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This time, will the thieving, fighting and drinking skills of the Nac Mac Feegle the Wee Free Men be of use, or must Tiffany rely on her own abilities? The Crucible by Arthur Miller: The ruthlessness of the prosecutors and the eagerness of neighbor to testify against neighbor brilliantly illuminate the destructive power of socially sanctioned violence. The Witching Hour by Anne Rice: And the witching hour begins…Demonstrating once again her gift for spellbinding storytelling and the creation of legend, Anne Rice makes real for us a great dynasty of witches — a family given to poetry and incest, to murder and philosophy, a family that over the ages is itself haunted by a powerful, dangerous, and seductive being.

Captivated by Nora Roberts: Or so he told himself. But, as Morgana revealed herself to him, Nash found himself falling under her bewitching spell. Nash had never trusted his feelings and always kept them in check.

The Cursed Witch -- A Sims 4 Story

The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy: Will she ever make a real witch? Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova: At her Deathday celebration, Alex performs a spell to rid herself of her power. A boy whose intentions are as dark as the strange marks on his skin. Uprooted by Naomi Novik: But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life. Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay.

But he demands a terrible price for his help: The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows— everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: And there is no way to save her. But Agnieszka fears the wrong things.

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For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to become the infamous Wicked Witch of the West, a smart, prickly, and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil.

The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coelho: It is the story of a mysterious woman named Athena, told by the many who knew her well—or hardly at all. The curandera gives Clara a list of things to do in the coming week: But, when the week is over, Clara realizes that she has not had time to feel grumpy.

Witch-king of Angmar

Could it be that helping others makes her feel happy? Though her grandmother made her living as a shamaness, Eileen publicly dismisses witchcraft as mere superstition. Yet privately, the subject intrigues her. When a research project takes her to the Canary Islands—long rumored to be home to real witches—Eileen is struck by the lush beauty of Tenerife and its blend of Spanish and Moroccan culture.

A stranger invites her to a local market where women sell amulets, charms, and love spells. Gradually Eileen immerses herself in her exotic surroundings, finding romance with a handsome young furniture maker. But as she learns more about the lives of these self-proclaimed witches, Eileen must choose how much trust to place in this new and seductive world, where love, greed, and vengeance can be as powerful, or as destructive, as any magic. As she is drawn deeper into the mysteries of the family house, Connie discovers an ancient key within a seventeenth-century Bible.

The key contains a yellowing fragment of parchment with a name written upon it: This discovery launches Connie on a quest—to find out who this woman was and to unearth a rare artifact of singular power: White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi: Lily is gone and her twins, Miranda and Eliot, and her husband, the gentle Luc, mourn her absence with unspoken intensity.

All is not well with the house, either, which creaks and grumbles and malignly confuses visitors in its mazy rooms, forcing winter apples in the garden when the branches should be bare. Generations of women inhabit its walls. And Miranda, with her new appetite for chalk and her keen sense for spirits, is more attuned to them than she is to her brother and father.

She is leaving them slowly — Slipping away from them — And when one dark night she vanishes entirely, the survivors are left to tell her story. It allows the reader to see how the original volume was created, how an African American author negotiated with the tastes of the dominant literary culture of the late nineteenth century, and how that culture both promoted and delimited his work.

No longer a reactionary flight of nostalgia for the antebellum South, the stories in this book celebrate and at the same time question the folk culture they so pungently portray, and ultimately convey the pleasures and anxieties of a world in transition. With a heavy heart, Alice Hopkins returns to the small town she grew up in. Widowed, with child, and without prospects, she is forced to find refuge at the house of her younger brother, Matthew. In the five years she has been gone, the boy she knew has become a man of influence and wealth—but more has changed than merely his fortunes.

The source of this power is the voodoo religion, and its queen is Marie Laveau, the notorious voodooienne, worshipped and feared by blacks and whites alike. This brooding mansion is haunted by a centuries-old curse that casts the shadow of ancestral sin upon the last four members of the distinctive Pyncheon family of Salem. Mysterious deaths threaten the living. As Bess Hawksmith watches her mother swing from the Hanging Tree she knows that only one man can save her from the same fate at the hands of the panicked mob: But her solitude abruptly ends when a teenage girl called Tegan starts hanging around.

