We love to read witchy books all year long, but it just hits different when you read a witchy book in October!
Halloween and spooky season is the perfect time of year to gather up the best witchy books and get in the spirit of the season.
Here are 21 Enchanting Witchy Books to Read for Spooky Season.
This post is all about 21 Enchanting Witchy Books to Read for Spooky Season.
You may be expecting lots of tried and true characters or authors like Mary Deerfield, Rhys Penhallow, Juno Dawson, Beatrice Belladonna, Agnes Amaranth, and James Juniper, but this list features a lot of relatively new book releases in the hopes that you will find some new novels to add to your bookshelves!
Disclaimer: Affiliate links are included for convenience and ease of reference. If used to make a purchase, they will result in a small commission at no extra cost to the buyer.
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We have posts about Halloween decor, Halloween crafts, and the best Halloween season books to read as well.
Check it out for all your Halloween inspiration!
Witchy Book Variety
We love a witchy tale!
Regardless of what type of mood you are in, there is a witchy vibe for you!
Historical Fiction of the puritan kind? Check.
Cozy easy read with a bit of mystery? Check.
Dark magik to make your hair stand on end? Check
Earthy and life affirming? Check
We love all this variety!
Witch Book Covers
We have to take a moment to appreciate how gorgeous the covers of all these books are!
Witchy book covers are next level, top tier, AMAZING.
We were doing our little blurb for each book and realized that we wanted to comment on every single one about how spectacular the cover is.
So we decided to give a broad sweeping acknowledgment that these covers are just stunning!
21 Enchanting Witchy Books to Read for Spooky Season
Check out these 21 amazing witchy books to add to your spooky season or Halloween reads this year!
Find your next favorite book about the salem witch trials, or a setting in a magical world, or find some stories about young witches, crones, or modern women descendant of witches.
Connecticut, 1666: An ancient spirit awakens in a dark wood. The wildfolk call him Father, slayer, protector. The colonists call him Slewfoot, demon, devil. To Abitha, a recently widowed outcast, alone and vulnerable in her pious village, he is the only one she can turn to for help. Together, they ignite a battle between pagan and Puritan – one that threatens to destroy the entire village, leaving nothing but ashes and bloodshed in their wake.
Slewfoot is top of our list this year! We want to make it our first book of the season, and can’t wait to dive into this witchy story. *UPDATED* THIS BOOK LIVED UP TO THE HYPE!!! Check out our full review here.
2019: Under cover of darkness, Kate flees London for ramshackle Weyward Cottage, inherited from a great-aunt she barely remembers. With its tumbling ivy and overgrown garden, the cottage is worlds away from the abusive partner who tormented Kate. But she suspects that her great-aunt had a secret. One that lurks in the bones of the cottage, hidden ever since the witch-hunts of the 17th century.
1619: Altha is awaiting trial for the murder of a local farmer who was stampeded to death by his herd. When Altha was a girl, her mother taught her their magic, a kind not rooted in spell casting but in a deep knowledge of the natural world. But unusual women have always been deemed dangerous, and as the evidence of witchcraft is laid out against Altha, she knows it will take all her powers to maintain her freedom.
1942: As World War II rages, Violet is trapped in her family's grand, crumbling estate. Straitjacketed by societal convention, she longs for the robust education her brother receives––and for her mother, long deceased, who was rumored to have gone mad before her death. The only traces Violet has of her are a locket bearing the initial W and the word weyward scratched into the baseboard of her bedroom.
This is praised as one of the best witch books, and we can’t wait to check it out. We love the idea of three different timelines all connected by magic.
For centuries, witches have maintained the climate, but now their control is faltering as the atmosphere becomes more erratic; the storms, more destructive. All hope lies with Clara, a once-in-a-generation Everwitch whose magic is tied to every season.
In Autumn, Clara wants nothing to do with her power. It's wild and volatile, and the price of her magic―losing the ones she loves―is too high, despite the need to control the increasingly dangerous weather.
In Winter, the world is on the precipice of disaster. Fires burn, storms rage, and Clara accepts that she's the only one who can make a difference.In Spring, she falls for Sang, the witch training her. As her magic grows, so do her feelings, until she's terrified Sang will be the next one she loses. In Summer, Clara must choose between her power and her happiness, her duty and the people she loves...before she loses Sang, her magic, and thrusts the world into chaos.
