Witchcraft for Wayward Girls

About the book

The haunting and unforgettable horror novel by Grady Hendrix, the author of How to Sell a Haunted House and The Final Girl Support Group.

‘A chillingly addictive Southern Gothic tale’

‘I did an evil thing to be put in here, and I’m going to have to do an evil thing to get out.’

They are known as wayward girls, loose girls, girls who had to grow up too fast. Sent to Wellwood House in St. Augustine, Florida, where unwed mothers are hidden away by their families to have their babies in secret, provide them up for adoption, and most importantly, to erase any memory of it all.

Fern, a fifteen-year-old arrives at the house in the scorching summer of 1970, pregnant, scared and alone. There, she meets a group of other girls in similar situations. Rose, a hippie determined to keep her baby and flee to a commune. Zinnia, a budding musician who intends to wed her baby's father. And Holly, just fourteen, silent and pregnant by an unknown individual.

Every aspect of their day is tightly regulated by adults who claim to know what's best for them. Then Fern crosses paths with a librarian who presents her with an occult book about witchcraft, and suddenly power is in the hands of the girls for the first time. However, power can be just as destructive as it is creative, and it's never freely given. There's always a price to be paid . . . and it often comes in the form of blood.

Fans of Witchcraft for Wayward Girls rave about it . . .