What to read next
8 books like The Witch
The Witch isn't out yet, but its setup already gives us plenty to work with: an old family estate, buried history, witchcraft, strange events, and the possibility that not everything has a supernatural explanation. These eight books pick up different parts of that setup while you wait.
Read our guide to The Witch by Freida McFadden.
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Best matches
Three strong places to start
If you only want three picks, start here.
Best overall
Fastest read
Best alternative
Choose by reading mood
Where to start
For the fastest read
The Housemaid
FastFor the darkest read
The Curse of Hester Gardens
Very darkFor minimal romance
What Moves the Dead
MinimalFor the easiest entry
Never Lie
AccessibleThe full shortlist
Why each book belongs here
Start with the kind of unease you want most: a haunted property, an old family secret, explicit witchcraft, or a contemporary domestic trap.
1
The Curse of Hester Gardens
- Pace
- Balanced
- Darkness
- Very dark
- Romance
- Minimal
- Difficulty
- Accessible
Why this matches
- Similar because
- The closest match is The Curse of Hester Gardens. Like The Witch, it turns an old estate and a woman's buried family history into the heart of the mystery.
- Different because
- The Curse of Hester Gardens follows records and a haunting through a Gothic investigation. The Witch is framed as a thriller and leaves its strange events unexplained for now.
- Choose this if
- Choose The Curse of Hester Gardens when the ancestral property and generational secrets are what caught your attention.
2
What Moves the Dead
- Pace
- Balanced
- Darkness
- Dark
- Romance
- Minimal
- Difficulty
- Accessible
Why this matches
- Similar because
- Both The Witch and What Moves the Dead begin at old family estates where the buildings, their histories, and unsettling physical signs demand an explanation.
- Different because
- What Moves the Dead is a compact Gothic retelling with biological horror and a firm answer. The Witch connects its Massachusetts estate to a 1692 witchcraft execution, but its threat remains uncertain before publication.
- Choose this if
- Try What Moves the Dead for eerie architecture, close observation, and a concise mystery with a strange ecological answer.
3
Never Lie
- Pace
- Brisk
- Darkness
- Moderate
- Romance
- Minimal
- Difficulty
- Accessible
Why this matches
- Similar because
- If the old-house angle in The Witch interests you most, Never Lie is the obvious McFadden pick. Both stories begin with a woman entering an isolated home full of hidden history.
- Different because
- Never Lie uses a snowbound modern manor, a missing psychiatrist, and recorded sessions. The Witch starts at an ancestral Massachusetts estate linked to a witchcraft case and possible haunting.
- Choose this if
- Start with Never Lie if you want a finished McFadden standalone about an isolated house and buried evidence.
4
The Shining
- Pace
- Balanced
- Darkness
- Dark
- Romance
- Minimal
- Difficulty
- Moderate
Why this matches
- Similar because
- A building with a violent past shapes both The Witch and The Shining, and each places a family crisis inside that unsettling history.
- Different because
- The Shining follows a family isolated in a hotel and develops addiction, psychic ability, and supernatural corruption in detail. The Witch centers Julia Barlow's return to her own family estate.
- Choose this if
- Pick The Shining when you want an openly supernatural building, sustained family pressure, and a broader horror story.
5
The Twisted Ones
- Pace
- Balanced
- Darkness
- Dark
- Romance
- Minimal
- Difficulty
- Accessible
Why this matches
- Similar because
- Family remnants lead toward something outside ordinary explanation in The Witch and The Twisted Ones, each of which sends a woman to an older relative's isolated property.
- Different because
- The Twisted Ones has a hoarded house, a cryptic journal, and rural folklore. The Witch has an inhabited ancestral estate, an aging grandmother, and a documented 1692 execution.
- Choose this if
- The Twisted Ones suits readers looking for a conversational heroine, unsettling woods, and folklore that becomes materially dangerous.
6
The Hollow Places
- Pace
- Balanced
- Darkness
- Dark
- Romance
- Minimal
- Difficulty
- Accessible
Why this matches
- Similar because
- In The Witch and The Hollow Places, a familiar building tied to family becomes the site of impossible signs and a frightening investigation.
- Different because
- The Hollow Places opens a museum wall onto a cosmic otherworld and makes room for friendship and dark humor. The Witch ties its disturbances to the Barlow family and colonial Massachusetts history.
- Choose this if
- Go with The Hollow Places if you want explicit cosmic horror, companionship, and some humor alongside the dread.
7
A Sorceress Comes to Call
- Pace
- Balanced
- Darkness
- Dark
- Romance
- Minimal
- Difficulty
- Accessible
Why this matches
- Similar because
- Witchcraft enters a powerful household in both The Witch and A Sorceress Comes to Call, where concealed motives leave the people living together vulnerable.
- Different because
- A Sorceress Comes to Call confirms its magic immediately and filters domestic coercion through a dark Regency fairy tale. The Witch preserves uncertainty about what is happening at Pemberton.
- Choose this if
- A Sorceress Comes to Call is the choice for an unambiguous sorceress, domestic resistance, and a complete fantasy-horror story.
8
The Housemaid
- Pace
- Fast
- Darkness
- Moderate
- Romance
- Minimal
- Difficulty
- Accessible
Why this matches
- Similar because
- The Witch and The Housemaid each put a financially vulnerable woman inside a wealthy family's home, where private rooms and family lies make her reason for being there more dangerous.
- Different because
- The Housemaid builds a contemporary live-in employment trap around class, credibility, and restricted access. The Witch returns its protagonist to her own ancestral estate and introduces possible witchcraft.
- Choose this if
- Choose The Housemaid for McFadden's established domestic-suspense approach in a published novel with no supernatural premise.
Side-by-side
Pace, darkness, romance, and difficulty
| Book | Pace | Darkness | Romance | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Witch | Not released yet | |||
| The Curse of Hester Gardens | Balanced | Very dark | Minimal | Accessible |
| What Moves the Dead | Balanced | Dark | Minimal | Accessible |
| Never Lie | Brisk | Moderate | Minimal | Accessible |
| The Shining | Balanced | Dark | Minimal | Moderate |
| The Twisted Ones | Balanced | Dark | Minimal | Accessible |
| The Hollow Places | Balanced | Dark | Minimal | Accessible |
| A Sorceress Comes to Call | Balanced | Dark | Minimal | Accessible |
| The Housemaid | Fast | Moderate | Minimal | Accessible |
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