The Bewitching
Forthcoming July 2025
Three women in three different eras encounter danger and witchcraft in this eerie multigenerational horror saga from the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic.
“Back then, when I was a young woman, there were still witches”: That was how Nana Alba always began the stories she told her great-granddaughter Minerva—stories that have stayed with Minerva all her life. Perhaps that’s why Minerva has become a graduate student focused on the history of horror literature and is researching the life of Beatrice Tremblay, an obscure author of macabre tales.
In the course of assembling her thesis, Minerva uncovers information that reveals that Tremblay’s most famous novel, The Vanishing, was inspired by a true story: Decades earlier, during the Great Depression, Tremblay attended the same university where Minerva is now studying and became obsessed with her beautiful and otherworldly roommate, who then disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
As Minerva descends ever deeper into Tremblay’s manuscript, she begins to sense that the malign force that stalked Tremblay and the missing girl might still walk the halls of the campus. These disturbing events also echo the stories Nana Alba told about her girlhood in 1900s Mexico, where she had a terrifying encounter with a witch.
Minerva suspects that the same shadow that darkened the lives of her great-grandmother and Beatrice Tremblay is now threatening her own in 1990s Massachusetts. An academic career can be a punishing pursuit, but it might turn outright deadly when witchcraft is involved.
Reviews
"[S]pooky and sophisiticated... Moreno-Garcia toggles between the gothic, über-privileged world of Stoneridge and the harsh reality of life in Alba’s Mexican village, keeping readers in the dark about how they connect, and then pulls the threads together in a searing finale. It’s as unsettling as it is unputdownable."
"The writing is beautiful, which is par for the course for Moreno-Garcia, and in Minerva, she has created a deeply original character, steely but yearning. This is yet another triumph from one of North America’s most exciting authors. Suspenseful and terrifying; Moreno-Garcia hits it out of the park yet again."Kirkus, Starred Review!
"Moreno-Garcia immerses readers in multiple settings; the shifting perspectives keep the tension high as the book barrels to the final confrontation. It's a thoroughly enjoyable book about power, privilege, dark magic, and the capacity for stories to transcend them all. Recommend to readers who enjoyed witchy novels such as Alexis Henderson's The Year of the Witching (2020) or V. Castro's Goddess of Filth (2021) as well as gothic horror like Caitlin Starling's The Death of Jane Lawrence (2021) or T. Kingfisher’s What Moves the Dead (2022).”Booklist, Starred Review!
"In Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s sure hands, every uncovered secret is fraught with intrigue and creeping horror. This multigenerational story weaves class, history and brujeria in a way only Moreno-Garcia can. Fans of Silver Nitrate and Mexican Gothic can rejoice – The Bewitching does not disappoint!"Tananarive Due, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Reformatory
"Moreno-Garcia is a deft enchantress--this is a ghost story in high Gothic style."ML Rio, bestselling author of If We Were Villains
"New England dark academia becomes Mexican folklore becomes tantalizing gothic thriller, and the weave binds ever tighter on each heart-pounding page--right up to the phenomenal conclusion. This is Silvia Moreno-Garcia at the height of her powers!"Afia Atakora, author of Conjure Women
"The Bewitching is a stunning story about the power of generational knowledge and proves that if there is any danger to be found in magic, it lies solely in the person who wields it. By gently leading readers through different time periods, places, and perspectives, Silvia Moreno-Garcia shows just how a story can be a spell — one I was happy to be under."Jessica Johns, author of Bad Cree
"Remarkably gripping, Silvia Moreno-Garcia's The Bewitching is a gorgeous, propulsive tale of witchcraft across the generations. This is a novel of eerie beauty, a book you won't want to turn your back on."J.M. Miro, author of Ordinary Monsters
"The Bewitching is un embrujo espectacular—a harrowing, multi-generational saga that possesses and devours anyone who reads it. Garcia Moreno deftly weaves together a lush folk horror, basement-of-the-soul nightmare and an atmospheric mystery, in this intoxicating tale of Minerva, her great-grandmother, Alba, and a legacy of women destined to cross the paths of witches. Dazzling. Terrifying. Sumptuous. This is a “finish in one sitting” story that won’t let you go long after you’ve closed the book."Marcela Fuentes, author of Malas
"Moreno-Garcia, author of Mexican Gothic, imbues her novel with evocative prose and razor-sharp wit to spectacular, creepy effect."