A Spellbinding Guide to 15 Essential Novels About Witches

She who walks between worlds—healer and destroyer, outcast and oracle. The witch embodies our deepest contradictions about power: when it corrupts, when it liberates, and what happens when society tries to silence those who refuse to be silenced. From ancient covens in moonlit groves to modern witches navigating Instagram, these novels explore what it means to claim power that the world insists doesn't belong to you—and the price of using it anyway.

The Historical Witch: Persecution, Power & The Old Ways

These novels are steeped in history, exploring the real-life persecution of women and the enduring power of folk magic. They are stories of survival in a world that fears female autonomy, where a healing touch could be a death sentence and sisterhood was a radical act.

1. The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

   In an alternate 1893 America, three estranged sisters join the burgeoning suffragist movement and work to reclaim the lost power of witchcraft. This novel is a brilliant fusion of historical fiction and fantasy, portraying magic as an essential tool for women's liberation in a world determined to keep them powerless.

   The Coven's Call: A fiery blend of historical fiction and feminist fantasy, where witchcraft becomes the ultimate tool of rebellion.
2. The Familiars by Stacey Halls

   Set against the backdrop of the infamous Pendle witch trials of 1612, this novel follows a young noblewoman who befriends a local midwife. When her new friend is accused of witchcraft, she must navigate a world of superstition and misogyny to save her. It's a gripping and atmospheric look at female friendship in a perilously superstitious era.

   The Coven's Call: An atmospheric historical thriller where female friendship is tested against the backdrop of a real-life witch hunt.
3. Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian

   In 17th-century Puritan Boston, a young woman seeks to escape her abusive husband by petitioning for a divorce. Her quest for freedom soon makes her the target of witchcraft accusations in a society that equates female independence with devilry. This is a tense and meticulously researched thriller about the intersection of domestic abuse and religious paranoia.

   The Coven's Call: A sharp and suspenseful historical novel where a woman's fight for a divorce becomes a fight for her life against witchcraft accusations.
4. The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

   This Newbery Medal-winning classic follows a spirited young girl from Barbados who struggles to adapt to the rigid life of her Puritan relatives in colonial Connecticut. Her independent spirit and friendship with a Quaker outcast lead to dangerous accusations of witchcraft in this timeless story of prejudice, tolerance, and courage.

   The Coven's Call: A foundational story for young readers about how intolerance and fear can turn an independent woman into a target.
5. The Crucible by Arthur Miller

   While a play, Arthur Miller's dramatization of the Salem witch trials is an essential text. Serving as an allegory for McCarthyism, it explores how mass hysteria, personal vendettas, and religious fervor can tear a community apart. It is a powerful and chilling examination of the corrupting nature of power and the terrifying consequences of public accusation.

   The Coven's Call: The definitive allegorical drama about mass hysteria, where witchcraft accusations become a weapon of political and personal vengeance.

The Modern Coven: Sisterhood, Romance & Reclaiming Magic

These novels bring witchcraft into the contemporary world. They are stories about discovering a hidden heritage, the powerful bonds of sisterhood, and navigating the complexities of modern life—from romance to family drama—with a touch of magic.

6. Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

   Alice Hoffman’s beloved novel follows the lives of the Owens sisters, who descend from a long line of witches and are haunted by a family curse that dooms any man they love. Blending everyday realities with subtle, enchanting magic, the story is a beautiful exploration of sisterhood, family legacy, and the struggle to find love against the odds.

   The Coven's Call: A classic tale of magical realism that celebrates the unbreakable, and sometimes messy, bonds of sisterhood.
7. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

   A reluctant witch and historian discovers an enchanted manuscript in Oxford's Bodleian Library, awakening her dormant powers and drawing the attention of the supernatural underworld. Her subsequent alliance with a mysterious vampire geneticist sparks a forbidden romance in this thrilling blend of history, fantasy, and science.

