Home
Discover
Articles
18 spellbinding books about witches and witchcraft

18 spellbinding books about witches and witchcraft

by Lois Neville and Penguin Editors

2 October 2025

min read

A good book can transport you to another time and place; it’s the closest thing we have to real-life magic. But if you’re looking for an even more spellbinding experience, we recommend a witchy read – especially as we approach spooky season.

Whether you’re looking for a fictional fix after watching Hocus Pocus, a real-life incantation, or an education in practical magic, we’ve got you covered. Below, we have rounded up the 18 best books that showcase the world of witchcraft. These include some of the best books about witches for adults, as well as kid-friendly titles, from escapist fiction to books on the history of witchcraft. So, pull up a chair and get ready to travel to a magical world…

Fiction books about witches

Spellbound by Georgia Leighton

A witchy, feminist retelling of Sleeping Beauty, Spellbound ramps up the atmosphere with a dark and foreboding setting: think remote castles, terrible curses, and a whole lot of secrecy. But this isn’t your typical fairytale, with twists and turns that’ll subvert what you thought you knew about the original story.

Key themes: Identity, isolation, tradition, secrecy.

Cunning Women by Elizabeth Lee

Among the abandoned ruins of a small hamlet in Lancashire, the Haworth family eke out a meagre existence selling healing balms to the villagers. Cunning Women’s protagonist Sarah, like her mother, carries the birthmark of a witch, but when she falls in love with Daniel, a local farmer, she begins to dream of a normal life. All that is threatened when a new magistrate arrives to investigate a series of suspicious deaths. Inspired by the Pendle Witch Trials, debut author Elizabeth Lee creates a historical drama of female power and persecution.

Key themes: Superstition, otherness, gender, authority

A Resistance of Witches by Morgan Ryan

If you like a little history with your witchy tales, A Resistance of Witches is a World War II fantasy that pits our magical heroes up against Nazis. The Royal Academy of Witches is a governing body where magic meets espionage, and new apprentice witch Lydia plays a pivotal role in keeping a magical artifact out of the enemy's hands.

Key themes: Resistance, power, secrecy.

Pine by Francine Toon

Francine Toon's debut, Pine, may be considered a thriller, but it is infused with the supernatural. Set in an isolated community nestled in the Scottish Highlands, 10-year-old Laura lives in the shadow of her mother's disappearance, which still haunts her father. Despite numerous sightings of a woman appearing from the surrounding forest, the grown-ups don't remember her and are unwilling to reveal their secrets. Desperate for answers, Laura turns to her tarot cards for answers.

Key themes: Grief, isolation, nature, otherness.

Swansong by Kerry Andrew

Polly Vaughan is trying to escape the ravaging guilt of a night out in London gone horribly wrong. She arrives in the Scottish Highlands and finds, along with drink, drugs and sex, a fresh kind of fear. Soon she is having visions, or visitations – seeing floating white shapes in the loch, finding feathers on her pillow, and feeling a familiar voice reaching out to her from beyond the grave. In Swansong, Kerry Andrew uses her expert knowledge of folklore, mythology and witchcraft to bring us face-to-face with the haunted wilderness of the Highlands.

Key themes: Identity, nature, mythology.

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

Margarita is the titular heroine of Bulgakov’s weird and wonderful masterpiece The Master and Margarita, and surely every white witch’s poster-girl – an inspiring example of how to be loyal, loving and selfless even while hosting a party for murderers, traitors, madmen and seducers. Margarita may be clever, beautiful and rich, but she is married to a man she doesn’t love, and the man she does love has abandoned her. When an extraordinary stranger gives her a miraculous ointment, Margarita is transformed and flies away over Moscow on a broomstick, invisible and free. To find out what happens next, you must attend the Devil’s midnight ball.

Key themes: Corruption, morality, fate.

The Odyssey by Homer (Translation by Robert Fitzgerald)

In The Odyssey, we meet Circe, a goddess of magic and expert herbalist. Odysseus crosses her path on his long, wandering journey home from the Trojan war. Circe tricks and drugs a group of sailors, turning them into pigs, but Odysseus is forewarned and protected against her spell. He’s not immune to her offer to sleep with him, though, and thus Odysseus and his band of brothers lose a spellbound year in Circe’s magic hall, feasting on “roast meats and ruddy wine.” Note: we recommend Madeline Miller’s Circe for an alternative side to the story…

Key themes: Temptation, fate vs. free will, vengeance, legacy.

The Odyssey by Homer (Translation by Robert Fitzgerald)

Key themes: Temptation, fate vs. free will, vengeance, legacy.

The Sandcastle by Iris Murdoch

When a young woman named Rain Carter arrives at a school to paint a portrait, a quiet schoolmaster sinks into a deep infatuation. His daughter Felicity is upset, and knowing herself to be a psychic and a witch, performs some witchcraft of her own invention. This “direst of rites”, which involves a purifying swim, blood-letting and a floating fire, is an intense expression of teenage feelings of otherness. And, unfortunately, it does little except irritate her mother.

Key themes: Control, freedom, duty, complex relationships.

