The Witch

by Fred Anderson

She’s out there.
She has the children.
And she won’t stop until they’re dead.

When tragedy strikes during a visit with their grandmother, Ryan Campbell and his sister Emily find themselves preparing for a trip to the hospital with their mother Lisa instead of returning home. Desperate to avoid reliving the traumatic memories of his father’s death, Ryan begs for a way out.

Fortunately, Grandma Wendy's best friend Dot offers to keep the siblings for the afternoon, and despite her misgivings Lisa agrees to let the old woman take them. But as all three Campbells soon discover, Dot isn’t the sweet lady she appears to be. She’s bent on revenge for her own traumatic memories—and has all the powers of hell at her command to get it.


Author's The Witch is a novel for adults, and contains brutality, bloody violence, death, explicit language, and terror.

Genres: Horror, Witches

325 pages, Paperback

First published March 24, 2021

Reviews

[Vonnielee · Rating 4 out of 5]

If there is one thing I've learned about reading Fred Anderson's works is, you never know what kind of ride you are going to get with Fred Anderson. I read the first draft chapter well over a year ago and was hooked, anticipating the final product. It was worth the wait. This story was totally over the top, entertaining, horrifying, and disturbing. I didn't need to know the odor of brains, but yet, I do now. I also have horrifying imagery related to demons, dolls, and oncoming trains. Fred does tend to overdo with uncommon words (thank you Kindle dictionary) and he will also take a description and compare it to something that isn't quite accurate, but the overall story arch makes up for those quirks. I've "known" Fred for well over 15 yrs online, so I might be biased, but I think this is a great story.

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic fun horror

This was a fun read. It had everything a horror fan would enjoy: witchcraft, possessed dolls, gore, intense chases, demons, scary house, crotchety old women, and so forth... With such a combination, what could go wrong!? haha I enjoyed the characters. I would have liked some closure at the end with a couple things but it didn't ruin the ending by not having it. And who knows.... with the epilogue, perhaps the closure could come in a second book. *fingers crossed* I enjoyed this story and author and look forward to exploring more of his books.

[Richard K. Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dig out ALL of your Universal Monsters model kits from Aurora.....they are going to a party tonight at Dot's house!!! This book was a scary AND fun novel of two kids who thought they were going to be safe going to a dear old friend of their Grandmothers house for the rest of the day! NOT!
Get ready for Fred Anderson's "The Witch". WARNINGS: Graphic depictions of things done with USED feminine hygiene product!!
Check out my Video Review for it here: https://youtu.be/YKO-ls-c14I

So 14 year old Emily and her 10 or so year old brother Ryan lose their father their world falls apart. After experiencing their first funeral; Ryan never forgets the time.....in fact he remembers it forever!
So, one day while them and their mother are visiting grandma, they go to church, and this is when 'All HELL Breaks Loose' and the kids gets separated from their Mom as she has to go to the EMERGENCY room with her Mother, and leaves the kids with 'Dot'; their gramms' dear friend!!!

NOOOOOOO! And this is when the fun begins. Part Hansel and Gretel and part Phantasmic at Disneyland, throw in the Devil, and revenge and this is the ride you are about to go on in the front seat! Now, let me tell you I listened to this and the female narrator was excellent!!!
I loved it , was grossed out a couple of times, and want to visit Anderson's "Charnel House" next as it has the same mansion Barlow House as the main 'character'

4.5 👺👻💀🩸🩸🩸🩸

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well worth it. All the elements of the old classic horror movies!

I thoroughly enjoyed this story from start to finish. I could picture the characters perfectly and repeatedly thought to myself “this should be a movie!” Looking forward to reading more Fred Anderson!

[Heather · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nope

It was okay at first. I literally gagged of some of the scenes depicted. Thought they were insanely gross and unnecessary. The used feminine product scene literally almost made me vomit. Not a fan of the sexual imagery either. I also didn't like the use of the word c**t.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The witch

The book definitely had promise. It started out pretty good, but then became so unbelievable I could not finish it. I ended up just scanning the last few chapters of the book.

[Vicki Herbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Witch is Long in the Tooth...

No spoilers. 3 1/2 stars. The Campbell family runs into a bit of a problem while visiting Grandma Wendy...

... while sitting in church Grandma suddenly starts machine-gun farting, then spews her morning oatmeal all over everyone and...

... after garbling a few incoherent words she strokes out...

As Lisa, the children's mother, waits with Grandma for an ambulance, she allows the children to go home with Wendy's friend Dot to wait except...

Dot is not Dot...

She is a witch disguised as Dot and she plans to sacrifice the children so her dark god will bring her two dead children back to life...

When I say this story is long in the tooth I'm really saying that it went on entirely too long. It had some good elements but they've all been used before so it was rather ho hum.

This is another story that relies on the familiar storyline: organized church bad... everything else good. Also the author went overboard with the profanity. If people really talked like that in every sentence (even the children) they would sound unintelligent to people around them and look like a trashy family. I really wasn't impressed with this tale.