Against her better judgment, Elizabeth begins teaching Tegan the ways of the Hedge Witch, in the process awakening memories—and demons—long thought forgotten. Like her mother, young Sarah Carrier is bright and willful, openly challenging the small, brutal world in which they live. Often at odds with one another, mother and daughter are forced to stand together against the escalating hysteria of the trials and the superstitious tyranny that led to the torture and imprisonment of more than people accused of witchcraft.

Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson: The inner city has had to rediscover old ways-farming, barter, herb lore. But now the monied need a harvest of bodies, and so they prey upon the helpless of the streets. With nowhere to turn, a young woman must open herself to ancient truths, eternal powers, and the tragic mystery surrounding her mother and grandmother.

She must bargain with gods, and give birth to new legends. The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab: If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company. And there are no strangers in the town of Near. These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life. But when an actual stranger—a boy who seems to fade like smoke—appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true. The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion.

Still, he insists on helping Lexi search for them. Something tells her she can trust him. The Good House by Tananarive Due: Angela has not returned to the Good House since her son, Corey, died there two years ago. And what about the other senseless calamities that Sacajawea has seen in recent years? Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor: She is albino and thus, incredibly sensitive to the sun. All Sunny wants to do is be able to play football and get through another day of school without being bullied. But once she befriends Orlu and Chichi, Sunny is plunged in to the world of the Leopard People, where your worst defect becomes your greatest asset.

Their mission is to track down Black Hat Otokoto, the man responsible for kidnapping and maiming children.

The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring

Will Sunny be able to overcome the killer with powers stronger than her own, or will the future she saw in the flames become reality? Sam is known for the moons he paints and hangs in the trees, and for how little anyone knows about his life before he and his mother moved to town. But as odd as everyone considers Miel and Sam, even they stay away from the Bonner girls, four beautiful sisters rumored to be witches. When the witch captures James Lee and takes him along, Mamma Granny knows just what to do.

Must-Read Books About Witches | Book Riot

The village has been suffering a famine, and the villagers are desperately hungry. Tierkinddorf is filled with hope. Neighbors wonder aloud who has cursed them and how quickly can she be found? They begin sharing secrets with the friar. Yet of one thing she is absolutely certain: In these desperate times her daughter-in-law would prefer one less hungry mouth at the family table. Outside the Bones by Lyn Di Iorio: Chico recovers just as two women from his past turn up: Fina is not pleased.

He specializes in Palo Monte , the Afro-Caribbean magical art of controlling and manipulating spirits housed in cauldrons. The Ancient One, the oldest spirit working for Victor, wants a blood sacrifice from Fina, something she has managed to avoid. But amidst the colorful festival, a struggle for power, as well as a devastating passion, develops between Mistress ZulE, a Voudon priestess and spiritual leader, and the infamous, bloodthirsty SimilA Bolosse, a rival Voudon priest backed by the tontons macoutes.

Based on true events, The Red of His Shadow evokes ferocious love, intense hatred, and the specter of death looming within life. Written in a prose remarkable for its clarity and musicality, the novel manages to be both richly symbolic and intensely physical. Behind a case that Dominican police closed as a simple crime of passion pulses the spell of a war that remains unfinished today. The Last Witchfinder by James Morrow: For Jennet cannot and must not rest until she has put the last witchfinder out of business.

When a dying boy is pulled from the river with a mark crudely tattooed on his shoulder, hangman Jakob Kuisl is called upon to investigate whether witchcraft is at play. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. To get home, she must find the wonderful wizard in the Emerald City of Oz. But the Wicked Witch of the West has her own plans for the new arrival — will Dorothy ever see Kansas again? Abuela Luisa was the spiritual center of the family, an espiritista who smoked cigars and honored the Afro-Caribbean deities who had always protected their family.

The Graces by Laure Eve: They moved through the corridors like sleek fish, ripples in their wake. Stares followed their backs and their hair. They had friends, but they were just distractions. They were waiting for someone different. All I had to do was show them that person was me. Like everyone else in her town, River is obsessed with the Graces, attracted by their glamour and apparent ability to weave magic. But are they really what they seem? And are they more dangerous than they let on? Daughters of the Witching Hill by Mary Sharratt: Bess Southerns, an impoverished widow living in Pendle Forest, is haunted by visions and gains a reputation as a cunning woman.

