Blog Tour stop for this chilling tale with haunting atmosphere and an undercurrent of fear,
#BlogTour #TheMalanWitch @Cat_Cavendish
"‘Naught remained of their bodies to be buried, for the crows took back what was theirs.’ "
Synopsis
An idyllic coastal cottage near a sleepy village. What could be more perfect?
For Robyn Crowe, borrowing her sister’s recently renovated holiday home for the summer seems just what she needs to deal with the grief of losing her beloved husband.
But behind those pretty walls lie many secrets, and legends of a malevolent sisterhood - two witches burned for their evil centuries earlier. Once, both their vile spirits were trapped there. Now, one has been released. One who is determined to find her sister. Only Robyn stands in her way.
And the crow has returned.
My Review
When the chance to review this new book by this author came about I jumped at the chance!
2020 has been a crazy year but for me is a year where I wanted to expand my reading genres.
I have always wanted to delve into some horrors stories but my wuss nature used to win! but throughout this year I have read some cracking horror based reads and had the pleasure of reviewing the authors previous book "The Garden Of Bewitchment"
so I could not wait to get stuck in to this story!
In this tale we meet Robyn who is sadly mourning the loss of husband, who died six months ago from cancer.
When she goes to stay in the newly renovated vacation cottage owned by her sister Holly, Robyn is ready for a break and The Malan Cottage seems just the place to rest, and spend sometime just been on her own to recover from the years events.
As all the best stories go it does not take long for strange things to start happening, crows and things moving and appearing?, what is the really story behind this home?
Robyn seeks answers but the villagers don't help the staking the mounting tension with there tales of sister witches, evil and a cursed land, can Robyn find the truth and the answers in time? can she save her family? Packed with HUGE mounting tension, a haunting atmosphere and this undercurrent of fear, I really enjoyed this read I cannot say too much been a no spoiler blog, but the characters were fantastic the links made were surprising and the finale was worth the wait! This is not a horror read to terrify you or written for jump scares this is a classic horror based around evil and witches that leaves your skin tingling as you question if you should really be reading this in the dark!
Read below for this amazing guest post from the author Catherine Cavendish.
Author Guest Post
The Bideford Witches – Catherine Cavendish
My new novella – The Malan Witch – centres around two of the most evil witches you could ever (not) wish to encounter. They lived in a remote location on a beautiful coastline, not unlike Devon and Cornwall where today’s incident took place.
In England’s West Country, in the county of Devon, lies the charming seaside town of Barnstaple.
Peaceful enough now, but in 1682, the last women to be hanged for witchcraft were captured there, held in Exeter before being tried for their alleged crimes, convicted and then executed. The three were old, confused, poor and scared. This unhealthy combination appears to have been their downfall.
Rougemont Castle, where they were held prior to their trial, is now a picturesque ruin and tourist attraction, but back in the seventeenth century, it was a fortress, strong enough to withstand a siege and easily robust enough to house three feeble women.
In fear for their lives, each of the women accused the other. Mary Trembles blamed Susannah Edwards for leading her astray. Susannah Edwards blamed Temperance Lloyd for precisely the same misdemeanour.
So what heinous crimes had these women committed that they should be sentenced to hang?
Temperance Lloyd stood accused of the murders by witchcraft of a number of people. Three women also testified that she had made them suffer by using the dark arts. Grace Thomas swore that on two occasions she had been tormented by stabbing pains.
An account of her accusation reads:
'Sticking and pricking pains, as though pins and awls had been thrust into her body, from the crown of her head to the soles of her feet, and she lay as though it had been upon a rack.'
A witness – Anne Wakely – claimed she had seen a magpie fly to Grace’s window and said Temperance Lloyd had told her that she was visited by a black bird that changed into a black man.
Thomas Eastchurch, a shopkeeper, was Grace’s initial accuser and he added fuel to the fire by claiming he had heard Lloyd talking about the black man persuading her to go to Grace Thomas’s house to ‘pinch and prick her’.
While Lloyd denied harming Grace Thomas, her testimony was confused, as she did confess to having stabbed a piece of leather nine times – the exact number of times Grace Thomas claimed to have been stabbed.
Two more women came forward to claim that they too had been harmed in similar fashion by Lloyd, who eventually admitted all charges - including charges of the murder of three local people and the blinding of another. She then claimed to have been a witch for over 20 years.
She said she had sunk ships at sea. If she hadn’t been mentally unhinged before, it seems she certainly was by the time she was put in the cart to wheel her to the gallows. A contemporary report says, she was, "all the way eating, and seemingly unconcerned".
Mary Trembles and Susannah Edwards seem to have suffered guilt by associating with Temperance Lloyd. All three women were reported as being seen in each other’s company, begging.
Whether by fair means or foul, confessions were obtained from all of them. Their trial took place on 19th August 1682 – exactly 70 years after the infamous trial of the Lancashire Witches from Pendle.
In those 70 years, the political mood had changed and, even though condemned, most ‘witches’ were usually reprieved. Not in this case. The whole area was alive with speculation and interest, The witches were popularly convicted. To reprieve them now could lead to civil unrest.
No reprieve was granted and all three hanged. As she was about to die, Temperance Lloyd was asked if she believed in Jesus Christ. She replied, "Yes, and I pray Jesus Christ to pardon all my sins." She then calmly accepted her fate.
Judge Sir Thomas Raymond had directed the Jury that,
"these three poor women were weary of their lives, and that he thought it proper for them to be carried to the Parish from whence they came, and that the Parish should be charged with their Maintenance; for he thought their oppressing poverty had constrained them to wish for death".
The local populace thought differently. Their will prevailed.
In 1685, a fourth woman – Alice Molland – was also tried, convicted and sentenced to death but, unlike the other three, no actual record exists of her being hanged, although she is mentioned in a plaque on the wall of the ruined gatehouse:
The Devon Witches. In memory of Temperance Lloyd, Susannah Edwards, Mary Trembles, of Bideford, died 1682, Alice Molland, died 1685, the last people in England to be executed for witchcraft, tried here & hanged at Heavitree*. In the hope of an end to persecution and intolerance.
About The Author
Following a varied career in sales, advertising and career guidance, Catherine Cavendish is now the full-time author of a number of paranormal, ghostly and Gothic horror novels, novellas and short stories. Cat’s novels include The Garden of Bewitchment. The Haunting of Henderson Close, the Nemesis of the Gods trilogy - Wrath of the Ancients, Waking the Ancients and Damned by the Ancients, plus The Devil’s Serenade, The Pendle Curse and Saving Grace Devine.
In addition to The Malan Witch, her novellas include The Darkest Veil, Linden Manor, Cold Revenge, Miss Abigail’s Room, The Demons of Cambian Street, Dark Avenging Angel, The Devil Inside Her, and The Second Wife
Her short stories have appeared in a number of anthologies including Silver Shamrock’s Midnight in the Graveyard and her story The Oubliette of Élie Loyd will appear in their forthcoming Midnight in the Pentagram, to be published later this year.
She lives by the sea in Southport, England with her long-suffering husband, and a black cat called Serafina who has never forgotten that her species used to be worshipped in ancient Egypt. She sees no reason why that practice should not continue.
You can connect with Cat here:
Catherine Cavendish website
Thank you to the Publisher and Author for sending me an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this novel and for the opportunity to review these works.
All reviews are my own unbiased opinion.