Welcome back to Scare Me! a weekly horror newsletter. Today, I’m sharing a list of some of my favorite witchy horror stories.

I heard the cawing when I was still half-awake, before I’d even opened my eyes. Sometime during the early morning hours, a flock of ravens had settled in our yard. Ravens have a rasping caw—a long note that often echoes through our woods—but today, the yard was full of chatter. They’re surprisingly versatile birds, capable of soft coos, staccato notes, a cacophony of cross-talk.

I watched them through the kitchen window as I boiled water for tea. Shadows sifted over our countertop in the morning light, cast by strong wings as a raven soared up to settle on the roof. Across the yard, two ravens chased each other past the big pine trees. One of our fat little robins showed up to look for breakfast, saw the flock, and left with a squawk.

I’ve known that a pair of ravens live on our street, in part because they had a territorial scrap with some other ravens that tried (unsuccessfully) to move in earlier this summer. But this many ravens—five, seven, landing in our trees and congregating in our vacant lot—was unprecedented. Were they having a meeting? A funeral? I texted my podcast co-host Maya, who let me know that we’re experiencing the first solar eclipse in Leo since 2019: a time of unsubtle reveals and surprises. Maybe they knew something I didn’t!

I’d planned to write something else today, but the ravens felt like an omen worth paying attention to. So today, I present: A multimedia playlist of all the witchy media I’ve been loving lately.

It’s probably overdue. Witchy horror is definitely having a moment—likely tied to the erosion of reproductive rights and general eat-the-rich/topple-the-patriarchy mood our current administration inspires on a daily basis. Witchy horror is full of rage and femgore, distorted natural imagery and undercurrents of magic.

If you’re in the mood for that kind of thing, you’re in luck! Let’s dive in.

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I’m currently about two-thirds of the way through Crone (9/22), and I’m certain it will be one of my favorite books of 2026. If I had to describe Keith Rosson’s latest novel succinctly, I’d say that it summons both Tana French’s lyrical and vivid crime fiction and the extreme strangeness of John Langan’s magic in The Fisherman. High praise!

The story unfolds in Salt Point, an economically depressed coastal town a few hours outside of Portland, Oregon. It’s unofficially run by a motorcycle gang called the Crooked Wheel, whose members run a hallucinogenic drug up and down the West Coast. They’ve got dirt on just about everyone, including a disgraced ex-cop named Eli Lamp. Eli’s days are consumed by the Wheel’s dirty work and errands, and his thoughts are consumed with the cold case disappearance of his daughter, Hannah.

It’s all balancing on a knife’s edge on page one, and pretty quickly, the dominoes start falling in all kinds of violent and shocking ways. True to the novel’s title, a crone plays an important role in the story. I’ll save the rest of my thoughts for my Macabre Daily review, and my questions for an interview I’m setting up with Keith soon!

Maya and I are talking to debut novelist C. N. Vair this weekend for This Might Sound Strange, and I couldn’t be more excited to discuss her gorgeous novel. The Devil Knows Her Name (8/25) tells the story of Tess, a witch who is nearly drowned by her lover. The devil answers Tess’s plea for life, and she finds herself immortal, indebted to him, and bound to her land.

Tess cultivates a beautiful life for herself in the Appalachian wilderness, where she eventually develops a wildlife sanctuary. So what if she has to use her magic to manipulate the townspeople’s memories from time to time? Then, in a matter of weeks, a manipulative new preacher and a mysterious fanged fawn call everything Tess has grown to rely on into question.

I loved the way this novel begins in a cozy, autumnal mood and rapidly unravels into utter chaos and violence. Tess is a formidable heroine who’s willing to go to extreme lengths to protect her land, her freedom, and the animals in her care. We’ll be airing our podcast interview on Halloween—plenty of time to snag this one ahead of time!

Inspired by a real gravesite, David Sodergren’s novel centers a dying Scottish town that’s slowly being abandoned by people seeking opportunities elsewhere. We meet a group of terminally bored young adults who are mostly desperate to flee for greener pastures—and in flashbacks, another young woman whose life was tragically destroyed by a mob of townspeople.

These two timelines collide on one gore-splattered night as Maggie returns to wreak havoc on the town that ended her life. In true Sodergren style, Maggie’s Grave presents many versions of women, from young mothers to restless seekers to an older generation that’s watching the consequences of their actions play out in real time.

Read this one next time you’re craving cinematic action, a revenge plot, and a healthy dose of supernatural slasher violence.

Hokum is one of my favorite films of 2026, hands down. I love Damien McCarthy’s strangeness and whimsy, the cursed antiques he collects and hides around his sets, and the dramatic intensity he builds as characters’ motivations collide.

The movie follows Ohm (Adam Scott), a frustrated novelist, on a trip to Ireland, where he plans to scatter his parents’ ashes. But dark things are afoot at the hotel he chooses, and he’s quickly drawn into a web of hidden affairs, murders, and a portal to a supernatural reality hidden in an always-locked room.

There’s a scene in this movie that genuinely made me gasp and grab Jack’s arm in the theater. If you’ve seen it, I think you know the one I’m talking about. (It happens in a dumbwaiter.) McCarthy manages to write a witch who’s utterly terrifying, but also impersonal in a way I found refreshing. She functions like the shark in Jaws: a hungry presence whose choices are driven by her nature.

This is a perfect movie to watch on a day when there’s blustery rain and wet leaves sticking to the lawn. Light a candle, pour a drink, and let yourself be bewitched!

I’ll be completely honest: I’m not sure Zach Cregger’s movies are for me. I find them entertaining but empty. I always find myself wishing that the shocking moments offered something more than glimpses of old women’s naked bodies.

But Aunt Gladys is an absolute creature. Her bowls of water, weird sticks and plants, and oversized granny glasses are truly the ingredients for an iconic character. It’s no wonder studios seized the opportunity to wring every possible dollar out of prequels and Halloween costumes.

As Aunt Gladys, 75-year-old actress Amy Madigan proves that older women can be just as vibrant and iconic as any younger scream queen. The movie presents Aunt Gladys as a parasite who’s leeching off the town’s children—but Madigan plays the role with a devilish charisma that tempted me root for her triumph.

I’ve written about most of these previously, but they deserve another shoutout!

I’m a bit sheepish to admit that next week’s interview is one of my worst in recent memory. It’s not at all the fault of our guest—Kailee Pedersen’s answers were as brilliant and incisive as the book we’d met to discuss.

But The Minimalist hit me on such a deeply emotional level that I found myself unable to stop confessing aspects of my life story that overlapped with the book. My questions were not clearly articulated, and I’m honestly amazed Kailee was able to deliver such an amazing interview given how badly I stumbled through them.

The Minimalist is a devastating psychological horror novel that captures a composer’s intense grief and identity struggles in the aftermath of her ex-lover’s suicide and her mentor’s accidental death. It’s a story suffused with music—Kailee herself is an opera singer—as well as self-harm, the often grim realities of adoption, queerness, and the complex identities of transracial/transnational adoptees.

As you’ll see next week, it means a lot to me, and Kailee illuminated the book’s many layers throughout our conversation.

Scare Me! is a free weekly horror newsletter published every Thursday morning. It’s written by Michelle Delgado, featuring original illustrations by Sam Pugh. You can find the archive of past issues here. If you were sent this by a friend, subscribe to receive more spooky interviews, essays—and maybe even a ghost story or two.