Cackle

Cackle (2021) is a novel by Rachel Harrison. After Annie Crane is dumped by her long-term boyfriend, she moves away from the expensive city to teach in a small town in upstate New York. When she meets the beautiful and darkly mysterious Sophie, she cannot tell whether or not she should trust this new friend who has strange powers and is clearly distrusted by many others in town. Cackle explores Small-Town Conformity and the Policing of “Difficult” Women; The Empowering Nature of Female Friendship; and The Fear of Being Alone and the Freedom of Autonomy.

Harrison is a New York Times bestselling author. She was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel for The Return.

This guide is based on the 2021 Penguin Random House paperback edition.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide feature depictions of cursing, bullying, gender discrimination, a reference to disordered eating, and death.

Plot Summary

Annie Crane and her coworker, Nadia, go out for Annie’s 30th birthday. Annie’s long-term boyfriend, Sam, recently broke up with her, and Annie is now planning to move to a small town to start over with her new teaching job. A palm reader says there’s “uncertainty” over Annie’s future.

When Annie sees her new home in Rowan, she feels optimistic. In the liquor store, Simple Spirits, she meets the beautiful Sophie, who helps her select a bottle of wine and invites her to meet at the farmers’ market on Saturday. At home, Annie calls Sam, confessing that she misses him. He doesn’t say it back.

On the first day of school, students make bird noises at Annie because of her last name and appearance. One student—Madison Thorpe—tells them to shut up. The next day is similar. That Saturday, she heads to the market. Everyone greets her warmly, but there’s a strange tension whenever Sophie is around. Annie tells Sophie about Sam, and Sophie reassures her that the pain will pass. Sophie’s home is impossibly gorgeous, like her. She enjoys Annie’s company and is an extraordinary listener. Annie agrees to stay the night. Later, when Annie sees her reflection, she cannot believe how “incredible” she looks, something she attributes to the lighting. She senses that there may be ghosts in her room.

In the morning, Sophie and Annie go to Tom’s diner. Sophie tells Annie that being single isn’t “sad” and offers to “curse” her students. On Monday at school, most students behave, but one continues to chirp like a bird. She wonders if she’s so ugly that he cannot help himself. Suddenly, he vomits up a black glob containing a live spider. She orders him to the nurse.

On her way home, Annie stops at Simple Spirits. The owner, Alex, introduces herself, but flinches when Annie mentions Sophie. That night, Sam calls, and Annie tells him what happened, but he doesn’t believe her. When the chirping student misses class the next week, the vice principal, Jill, tells Annie that he has transferred. That night, Sophie prepares dinner and realizes that Annie doesn’t trust her, though Annie denies it. Sophie implies that she’s a witch, but says she’d never hurt Annie and that she doesn’t like hurting people unless they deserve it. Annie reflects that Sophie may be odd, but feels she needs her because Sophie makes her feel special.

When Annie wakes up the next morning, she says hello to a spider, and it waves back. She meets Sophie at the market. Annie meets Deirdre, who “jumps” when she hears Sophie’s voice. Walking through the woods, Sophie points out the well in which the townsfolk tried to drown her long ago. She says the headstones belong to “old friends.” Sophie insists that Annie put her phone away, so Sam cannot ruin their lovely time together. Later, a ghost drags Annie underwater in the pool, and Sophie admits that she lied about her house not being haunted because she didn’t want Annie to be afraid. Sophie gets Annie some clothes, and Annie is shocked by how nice she looks in them. She ignores a text from Sam.

Soon, Jill wants to set Annie up with a friend of her husband’s, but Sophie thinks men and dating are a waste of time. Annie and Sophie go to lunch at Tom’s, who seems terrified of Sophie. Annie knows that ignoring Sam’s texts recently has helped her, but when she gets home, she calls him. He tells her that he’s dating someone, and Annie gets upset. When she apologizes to him, a spider shakes its head in disapproval at her. Sam says they’re friends, and Annie wonders how he can be so “dense,” then wonders if she’s being unreasonable. Sophie appears, ready to comfort her.

