The Bewitching

Through Tremblay’s manuscript, the narrative flashes back to 1934. Ginny went missing on a snowy day in December. Tremblay was helping out a faculty member with a party when Ginny called to tell her that she knew who had bewitched her, but couldn’t speak their name aloud. She added that she was safe in her room, but the protection did not extend beyond its four walls, and she couldn’t go outside. Tremblay rushed home to find Ginny gone. Her coat and scarf were still in the room. She searched the building and followed Ginny’s tracks outside. They disappeared after what looked like a struggle. There was a single drop of blood in the snow, marking the spot. The investigation into her disappearance was handled poorly, and once the rumor about Santiago got out, it stalled entirely. Carolyn moved on, but the mystery continued to haunt Tremblay and Edgar for the rest of their lives.

The narrative returns to 1998. Minerva returns to The Willows. She is curt with Noah when he asks if she is attending the upcoming party on campus. She has a fraught exchange with Carolyn when Minerva questions her about Santiago’s work for her family and argues that Tremblay was right in believing that Ginny had not eloped with Santiago. Carolyn becomes agitated and dismisses Ginny as a troubled girl, Santiago as a predator, and Tremblay as a writer with an overactive imagination. She cuts off the interview abruptly, and Minerva returns to her dorm room.

Later, at the party, Minerva has a portent. Her head aches, and she can feel an evil presence in the house. She has the bird talisman, but she worries that it won’t protect her. She runs outside, hoping to reach the safety of her dorm room. The presence pursues her. It attacks her and pushes her to the ground. She lies there, stunned, until Noah happens upon her. He helps her up, and she realizes that the bird talisman is gone. He gives her a ride home and asks what is wrong, but she doesn’t tell him. She cannot trust anyone right now.

Minerva meets with Christina Everett under the guise of asking her to serve on her thesis committee, but really, she wants to learn more about Thomas. What Christina says stuns her: Thomas’s thesis had been on Ginny. He wanted to explore the connection between art and the supernatural. Christina still has a book on the supernatural that Thomas left in her office: Minerva looks at its borrowing history and finds that Ginny is the last listed name who borrowed the book before Thomas. She takes the book from Christina, promising to return it to the library when she’s done.

The narrative returns to Alba in 1908. She knows that she must vanquish Arturo. She burns a portrait of Tadeo, mixes the ashes with the crushed body of a moth, and drinks it. Then, she goes to Arturo and offers her blood. He tells her that he has convinced her mother to sell the farm and that he will thereafter manage her mother’s finances. He plans to bring her to Europe: Alba has few marriage prospects, and no one will find it improper for an uncle to employ his niece as a housekeeper. During the course of their lives, he will continue to feed on her. Alba asks if he drinks her blood for pleasure or to gain power, and he tells her that it does make him more powerful but that he also enjoys it. She explains that she will not allow him to feed on her if he sells the farm. She will resist and make the process unpleasant. If he agrees to keep the farm, she will do as he asks. Reluctantly, he agrees, and she opens her mouth to kiss him.

The narrative returns to 1998 at Stoneridge College. Minerva sneaks into Joyce House to visit Ginny and Tremblay’s old dorm room. Once in the room, she feels the presence of Ginny’s ghost. She sees witch marks carved in various places in the room and wonders if Thomas had been able to contact Ginny or find out what had happened to her. She finds a small slip of paper and realizes that Ginny wrote down the names of her murderers. She was bewitched into not being able to speak them, but she wrote them down. Minerva reads the name “Wingrave” just as Carolyn approaches the doorway, unable to enter the room. As a witch and Ginny’s murderer, she’s bound by the protections Ginny put in place. Minerva acknowledges that Carolyn was the witch haunting Ginny, and Carolyn says that, technically, it was her father. She offers to explain everything if Minerva leaves the room. Minerva knows this will render her vulnerable and stalls. Carolyn threatens to harm Hideo, and Minerva knows that she must go with her.

The narrative returns to Alba and Arturo in 1908. With her blood poisoned by the spell, Alba gives herself to Arturo. He drinks her blood, and they have sex. Afterward, he falls asleep. Alba rises and contemplates slicing his arteries with his razor, but he senses her presence and wakes up. Angry, he again falls on her, but more voraciously this time. She observes that he has become “gluttonous” and allows him to proceed. After some time passes, he begins to feel ill. He realizes that something is wrong and asks her what she has done. She tells him that she has poisoned him. He did not stop his feeding long enough to consider that he might be in danger. He begins to cough and sinks to the ground.

The narrative returns to 1998, where Carolyn takes Minerva to the factory. On the way, she explains everything. Carolyn and her father needed Ginny’s blood for a spell that would help their failing business. Their spells work better with the blood of people who themselves have supernatural abilities. Santiago had been part of the spell. He, too, could communicate with the dead. Carolyn also admits to having targeted Thomas for his abilities. She remains defiant about the killings. She is proud of them. She tells Minerva that she kept Ginny’s things all these years because they were a kind of trophy. At the factory, Minerva realizes that Carolyn intends to kill her. Once inside, Minerva feels a negative force so powerful that she becomes sick to her stomach. She is sure that others have been killed in this room. She also senses something else, something she cannot name. Carolyn explains that she only targeted people whose disappearances would not be investigated too thoroughly. Minerva is an immigrant and has no family nearby. She will be perfect. Besides, Carolyn adds, she is “witchborn,” which makes her blood better (340).

Carolyn explains that she is weak and needs Minerva’s blood to strengthen her. Noah is not a warlock, but Carolyn hopes that his child will have supernatural powers. She intends to raise it herself, ensuring the family tradition lives on. While Carolyn is talking, Minerva grabs a box-cutter she has stashed in her backpack. Carolyn perceives her action, but is surprised when Minerva cuts her own wrist. Minerva remembers Nana Alba’s wisdom: Witches are gluttons. She hopes to lure Carolyn into biting her. Unbeknownst to Carolyn, Minerva drank nearly an entire thermos of her grandmother’s witch poison. As Carolyn drinks Minerva’s blood, she begins to cough. She knows that Minerva has done something, but cannot figure out what.

A struggle ensues during which Minerva again senses a presence. She asks it to help her. She recalls her grandmother’s words: “You simply live through it” (345). The shadowy presence sends a bucket of rusty nails flying, giving Minerva the chance to grab Carolyn’s axe and decapitate her. The remains of Carolyn’s body melt into the floor like wax, and Minerva stands quietly for a moment, alone.

In a flashback to 1908, Arturo begs Alba to stop and tells her that he can give her the best possible life. He assures her that they belong together. She feels a momentary pull toward him, but she decapitates him anyway. His body melts.

After Arturo’s disappearance, the neighbors are even surer that the Quiroga family is cursed. Alba has a portent that she is pregnant with a girl and vows to share with her stories about witches so that she can one day protect herself if need be.

The narrative returns to 1998 at Stoneridge College. Halloween approaches, and Minerva readies her dorm for trick-or-treaters. Hideo knows something has happened, but not exactly what. Minerva is now able to summon the ghost of the cat, and it follows her around. Noah stops by: His grandmother has been declared missing, and the police are baffled. They questioned Minerva initially, but have left her alone since. She cannot read Noah’s expressions or mannerisms and declines to have coffee with him. He might not be a warlock, but she cannot be sure. Going forward, she will have to be more careful.