The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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⭐1/2 The Bewitching Review (1.5⭐): Bewitched… Into Boredom

The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Published: 2025
Genre: Supernatural Horror, Historical Fiction, Literary Horror
Rating: 1.5 out of 5 stars ⭐😴

⚠️ Spoiler Warning

This review contains FULL spoilers, including the ending. Proceed at your own risk 👻

🚨 Trigger Warnings

Listed early so no one gets ambushed later:

  • Incest (uncle/niece sexual relationship)

  • Sexual content

  • Graphic violence & blood consumption

  • Animal death

  • Death & murder

  • Mental illness themes

  • Substance use

  • Racism & classism

🧙‍♀️ Overview

The Bewitching is a supernatural horror novel told across three timelines and centered on the legend of the teyolloquani—a heart-eating creature from Indigenous folklore that bewitches its victims before draining their blood.

If you’ve read Mexican Gothic, you’ll recognize Moreno-Garcia’s signature interests:
female agency, power, folklore, class, gender, and storytelling itself.

And look—on paper? This should have worked for me.
In reality? I was fighting the urge to DNF every single timeline 🫠

😵‍💫 My Overall Thoughts

Let’s get this out of the way:
I did not enjoy this book.

Not because it was disturbing (I’m not particularly trigger-sensitive), not because it was complex, and not even because of the incest—which was uncomfortable, yes, but not the main issue for me.

The real problem?

👉 This book is WAY too long for how little actually happens.

I stuck it out for two reasons only:

  1. 🎧 The audiobook narrator has an incredibly soothing voice (10/10, no notes).

  2. 👀 I genuinely wanted to know what happened to Ginny.

But wow. What a slog.

🕰️ The Multiple Timeline Problem

I’m not anti-multiple timelines.
Two timelines? Totally fine.
Three timelines? Risky.
Three timelines that all move at a glacial pace? 😬

Even books with four or five timelines have pulled this off better. Here, the pacing felt relentless in the worst way—slow, repetitive, and emotionally distant.

📖 FULL Plot Summary (Yes, All the Spoilers)

🧑‍🎓 Timeline One: Minerva (1998)

Minerva Contreras is a graduate student at Stoneridge College, struggling to finish her thesis on obscure horror writer Beatrice Tremblay. To do this, she needs access to the personal papers of Tremblay’s close friend Carolyn Yates, a wealthy donor to the school.

Carolyn initially stonewalls her, but Carolyn’s grandson Noah (a fellow student) helps arrange access.

As Minerva digs through the papers, she learns about Virginia “Ginny” Somerset, a former student who disappeared in the 1930s after becoming obsessed with the supernatural. Ginny believed her art was guided by spirits, held séances, and became increasingly paranoid that something was following her.

Minerva also investigates the mysterious disappearance of Thomas, a former student whose belongings she’s tasked with clearing out. She realizes Thomas was researching Ginny—and may have vanished the same way.

Soon, Minerva experiences terrifying supernatural events herself:

  • A dead cat

  • A rat corpse in her bed

  • Strange lights

  • The feeling of being watched

She begins carving witch marks into her room and carrying talismans, convinced she’s being hunted.

🌾 Timeline Two: Alba (1908, Mexico)

Alba Quiroga lives on a rural farm in Hidalgo, Mexico. Her father has died, and her sophisticated uncle Arturo arrives from Mexico City, hoping to convince the family to sell the land.

Alba is disturbingly drawn to Arturo, and the two enter into a sexual relationship. (Yes. Uncle. Niece. 😬)

When Alba’s brother Tadeo goes missing—and later appears to return in a monstrous form—she becomes convinced a teyolloquani is responsible. Her suitor Valentín supports her beliefs, but Arturo dismisses everything as superstition.

After Valentín is found dead, Alba seeks out witches from Los Pinos, who reveal the truth:
👉 Arturo is a warlock.
👉 He killed Tadeo and Valentín.
👉 He feeds on blood.

Alba poisons herself with witch poison, lures Arturo into feeding on her, and kills him when the poison takes effect. She later discovers she is pregnant and vows to teach her child how to destroy witches.

🎨 Timeline Three: Ginny (1934)

Ginny Somerset, a student at Stoneridge, becomes obsessed with the supernatural. She believes something is haunting her. Her friends—and fiancé—attribute this to mental illness.

After a séance and increasing paranoia, Ginny vanishes. The investigation stalls when authorities assume she ran away with a campus worker.

She did not.

🩸 The Ending Explained

Minerva eventually realizes the horrifying truth:

👉 Carolyn Yates is the witch.

Carolyn murdered Ginny.
Carolyn murdered Thomas.
Carolyn has been feeding on blood for decades.

Minerva finds Ginny’s old dorm room protected by witch marks that even now keep Carolyn out. Carolyn forces Minerva to leave by threatening Minerva’s friend.

At an abandoned factory, Minerva poisons her own blood using Alba’s recipe, lets Carolyn drink from her, and kills her.

Carolyn evaporates into nothing.

The case is never officially solved.
Minerva survives.
She finishes her thesis.
The cycle ends… maybe.

🤷‍♀️ Final Verdict

I know this book is widely loved, and I truly wanted to love it too.

But for me?

  • Too long

  • Too slow

  • Too repetitive

  • Not enough payoff

This felt like 300+ pages of atmosphere for a story that could’ve been told in half the time.

⭐ Final Rating: 1.5 / 5 stars ⭐
(And honestly, that half-star belongs to the audiobook narrator 😌🎧)

📚 If You Want Better (In My Opinion 😏)

If you like dark folklore, witchcraft, or historical horror, try these instead:

  • Mexican Gothic — Silvia Moreno-Garcia

  • The Hacienda — Isabel Cañas

  • The Year of the Witching — Alexis Henderson

  • Slewfoot — Brom

  • The Silent Companions — Laura Purcell

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