Twenty original short tales inspired by witchy women from history, mythology, and world folklore.

“Magic,” the author writes, “is everywhere you dare to look, and sometimes the dark wood is the most fun place to be.” Proving herself equally adept at crafting tales that will leave readers hiding under their beds at night or only slightly discomfited, even amused, Powell offers entries that draw mostly upon European sources, but also include figures from places like Ancient Egypt and Mesoamerica. Some of her characterizations are sympathetic; in “Gone Hog Wild,” for example, a substitute teacher follows the lead of the Odyssey’s Circe by turning an out-of-control class of fifth graders into swine. On the other hand, her riff on Baba Yaga is a dream collector who pokes needles into the foreheads of sleeping children. In “Night Train,” an entry based on tales of a seven-headed Kazakh blood drinker, young Emir meets a witch sporting the torn-off face of his little brother, Mo, concealed beneath her hat. As the author cogently argues in her introduction, accused witches were those stigmatized for belonging to “vulnerable groups like women, people of color, those with disabilities, and those with any other differences.” Brief contextual notes follow each story. From the glow-in-the-dark cover on, Vidal’s lurid depictions of body parts, creepy creatures, and shadowy human figures add suitably eldritch notes.

Gross and funny bits provide occasional relief, but deliciously terrifying overall.

– Kirkus Reviews

Gr 3-7–A gleefully spooky anthology of 20 tales inspired by witches from around the world. Stories are organized under the headline of Folklore, Mythology, or ­Historical, giving readers context and an understanding of the purpose of each entry. The included witchy topics range from the Salem Witch Trials, Baba Yaga, ­Louisiana’s Marie Laveau, Circe, Tezcatlipoca, and even more magically mystifying beings. Each story is accompanied by beautiful, colorful illustrations by Vidal, a fright-level meter, and back matter explaining the history of the witch that is being depicted. This collection, part of the “Frights to Tell at Night” series, is good for anyone young or old wanting new takes on scary stories that can be shared around a campfire, in the dead of night, or before bedtime. VERDICT A spooky, witchy story collection reminiscent of Alvin Schwartz’s “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” that holds readers captive in both words and imagery.

– Harley Smith, School Library Journal

In Alexis Powell’s eerie short story collection A Coven of Witches, witches from different time periods and cultures cavort with, and conspire against, hapless humans.

These twenty stories feature an array of witches inspired by folkloric figures and deities; they have plot twists and ambiguous endings that reflect ambivalence toward witches in global storytelling traditions. In “Stitched,” a seamstress modeled on Baba Yaga steals children’s dreams and sews them into magical garments for adults. In “Gone Hog Wild,” a substitute teacher transforms unruly children into pigs in the same way that Circe transformed Odysseus’s men. Hecate and Marie Laveau appear as helpers herein, and a Krampus-evocative witch, Frau Perchta, tortures a naughty child.

Children star in the stories as both protagonists and antagonists, as victims and tricksters, who are caught up in magical conflicts that alter their lives forever. Some stories are without clear resolutions, leaning into the spooky ambiguity that surrounds witches; they resist delivering straightforward verdicts on whether witches are good or evil. Visceral details, as of the stench of a sea witch’s rotting corpse and a girl’s skin itching and inflamed as she turns to stone under a witch’s curse, result in vivid turns.

Enchanting illustrations accompany each story, highlighting uncanny moments of contact between the magical and mundane worlds. An owl perched on human hands instead of claws provides the visual for “A Warning on Wings,” a story revolving around La Lechuza, a Mexican shapeshifting witch who helps children in need, but who is also a feared and ambiguous figure. And following each story, a description of the mythological or folkloric witch that served as inspiration is included—a novel, educational touch.

In the imaginative short story collection A Coven of Witches, witches from folklore are fleshed out in fresh settings.

– Foreword Reviews