Grady Hendrix’s New Horror Novel Mixes Witchcraft With a Terrifying Chapter From His Family’s History: ‘You Could Have a Baby and Never See Them Again’

variety.com:

William Earl Many of Grady Hendrix‘s books remix classic horror ideas in order to develop fresh new lore, from vampires (“The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires”), haunted houses (“How to Sell a Haunted House”) and possessions (“My Best Friend’s Exorcism”).

Yet his newest novel, the ambitious “Witchcraft for Wayward Girls,” out now via Berkley, is about witches, yes, but is inspired by dark stories from his family’s past.

In the novel, four teenage girls are sent to Wellwood House, a home for unwed mothers, in 1970, with the mandate to give birth, send the children away for adoption and pretend like nothing actually happened.

Yet they are able to get back some of their agency once they learn witchcraft via a librarian who offers up a magical book. Hendrix, who is also a former Variety writer, says he got the idea for “Girls” from a family history in which two beloved relatives were in a similarly unthinkable situation. “I would say it’s not normal that a middle-aged childless man is going to write about a book where everyone is pregnant,” he says. “My whole family found out years ago that two relatives, both of whom are passed away now, were sent away when they were teenagers to homes from unwed mothers.