2019/110: HEX -- Thomas Olde Heuvelt

Allowing an influx of new people is the lesser of two evils, they say. It’s a sacrifice, but life here in the boondocks really isn’t that bad. Okay, there are some small inconveniences, such as not being able to take long vacations, or having to register visiting hours (to avoid a Code Red, you see); and a few online restrictions, too; and, oh yes, you’d better settle down because you won’t be leaving here again … but life’s pretty good, if you stick to the rules. [p. 84]

The town of Black Spring has a very particular presence: that of the witch Katherine van Wyler, put to death in 1664, who wanders the streets (and the houses) of Black Spring. Her eyes and mouth are sewn shut, and the townsfolk believe that if her eyes and mouth are opened, her spells will destroy them all.

At first she doesn't seem especially scary. She follows the same paths every week, and if she appears in someone's house they're as likely to throw a dishtowel over her face as to flee.

But Black Spring is under an Emergency Decree: sightings of Katherine must be reported, either by phone or via the HEXapp (free iPhones for all residents!) and the witch's presence must never be disclosed to outsiders. There are cameras everywhere, and internet traffic is monitored. Visitors are discouraged, as are incomers. And residents of the town can't leave: after a few days away, they are tormented by suicidal impulses.

The young people of Black Spring are chafing under the Emergency Decree. At first their rebellion is innocuous: a website called 'Open Your Eyes', complaining about the restrictions of Black Spring life. Tensions rise and events escalate, though, until the Council has to punish the ringleaders. And that sets off an implacable descent, during which it becomes clear that the witch is not what she seems.

This is an odd novel: often darkly funny, sometimes truly horrific, generally very unsettling. The alternation of viewpoint narratives and excerpts from the Open Your Eyes website is an effective way of showing how a seventeenth-century witch's presence might be integrated into modern life. And the gradual slide into horror is very well paced.

That said, many of the characters seem two-dimensional. Teenage Bully! Nosy Neighbour! Sensitive gay adolescent! ... come to think of it, the (few) more-rounded characters were male. The male gaze is strong in this one, too: I was hoping that there would be at least one worthwhile female character who found in Katherine van Wyler a symbol of oppression and misogynistic silencing, but the only woman who believes she has a connection with the witch is portrayed as mean, stupid and vindictive.