Frank H. (perryfran) reviewed on 11/1/2022 + 1184 more book reviews

I've had this book on my shelves for a year or two and finally decided to read it for Halloween this year. This was a very creepy and disturbing novel about a town in the Hudson valley of New York called Black Spring that is haunted by a seventeenth-century witch named Katherine van Wyler. The witch has its eyes and mouth sewn shut and is shackeled with chains. But she manages to walk the streets of Black Spring and shows up in various places including the residents homes where she at first seems quite benign. When she shows up in the Grant family home, she is called gramma and a dishcloth is thrown over her disturbing face. But is she benign? If someone from Black Spring decides to leave the town for an extended time, they are overwhelmed with suicidal thoughts and must return. A decree in the town prohibits anyone from touching or harassing Katherine but kids will be kids. And so what happens if Katherine's sutures are removed from her mouth and eyes? Well you don't want to go there--the entire town will be in peril!

This book definitely provided some chills and it was a very creative and unique approach to a horror story. Although I thought it was a little wordy at times and could have been shortened somewhat, the story kept me reading and the ending was quite horrific.

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