Warnings: extreme violence, profanity, sexual situations, child abuse.

[Ethan’s Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mix between The Visit and Hansel and Gretel. Both kids had me cracking up in the beginning with there jokes and one liners. It kept me reading for more.
This book will make a good movie when they decide to use it. I’m glad I could be ahead of the curve for once.

Creepy tones and unsettling imagery this book was will make a great addition to your Halloween collection.

4 🧙‍♀️🧙‍♀️🧙‍♀️🧙‍♀️
This is a great Halloween/fall read.

[Cecilia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Truly Scary Creepy Witch Story

This book is how I like my witch stories to be ... scarier than crapola! Loved this one .. it's more like "Hansel & Gretel" as a frightening witch tale should be! I even felt sorry for the witch (just a bit) and the reason she became the person/witch she was. The author did a great job of making you care about all of the characters and become further invested in what would happen to them ... like I said, even the witch!

I've not read anything by this author before, but downloaded a couple more of his books after reading this one. Love it when I find a 'new' author to like!

[Samaire Wynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unputdownable and odd.

[Mari · Rating 4 out of 5]

This reminds me of the kind of all-out horror I loved as a teen (but definitely not a YA read!). Huge fun and I enjoyed the ride.

[Lablover · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book wasn't scary, at all. I found it to be graphic and strange but not scary. I think the author tried to paint a visual picture of gorey scenes and action sequences. It reads more like someone explaining a horror movie they saw than a book. Parts of the story are good, like the dad's best friend committing suicide and why. But there's just no feeling of suspense.

[Rose Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

Great characters! Very entertaining! I was definitely on the edge of my seat and couldn’t wait to turn the next page. Great book! ❤️

[varena manion · Rating 1 out of 5]

the witch

My first and definitely my last attempt to read This author. Graphic sex and violence, especially involving children, is not something I care to read.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

You may think you're in a Grimm's Fairy Tale with this one. Hansel and Gretel came to mind as the story unfolded, though it soon bypassed that story with chilling events, that kept me turning pages.

Lisa and her two children, Emily and Ryan, are visiting the children's grandmother who lives in a small town. The grandmother is grieving the loss of her son (the children's father and Lisa's husband) who died of cancer nearly a year ago. They are all grieving and hope this visit will help. The trip does not go as anyone planned, when Grandma suffers a stroke while they're all in church.

While Grandma is taken away in an ambulance, and Lisa is ready to follow with the kids, a friend offers to take the children to her house so that they don't have to relive the hospital experience of their dad. Lisa is hesitant, but Ry begs to go with the friend and Em joins them.

The kids and this woman pull into the driveway of this run down, spooky looking house and things go completely downhill once inside. Emily becomes worried right away, but Ryan is carted off to see the woman's dead son's room where fun toys are everywhere. They thought this lady didn't have any children, but they were wrong. Her son died decades ago, in a train accident that wasn't exactly an accident.

This story is scary, spooky, very graphic and everything you want in a horror book if you enjoy details, that is. Some were over the top and the mom's voice didn't always ring true for me, but otherwise, it was a good read.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've happily followed Fred Anderson's life over the many years he's been on the internet and his writing just gets better with time. I've been creeped out by his books, laughed with and at characters, and left off reading at times because the intensity was just too much to handle in one go. Read The Witch, and go back to read his other stuff, too. If you like Stephen King or Harlan Coben, you won't be disappointed.

Now, onto my review of The Witch.

This book is over the top in all the best ways! There were quite a few moments that left me cringing along with the characters, and I love that in a book! The book was thrilling but still a little sad around the edges. That sadness brought a depth to the story that was necessary so it wouldn't wind up one of those dime-a-dozen horror stories that seem to crop up a few times a year and are quickly discarded. The Witch is going to stay with me for a while. I won't spoil things, but the blood freely given scene will haunt me. So will the man with the eye near the end. Yikes.

[Traci Otte · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is definitely horror! Warning: this is not for the squeamish AT ALL. If you're okay with all the stuff in the warnings (brutality, bloody violence, death, explicit language, sexual innuendo, children in peril, and terror) and supernatural stuff then you'll probably like this. The point of view changes quite a bit, so we know what the different characters (including the witch) are thinking.

My only "complaint" is that the vocabulary used is large, so in the kids' points of view, I found it a little unrealistic. For example, in the boy's POV "Queen Anne chairs" are listed as being in a particular place. In his sister's POV, they're referred to as "fancy chairs". He's around 11, and she's 14. There were others that I won't list.

It was good, though - definitely creepy and scary!