For the mother earth type of feel, this one sounds amazing.
In the lands of Bethel, where the Prophet's word is law, Immanuelle Moore's very existence is blasphemy. Her mother’s union with an outsider of a different race cast her once-proud family into disgrace, so Immanuelle does her best to worship the Father, follow Holy Protocol, and lead a life of submission, devotion, and absolute conformity, like all the other women in the settlement. But a mishap lures her into the forbidden Darkwood surrounding Bethel, where the first prophet once chased and killed four powerful witches. Their spirits are still lurking there, and they bestow a gift on Immanuelle: the journal of her dead mother, who Immanuelle is shocked to learn once sought sanctuary in the wood. Fascinated by the secrets in the diary, Immanuelle finds herself struggling to understand how her mother could have consorted with the witches. But when she begins to learn grim truths about the Church and its history, she realizes the true threat to Bethel is its own darkness. And she starts to understand that if Bethel is to change, it must begin with her.
This one sets an absolutely perfect vibe for when the calendar turns to October.
As one of the few witches in Britain, Mika Moon knows she has to hide her magic, keep her head down, and stay away from other witches so their powers don’t mingle and draw attention. And as an orphan who lost her parents at a young age and was raised by strangers, she’s used to being alone and she follows the rules...with one exception: an online account, where she posts videos "pretending" to be a witch. She thinks no one will take it seriously. But someone does. An unexpected message arrives, begging her to travel to the remote and mysterious Nowhere House to teach three young witches how to control their magic. It breaks all of the rules, but Mika goes anyway, and is immediately tangled up in the lives and secrets of not only her three charges, but also an absent archaeologist, a retired actor, two long-suffering caretakers, and…Jamie. The handsome and prickly librarian of Nowhere House would do anything to protect the children, and as far as he’s concerned, a stranger like Mika is a threat. An irritatingly appealing threat. As Mika begins to find her place at Nowhere House, the thought of belonging somewhere begins to feel like a real possibility. But magic isn't the only danger in the world, and when peril comes knocking at their door, Mika will need to decide whether to risk everything to protect a found family she didn’t know she was looking for....
A popular book with witch stories to read for something light between heavier reads. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches with the main character of Mika Moon, is a fun and funny witchy book! The very essence of a cozy, witchy story. We loved it – check out our full review here.
For the Owens family, love is a curse that began in 1620, when Maria Owens was charged with witchery for loving the wrong man. Hundreds of years later, in New York City at the cusp of the sixties, when the whole world is about to change, Susanna Owens knows that her three children are dangerously unique. Difficult Franny, with skin as pale as milk and blood red hair, shy and beautiful Jet, who can read other people’s thoughts, and charismatic Vincent, who began looking for trouble on the day he could walk. From the start Susanna sets down rules for her children: No walking in the moonlight, no red shoes, no wearing black, no cats, no crows, no candles, no books about magic. And most importantly, never, ever, fall in love. But when her children visit their Aunt Isabelle, in the small Massachusetts town where the Owens family has been blamed for everything that has ever gone wrong, they uncover family secrets and begin to understand the truth of who they are. Back in New York City each begins a risky journey as they try to escape the family curse.
Looking for the Eastwood sisters? This book is the Practical Magic Prequel!
East Anglia, 1645. Martha Hallybread, a midwife, healer, and servant, has lived peacefully for more than four decades in her beloved seaside village of Cleftwater. Having lost her voice as a child, Martha has not spoken a word in years. One autumn morning, a sinister newcomer appears in town. A “witchfinder,” Silas Makepeace has been blazing a trail of destruction along the coast, and his arrival in Cleftwater strikes fear into the heart of the community. Within a day, local women are being detained. Martha is enlisted to search the accused women for “devil’s marks,” and finds herself a silent witness to the hunt. Martha is caught between suspicion and betrayal; between shielding herself or condemning the women of the village. In desperation, she revives a wax witching doll that belonged to her mother, in the hope that it will bring protection. But the doll’s true powers are unknowable, Martha harbors a terrible secret, and the gallows are looming…
Witchy books set so long ago, as this one, immediately feel scary and chilling because of the dark days of the witch hunts of the 17th century.
