Lois the Witch and Other Stories

by Elizabeth Gaskell

Fear of Satan becomes murder in the name of God.

Newly orphaned, the God-fearing and heart-broken Lois is sent across the Atlantic to live with her uncle’s family in Salem, but on her arrival she finds herself the object of cruel hostility, potent jealousy and mad desire.

When the local Pastor’s daughters are contorted and convulsed by apparently satanic powers, the whole town is whipped into a hysterical witch hunt. And when Lois’s cousins start to resent her presence in their household, life becomes precarious and an old woman’s curse returns to haunt her.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Short Stories, Gothic, Audiobook, Mystery, Victorian

96 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 1859

About the author

Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, née Stevenson (29 September 1810 – 12 November 1865), often referred to simply as Mrs. Gaskell, was an English novelist and short story writer during the Victorian era. Her novels offer a detailed portrait of the lives of many strata of society, including the very poor, and as such are of interest to social historians as well as lovers of literature.

AKA:
Елізабет Гаскелл (Ukrainian)

Reviews

[Janae · Rating 3 out of 5]

A selection of short, spooky stories that I didn't know Gaskell had in her. Is this really the same author who gave us North and South? Bravo.

Also very interesting to see a British author venture into the American gothic genre with her story about the Salem witch trials

The Old Nurse's Story--a haunting ghost story with themes of abuse, pride, and patriarchal power
Curious, if True--a bizarre tale of a man stumbling into the "ever after" of fairy-tail characters eating an evening meal together
Disappearances--a strange tongue-in-cheek critique of the detective branch, which was newly formed at the time of publishing
The Half Brothers--a beautifully redemptive short story of two half brothers, wherein the elder is his mother's favorite while the father prefers the younger
The Grey Woman--set in a Mill in the non-romantic part of Heidelberg (Ha!). This gothic tale with a Bluebeard narrative seeks to warn young women about the perils of rushing into marriage
The Doom of the Griffiths--another gothic tale about a forgotten family curse
Lois, the Witch--the star of the show and the longest short story in the compilation.
If I needed another reason to hate the blind superstitious venom of the Puritans, I found plenty of them here. Lois arrives in Salem after the death of her parents, to live with an aunt who is the shell of her former self. She learns quickly that her beauty and dress are considered frivolous and sinful. Her cousin, Manasseh, falls in love with her becomes possessive and creepy while manipulatively claiming it is God's will to marry him, while her true love waits for her back in England. It's only a matter of time before her jealous cousin, Prudence, accuses her of practicing witchcraft. Lois is put on trial and is told she must confess. She refuses and is executed mere months before her love comes from England to bring her back with him. Gaskell uses this American tale to speak to her British audience that this kind of superstition and fear is also rooted in England's past.

[Jassmine]

I'm clearly not reading this, so moving it to my "on hiatus" shelf, will be back!

[Eve · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

Didn’t realise this was short stories when I picked it up. I would be keen on reading longer versions of these stories.

[♥️Annete♥️loves❤️books♥️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing special. I expected more from Elizabeth Gaskell. 3 stars , barely!

[Julia Florek Turcan]

The last tale in this collection "The Crooked Branch" had all the dread and horror of a Sthephen King novel. It is one of my worst nightmares when I look towards the future.

[Marcus Kaye · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lois the Witch is really really great and deserves to be taught alongside The Crucible. The rest of the stories, I cared less for.

[Violet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great short stories - very reflective of the fears and prejudice of their times - the Irish curses, the Native American witches... It was good storytelling though, but I found them quite slow - the details on everyone's ancestry and family origins are great in a novel, not so much in a short story.

[Caitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh, decently written, but I just couldn't get into the stories. Though the longer the story in this collection, the more I liked it, which means I'll have to give one of Gaskell's novels a try in the future.

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

A solid collection of gothic stories. It was fascinating to see this side of Gaskell.

[T.J. Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Lois the Witch and Other Gothic Tales" is a solid collection of dark, atmospheric, and melancholy stories. A few have supernatural elements, but most do not. I have only read one other book by Elizabeth Gaskell - "North and South" - and these lightly spooky tales felt like the work of a completely different author. It reminded me more of Wilkie Collins than Jane Austen, if you know what I mean.

The title story is definitely the star of the show. Most of the stories were decent; I would give them a respectable 4 stars. "Lois the Witch" was worthy of 4.5. Despite its title, it is not one of the paranormal stories of the collection. It is a historical fiction novella about the Salem witch hunts, and it was compelling. I was fascinated by the portrayal of Lois's cousin Manasseh, who seemed to have something like schizophrenia. Lois herself was a very appealing character - unfailingly gentle and loving, yet still very strong and certain of herself. I was honestly a little shocked by the ending. I was sure that Captain Holdernesse was going to ride in, bring people to their senses, and save her. Nope. She is hung. 😵‍💫 "Lois the Witch" made me want to reread my childhood favorite, "The Witch of Blackbird Pond."