Drawing on the Catholic folk magic of her youth, Bess heals the sick and foretells the future. As she ages, she instructs her granddaughter, Alizon, in her craft, as well as her best friend, who ultimately turns to dark magic. When a peddler suffers a stroke after exchanging harsh words with Alizon, a local magistrate, eager to make his name as a witch finder, plays neighbors and family members against one another until suspicion and paranoia reach frenzied heights. Witch Child by Celia Rees: Mary narrowly escapes a similar fate, only to face intolerance and new danger among the Puritans in the New World.

How long can she hide her true identity? Will she ever find a place where her healing powers will not be feared? Speaks the Nightbird by Robert McCammon: The citizens of Fount Royal believe a witch has cursed their town with inexplicable tragedies, and they demand that beautiful widow Rachel Howarth be tried and executed for witchcraft. Presiding over the trial is traveling magistrate Issac Woodward, aided by his astute young clerk, Matthew Corbett.

After hearing damning testimony, magistrate Woodward sentences the accused witch to death by burning. Desperate to exonerate the woman he has come to love, Matthew begins his own investigation among the townspeople. Piecing together the truth, he has no choice but to vanquish a force more malevolent than witchcraft in order to save his beloved Rachel and free Fount Royal from the menace claiming innocent lives.

It is a compelling love story that unearths our deep ancestral connections to land, ritual and memory. Strange Magic by Syd Moore: No, not at all. Still, the museum exerts a curious pull over Rosie. It all adds up to looking like her plans to sell the museum might need to be delayed, just for a while. Finding herself and Sam embroiled in a most peculiar centuries-old mystery, Rosie is quickly expelled from her comfort zone, where to her horror, the secrets of the past come with their own real, and all too present, danger as a strange magic threatens to envelope them all.

Calligraphy of the Witch by Alicia Gaspar de Alba: Meticulously researched and elegantly written, this novel takes a mesmerizing look at women in the New World in the 17th century and the stubborn men who accuse them for no reason. Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood: Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship—or an early grave.

Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood—not even from each other. Witches Abroad by Terry Prachett: But the road to Genua is bumpy, and along the way the trio of witches encounters the occasional vampire, werewolf, and falling house well this is a fairy tale , after all.

The Accidental Santera by Irene Lazo: Becoming a santera is not in her plans. When Gabrielle gets home to the San Francisco Bay Area, the predictions from her on-a-whim reading begin to come true. Unexpectedly marked for initiation by the gods and goddesses of the Yoruba pantheon, Gabrielle must decide whether she can bring herself to answer the call.

And, if she chooses, commit to the seemingly contradictory life of a scientist who is also a santera. Lost then found, souls remain bound. Three sisters escape the Salem witch trials when the eldest casts a spell that hurtles their souls forward through time. After centuries separated, fate has finally reunited them in the present day.

One the healer, one the teacher, and one the deceiver. Will their reunion return their full powers, or end their souls journey forever? Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins: By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect. As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho: The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden: Above all, she loves the chilling story of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon, who appears in the frigid night to claim unwary souls.

Wise Russians fear him, her nurse says, and honor the spirits of house and yard and forest that protect their homes from evil. The family acquiesces, but Vasilisa is frightened, sensing that more hinges upon their rituals than anyone knows. And indeed, crops begin to fail, evil creatures of the forest creep nearer, and misfortune stalks the village. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything. Dance Upon the Air by Nora Roberts: But there is a part of herself she can never reveal to him—for she must continue to guard her secrets if she wants to keep the past at bay. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. Edmund felt a sensation of mysterious horror. Peter felt brave and adventurous. Susan felt as if some delightful strain of music had just floated by.

So, deep in the bewitched land of Narnia, the adventure begins. They opened a door and entered a world—Narnia—the land beyond the wardrobe, the secret country known only to Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. At first, no one believes her.

Witch-king of Angmar

And in the blink of an eye, they are changed forever. Half Bad by Sally Green: But how can Nathan find his father when there is no one safe to trust, not even family, not even the girl he loves? Rose Rita Pottinger is dreading summer. With her best friend, Lewis Barnavelt, away at Boy Scout camp, vacation threatens to be altogether boring. Rose Rita and Mrs. Zimmermann set off on a trip to discover the meaning of the letter. A ransacked farmhouse, a missing ring, shadowy figures appearing in the night, and mysterious magic symbols are just the beginning as they are gradually drawn into a terrifying world of occult mysteries, where Mrs.

Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough: We follow the clever deductions of a spunky Rose Rita, who temporarily loses the guidance of her travelling companion, the purple-loving Mrs. Zimmermann, but who finds a loyal friend in a nearby farming family. But I don't think I'm alone when I lavish praise on the serious note Bellairs introduces in the final pages of this teen read.

He is not being frivolous by comparing a magic ring to a nuclear bomb--the analogy is apt here and truly takes the mind for a short spin on issues which will require deep thought from adults who are now kids reading the story today. Dec 25, Tasha Robinson rated it really liked it.

So I'm going back and revisiting them. I've missed these books and the way they create an atmosphere of dread and growing inevitability while maintaining a sense of humor and creating quirky, unusual characters. Apr 13, Sara rated it it was amazing. Best of the trilogy, amazingly enough. Bellairs finally gets everything right - good character development and plenty of scary stuff, not just a tiny bit as in the first two books. Rose Rita is very believable and though like Lewis Barnavelt she has insecurities, she's considerably more confident than he is.

There's a bit of eye-roll-inducing girl-power talk but it's fairly contained. The illustrations, this time by Richard Egielski, still don't cut it. I guess they were aiming for what would Best of the trilogy, amazingly enough. I guess they were aiming for what would be appealing to their target audience instead of what fits the book best. Jul 11, Rebecca rated it really liked it Shelves: I read this series as a kid and really enjoyed it.

This 3rd book in the series features Lewis's best friend Rose Rita having her own adventure with Mrs. Zimmerman while Lewis is off at Boy Scout camp. This book has the typical dark magic thing going on with an evil witch and the Ring of Solomon, but the story also takes on Rose Rita's coming of age issues.

A tomboy with a fierce passion for sports, Rose Rita is having problems now that she's turning 13 and expected to start wearing makeup and da I read this series as a kid and really enjoyed it. A tomboy with a fierce passion for sports, Rose Rita is having problems now that she's turning 13 and expected to start wearing makeup and dating. Bellairs handles this topic very well for the setting in the s. It looks as if this series continued with another author. I don't know what John Bellairs didn't continue with these characters himself. Lewis, Rose Rita, Mrs. Zimmerman and Uncle Jonathan have an ageless charm to them.

I'm not surprised Hollywood finally made a movie from the book.


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Nov 12, Jacob rated it really liked it Shelves: A couple of big changes here that make the series better. Lewis is shoved out of his own series in order to feature his friend-who-is-a-girl, Rose Rita Pottinger. Other than sections of introspection where I'm really not sure Bellairs captured how a girl on the cusp of puberty would feel, it's a nice shift having not been one of those myself, I wouldn't know whether it's accurate or not, but it felt a bit forced to me. The other thing this story adds to the series is actual character developmen A couple of big changes here that make the series better.

The other thing this story adds to the series is actual character development for an adult! Uncle Jonathan's neighbor, Mrs. Zimmermann, gets a lot more backstory and her own antagonist, and has to deal with the loss of power she experienced at the end of the previous book. I checked the three books in this series out from the library when I was a kid over and over again, so was tickled when I found The Letter, The Witch, And The Ring at a yard sale a while back.

In this book, Lewis goes off to camp for the summer, leaving Rose Rita looking forward to a very boring summer until their friend and local witch, Mrs. Zimmerman, receives a mysterious letter from her recen I checked the three books in this series out from the library when I was a kid over and over again, so was tickled when I found The Letter, The Witch, And The Ring at a yard sale a while back.

Zimmerman, receives a mysterious letter from her recently deceased cousin, Olney. Zimmerman that he has left his farm to her and there is a magic ring locked in his desk drawer up at the farm. Zimmerman and Rose Rita get in her new car and go on an adventure in search of this magic ring. Filled with mystery, magic, an aging farmhouse and shadowy figures in the night, this still, after all these years, is a very fun read! Jun 02, Henry Murphy rated it really liked it.

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I re-read this as a young grown-up and got my 8 years older friend to read it as well. She asked if I knew about more books like it. Rose Rita is forced to grow up under circumstances no one would envy; but the reader is treated to a thrilling yet pleasantly bucolic adventure. Of all Bellairs' books, this one seemed like it w I re-read this as a young grown-up and got my 8 years older friend to read it as well. Of all Bellairs' books, this one seemed like it would make the best movie.