   The Coven's Call: A sophisticated and sweeping fantasy romance where academic rigor meets ancient magical lore.
8. The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson

   In an isolated, puritanical community, a young woman born of an outcast discovers dark secrets about her family's connection to the forbidden woods and the witches within. This novel is a powerful blend of horror and fantasy that explores religious oppression, misogyny, and the reclaiming of female power in a fiercely patriarchal society.

   The Coven's Call: A dark and atmospheric feminist horror story where witchcraft is a terrifying and liberating force against religious tyranny.
9. Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova

   A powerful teenage bruja tries to rid herself of her magic but accidentally banishes her entire family to a mystical, treacherous underworld. To save them, she must embark on a perilous journey and finally embrace the heritage she has always rejected. This novel is a vibrant and imaginative exploration of Latin American folklore, identity, and family bonds.

   The Coven's Call: A thrilling YA adventure steeped in Latin American magic that celebrates embracing one's true power and heritage.
10. Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin

    In this popular fantasy romance, a brash young witch hiding from her past is forced into a holy marriage with a devout witch hunter sworn to the Church. Their unlikely and dangerous alliance is a witty and passionate exploration of the enemies-to-lovers trope, set in a world of religious conflict and forbidden magic.

    The Coven's Call: A sizzling enemies-to-lovers romance where a witch and a witch hunter are forced to say "I do."

The Mythic & The Magical: Epic Tales & Reimagined Legends

These novels place the witch at the center of myth, fairy tale, and epic fantasy. They are stories that reimagine legendary figures, build vast new magical worlds, and explore the archetypal power of the witch as a force of nature, an agent of chaos, or a misunderstood hero.

11. Circe by Madeline Miller

    Madeline Miller reimagines the story of the legendary Greek enchantress, transforming her from a minor villain in a man's epic into the powerful protagonist of her own. Banished and misunderstood, Circe hones her craft of witchcraft and discovers her own strength, in a lyrical and empowering story of a woman claiming her power in a world of abusive gods and men.

    The Coven's Call: A magnificent reclamation of a mythological figure, turning a footnote in a male hero's story into an epic of female resilience and power.
12. The Witching Hour by Anne Rice

    This sprawling gothic epic traces the intricate history of the Mayfair family of witches in New Orleans over centuries. The novel is a masterclass in atmospheric storytelling, weaving together family intrigue, supernatural horror, and a complex mythology centered on a mysterious spiritual entity that has haunted the Mayfair women for generations.

    The Coven's Call: A dense and atmospheric gothic saga, tracing the dark, sensual, and often tragic legacy of a powerful matriarchal dynasty.
13. Uprooted by Naomi Novik

    In this fairy-tale inspired fantasy, a young woman is chosen by a mysterious wizard to serve him in his lonely tower, which protects their valley from a malevolent enchanted forest. As she discovers her own wild and instinctual magic, she becomes key to fighting the corrupting force of the Wood in a story rich with Polish folklore and compelling characters.

    The Coven's Call: A beautiful, dark fairy tale where a young woman's messy, instinctual magic is the only thing that can save her world.
14. Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor

    This novel follows a Nigerian-American girl with albinism who discovers she possesses magical abilities and enters a hidden world steeped in West African folklore. As she learns to navigate her dual identity, she and her friends must confront an evil that threatens their community in a story celebrated for its unique and imaginative magic system.

    The Coven's Call: An incredible work of Africanfuturism, building a unique and vibrant magical world outside the bounds of European witchcraft traditions.
15. Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett

    In this hilarious and insightful novel from the Discworld series, three witches travel to a distant land to stop a fairy-tale happy ending from disastrously unfolding. Pratchett masterfully satirizes classic fairy-tale tropes, using his witches to explore the power of stories, the importance of free will, and the dangers of imposing simple narratives on complex realities.

    The Coven's Call: A sharp, witty, and deeply wise satire that uses witches to deconstruct the tyranny of a good story.