The Witches

Gwen Mayfield returns from Africa, carrying the trauma of a nervous breakdown. She is hired to teach at a remote village school by the wealthy Reverend Alan Bax. The move marks her entry into the closed world of Heddaby, where suspicion and secrets await.

Gwen discovers that Alan Bax is not a real minister, and the village’s church is in ruins. The revelation unsettles her expectations about the job and the town. Despite this, she forms an uneasy friendship with Alan’s sister, a respected journalist.

Two pupils, Ronnie Dowsett and Linda Rigg, begin a romance that draws strong disapproval from the adults. Granny Rigg, Linda's grandmother, is rumored to be a witch, coloring the climate of fear around the couple. Ronnie’s father is protective and wary of outside influence.

Gwen volunteers to tutor Ronnie, who is under pressure about his future at a prep school. Ronnie gives Linda a male doll to symbolize their relationship, a provocative gesture in the superstitious village. The next day, Ronnie falls into a coma, and Gwen discovers the doll has pins through its body and its head missing.

Gwen shows the troubling doll to Stephanie, who suspects witchcraft is at work. Impressed by Gwen’s knowledge of magical practices in Africa, Stephanie invites her to co-author an article about witchcraft in contemporary England. The invitation pulls Gwen deeper into the village’s occult mysteries.

Ronnie’s mother visits Granny Rigg’s house to strike a deal regarding her son’s fate. Soon after, Ronnie quickly recovers from the coma and is taken to stay with relatives in Wales. Ronnie’s father confronts Granny Rigg about her influence and is later found drowned in a nearby pond.

Gwen begins to suspect that witches are manipulating events to keep Ronnie and Linda apart. She offers to testify at the inquest into Ronnie’s father’s death. An injury caused by Stephanie’s dogs leads to Gwen being brought to the Bax household for treatment, and a sudden African totem appears, triggering another nervous breakdown.

Months pass as Gwen recovers in a nursing home with no memory of Africa. A visiting little girl’s doll triggers the return of her memories, prompting Gwen to escape the hospital. She hitches back to Heddaby and is welcomed to stay again at the Bax home.

A villager whispers that Linda has been taken by witches, fanning the village’s fear. Gwen witnesses a coven assembling at the ruined church, led by Stephanie, who reveals plans to initiate Gwen into their ranks. The sense of danger intensifies as the coven’s influence grows.

Stephanie explains a ritual that extends life through the ritual sacrifice of a pure maiden, and insists the place for the sacrifice must be kept spiritually clean. Linda lies in a trance, unable to resist the ritual’s target. Gwen confronts the witches, cuts herself, and smears her blood on Stephanie’s robe, triggering the witch’s convulsions and her death.

Weeks later, Heddaby returns to a fragile normality. Gwen chooses to stay and work as a schoolteacher for Alan Bax, reaffirming her commitment to the village.