Silvia Moreno-Garcia returns to her atmospheric horror roots with The Bewitching, a meticulously crafted multigenerational saga that weaves together three women’s encounters with supernatural malevolence across different eras. Following the critical acclaim of Mexican Gothic, Moreno-Garcia demonstrates her exceptional ability to blend historical fiction with psychological horror, creating a narrative that feels both intimately personal and universally unsettling.
The novel’s structure mirrors the cyclical nature of its central theme: that evil, like history itself, has a way of repeating. Set across three distinct time periods—1908 Mexico, 1934 Massachusetts, and 1998 Massachusetts—the story follows Alba Quiroga, Virginia Somerset, and Minerva Contreras as they each confront manifestations of the same malevolent force that seems to transcend time and geography.
The Architecture of Fear
A Carefully Constructed Timeline
Moreno-Garcia’s decision to present the narrative through interwoven timelines proves masterful. The 1908 Mexican setting introduces us to Alba, whose family becomes the target of a powerful sorcerer’s curse. The 1934 Massachusetts storyline follows Virginia Somerset, a spiritualist-influenced art student whose mysterious disappearance becomes the focal point of Beatrice Tremblay’s obsession. Finally, the 1998 timeline centers on Minerva, a Mexican graduate student researching Tremblay’s work, only to discover that the same dark forces may be stalking her.
This temporal structure serves multiple purposes: it demonstrates the universality of evil while highlighting how different cultures and eras interpret and respond to supernatural threats. The recurring motifs—dead animals, mysterious disappearances, the sensation of being watched—create a sense of inevitability that builds to a genuinely chilling climax.
Character Development Across Generations
Each of the three protagonists represents a different approach to confronting the supernatural. Alba, rooted in Mexican folklore and tradition, understands the reality of witchcraft from the outset. Virginia, influenced by early 20th-century Spiritualism, believes in the supernatural but lacks the cultural framework to protect herself. Minerva, the modern academic, initially approaches these stories as research material before recognizing their contemporary relevance.
The women’s characterizations feel authentic and grounded, avoiding the common pitfall of making characters mere vessels for supernatural encounters. Alba’s grief over her brother’s death drives her to seek dangerous retribution, while Virginia’s artistic sensibility makes her vulnerable to otherworldly influences. Minerva’s academic isolation and cultural displacement create the perfect conditions for supernatural manipulation.
Literary Craftsmanship
Atmospheric Mastery
Moreno-Garcia excels at creating atmosphere through seemingly mundane details. The description of Minerva’s lonely existence in the Massachusetts dormitory, surrounded by peacocks and gothic architecture, perfectly captures the isolation that makes her vulnerable to supernatural influence. Similarly, the Mexican hacienda setting provides a sense of old-world mystery and tradition that feels both protective and threatening.
The author’s prose style adapts subtly to each time period without feeling forced or gimmicky. The 1908 sections carry a more formal, traditional narrative voice, while the 1998 portions adopt a more contemporary, immediate tone that reflects Minerva’s academic background and modern sensibilities.
Cultural Authenticity
One of the novel’s greatest strengths lies in its respectful portrayal of Mexican folklore and traditions. Moreno-Garcia draws from authentic cultural sources rather than stereotypical representations, presenting witchcraft and folk magic as complex systems of belief with their own internal logic and rules. The contrast between Mexican and New England approaches to the supernatural creates fascinating tensions that enrich the narrative.
The academic setting feels equally authentic, capturing the pressures and isolation of graduate school life with particular attention to the experience of international students navigating unfamiliar cultural and social landscapes.
Thematic Resonance
The Persistence of Evil
At its core, The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia explores how evil persists across time and space, adapting to new contexts while maintaining its essential nature. The sorcerer who terrorizes Alba’s family in 1908 Mexico appears to be the same entity that stalks Virginia in 1934 Massachusetts and threatens Minerva in 1998. This continuity suggests that some forms of malevolence are truly timeless, feeding on universal human vulnerabilities like grief, isolation, and desire.
Academic Obsession and Dangerous Knowledge
The novel also functions as a cautionary tale about the pursuit of knowledge without proper understanding or preparation. Minerva’s academic research into Beatrice Tremblay’s work gradually reveals that some subjects resist scholarly objectivity, demanding instead a more primal, intuitive response. The book suggests that certain forms of knowledge carry inherent dangers, particularly when approached without proper cultural context or protective traditions.
