It's Spooky Season, as Halloween is around the corner. As always, witches will be front and center. But for this year, it will be for an even bigger reason. With the success of the Marvel Television series, Agatha All Along and the hype surrounding the upcoming first half of the Wicked movie, let's go over books that sit within the realms of Witchy fun.
1. The Witches - Roald Dahl
One of the most iconic books to feature in this list is The Witches by Roald Dahl. The story of a young boy who is turned into a mouse, the book gives a terrifying (kid-friendly) look at the ugliness of witches and their wickedness.
The book also covers vanity and how the Grand High Witch appears beautiful on the outside but is a vain woman hiding a hideous appearance on the inside and hides behind a fake skin to normal humans.
2. All Souls Series - Deborah Harkness
The next book is a series about a witch falling in love with a vampire. So, the All Souls series features Doctor Diana Bishop, a witch who stopped practicing witchcraft after the death of her parents. Her love interest is Matthew, a centuries old vampire who craves being a father. Matthew didn't have a mate until he fell in love with Diana.
There are five books in the series with the first three being about Matthew and Diana. The fourth is about Matthew's Vampire son, Marcus while the recently released book, is about Diana journeying back into her past.
The books in the series include A Discovery of Witches, Shadow of Night, The Book of Life and The Black Bird Oracle.
3. The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis
While not a spooky book, C.S. Lewis' The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe is on this list because there's a witch.
The Witch is Jadis, the White Witch, who curses Narnia to an eternal winter. Her cruelty causes the citizens to revolt, prompting what becomes known as The Winter Revolution. Due to C.S. Lewis' Christian beliefs, Jadis can be seen as a personification of the devil, whereas, Aslan the Lion is a god-like figure.
4. The Very Secret Society Of Irregular Witches - Sangu Mandanna
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches is a cozy mystery about a lonely British witch, Mika Moon, who finds her own family after she is left orphaned as a child. She is one of the only witches in Britain and doesn't like showing herself, but there is one exception. She posts videos online pretending to be a witch
However, someone quickly realizes she is a real witch and the story goes from there. She is recruited to train three young witches.
5. The Wicked Years - Gregory Maguire
Finally, with the first half of the film adaptation of the musical Wicked about to release, it was only fair that the original book series, The Wicked Years by Gregory Maguire be put on this list.
Before Wicked the Musical was a hit, the story for the show stemmed from Gregory Maguire's book of the same name, which was released in 1995. The Wicked Witch of the West herself, Elphaba, is only featured in the first book as the story interweaves itself with the Wizard of Oz storyline, which is altered to fit the book's themes. What musical fans might not realize is that the book is far more raunchy and political than what is on stage and later on screen.
There are also additional aspects like the birth of Elphaba and Fiyero's son, Liir, that were not included in the musical. It is unclear whether this aspect will be in the films, though given the classification rating, it is unlikely.