Fantastic Books About Evil Witches Featuring the Occult

We featured an article not so long ago about fun and light-hearted books about witches. While we love a charming witch with exciting spells, potions and drama, there is another whole category of witches that is equally entertaining though dwelling on the dark side.

Books about evil witches practicing the occult are just as popular as the light-hearted ones. Some in fact prefer the darkness and black magic in stories that feature witches.

So today we thought of featuring books with evil witches that are more serious in nature. These books range from being dark to downright scary. The witches in these books are definitely villains or at least protagonists who are not afraid to use their powers for not so virtuous deeds.

1) Wicked Witches: An Anthology of the New England Horror Writers by Scott T Goudsward

New England horror writers publish a new anthology every year and each year these books gain in popularity. Exploring the rich, dark history of New England with supernatural legends, these anthologies are the perfect read for all horror fans.

Wicked Witches, an anthology for dark arts stories feature some of the best writers in the industry from New England. The variety of stories in this book is excellent and readers appreciate that each author has their own individual style of storytelling and yet keeps up with the original theme of the book.

Honestly, if you are a fan of books with bad evil witches, you have to start at Wicked Witches. It is a book that you simply cannot put down and at the same time have your heart-pounding with fright.

2) The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson

The Year of the Witching by author Alexis Henderson is a haunting tale that will leave you spellbound.

The book is hailed by many as one of the best fantasy feminist debuts by any author.

The story revolves around a woman named Immanuelle Moore who discovers special powers inside of her. The problem though is her existence is seen as complete blasphemy considering she lives in a society that considers themselves pure and rigidly follows the laws of the prophet.

Immanuelle’s journey discovering herself, her mother’s past where she consorted with the witches and the evil spirits lurking in the woods is an incredibly intriguing read and will keep you hooked till the end.

3) The Witching Hour by Anne Rice

Author Anne Rice has written some of the best books of our times regarding the black arts, horror and the occult. Most people know her most famous book – Interview With The Vampire, thanks to the motion picture featuring a star-studded cast that included Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt.

However, if you are a fan of the occult and witch stories in general, then “The Witching Hour” is for you.

We should warn you this book is not an easy read and is for those that prefer dark-fantasy horror. The story spans four centuries of witches across a dynasty. A great family that is haunted by their past deeds and a powerful yet seductive being that is known as Lasher.

The book goes through historical New Orleans, San Francisco and is incredible in its scale. Spanning four centuries, the book is as mesmerizing as it can be unnerving.

4) The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco

The Bone Witch is part of a trilogy by the same name written by author Rin Chupeco. It is one of the most well-appreciated high dark fantasies based on witches.

The story starts with a witch named Tea. She is not just a witch but finds out she is a necromancer as well. A powerful combination that comes with its own set of problems that stems from fear from her own community.

When Tea accidentally ends up resurrecting her own brother named Fox, things start to unravel and she and her brother have to take refuge with a wiser, older witch.

The Bone Witch is a YA Fantasy with great worldbuilding and an intriguing storyline. Definitely a must-read for all YA and Dark Witch fans.

5) A Witch in Time by Constance Sayers

A Witch in Time by author Constance Sayers is one of the recent launches in the dark witches category. Even though the book is new, it has already garnered a huge fan base who love the story, writing style and the historical romance aspect of the book.

A Witch in Time is about a witch named Helen Lambert. Although her life seems quite normal, she is actually cursed. She must go-through a past doomed love affair across several lifetimes. The book’s depiction of her past lives, her love of an unknown stranger through all her lives and the reliving of her curse makes an engaging story that is hard to put down.

This one is recommended if you not just love witch stories featuring the occult but also if you are into reading paranormal romance.

6) Stolen by Vivian Vande Velde

The other books in this list are mainly meant for adults with only The Bone Witch coming under the Young Adult category. They are all dark fantasies with serious themes.

Stolen by author Vivian Vande Velde comes under children’s horror novels. Hence you must keep that in mind when reading the book and cannot compare it with the others in this list.

However, Stolen is still quite an intriguing read with a mystery that is a great page-turner.

A witch in the village of Thornstowe has been stealing kids for a long time. The day when she is finally captured, a 12 year old girl named Isabelle is found in the woods with no memory at all of her past. All that she can remember is a chant that goes on and on in her head. Who could this girl be and what is her connection to the old witch?

If you don’t mind reading children’s horror stories, then this can be a good read for you. It has all the makings of an excellent witch story.