Women’s Vulnerability and Strength
Each timeline presents women who must navigate supernatural threats while also dealing with the limitations imposed by their respective social contexts. Alba faces restrictions on her freedom as a young woman in early 20th-century Mexico, Virginia struggles with the expectations placed on wealthy young women of her era, and Minerva confronts the isolation of being an international student in an unfamiliar academic environment.
Areas for Improvement
Pacing Concerns
While the interwoven timeline structure serves the story well thematically, it occasionally creates pacing issues. The constant shifting between eras can interrupt narrative momentum, particularly during the more intense supernatural sequences. Some readers may find the academic portions of Minerva’s storyline less compelling than the more directly supernatural elements involving Alba and Virginia.
Resolution Challenges
The novel’s ambitious scope sometimes works against its resolution. With three complex storylines spanning nearly a century, certain plot threads feel underexplored or hastily concluded. The connection between the three women, while thematically satisfying, occasionally feels forced rather than organic, particularly in the final act.
Supernatural Rules
While Moreno-Garcia generally maintains consistency in her supernatural worldbuilding, some readers may find the rules governing the sorcerer’s abilities and limitations unclear. The varying cultural approaches to combating supernatural evil, while interesting, sometimes create confusion about what methods are actually effective.
Comparisons and Context
Within Moreno-Garcia’s Oeuvre
The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia represents a return to the atmospheric horror that made Mexican Gothic so successful, while incorporating the historical elements that distinguished works like Gods of Jade and Shadow and The Daughter of Doctor Moreau. The novel demonstrates Moreno-Garcia’s continued growth as a writer, particularly in her ability to balance multiple timelines and perspectives without losing narrative cohesion.
Literary Influences and Traditions
The novel clearly draws inspiration from classic Gothic and weird fiction traditions, particularly the work of writers like Shirley Jackson and H.P. Lovecraft, both of whom are explicitly referenced in the text. However, Moreno-Garcia avoids mere pastiche, instead using these influences as a foundation for exploring distinctly contemporary themes about cultural displacement, academic pressure, and the persistence of folk traditions in modern contexts.
Technical Excellence
Narrative Structure
The alternating chapter structure, clearly marked by year and timeline, helps readers navigate the complex narrative without confusion. Moreno-Garcia’s decision to have each timeline informed by knowledge of the others creates interesting dramatic irony, particularly as Minerva’s research gradually reveals the true nature of the threat she faces.
Dialogue and Voice
Each character possesses a distinct voice that feels authentic to their time period and cultural background. Alba’s dialogue incorporates elements of formal Mexican Spanish translated into English, while Virginia’s speech patterns reflect her upper-class New England background. Minerva’s voice successfully bridges both cultures, reflecting her identity as a Mexican student studying in America.
Recommended Reading
For readers who enjoyed The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, consider these similar works:
- Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
- The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
- The Witch Elm by Tana French
- The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell
- The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
Final Verdict
The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia succeeds as both a supernatural horror story and a meditation on the ways evil persists across time and culture. While some pacing issues and resolution challenges prevent it from achieving perfection, the novel’s atmospheric richness, authentic cultural details, and genuinely unsettling supernatural elements make it a worthy addition to contemporary horror literature.
Moreno-Garcia’s ability to ground supernatural threats in recognizable human experiences—academic stress, cultural displacement, family grief—elevates the material above mere genre exercise. The novel’s exploration of how different cultures understand and combat supernatural evil provides both intellectual satisfaction and visceral thrills.
Despite its minor flaws, The Bewitching confirms Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s position as one of contemporary horror’s most skilled practitioners, offering readers a genuinely disturbing tale that lingers long after the final page. The novel’s cyclical structure and persistent themes suggest that, like the evil it depicts, truly effective horror has a way of returning to haunt us when we least expect it.
The Bewitching stands as a testament to the power of well-crafted horror fiction to explore complex themes while delivering genuine scares. For readers seeking intelligent, atmospheric horror that respects both genre traditions and cultural authenticity, this novel delivers on all fronts.