Today, I’m writing about my second favorite research book for The Visions of Bezek. It might be the best horror novel I’ve ever read. It’s called Hex.

Whoever is born here, is doomed to stay ’til death. Whoever settles, never leaves.
Welcome to Black Spring, the seemingly picturesque Hudson Valley town haunted by the Black Rock Witch, a 17th century woman whose eyes and mouth are sewn shut. Muzzled, she walks the streets and enters your homes at will. She stands next to your bed for nights on end. Everybody knows that her eyes may never be opened.
The elders of Black Spring have virtually quarantined the town by using high-tech surveillance to prevent their curse from spreading. Frustrated with being kept in lockdown, the town’s teenagers decide to break their strict regulations and go viral with the haunting, but in so doing send the town spiraling into the dark, medieval practices of the past.
I selected this book because it is a horror novel that deals with a small town and builds a community within it. It basically checked all the boxes on my list. Before I started looking for research books, I’d never heard of this novel.
The book was originally printed in the Netherlands, written by a Dutch author by the named of Thomas Olde Heuvelt. As I embarked on my journey through this story, I realized it was full of new and innovative ideas.
At first, it seems pretty simple. There’s a witch that haunts the town. She, seemingly randomly, appears in people’s home, on the streets, or other places around town. It’s creepy, but she doesn’t really seem that menacing. Everyone in town appears to have accepted her. In fact, the town has rules about the witch. They even have a phone app for reporting her location. The app is called HEX.
“In Black Spring, they knew that desperate needs led to desperate deeds.”
The town goes to great lengths to keep the witch a secret from the rest of the world. The government is involved. Everyone in town is in on it. Visitors in town are discouraged and measures are taken to keep them away from the witch. If you move to town, you’ll learn the secret. Then you can never leave.
You quickly discover how oppressive the rules are for the townsfolk. The youth grow restless, never being able to stay away from town too long. So they decide to play some games… with the witch.
“Humanity has proven time and time again that it has a tendency to cross boundaries that it shouldn’t.”
I had trouble putting the book down. My mind raced, trying to figure out where the story was heading. It was all uncharted territory. Not only did the book explore supernatural evil, it also explores human evil. It delivers much more than just a standard witch story.
“This is all it takes for people to plunge into insanity: one night alone with themselves and what they fear the most.”
Not only did I get to enjoy a great story, but the book also provided some excellent research for The Visions of Bezek. Maybe one day I can write my own witch book, but it’s difficult for me to imagine a better witch story. I highly recommend reading this book if you get the chance. Do note it is a horror story full of gruesome violence and dark themes. Read at your risk.
Comments