A review by karlakayjenniges
Conjuring the Witch by Jessica Leonard

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

"There is a house in the woods, covered in moss and time. It is a cursed place, and it hurries. There is a house in the woods where not even crickets will chirp. It is hurrying."

Deep in the woods, there is a lingering. It is ever watching and waiting. It calls to those who listen and see. It waits for the moment it can exact its revenge, but it will forever live within the darkness. Lost to the pain and suffering it has had to endure for a lifetime. There are witches in the woods and there they will forever stay. 

Religious horror can be very complex and disturbing. Not only are we experiencing the foreboding of the woods, not knowing what is exactly haunting within, but we are also experiencing the control of the church and the involvement of the men in the community. Submission of the women is their main desire and they have done evil upon evil deeds to obtain their status as the ones who must be in control. 

There is guilt that is layed upon the women that has them believing they are not godly enough and that they must work harder at being submissive to their husbands. But when the women discover what is truly happening, they do what must be done to punish the men. 

There is an atmospheric darkness that comes to life with the descriptive prose and setting. There is a melancholy that is unsettling as the story unfolds, it takes us deeper into the reasons behind all the strange occurrences. 

There is an eeriness and some moments that are chilling, not only by what lingers in the woods, but by the priest who demands submissive wives. 

Witches for the win!