Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s The Bewitching (July 15, 2025) weaves a chilling narrative across three timelines—Ireland’s haunting New England milieu of the 1930s and 1990s, and early 1900s rural Mexico—bound together by the sinister presence of witches, curses, and familial secrets. Moreno-Garcia draws upon her Mexican folklore roots to present witches not as whimsical heroines but as dangerous, shape‑shifting predators intent on mischief. The book’s setting, scholarly backdrop, and supernatural elements meld in an enthralling horror‑literary hybrid.
📖 Plot Overview: Three Lives, One Shadow
Timeline One: Rural Mexico, 1908 – Alba’s Awakening
The novel opens with Alba, a young woman living on a rural hacienda in Mexico following her father’s death and brother’s disappearance. She’s haunted—not only by grief but by the belief that her land and family are ensnared by witchcraft. Her premonitions and folk‑magic traditions clash with her family’s rationalism and the unsettling presence of her uncle Arturo, whose motives are suspicious. The narrative slowly builds, revealing the land’s curse and Alba’s own burgeoning awareness of her family’s legacy.
Timeline Two: New England, 1934 – Beatrice Tremblay’s Journal
The second thread brings us to Massachusetts during the Great Depression, where aspiring horror author Beatrice Tremblay recounts her days at Stoneridge College. Beatrice becomes close to her roommate “Ginny” in a mysterious, intimate relationship. But when Ginny vanishes, the unnerving presence that surrounds their friendship raises suspicions of witchcraft and foul play. Told through found‑manuscript format (journal entries, manuscripts), it’s full of Gothic dread and psychological tension.
Timeline Three: Massachusetts, 1998 – Minerva’s Investigation
The final strand follows Minerva, a Mexican graduate student writing her thesis on Beatrice’s obscure novel The Vanishing. Raised on stories from her great-grandmother Alba—“Back then…there were still witches”—Minerva arrives at the same Stoneridge campus to uncover connections between past disappearances and supernatural forces. Her research unearths Beatrice’s manuscript, wind‑surface whispers of curses, and academic tensions fueled by a strict scholarly environment. As strange incidents accumulate and accidents happen, Minerva begins to sense that whatever terror haunted Ginny and Alba may still stalk campus corridors.
Atmosphere & Tone: From Folk Horror to Dark Academia
Moreno-Garcia cultivates a moody, atmospheric resonance in each timeline:
- 1900s Mexico conjures rural dread, whispers of curse and plague, and a weighty sense of inherited fear.
- 1930s New England resonates with Gothic undertones reminiscent of Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House: slow‑creep tension, uneasy relationships, and ominous longing.
- 1990s campus life evokes the strain of academic pursuit as a form of isolation, pressure mirroring supernatural dread—Minerva’s thesis is just the beginning of her waking nightmare.
Together, these timelines fuse folk horror and dark academia—a rich tapestry of scholastic dread and generational trauma.
Character Arcs: Three Women, Three Voices
Alba: Rooted in folk traditions and familial duty, she embodies an innocence marred by betrayal, loss, and the unspeakable. Her relationship with her uncle Alejandro carries disturbing undertones that unsettle as the horror intensifies .
Beatrice (Betty): Her voice, confessional and introspective, reveals a conflicted soul drawn to forbidden love and haunted by disappearance. The found‑text format adds passive dread: you never know what’s lurking between the lines .
Minerva: Nerdy, determined, and resourceful, she stands in stark contrast to the other two. Minerva’s journey symbolizes the bridge between academic rationality and ancient fear—a spiral from harmless thesis to supernatural chase .
Reviewers note each voice is distinct and compelling: “The three characters … were all unique and had their own voices”. The Library Ladies praised how “she balanced it well and wove it all together”.
Themes & Symbolism
- The Legacy of Witchcraft: Witches aren’t adorable familiars but malevolent forces rooted in folklore—shape‑shifting parasites that prey on community and bloodlines.
- Dark Academia: The 1990s timeline ‑‑ and to an extent the 1930s ‑‑ highlights the oppressive structure of academia. Thesis deadlines, intellectual hierarchies, and mental fatigue become another form of horror.
- Generational Curse: The novel explores inherited trauma—witchcraft, disappearances, and patriarchal abuse echo across each timeline, underscoring cyclical oppression and familial wounds.
Strengths & Potential Weaknesses
Strengths
- Immersive atmospheres: Readers agree each timeline is lush and evocative.
- Unique witch portrayal: A refreshing break from sanitized pop‑culture witches—these are ruthless, dangerous forces .
- Cohesive structure: Despite switching voices, all threads interlock satisfyinglly, especially in the final third .
Potential Weaknesses
- Some readers found the pacing slow, especially in the central act .
- A subplot involving incest and abuse provoked discomfort—some appreciated its narrative purpose, others found it hard to read .
- A few felt two timelines outshone the third, leading to minor tonal imbalance .
Final Thoughts: A Haunting Multigenerational Spell
The Bewitching is a slow‑burn Gothic horror that elegantly traverses decades and continents, binding academic dread with old‑world folk terror. Moreno-Garcia’s prose is immersive and assured, threading together three complex women whose lives are shadowed by generational curses and real — not romanticized — witchcraft. Expect creeping fear, dark academia motifs, and horror that lingers long after the final page.
While the pacing may frustrate those seeking faster thrills, and certain themes may be emotionally challenging, the novel’s atmospheric strength and thematic resonance make it a top pick for readers of nuanced, literary horror. Fans of Mexican Gothic, Shirley Jackson, and folk horror will find The Bewitching to be Silvia Moreno-Garcia near her finest—and certainly among her most haunting.
