The Witch

In 1692, Caroline walks home through the dark woods after tending to Judith. A figure emerges from the trees, startling her, but it’s only Archie. He scolds her for being out after dark, citing the danger from the Night Reaper. Caroline explains that Judith had a fever, not demonic possession as Molly claimed.

Archie then delivers shocking news: Hitty has been arrested for witchcraft. He says that she was caught “chanting hexes” in the cemetery and is accused of consorting with the Night Reaper. Caroline vehemently defends Hitty, insisting that she was only saying prayers at her family’s graves, but she sees that Archie is swayed by the town’s hysteria. Back at Pemberton, Caroline prepares a broth for Judith, and Archie offers to deliver it. As she works, she burns her arm with boiling water. Before leaving, Archie makes Caroline promise that she won’t go outside again until morning.

In the present, Julia lies awake at three o’clock in the morning, disturbed by Ethel’s warnings. Before going to bed, she rearranged the coral-blue combs on her vanity to what she hoped was their original position. Suddenly, the room’s temperature plummets, and she hears the distant sound of a woman crying. The sobs grow into anguished wails, and the woman cries out the word “No.” Julia defies Ethel’s warning to stay in her room, determined to find the source of the noise. Trembling, she gets out of bed, unlocks her bedroom door, and opens it to investigate.

A week later in 1692, Judith is recovering. As Caroline prepares more food for her, Molly, questions why she’s wasting her time on an old woman. Molly then reveals that Hitty was found guilty of witchcraft and is scheduled to be hanged in the Town Square the following day.

Caroline is horrified, having been too consumed with Judith’s care to realize that the trial had proceeded so quickly. Molly shows satisfaction, insisting that Hitty is a danger to the community. Devastated, Caroline resolves to prove her friend’s innocence. She learns that Hitty is being held in the jailhouse and declares that she will make everyone see the truth. Molly warns her to stay out of it, cautioning that “[p]eople might talk” (88). Caroline remains determined to help, believing that no one would dare accuse her of being a witch.

In the present, Julia opens her bedroom door and finds the hallway empty; the crying has stopped. However, the chandelier above her is swaying slightly. At the end of the hall, she sees a strange glow seeping from under the attic door and recalls the flash of peacock blue in the attic window when she arrived.

As she walks toward the attic stairs, Julia realizes that the grandfather clock has fallen silent, its hands frozen at 3:41 am. A powerful, rotting stench hits her as she approaches. At the top of the stairs, she listens at the attic door but hears nothing. She tries the doorknob and discovers that it’s locked. After calling out with no response, she gives up for the night and resolves to access the attic the next day.

In 1692, Caroline rides to the town jail, intending to speak on Hitty’s behalf. She’s met by Deputy Oliver Strickland, a man known for his cruel temper. He flirts with Caroline, compliments her appearance, and smugly confirms that they will soon hang Hitty. When Caroline protests Hitty’s innocence, Strickland grows suspicious and questions her friendship with the accused.

A commotion interrupts their tense conversation. Sheriff Bixby is leading a man in shackles, whom Caroline recognizes as the stranger who frightened her horse at the market. Bixby announces that they have captured the Night Reaper, though he had already killed another girl. The man’s name is Jonas Reeve. As the outraged crowd pelts Jonas with fruit, he remains expressionless. Just before being taken inside the jail, Jonas looks directly into Caroline’s eyes, and she’s chilled by the “evil” she sees there.

In the present, Julia asks Ethel for the key to the attic, lying and saying that she heard rats and wants to investigate. Ethel dismisses her, claiming that the noises are just the old house settling and that she isn’t even sure a key still exists. Annoyed, Ethel asks why Julia isn’t out looking for a job instead of trying to rummage through their things. Julia realizes that Ethel is deliberately keeping her out of the attic and decides she must find the key on her own.

Julia spends the day searching for the attic key but finds nothing. That evening, as she waits for Henry to pick her up for dinner, she finds her grandmother in the kitchen. Julia notices a chain around Letty’s neck holding three keys. She asks to borrow the attic key, but Letty grabs her wrist and warns her that “it’s not safe” to go up there (100). 

Henry arrives, dressed in a tweed jacket, and cuts their conversation short. He’s immediately “besotted” with the 17th-century bear knocker on the front door. As they leave in Henry’s car, Julia again sees a light in the attic window, along with a flash of peacock blue. She points it out to Henry, but by the time he looks, the light is gone.

