Witches are an integral part of spooky season and related fall celebrations. Since witches as a subject are so wide-ranging in genres, I attempt to tag and separate them into sub-genres.
Nonfiction:
The Witches by Stacy Schiff (2015, Salem Witch Trials)
The Witch by Ronald Hutton (2017, world history)
Folklore and Myth Retelling:
The Witch and the Tsar by Olesya Salnikova Gilmore (2022, folklore, Russian, Slavic, Baba Yaga)
Winternight Trilogy, by Katherine Arden (2017, folklore, Russian, Slavic)
Uprooted, by Naomi Novik (2015, folklore, Russian, Slavic)
Spinning Silver, by Naomi Novik (2018, folklore, Rumplestiltskin)
The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec (2021, Norse myths)
Circe, by Madeline Miller (2018, Greek myths)
Stone Blind, by Natalie Haynes (2022, Greek myths)
Witch of Colchis, by Rosie Hewlitt (2024, Greek myths)
Historical Fiction:
Thistlefoot, by GennaRose Nethercvott (2022, folklore, Baba Yaga, Judaism, holocaust, LGBTQIA+)
The Crucible, by Arthur Miller (1953, Salem Witch Trials)
I, Tituba, by Maryse Conde (1994, Salem Witch Trials, slavery, Barbados)
The Year of Wonders, by Geraldine Brooks (2002, Britain, bubonic plague, witch hunt)
The Last Witch in Edinburgh, by Marielle Thompson (2024, LGBTQIA+)
Voodoo Dreams, by Jewell Parker Rhodes (1995, voodoo, undead, Marie Laveau)
How to Hang a Witch, by Adriana Mather (2016, YA, Salem, romance, ghosts)
Modern Dark Fantasy:
Women of Wild Hill, by Kristen Miller (2025, female rage, eco-fiction, generational)
Seven Miracles of Beatrix Holland, by Rachel Herron (2025, LGBTQIA+, Latinx)
Children of Blood & Bone, by Tomi Adeyemi (2018, YA, West Africa, adventure)
The Year of the Witching, by Alexis Henderson (2020, YA, misogyny/patriarchy, religious fanaticism)
Cackle, by Rachel Harrison (2021, relationships, women's fiction, light horror)
Bewitching, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (2025, gothic, historical, mystery)
Play Dead by Anne Frasier (2004, mystery, Gulluh, West African culture, voodoo, undead)
Nettle & Bone, by T. Kingfisher (2022, light horror, adventure, light romance)
Witch’s Orchard, by Archer Sullivan (2025, mystery, light horror)
Horror:
Hex, by Thomas Olde Heuvelt (2013, female rage, ghost)
Changling, by Victor LaValle (2017, fairy tale retelling)
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, by Grady Hendrix (2025, historical, female rage, medical horror, misogyny)
Romance, Romantasy, Cozy:
Honey Witch, by Sydney Shields (2024, romance, cozy, LGBTQIA+, spicy)
Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping, by Sangu Mandanna (2025, cozy, romance, spicy)
Dark & Secret Magic, by Wallace Kinney (2024, romance, cozy, clean)
Enchanted Greenhouse, by Sara Beth Durst (2025, romance, cozy, clean)
Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon, by Sarah Hawley (2023, romance, spicy)
Sorcery & Small Magics, by Maiga Doocy (2024, romantasy, LGBTQIA+, clean)
Bewitched, by Larua Thalassa (2023, romantasy, spicy)
Coven, by Harper L. Woods (2023, romantasy, spicy, dark academia)
Adventure:
Howl’s Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones (1986, romance)
