Wear Midnight, The Shepherd's Crown
Terry Pratchett
eBook
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For a truly unique fantasy witch, read The Tiffany Aching series, by Terry Pratchett. All I’m going to say is that the synopsis begins: “Armed only with a frying pan and her common sense, Tiffany Aching, a young witch-to-be…”
For a witch story that mixes contemporary and historical settings, read Conversion, by Katherine Howe. Howe is a descendant of an accused witch. Respect.
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For a historical fantasy witch story I’m dying to read, try the Cahill Witch Chronicles, starting with Born Wicked, by Jessica Spotswood. I’ve heard nothing but amazing things about this series.
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For my favorite witch book that was made into a movie, read Practical Magic, by Alice Hoffman. There’s nothing I don’t like about a modern family of witch sisters armed with old-school spells and a scary curse.
There are so many amazing witch books it’s nearly impossible to choose just a few. And I didn’t include Harry Potter or Roald Dahl because I suspect everyone already loves them. But if you are that rare individual who hasn’t encountered them, get thee to a bookstore! Now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s time for me to curl up with my cat, my witchy to-be-read pile, and all the pumpkin-flavored foods I can find.
How to Hang a Witch is available now.