[Speciesamused · Rating 5 out of 5]

A family has lost their father to cancer. They travel to visit his mother. Lisa is the wife and her two children, Em and Ryan. Their grandmother is a strange bible thumper in a little town in Alabama. They are not close to her but wanted to visit her to share their grief. While they are at Sunday mass she has a stroke. An old family friend of the grandmother, Dot, offers to take the two Children while Lisa follows the grandmother to the hospital as Em and Ryan do not want to go to another hospital so soon. They leave with Dot in her car and go to stay at Dots house. Em has her cell and keeps texting her Mom that something is odd about Dot. Well Dot ends up showing up at the hospital later and Lisa finds out her kids are not with Dot. Extremely well written.

[Carol Gerardo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great storytelling.

From the first page to the last this was an amazing tale. I couldn’t stop reading because I had to know what happened next. It has been awhile since a book has pulled me in that deep. Deep enough to reach the pits of hell. The characters were amazing and so well fleshed out. What I don’t understand is why Fred Anderson’s books aren’t on the New York Times best seller list because his storytelling gives King and Koontz a run for their money. Loved the 1408 house number too. Not a good number for houses nor hotel rooms. Keep writing Fred Anderson. Find an agent because you deserve to have your books on every shelf of whatever bookstores are left out there. Thank you for the best witch story I’ve ever read.

[Julie Rhinehart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disturbing and dark version of Hansel and Gretel. Lost a star because a few scenes were more for shock factor and didn’t add to the story. Emily and Ryan are visiting their Grandma when she has a stroke and is rushed to the hospital. Her friend Dot offers to take the kids to her house so they don’t have to go to the hospital and relive any of the memories of when their father was in the hospital with cancer. From there this book gets spooky and will have you on the edge of your seat, jumping at every noise and glued to the pages as you wait to see what happens next. Graphic and twisted, not for squeamish readers.

[AGilden · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the Author's Note, Fred Anderson tells us that he wanted to write something over the top. And he succeeded in spectacular fashion. A witch casts some spells, and dolls and monsters come alive to chase around and torture two children. The action scenes are absolutely endless and there's enough gore thrown in to satisfy any horror fan. At the same time, we understand the two kids and their mother pretty well, and even the witch has motivations for her actions that almost, but only almost, make her a sympathetic character. As such, it's not simple splatterpunk, since it contains too much depth for that. But it is fast and violent and highly entertaining.

[Robert Spaulding · Rating 5 out of 5]

You think you have heard this story before, but you haven't!

I devoured this book with vigor. The storyline at the beginning walks you into a southern town with all its creepy charms. Then, it leads you into a bedtime story you think you may have heard long ago but you have not heard it told like this! The vivid descriptions left me aghast as I road the crazy train of this unexpectedly horrific tale.

[Lisa]

Cute story

IMO it's more of a teen read (if the language and sexuality were removed). All that makes it NOT a teen read is those things. The story itself, plot, style of writing, characters, etc are all more along the lines of what the 13+ crowd would like.

That said, if I were that age, I'd love this story. The only reason I didn't give five stars is bc I feel it's misc categorized and there were several typos (mostly of the "missing words in sentences" variety).

[Sam Kennedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good concept

This book has a nice creepy concept but I felt like it straddled the line between being a YA/MG horror and adult horror. To me the tone, dialogue, pacing, etc. could have firmly placed it in the YA category but the language was definitely adult. This doesn’t bother me as it’s common occurrence in horror but just seemed a little out of place with the overall mood of the book.

[Pamela Faust · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ryan and Emily go to their grandma’s house with their mom, Lisa. When they go to church Grandma has a stroke. Since Ryan doesn’t want to go to the hospital, Lisa says he can go to Grandma’s friend, Dot’s house. Then the trouble starts. Dot is not really Dot but is really a witch and she wants those kids dead. This story entertained me a lot for it’s Hansel and Gretel theme as well as a lot of Stephen King’s Lisey’s Story. All of the family were snarky and funny.

[Kathleen Kuipers · Rating 5 out of 5]

A New Take on the Bad Witch!

I just got done reading this last night. It was awesome! Not many books scare me anymore, I'm kind of jaded after all the years I've been reading horror. At a particular part of the book my daughter called and I nearly threw my Kindle across the room. Such great horror story. A new twist on the bad witch story. I loved it!

[Brittany Riggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was one that I felt I needed to put down, but just couldn’t. The reason I almost put it down was due to the sexual images put into Ryan’s head about his grandma and Dot. I felt that went a little far. Overall, I loved the book, I just could have done without the sexual image parts. I don’t think it added anything to the book.

[Marisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, scary read!

Fun! Scary! Hard to put down. However, the writing at times reads juvenile. Could have been better if the writing had been more sophisticated. Just one opinion. Still great fun!

[Carla Dunlap · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scary Good

Best book I've read in awhile. It reminded a lot of John Saul's writing but with some modern twists. I usually give books a star rating, but seldom write any kind of review. The Witch was so good I had to acknowledge it.

[Melanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

awful

This was awful. I just wanted it to end. The constant half thought crap was forced and irritating. The plot was trash and man-ram? You couldn’t come up with a better phrase? Don’t waste your time on this.