Witchcraft for Wayward Girls

The disturbing, darkly fun occult horror from the Sunday Times bestseller

By: Grady Hendrix

Narrated by: Leslie Howard, Hillary Huber, Sara Morsey

‘Chillingly addictive’ – Cosmopolitan

AN INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

‘I did an evil thing to be put in here, and I’m going to have to do an evil thing to get out.’

In this twisted, unforgettable horror, a group of young girls turn to a dark, ancient magic. From Grady Hendrix, New York Times bestselling author of How to Sell a Haunted House and The Final Girl Support Group.

They call them wayward girls. Loose girls. Girls who grew up too fast. And they’re sent to the Wellwood House in St. Augustine, Florida, where unwed mothers are hidden by their families to have their babies in secret, give them up for adoption, and most important of all, to forget any of it ever happened.

And where every moment of their waking day is strictly controlled by adults who claim they know what’s best for them.

Fifteen-year-old Fern arrives at the home in the sweltering summer of 1970, pregnant, terrified and alone. There, she meets a dozen other girls in the same predicament.

There's Rose, a hippie who insists she’s going to keep her baby and escape to a commune. Zinnia, a budding musician who plans to marry her baby’s father. And Holly, barely fourteen, mute and pregnant by no-one-knows-who.

Then Fern meets a librarian who gives her an occult book about witchcraft, and power is in the hands of the girls for the first time in their lives. But power can destroy as easily as it creates, and it’s never given freely.

There’s always a price to be paid . . . and it’s usually paid in blood.

‘A perfect horror for our imperfect age’ – The New York Times


READERS LOVE WITCHCRAFT FOR WAYWARD GIRLS . . .

‘Gave me chills’

‘Tackles female rage brilliantly’

‘Disturbing but brilliant’

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls was a No. 5 Sunday Times bestseller the w/e 18th January.

Critic reviews

A chillingly addictive Southern Gothic tale

This visceral tale of oppression, resistance and consequences provides chilly horrors

Superb . . . Hendrix’s genius as a horror writer is his ability to develop complex, human-scale emotional arcs . . . At turns frightening, anxiety-producing, infuriating, beautiful and sad, Witchcraft for Wayward Girls is a perfect horror for our imperfect age

An engrossing, compelling read

This book is so twisted and smart . . . As soon as I finished, I wanted to start all over again (Catriona Ward, author of The Last House on Needless Street and Nowhere Burning)

A devilishly good time

There’s spells, there’s witches, and then there’s the magic Grady Hendrix conjures up in this amazing novel (Stephen Graham Jones, New York Times bestselling author of I Was a Teenage Slasher)

A morally complex and genuinely haunting and moving tale. I couldn't put it down once I started (Paul Tremblay, bestselling author of The Cabin at the End of the World)

Another nail-biter not to be missed! (Tananarive Due, author of The Reformatory)

This is Satan's School for Girls or The Initiation of Sarah . . . horror, social comment and wicked black humour (Kim Newman, author of Anno Dracula)

Terrifying, darkly funny, moving, immersive, and deeply relevant – a page-turner that will keep you up until one in the morning (Simone St. James, New York Times bestselling author of Murder Road)

Grady Hendrix does it again, only better . . . Enchanting and entertaining (Alma Katsu, author of The Fervor)

Full of hexes and heart, Witchcraft for Wayward Girls is Hendrix's best novel yet! (Ronald Malfi, bestselling author of Come with Me)

Captivating . . . A phenomenal read for witches everywhere! (Carissa Orlando, author of The September House)

Portentous and disquieting, it's a book that'll linger like a scar (Cassandra Khaw, author of Nothing But Blackened Teeth and The Salt Grows Heavy)

Stunning, full of dread and heartache and unforgettable characters. It’s impossible to read this book and not be touched by it. What a triumph! (Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling author of The House of Last Resort and Road of Bones)

As pacey as it is insightful, and an absolute page-turner into the bargain. I devoured it (Alison Littlewood, author of The Hidden People)

Raw, fearless and powerful. I screamed, I sobbed, I devoured every word (Lindy Ryan, author of Bless Your Heart and Cold Snap)

A haunted, heartbreaking masterpiece, filled with magic and monsters - human and otherwise. Hendrix has written an unmissable instant horror classic (Christina Henry, author of The House that Horror Built and Alice)

Wonderfully captivating

This is the second book from Grady Hendrix that I read (first listen). The story and the characters are so rich and captivating. The performance really sells it. I was throughly entertained.