The other stories in the collection are much shorter than "Lois the Witch" and include:

“The Old Nurse's Story" – read by Justine Eyre - A slightly spooky story with supernatural elements about a family haunted by dark deeds of the past. "Alas! alas! what is done in youth can never be undone in age! What is done in youth can never be undone in age!"
“The Half-Brothers" – read by Stefan Rudnicki - a sad and regretful story of a step-son who is mistreated but nevertheless is devoted to his younger half-brother
“Curious, if True" – read by Stefan Rudnicki - a whimsical story of a young man lost in the woods of France at night who stumbles upon a chateau filled with fairytale characters having a party.
“Disappearances"" – read by Juliet Mills - weakest story imo, if you can even call it a story...it was a loose collection of vignettes about people who mysteriously disappeared; some are eventually explained and some are not. It felt more like a writing exercise. No plot to speak of. After reading other reviews, I guess that it was supposed to be a critique of the police/detective force? I didn't get that.
“The Grey Woman" – read by Juliet Mills - a disturbing Bluebeard-esque story of a wife in an abusive relationship who has to escape an isolated castle
“The Doom of the Griffiths" – read by Justine Eyre - the story of a cursed family and how the curse plays out in a fraught relationship between father and son

This really was a great collection for spooky season. It has all the moody gothic vibes and lots of atmosphere. Honestly, I think I enjoyed it more than the much more famous "North and South." 🙃

[Liberté · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been wanting to read this Gaskell collection after reading North and South, so I broke in the 2024 spooky season with this set of short stories. They included "The Old Nurse's Story", "Curious, If True", "Disappearances", "The Half-Brothers", "The Grey Woman", "The Doom of the Griffiths", and "Lois the Witch". My favorite of these was probably the last, mostly because of the witch trial history element and how I can see that maybe Elizabeth George Speare was inspired by this and/or similar stories for The Witch of Blackbird Pond. There are definitely some period-typical writing elements here that don't age well, including the adoption of the slave narrative in "The Grey Woman" and the (period-accurate) treatment of Native Americans in both text and language. The short story, "Curious, If True", stands out as the least gothic of the stories but as a fairy tale story, it was quite fun (I also found a write-up that identifies all the referenced stories). All in all, a good collection of spooky stories for the long night of the year.

[Judy Croome · Rating 3 out of 5]

First published in 1861, the title story Lois the Witch is the best of this collection of short stories, closely followed by The Crooked Branch and The Doom of The Griffiths.

To my modern reader’s eye, the style is oddly formal and long-winded, and the text is dense and Gothic. Yet, there is a pull, an energy, to the characters and their destinies that kept me reading.

From the steady, hardworking but uneducated Yorkshire farmer, Nathan, to the gentle, sweet orphan Lois sent from a bucolic English village to the puritanical and fanatically religious Salem in America, Gaskill’s skill was evident in what was left unsaid in setting the tone, characterisations and social commentary on class, poverty and religion.

Reading the heavily detailed Victorian style was challenging at times, but these stories are worth reading.

[Shirley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well that was a major bummer. The collection ends with the novella, Lois the Witch, and I got impatient with the steady beat towards tragedy that I read the second half on my e-reader. It's a tragic Salem Witch Trial story published in 1861.

All very well done gothic tales, a very different book from the comfortable and funny Cranford.

[Terri · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Not all of these Gothic tales pack the same eerie punch. The first and last are the strongest, though the last, the title story, isn't actually frightening in the way of other tales (no curse), but the theme of being falsely accused is frightening in another sense.
On the whole I found it less compelling than the Clare book.

[Brenda (aka Grandma)]

The Grey Woman, Lois the Witch, and maybe Disappearances I'm likely to listen to again someday.

Not rating this because I couldn't get past the audio narration of most of the others.
content warning death of a baby and child

[Corinne]

The title story is quite interesting, especially since it's an 1800s viewpoint of "old fashioned" Salem witch trials and takes great care to establish that the accused is more pious than the accusers.

[Johanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the longer stories in the collection more than the shorter ones as the characters and the desperation of their circumstances was more detailed. However, many of these stories did feel a bit hopeless which is worth knowing before going in.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
A very interesting collection with several good and compelling stories.
Of course Lois the Witch was my favourite, however I will say I did wish it was longer, as it was a very good premise!

[B]

DNF

[Gilbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting collection of Gaskell's stories, but not great.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Salam Witch Trials bum me out to no end, but this was still worth it.’

[Rachael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not finish. Just could not get into it.

[Zosia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lois the Witch 4.5*
The Old Nurse's Story 4*
The Squire's Story 3*
The Crooked Branch 4*
The Grey Woman 4*

[Christen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lois the Witch is great, and well ahead of it's time. The other stories are not as compelling.

[cypher · Rating 3 out of 5]

good writing and some good details, but also a lot a things which i did not particularly find very relevant to send a strong message.
dnf at the end.

[Elisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea. I guess I always think that I like Gothic literature when I don't. Also, the main story has animal cruelty.

[Dessi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Books like this keep me humble in my ability to read.

I saw "Lois the witch" recommended on bookstagram and thought, why not! I've never read anything from Gaskell, although then I found out she's also the author from the "North and South" novel that got an adaptation that many people are crazy about, so, despite my experience with this book, I might........ watch the movie.

While I intended to read only the titular short story, I found this anthology that includes three more stories: "The poor Clare", "The doom of the Griffiths" and "The crooked branch".

"The poor Clare" is about a woman who casts a curse on a man and it backfires on her. "The doom of the Griffiths" is about a self-fulfilling family curse. "Lois the witch" is about a young woman arriving to the colonies during times of puritan paranoia. Finally, "The crooked branch" is about a family and their deadbeat son.

Like I mentioned, the writing style made my reading experience a little challenging. I always think this is because English is my second language and, even though I've been reading in English daily for the past 15 years, this is clearly a different language from the one I'm familiar with. But I showed this to native speakers and they validated that fact that, actually, it's just a damn hard book.

That said, I thought it was interesting that all the stories revolved around the subject of complicated familiar relationships and betrayal. "Lois the witch" was definitely the gem of this anthology.

[Leticia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good writing, and a 'gothic' pleasure to read.

The Old Nurse's Story ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Curious, If True
Disappearances ⭐⭐⭐
The Half-Brothers
The Grey Woman ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Doom Of The Griffiths ⭐⭐⭐ very gothic and tragic
Lois The Witch ⭐⭐⭐⭐ very tragic