I would give it five stars if the writing had a bit more flair, but that may just be my snootiness. As a teen I loved this book because it created a familiar but strange world, and cast a dark shadow over it. The premise of dark magic on the dusty backroads of Michigan with crusty Yankee ladies is a winner. I like that this story, although it is part of the Anthony Monday series, is told from the perspective of Rose Rita, his best friend, who is abandoned for the summer because he gets to go to Boy Scout camp and she can't go with him.

So much of her character development centres around her wishing she was a boy because she loves baseball and camping and swimming and hates dresses and makeup and all the things being a girl in the 50s entailed. She even has to step up and save Mrs. Zimmerman by driv I like that this story, although it is part of the Anthony Monday series, is told from the perspective of Rose Rita, his best friend, who is abandoned for the summer because he gets to go to Boy Scout camp and she can't go with him.

Zimmerman by driving a stick shift for miles at night. I am an adult who can drive and I am impressed by this year-old's gumption! The antagonist was quite predictable and plot simply wrapped up neatly at the end. Simplicity can be nice sometimes though. Sep 19, D. The third of John Bellairs YA thrillers see him change his format up a bit. Two of the secondary characters from earlier books, Mrs.


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Zimmerman and Rose Rita, come to the forefront, and give us a delightfully spooky but not TOO spooky mystery. This was written in , but it has a very contemporary feminist "feel" -- Mrs. Zimmerman and Rose Rita spend some of their time discussing just what it means to be a "girl" and what roles a girl should play in the world. In the meantime, there are myster The third of John Bellairs YA thrillers see him change his format up a bit.

In the meantime, there are mysterious happenings and danger lurking around them as they investigate a ring discovered by Mrs. Oct 06, Jana Kaplan rated it really liked it Recommends it for: John Bellairs was the pre-cursor to J. As a child, I would get absolutely lost in the spooky wizard filled worlds of Lewis Barnavelt and Rose Rita Pottinger. As an adult, I am the proud owner of a collection of John Bellairs books, with the original artwork by none other than Edward Gorey. I love to re-read these books when I need a brain break from the noise and haste that is adult life.

Dec 07, Tara Lynn rated it really liked it Shelves: I think that Mrs. Zimmerman was probably my favorite character in the entire Lewis Barnavelt "arc" of John Bellairs' stories. Stories with her as a central focus tend to be kooky and fun, and definitely entertaining. Jun 24, Kristen rated it liked it.

One of my childhood favorites. Oct 09, Cindy rated it really liked it Shelves: He leaves her a letter telling her about a magic ring he found. Zimmerman goes missing it's up to Rose Rita to find her. Unfortunately, that might end badly for her. I really enjoyed the travel descriptions of upper Michigan in The Straits still had car ferries, the bridge had not been built yet. Rose Rita is a strong female, but even she feels out of her depth. Everything of course works out in the end! Jun 01, Corinne rated it liked it. This is the third story in a series but I honestly can't say that book one and three were connected in any way.

Both books were about magic and both had a young character that was trying to solve a mystery. There the similarities ended. The main character in this book is a thirteen year old girl Rose Rita whose best friend is a 12 year old boy Lewis. Lewis is going to a Boy Scout camp for the whole summer.

Lewis is the boy from the first book who lives with his uncle who is a wizard. Rose Rita i This is the third story in a series but I honestly can't say that book one and three were connected in any way. Rose Rita is very disappointed because she will be stuck in this "dumb town with nothing to do and nobody to have fun with. Zimmerman and it is decided that she will go with Mrs. Zimmerman on a vacation to Michigan's Upper Peninsula. That is when some very suspicious incidents start occurring.

I enjoyed this story and had trouble putting it down as it certainly is a page turner once you get into it. I only wish the library had the second in the series, "The Figure in the Shadows. Aug 04, Alicea rated it it was ok. Zimmerman's adventures over the summer while Lewis was at Boy Scout Camp. So why then is this often referred to as The Lewis Barnavelt Series? Rose Rita is a full-fledged tomboy and is dissatisfied with being a girl.

She wants a chance to prove herself and she gets the perfect opportunity when Mrs. Zimmerman becomes afflicted by dark magic and then mysteriously vanishes. Richard Egielski is the illustrator of this volume and has a much different style. I don't have a lot of hope for the fourth but maybe with a different author at the helm books up until and they began in the early 70s there will be an uptick in excitement and narrative diversity. Sep 05, Cindy rated it really liked it.