Henry takes Julia to a 1950s-style diner called Roxie’s. Over burgers, their conversation turns to the history of Pemberton and the Salem Witch Trials. Henry, an expert on the subject, explains that the mass hysteria was likely a result of social pressure and a lack of medical knowledge. He discusses an early theory that the seizures experienced by the “bewitched” were the result of ergot poisoning from contaminated rye. However, a more likely explanation is the psychiatric condition of conversion disorder. He notes that the trials relied on flimsy evidence and that once accused, it was nearly impossible for a woman to prove her innocence, leading to the execution of 19 people.

In 1692, on the morning of Hitty’s hanging, Archie tells Caroline that they will attend together. Horrified, Caroline reminds him that Hitty once saved his life, but Archie now speculates that Hitty may have been the one to make him ill through her potions in the first place. He insists that they must go, as their absence would provoke gossip. Caroline reluctantly agrees, hoping her presence in the crowd might offer Hitty some comfort.

The townspeople gather in the square, treating Hitty’s execution as entertainment. She’s led to the gallows, maintaining her composure even as the townspeople jeer and throw things at her. When an apple strikes Hitty in the face, Caroline shoves through the crowd and shouts for them to stop, defending Hitty as a kind, innocent woman. She ignores Archie, who urges her to be quiet, and Deputy Strickland, who commands Archie to control his wife. Finally, Hitty speaks, urging Caroline to stop before she condemns herself, too. Defeated, Caroline allows Archie to pull her back into the crowd. After Hitty says her final words, a sack is placed over her head, and the floor of the gallows drops. Hitty’s body jerks and then hangs still.

That night, Caroline is unable to sleep, haunted by the image of Hitty’s execution. While she feeds Gideon, Archie confronts her and reveals that Molly told him that Caroline lied about her pregnancy. Caroline confesses the truth, admitting that she had desperately hoped his dream of a child was a prophecy. Furious and hurt, Archie says that Molly also accused her of bewitching Judith. Caroline insists that Molly is a malicious liar, but Archie retorts that Caroline lied to him. Their argument is interrupted by a knock at the door. It’s Deputy Strickland, who announces that he has come to arrest Caroline on the charge of witchcraft.

In the present-day timeline, Julia presses Henry for more details about Caroline Eldridge. He agrees to tell her if she promises to seriously discuss the museum’s offer for Pemberton with her family. He reveals an important piece of local history: Caroline’s execution was likely a “personal vendetta.” Molly Eldridge, née Howe, originally a servant in the Eldridge house, accused Caroline, and her testimony was key to the conviction. Molly subsequently married Archie after Caroline was dead. Henry adds that Caroline was burned at the stake, a method of execution used for religious heretics in Europe, not for witches in colonial New England, who were hanged. 

Julia tells Henry that she believes Caroline’s ghost is haunting Pemberton. She recounts her childhood experience of a whispering voice and her hair turning white. Henry offers scientific explanations for everything, saying that extreme stress can cause hair to turn white prematurely. He denies any plans to disturb Caroline’s grave in the backyard and convincingly argues that selling Pemberton would pay for the care that Julia’s grandmother needs. While Henry is in the diner’s bathroom, Julia downloads a ghost-detecting app to her phone and reflects that she doesn’t think the house will allow a sale to go through.

The next morning, Julia wakes feeling rested. Downstairs, she finds that the grandfather clock has again stopped at 3:41 am. While gazing at the portrait of her ancestors, she realizes that Molly betrayed Caroline to steal her husband and status. She finds Letty in the kitchen, who mistakes her for Ethel and offers to make toast. When Julia offers to cook, her grandmother requests a fried egg.

Julia makes eggs and then, pretending to be Ethel, asks to borrow the attic key from the chain around Letty’s neck. Letty hesitates but agrees, warning her to be careful because “Caroline’s ghost is up there” (129). After confirming that Ethel and Mick are gone, Julia climbs the attic stairs. The rotting smell from the previous night is gone. At the top, she fits one of the keys into the lock.

In 1692, Archie protests Caroline’s arrest, but Deputy Strickland warns him that if he interferes, the authorities can seize his entire estate. The threat of losing Pemberton, his ancestral home, is too much for Archie. He tells Caroline to go with Strickland, assuring her that her innocence will be proven in court. Caroline is heartbroken by his quick capitulation and the flicker of doubt she sees in his eyes.

Deputy Strickland takes Caroline to the town jail and leads her down a stairwell into the cellar. There, she sees the only other prisoner: Jonas Reeve, the Night Reaper. Strickland taunts Jonas before locking Caroline in the farthest available cell, though it’s still close enough that she can see directly into Jonas’s cell.

As Strickland prepares to leave for the night, a terrified Caroline begs him not to leave her alone with the murderer. Strickland mocks her fear, sarcastically suggesting that she “bewitch him” if he causes trouble. He departs with his torch, plunging the cellar into near-darkness and leaving Caroline trapped with Jonas.