Witch Bottle by Tom Fletcher

(Joe Fletcher Books, 2021)

Reviewed by Kate Onyett

A witch bottle is a protection against evil that is buried at the doorway to secure the home. This is old belief and older magic, and with these Fletcher weaves a strange, folkloric horror tale through the surprisingly claustrophobic byways of the north country. Despite a wilderness as wide and wild as any viewed by the Romantics, dread comes clenching along the miles of walled-lined lanes, and we cannot look away.

Like rats running a maze, watched by some lurking presence, the narrow streets are a metaphor for life; the repetitive journeys, keeping heads down, just ‘getting by’. We rarely break out of our rut unless challenged by something extraordinary. Even without the supernatural, Fletcher shows the waste and sadness of lives lived on just one looping pattern with few rewards.

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Review from BSFA Review 17 - Download your copy here.