When Finlay Ashowan joins the staff of the King and Queen of Daxaria, he’s an enigma. No one knows where he comes from or how he came to be where he is, which suits Fin just fine. He’s satisfied simply serving as the royal cook, keeping nosy passersby out of his kitchen, and concocting some truly uncanny meals. But Fin’s secret identity doesn’t stay hidden for long. After all, it’s not every day a house witch and his kitten familiar, Kraken, take to meddling in imperial affairs. As his powers are gradually discovered by the court, Fin finds himself involved in a slew of intrigues: going head-to-head with knights with less-than-chivalrous intentions, helping to protect the pregnant queen, fending off the ire of the royal mage, and uncovering a spy in the castle. And that’s only the beginning—because Fin’s past is catching up with him just as his love life is getting complicated . . .
A lighthearted, epic fantasy, witchy story!
This is a witch story unlike any other. Lux has lost everything when Else finds her in the woods. Her family, her lover, her home - all burned. The world is suspicious of women like her. But Lux is cunning; she knows how to blend into the background. And she knows a lot about poisons. Else needs Lux's help to destroy the man who wronged her. But on their hunt they will uncover dark secrets that entangle them with dangerous adversaries.
Looking for witchy horror involving accusations of witchcraft? You found her.
In this tale of passion and obsession, Diana Bishop, a young scholar and a descendant of witches, discovers a long-lost and enchanted alchemical manuscript, Ashmole 782, deep in Oxford's Bodleian Library. Its reappearance summons a fantastical underworld, which she navigates with her leading man, vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont.
We wanted to put one of our all time favorite best books on this list, and decided to go with A Discovery of Witches, book 1 of the All Souls Trilogy. We absolutely love this story of Diana Bishop and the cast of characters that surround her.
When called upon, she can talk the death out of the dying and save their lives—only once, never twice. But this truly unique gift comes at a price, rooting Weatherly to people who only want her around when they need her and resent her unfamiliar ways when they don’t. Weatherly’s cousin Adaire also has a gift: she’s a Scryer and can see the future reflected back in dark surfaces. Right before she is killed in an accident, Adaire saw something unnerving, and that’s why Weatherly believes she was murdered—never thinking for a moment that it was an accident. But when Weatherly, for the first time, is unable to talk the death out of the mayor’s son, the whole town suspects she is out for revenge, that she wouldn’t save him. With the help of clues Adaire left behind and her family’s Granny Witch recipe box, Weatherly sets out to find the truth behind her cousin’s death, whatever it takes.
This 2024 witchy release is hot off the presses. Such a cool premise with unique magical abilities.
Norway, 1662. A dangerous time to be a woman, when even dancing can lead to accusations of witchcraft. After recently widowed Zigri's affair with the local merchant is discovered, she is sent to the fortress at Vardo to be tried as a witch. Zigri's daughter Ingeborg sets off into the wilderness to try to bring her mother back home. Accompanying her on this quest is Maren - herself the daughter of a witch - whose wild nature and unconquerable spirit gives Ingeborg the courage to venture into the unknown, and to risk all she has to save her family. Also captive in the fortress is Anna Rhodius, once the King of Denmark's mistress, who has been sent in disgrace to the island of Vardo. What will she do - and who will she betray - to return to her privileged life at court?These Witches of Vardo are stronger than even the King. In an age weighted against them, they refuse to be victims. They will have their justice. All they need do is show their power.
This Norwegian witchy tale released last year has so many 5 star reviews, we can’t wait to get to it.
After witnessing the brutal murder of her mother by witch-hunters, Evey vows to avenge her and track down the killers. Fury burns in her bright and strong. But she has promised her mother that she will keep Dill, her little sister, safe. As the lust for blood and retribution rises to fever pitch, will Evey keep true to the bonds of sisterhood and to the magick that is her destiny?
For those looking for young woman reading material, or some YA titles for readers of all ages, this witchy book fills the bill.
Emery Blackwood’s life changed forever the night her best friend was found dead and the love of her life, August Salt, was accused of murdering her. Years later, she is doing what her teenage self swore she never would: living a quiet existence on the misty, remote shores of Saoirse Island and running the family’s business, Blackwood’s Tea Shoppe Herbal Tonics & Tea Leaf Readings. But when the island, rooted in folklore and magic, begins to show signs of strange happenings, Emery knows that something is coming. The morning she wakes to find that every single tree on Saoirse has turned color in a single night, August returns for the first time in fourteen years and unearths the past that the town has tried desperately to forget. August knows he is not welcome on Saiorse, not after the night everything changed. As a fire raged on at the Salt family orchard, Lily Morgan was found dead in the dark woods, shaking the bedrock of their tight-knit community and branding August a murderer. When he returns to bury his mother’s ashes, he must confront the people who turned their backs on him and face the one wound from his past that has never healed—Emery. But the town has more than one reason to want August gone, and the emergence of deep betrayals and hidden promises spanning generations threaten to reveal the truth behind Lily’s mysterious death once and for all.
This looks to be an epic witchy tale that digs deep with a main character who has a broken heart after the loss of her best friend.
Elloren Gardner is the spitting image of her grandmother, who drove back the enemy forces in the last Realm War. But while her people believe she will follow in her grandmother's footsteps and become the next Black Witch of prophecy, Elloren is devoid of power in a society that prizes magical ability above all else. When she is granted the opportunity to pursue her dream of becoming an apothecary, Elloren joins her brothers at Verpax University. But she soon realizes that the university may be the most treacherous place of all for the granddaughter of the Black Witch. As evil looms and the pressure to live up to her heritage builds, Elloren's best hope of survival may be among a secret band of rebels…if only she can find the courage to trust those she’s been taught to fear.
We love a magical society, and wanted to find one other than the Harry Potter series. The Black Witch Chronicles sounds so amazing!
Rosemary Bell just wants to live a quiet, happy life and raise her daughter as far away from her toxic ex-husband as she can get. But when they move into a decrepit cottage in the woods of Mosswood, Georgia, Rosie realises her life will never be simple. A gang of meddling neighborhood do-gooders want to run her out of town. The vicious laundromat machines keep eating her spare change. Not to mention her buff Irish stalker who insists that he's a Witch King and that it's her royal destiny to be his Queen. And to top it all off, strange things keep happening around Rosie when she least expects it... She could deal with it all, but her ex won't rest until he tracks her down. When her ability to protect her daughter is threatened, Rosie shows them all that nobody messes with the new witch on the block.
This is Book 1 of this very cute, modern witchy story.
Thirty-year-old Black woman Sidney Taylor is a talented early American historian, working in fast-paced Washington DC, with her eyes on promotion. She’s also currently persona non grata. Who knew that making an inconvenient historical discovery would see her stuck at her desk, shuffling paper? So when she receives an anonymous and very cryptic invitation to visit historic small-town Robbinsville, North Carolina and hunt for a missing archaeological treasure – with a million-dollar pay out at stake – it’s one she can’t refuse. Besides, her beloved grandmother lives in Robbinsville, and it’s been too long since she’s paid her a visit. Soon, Sidney's on an exciting treasure hunt, following two-hundred-year-old clues that lead her ever closer to the artefact she’s searching for. But what is the artefact? And why is Sidney starting to feel like she’s at the heart of a terrifying conspiracy she doesn’t understand?
The answer blows Sidney’s world apart, plunging her into a dark, glittering world of secret societies, ancient bloodlines, witches and magic, linked to an ages-old conspiracy that could destroy the very principles upon which America was founded.
A witchy treasure hunt book? Yes please!!
Ever since her best friend Anna died, Evie has been an outcast in her small fishing town. Hiding her talents, mourning her loss, drowning in her guilt. Then a girl with an uncanny resemblance to Anna appears on the shore, and the two girls catch the eyes of two charming princes. Suddenly Evie feels like she might finally have a chance at her own happily ever after. But magic isn’t kind, and her new friend harbors secrets of her own. She can’t stay in Havnestad—or on two legs—without Evie’s help. And when Evie reaches deep into the power of her magic to save her friend’s humanity—and her prince’s heart—she discovers, too late, what she’s bargained away.
We looooove a magical book telling a good sea witch tale!