The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter

Angela Carter reimagined traditional fairy tales in The Bloody Chamber, a book of seductive, gothic short stories. As violent, dark and weird as the originals, Carter’s heroines are much more fascinating and resourceful. Instead of being young and helpless, or old and witchy, the women in these stories subvert convention. In The Bloody Chamber, a young woman realises she has married a man who has tortured and murdered his previous wives, but rescue comes in an unexpected, female form.

Key themes: Female desire, seduction, danger.

Children’s books about witches

The Complete Fairy Tales by The Brothers Grimm

Wicked witches abound in Grimm’s fairy tales, lurking in woods, casting spells and generally scaring the bejesus out of generations of children and adults the world over. These are the stories that conjured ideas of witches for a million childish imaginations, and have inspired generations of writers and artists since the Grimm brothers first collected them. Violent, funny, disturbing and wise, you don’t know witches until you’ve read Grimm.

Key themes: Good vs. evil, growing up, resourcefulness.

Northern Lights by Philip Pullman

Pullman’s epic fantasy trilogy, His Dark Materials, is a modern classic. It begins in Northern Lights, where we meet Lyra, a carefree orphan who lives in a parallel reality where science, theology and magic entwine. Finding herself embroiled in a sinister plot, Lyra embarks on a quest where she encounters armoured polar bears, magical devices, witches and daemons. Wherever you want to start with Pullman’s series, Lyra’s world is a magical one that will captivate the young and old.

Key themes: Questioning authority, truth, moral complexity.

Books about witchcraft

Craft by Gabriela Herstik

Modern witch Gabriela Herstik has created a beginner’s guide to witchcraft – the ideal lifestyle guide for those new to the occult. Craft: How to be a Modern Witch is an empowering guide on how to connect with nature, understand the lunar cycles, and embrace tarot and astrology. Whether it is self-care or steering away from toxic energy, this book is for anyone who wants to assert control over their lives – it’s the go-to book for beginner witches.

Key themes: Empowerment, nature, personal expression

The Little Book of Pocket Spells by Akasha Moon

The Little Book of Pocket Spells is perfectly bag-sized for those moments when, like Sabrina, you want to whip out a spell or two and cast an enchantment over a mortal enemy. Packed with tips to bring a little magic into your everyday life, there are spells to calm you through difficult situations, potions and brews to lift the blues and even an extra special incantation to add some magic to your love life.

Key themes: Personal growth, creativity, having fun.

History books about witches

The Ruin of All Witches by Malcolm Gaskill

This non-fiction account follows witchcraft accusations in a small 17th-century Massachusetts town, putting human stories at its centre. Following the stories of the real-life Mary and Hugh Parsons, The Ruin of All Witches is both a historical narrative and family tragedy that illustrates the factors that influenced the superstition and panic around witchcraft at the time.

Key themes: Superstition, societal change, family.

Witchcraft: A Ladybird Expert Book by Suzannah Lipscomb

An entertaining introduction into the history of witchcraft, Witchcraft: A Ladybird Expert Book looks back in time to the moment witches were thought to be at their most perilous: during the witch hunts and trials from 1450 to 1750. This pocket book is beautifully illustrated and features the first new illustrations produced in the original Ladybird style for nearly 40 years. Written by historian Suzannah Lipscomb, Witchcraft is part of the Ladybird Expert series.

Key themes: Gender, power, paranoia, legacy.

The Penguin Book of Witches, edited by Katherine Howe

Take a unique and compelling tour through the dark history of witchcraft with this anthology. The Penguin Book of Witches covers the real-life events of the witchcraft movement throughout Europe and America. It also includes a manual for witch hunters penned by King James and papers from the infamous Salem witch trials, documenting the realities of the legendary stories.

Key themes: Legacy, gender, political and religious power.

The Book of Magic by Brian Copenhaver

Written by one of the world’s foremost scholars on Renaissance magic and mysticism, The Book of Magic is an anthology of ancient magic in the West. From incantations to spells, curses and charms, The Book of Magic even contains some medieval works once thought of as too dangerous to open.

Key themes: History, science, superstition.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best books about witches and witchcraft?

If you’re looking for the best books about witches and witchcraft, first consider the genre and format you’re looking for. Our list here contains our top recommendations for fiction and non-fiction witchy books, with a little bit of something for everyone. That being said, The Penguin Book of Witches is one of the most popular titles, and a great starting point for a historical take on all things witchcraft.

What is a Grimmoire book?

If you’re into your witchy reading, or a big fan of the musical Wicked, you might have come across the term ‘Grimmore’. But what exactly is it? A Grimmoire is a magic book typically filled with spells, incantations, rituals, and so on. Basically, a practical handbook for all things witchcraft. You might also see it referred to as a 'book of shadows’.

18 spellbinding books about witches and witchcraft

Fiction books about witches

The best horror books to read this spooky season

Cosy fantasy books for spooky season

A guide to Gothic literature

Children’s books about witches

Books about witchcraft

Beautiful horror books from our Clothbound Classics collection

The best dark academia books

10 of the best Edgar Allan Poe quotes

History books about witches

Frequently asked questions

Where to start reading Italo Calvino

Where to start reading Shirley Jackson

Funny books guaranteed to make you laugh out loud

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter