A book review of Thomas Olde Heuvelt’s 2013 modern folk horror novel Hex
Usually when you think about folk horror stories they are set in some 1600’s pastoral wilderness in the isolated hills of Europe somewhere. Rarely would you think of sentences like “bring up the app and mark the witch’s position” being part of a solid folk horror tale. However, that’s exactly the direction Heuvelt takes in his new(ish) novel Hex. I’d had a few people recommend this book to me over the past few years, but I was hesitant for sure. As anyone who knows me can attest, folk horror is sort of a sacred subject matter for me. I have several novels in this genre that I truly love, and the thought of a classic folk horror trope like a witch cursing a village being set in modern times with modern technology just seemed kind of gimmicky to me. I mean, they reference the Obama election in the same paragraph they talk about a witch from the 1600s who is tormenting their town!
I have to give credit where it is due, though. Thomas Olde Heuvelt does a pretty great job of stitching (heh) these two worlds together. The story is very compelling, and the antagonist known as the Black Rock Witch (formerly a 1664 woman by the name of Katherine Van Wyler) is a constant source of gloom and unknown danger. The characters throughout the village are all very well crafted and feel like they have their own lives and their own motivations while also sharing the weight and fear tied to the village. This is a necessary ingredient of all my favorite folk horror stories–they need to have an unseen despair that colors the characters as well as the setting.
The novel was originally published in 2013 in Dutch (Heuvelt’s native language) and wasn’t translated and published in English until 2016. I mention this as an interesting point as the setting is upstate New York (along the Hudson) and the character development and writing style feels very natural to the domestic setting.
I really enjoyed this novel, and I am going to be recommending it to anyone who is likewise attracted to folk horror stories and up for a more modern concept that still does a good job of carrying the classic tonality of the genre. So, I’m not going to get into any spoilers here. I think in this specific case (like with most slow burn folk horror stories) the less you know the better. I will, however, say that I really liked how well Heuvelt used the modern setting while mixing it with the 1600s history of the village. I was really pleasantly surprised how well the story balanced technologies we use on a daily basis to not only keep from spoiling some of the critical tropes of folk horror, but to actually enhance the fear and dread in a new way.
There is also a really compelling reflection on modern social perspectives, and how quickly they can revert to some really primitive and violent behavior when the proper amount of pressure is applied to a group. We’d all like to think that modern people would never be so blind and ignorant to behave like the barbaric zealots from the days of witch trials. However, this author gives some pretty damning evidence to the contrary. If nothing else, it’s an interesting thought experiment that might give you pause.
Overall, this is a thumbs up from me. Is it a perfect story? Not even close. It’s not going to make my top 10 folk horror reads of all time, but it is in the top 5 books I’ve read this year, and that’s a win! The wheels do come off for me in the third act a bit, but that’s almost a tradition of the genre. Folk horror stories rarely stick the landing, and that’s totally okay. If you love witchy stories with curses, possessions, body horror, fairy glamour, government conspiracies, and parent/child trauma, then you should give this fun novel a read. I doubt very seriously you’d regret the investment of time. If you do, then stitch my eyes and mouth close and see what happens.