Halloween-Themed Reading List #1: Witches

Ha ha! Or should I say, Cackle cackle? No one gave me any recommendations for books featuring witches, therefore you will be subject to my personal favorites... and it is quite an auspicious day for me to be doing this list, since tonight I am heading out to see the musical Wicked, based on the life of the Wicked Witch of the West.

1. Witch Child by Celia Rees - Told through a young Pilgrim woman's hidden diaries, this story captured me with its whole atmosphere of actually being there and involved during the Salem Witch Trials. There is a sequel, Sorceress, which tells the story of Mary's ancestor in modern times.

2. Witch by Christopher Pike - One of Pike's earlier books, before he had to crank them out every three months and they were still actually good. This is more of a thriller than a horror story.

3. The Crucible by Arthur Miller - The only thing scarier than meeting up with a real witch is people thinking you are one when you're not. I'm sure some of you have read this in school and I always enjoyed it anytime I had to read it. It's scary to imagine that fear could make people this crazy!

4. The Witches by Roald Dahl - I read this back in middle school and saw the movie. Dahl really knows how to combine humor and scariness just right, so while his descriptions of the witches are funny, they are still very scary... If you want to read something really creepy, try some of his short stories, like The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More. I think these were meant more for adults, because they are very thought-provoking.

5. The Lives of the Mayfair Witches series by Anne Rice, which includes the titles The Witching Hour, Lasher, and Taltos. I know, I know, this is adult, not YA, but Anne Rice is so good.... Plus this series intersects with the Vampire Chronicles, which will probably make my list next week...

Here are some more titles you might want to check out, but which I haven't personally read:

• Spells and Sleeping Bags by Sarah Mlynowski (lighter fare involving witches at camp)
• The Witch's Boy by Michael Gruber
• The Sweep series & the Balefire series by Cate Tiernan
• The Witch Season series by Jeff Mariotte
• Raven's Gate by Anthony Horowitz
• A Hat Full of Sky by Terry Pratchett (more of a fantasy element)
• The Magic Circle by Donna Jo Napoli (Hansel & Gretel from the witch's point of view)