I’m pretty sure I’ve said it before, but I’ll repeat it: Grady Hendrix is my go-to horror author. His approach to the genre, a little tongue-in-cheek, deconstructing familiar tropes and thoughtful social commentary, resonates with me. Also, he knows how to write a good scare and is not averse to a bit of gore.

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls is, possibly, his angriest novel. It’s set in early 70s America and revolves around the Wellwood Home, a house in Florida where embarrassed, ashamed families can dump their pregnant teen to keep them out of sight and out of mind until they give birth and the baby is sent for adoption.

Wellwood Home is not a hellscape, but it’s a place where the girls are stripped of agency. A case in point is our protagonist Neva—although in the home she’s renamed Fern—who, rejected by her father, feels isolated amongst a group of twenty or so girls. All of whom feel equally isolated. 

Fern does make friends. She is handed a spellbook by a librarian (in a mobile library) who also turns out to be a witch, and supernatural shenanigans stem from there. But Hendrix never loses sight of how awful Fern’s situation is—with or without magic—given she will ultimately be forced to hand over her child.

Fear not, Hendrix doesn’t fall back on “witchy” stereotypes. Yes, the piece’s villain is a witch, but she’s a layered character who believes wholeheartedly that her actions—which centre around Fern—are fully justified.

Given the state of America today, especially following the overturning of Roe v Wade,, you can see the re-emergence of these houses in the future. I bet it’s already happening.

Anyway, read this or, frankly, any Hendrix novel. He never disappoints.

[Withcraft for Wayward Girls is out in January. My full review will be in the January 2025 issue of Locus].