Nestled between Little St. Simons Island and Jekyll Island, Salix Pointe is not a place that many people know of. As a part of the Golden Isles of Georgia, it’s never mentioned because of all the Weeping Willows that grow there. The surrounding town’s folk call it the Island of Death. Elisa Hunte never let the old suspicions bother her. Yeah, there had been some strange things that had happened in the town like floating objects and people disappearing in the night, but that happened everywhere, didn’t it? Even though every night, she dreamed of the same faceless man who did things to her body that were carnal sins, she knew most of the talk about Salix Pointe was just old folklore. Elisa also knew that she was different. She seemed to sense things before they happened. That was just good ole instinct, right? Tasmin Pettiford was a city girl through and through. She hated the country, particularly Salix Pointe. If it wasn’t for the fact that her favorite aunt had recently passed away, and willed her bookstore to her, Tasmin would have never returned to the island that disturbed her on so many levels. There were stories of townspeople practicing magic regularly, others seeming to vanish without a trace, and the bookstore seemed to be the epicenter of all things weird and unusual. Tasmin couldn’t offload the property fast enough. The sooner it was sold, the sooner she'd be back in New York, away from the mosquitoes, the bookstore, and the eeriness of a town that caused many a nightmare during her childhood. Or could it really be that simple? Not to mention, Elisa couldn’t explain why her body reacted the way it did to the town’s brooding vet, Dafari Battle. And when his even sexier brother Octavian Jerrod stepped into town, dragging otherworldly trouble along, Salix Pointe will never be the same.Elisa and Tasmin may not want to put too much stock into the folklore of Salix Pointe, but there is a reason that the universe has brought the two women together.
A witchy, isolated island and its inhabitants. That sounds amazing!
For generations, the Kalotay family has guarded a collection of ancient and rare books. Books that let a person walk through walls or manipulate the elements—books of magic that half-sisters Joanna and Esther have been raised to revere and protect.
All magic comes with a price, though, and for years the sisters have been separated. Esther has fled to a remote base in Antarctica to escape the fate that killed her own mother, and Joanna’s isolated herself in their family home in Vermont, devoting her life to the study of these cherished volumes. But after their father dies suddenly while reading a book Joanna has never seen before, the sisters must reunite to preserve their family legacy. In the process, they’ll uncover a world of magic far bigger and more dangerous than they ever imagined, and all the secrets their parents kept hidden; secrets that span centuries, continents, and even other libraries . . .
In the great tradition of Ninth House, The Magicians, and Practical Magic, this is a suspenseful and richly atmospheric novel that draws readers into a vast world filled with mystery and magic, romance, and intrigue—and marks the debut of an extraordinary new voice in speculative fiction.
Magic and books take centre stage in this epic fantasy.
Angrboda’s story begins where most witches' tales end: with a burning. A punishment from Odin for refusing to provide him with knowledge of the future, the fire leaves Angrboda injured and powerless, and she flees into the farthest reaches of a remote forest. There she is found by a man who reveals himself to be Loki, and her initial distrust of him transforms into a deep and abiding love. Their union produces three unusual children, each with a secret destiny, who Angrboda is keen to raise at the edge of the world, safely hidden from Odin’s all-seeing eye. But as Angrboda slowly recovers her prophetic powers, she learns that her blissful life - and possibly all of existence - is in danger. With help from the fierce huntress Skadi, with whom she shares a growing bond, Angrboda must choose whether she’ll accept the fate that she’s foreseen for her beloved family...or rise to remake their future. From the most ancient of tales this novel forges a story of love, loss, and hope for the modern age.
If you love greek mythology or mythology stories, this is an amazing witchy story with gods and monsters.
21 Enchanting Witchy Books to Read for Spooky Season
We love making these book lists of some of our favorite books, and this list of 21 Enchanting Witchy Books to Read for Spooky Season is no exception!
Looking for more books for spooky season, but not necessarily of the witchy kind? We got you! Check out our list of some great horror titles we recommend or are excited to check out.
Of course, we didn’t forget about Stephen King! The master of horror also has his own list, go check that out!
If you want to find more books, check out our books from the blog storefront.
20 Enchanting Witchy Books to Read for Spooky Season
We hope you found some witchy books that you got excited about and added to your TBR. You will be sure to find some great books to read this spooky season or Halloween with this list!
If you are looking for more book recommendations, check out our book section of the blog. We have posts for Stephen King Fans, Sarah J. Maas fans, YA books for adults, book reviews and more!
If you are looking for more spooky season stuff, we love Halloween, and have a whole section of the blog dedicated to it! Go check it out for more ideas and inspiration!
Don’t forget to subscribe to the Slowestuff newsletter for year-round content! We love to talk about seasonal topics, and keep an ongoing discussion about books and scrapbooking all year long!
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We hope you have an epic spooky season!
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