Annie feels depressed over Sam. Annie tells Sophie what the psychic said, but Sophie doesn’t believe in fate. She says it’s an invention to “trick” women into complacency. The next week, Annie agrees to the “double date” with Jill, her husband, Dan, and his friend, Pascal. The next time Annie sees Oskar, he warns her about Sophie. Annie wonders if she’s been naïve about Sophie’s true nature, and she tells Sophie what Oskar said. Sophie says that he still blames her for his wife leaving him. Later, when Annie watches Sophie dance, she wonders how anyone could not love her. Annie tells Sophie about the blind date, and, on Thursday, she finds a new dress in her closet. A note from Sophie tells Annie to have fun, and Annie feels some hope.

After school on Friday, Annie goes to the restaurant, but Pascal is rude and Dan is a misogynist. In the bathroom, Annie reads graffiti that addresses her directly, telling her that it’s just one night and to take the night back. Back at the table, Dan suggests that she is bulimic, and his comments make her feel insecure. Suddenly, he starts bleeding and pulling bones out of his mouth. Everyone is horrified, but Annie laughs. She leaves, making up a song about it. She dances in her backyard. She notices Lynn, her landlord, watching, but Annie doesn’t feel embarrassed.

The next morning, Sophie insists that Annie made the graffiti appear. Annie remembers how powerful she felt. Sophie introduces Annie to a smiling spider called Ralph; Annie marvels at all the things she used to think were impossible. For the next several weeks, she commits to her routine, but Annie is unhappy when she’s alone. Sometimes, Sophie lets her take Ralph home.

On the solstice, Sophie says Annie must “surrender” her old life and ideas. On New Year’s, Sophie implores Annie to let Sam go and Annie promises to try. The next week, Annie makes herself a beautiful meal and feels newly content. When she accidentally makes the chicken bones levitate, she realizes she is “magic,” and recognizes that not having to consider what someone else wants is a gift. She picks flowers for herself and asks Sophie to cut her hair, which makes her feel liberated from her past.

The next time Oskar criticizes Sophie, Annie defends her, but realizes that she still cares what Oskar thinks of her. She begins to worry that she would still prefer to be in a relationship. On Valentine’s Day Annie makes herself a lovely dinner, but a “malevolent” voice in her head taunts her about being “pathetic.” Annie makes her way to Simple Spirits and overhears a conversation between Rose and Oskar in the cottage next door. Oskar says Sophie is “corrupting” Annie, while Rose defends Sophie and Annie. Oskar’s rude comments incense Annie, but back at home, her doubts grow, and she wonders if she’s wrong to trust Sophie. Sam texts, saying he misses her.

Annie wants to give Sam another chance, but she hides her feelings from Sophie. Annie agrees to a visit from Sam. She plans to drop Ralph off quickly at Sophie’s, but somehow, Sophie knows what Annie’s planning. They argue. Sophie tells Annie that she can leave, but she can’t come back because Sophie will lose respect for her. Annie says people are scared of Sophie because she’s a “witch”; Sophie transforms into an ugly, fairy tale witch who chases Annie away.

Sam arrives, but he looks different. Annie and Sam are polite and awkward. She soon realizes how hard she tries to “appease” him, and how Sophie saw something in her that he never did. Annie realizes that Sam broke up with her when her world stopped revolving around him. Now, she knows what freedom feels like, and she tells him to leave. She goes to the bathroom, and when she emerges, Sam is on the phone with a girl. Annie knows she is in control. Sam falls to the floor, writhing in pain. Blood comes from his eyes and mouth, and Annie calms herself. He fears her, and she refuses to shrink herself or be someone she’s not any longer.

Annie goes to Sophie’s. Annie apologizes, but also tells Sophie that she was wrong to try to stop Annie from seeing Sam, as Annie needed to make the decision herself. Annie reports that she’s “evolved” beyond Sam, and they make up. On Annie’s birthday, she wakes up to hundreds of yellow roses. She finds a new gold dress from Sophie, the town greets her with gifts, and Sophie has made a picnic at the gazebo. The Epilogue is set many years later. In it, Annie runs into Madison Thorpe, her former student, who is now 42. She’s unmarried and living with her parents after a breakup. Annie can sense Madison’s pain. She invites her for coffee, saying there’s someone she’d like Madison to meet.