The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

There is a trend that I greatly appreciate in modern horror literature nowadays – witches and witchcraft. Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s take on this theme, The Bewitching, is her best book yet, IMHO. It’s the story of three strong-willed women in three different timelines. In 1908 rural Mexico, we meet Alba Quiroga, whose father has just died. Her uncle Arturo has arrived from Mexico City to “help” the family with the farm. Very strange and quite creepy occurrences start to happen. Her brother Tadeo mysteriously vanishes after an encounter with a local witch. Alba begins to suspect there are supernatural forces at work as she becomes haunted and stalked by a terrifying, invisible spirit that she comes to believe is a witch.

In 1934, we meet Beatrice Tremblay, a young college student with a taste for writing horror. She attends classes with two particular other young women, Virginia and Carolyn. Beatrice is fascinated with Virginia for many reasons, one of which being that Virginia claims to be psychic and communicate with the dead. When she mysteriously vanishes close to Christmas, after insisting she is being haunted and stalked by an invisible spirit or a witch, and is never heard from again, Beatrice grows obsessed with her memory and turns it into her novel The Vanishing.

And in 1998, we meet Minerva Contreras, the great-granddaughter of Alba, who is enrolled at the same college as Beatrice and who has subsequently become obsessed with The Vanishing, planning to write her thesis on Beatrice’s novel. As she researches Beatrice, she encounters Carolyn, Beatrice’s former friend who married Edgar (Edgar had originally been engaged to Virginia before her disappearance.) Carolyn has kept Beatrice’s papers all these years and grants Minerva permission to study them. As her analysis of Beatrice’s work continues, Minerva becomes convinced she is being haunted and stalked by an invisible spirit or witch.

Alba’s storyline was the most compelling to me. Those witches in 1900s Mexico sound terrifying, and the description of their powers reminded me of stories my own grandmother would tell about growing up in a small mountain town here in New Mexico where “brujas” supposedly worked their evil spells. I also enjoyed the dark academia theme of Minerva’s storyline, and of course, the college, being in Massachusetts, gives nods to Shirley Jackson, H.P. Lovecraft and so many more iconic supernatural East Coast locations. Really, this book is a huge homage to them both.

One of the more entertaining aspects of this book were the little Easter eggs and nods to other modern horror writers. The heroine of the 1934 timeline – Beatrice Tremblay – is a clear nod to Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of Ghosts. There are also department heads “Stephen Graham Jones” (Philosophy) and “Nicholas Mamatas” (Classics). All three have written some truly great horror over the past few years. I kept waiting for Professor Stephen King to be referenced but sadly, I was to be disappointed. 🙂

Minerva’s friend Hideo is her rock throughout the ordeal, walking with her on campus as she does her rounds as a dormitory supervisor, works on her thesis and investigates the background of Betty Tremblay . One of the other things he does is feed her, rather like a mama bird feeding its babies in the nest. He makes her homemade ramen – yummy – and makes this luscious dessert after.

Hideo had made a matcha cheesecake to go with the meal. They ate it while watching a videotape with episodes of Aeon Flux, then talked further about James and the non-apparitionist view versus the supernatural interpretations of Peter Quint and Miss Jessel.

One of the things I love about Moreno-Garcia’s work is how stunningly gorgeous her covers are. I thought Mexican Gothic, which I blogged about previously, had one of the most beautiful covers I’d ever seen, but The Bewitching might take the top prize. Look at the greens and golds! And of course, it perfectly matches the dish I made. Not that I planned it like that or anything. 🙂 Anyway, a matcha cheesecake was a totally new concept to me, but it sounded so delicious so I had to give it a go.

INGREDIENTS
For the chocolate crust
2 cups of chocolate graham crackers or Oreos – your choice
1 stick of butter

For the matcha cheesecake filling
2 packets of cream cheese
1 and 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
1 tablespoon of good-quality vanilla
3 tablespoon of culinary-grade matcha powder
1 cup heavy cream

METHOD
Put the graham crackers into a food processor and finely chop until you have crumbs.

In a glass heatproof bowl or measuring cup, melt the two butter sticks in the microwave, and pour the melted butter into the crushed graham crackers. Stir to mix together.

Press the cookie mix into a round glass baking pan using the back of a measuring cup to ensure it presses in evenly. Put it into the freezer for an hour or even longer.

In the bowl of your most awesome red Kitchen Aid, beat together the cream cheese and the vanilla until the cheese is smooth and fluffy.

Using a sieve, add in the powdered sugar and then the matcha powder. You want to sieve these in to ensure they break down and mix smoothly.

Whip the now-green mixture together for about 5 minutes, or until you get soft peaks.

Add the whipped cream using a plastic spatula and fold together by hand.

Spread the matcha-cream cheese filling over the chilled pie crust base, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.

Remove from the fridge, admire the luridly green filling before devouring, much like witches devouring an innocent soul. Cackle wickedly as you consume.