The English language debut of the bestselling Dutch novel, Hex, from Thomas Olde Heuvelt–a Hugo and World Fantasy award nominated talent to watchWhoever 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 seventeenth century woman whose eyes and mouth are sewn shut. … whose eyes and mouth are sewn shut. Muzzled, she walks the streets and enters homes at will. She stands next to children’s bed for nights on end. Everybody knows that her eyes may never be opened or the consequences will be too terrible to bear.
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, they send the town spiraling into dark, medieval practices of the distant past.
This chilling novel heralds the arrival of an exciting new voice in mainstream horror and dark fantasy.
At the Publisher’s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
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What would you do if your very existence depended on a dark and powerful magic? With phenomenal character development and vivid world-building, Hex is an emotional journey into a town dominated by an obsession with the otherworldly–and a witch you don’t want to cross.
Hex to me is a slow build horror but then it picks up leaving you breathless and shocked by the end. And what an ending! What I loved about Hex was the world building, the history behind the town and all the characters especially Tyler. I truly love that kid! Like other reviewers, I was really shocked at how humanity can break down the way Thomas wrote it. You read about it in history books but in Hex you feel like a true eye witness. I definitely recommend this book!
There’s a saying that no story is original, and that everyone adapts a version of something they love. I believed that until I read Hex. This is the most original story I’ve read in many years, and the author manages to take a concept that is wholly unbelievable and make it feel absolutely possible, and positively terrifying. I have imagination envy on this one. Best book I’ve read in 2018, and a top five for the past decade.
There’s little I love more than a scary book that captures and twists my imagination. Scary is subjective, but for me this was the real deal. This book seriously freaked me out and I mean that as a compliment. Bonus: it did so without resorting to gratuitous violence or graphic gross-outs. Brills and if you like thrills, put this one on your list.
One of the scarier books I’ve read. Very dark, I loved it.
Good premise, way too long. Not a scary book, but more atmospheric about a witch and a town’s dark secrets. Which is good, it’s slow-burning, although never going beyond that. I had high expectations that weren’t met unfortunately. It was a good book, just not as much as it could have been. Stephen King pastiche, sort of.
Great story! Masterfully executed. Very original plot, realistic characters and a tragic entity you can both fear and cry for.
A unique premise that I thoroughly enjoyed. A 20th-century town haunted by a 17th-century ghost – the Black Rock witch whose eyes and mouth are sewn shut. The town elders use high-tech surveillance to keep their secret, but the teenagers are tired of being kept quiet. Tyler decides to create a website and video the ghost, which results in a series of events that spiral out of control.
Jeff Harding did a fantastic job with the narration. I couldn’t put this book down. Some of the things I saw coming, but that didn’t make them any less terrifying. The evil that regular people are capable of can be the scariest of all. Not for the squeamish.
Well that was dark.
But it was also thrilling, scary and extremely difficult to put down.
A story that examines familial love, superstition and who we are as a species and how we treat each other when all hell breaks loose…kinda like now.
Dutch author Thomas Olde Heuvelt has a hit on his hands with HEX! I bought this book because it was endorsed by Stephen King and I tend to like what he reads. HEX has been sold in nine languages in fourteen countries, and the English version was a second re-write for Heuvelt, who wrote HEX again from an American perspective. It became a bestseller in The Netherlands in 2016 and was launched around the globe shortly after that.
The residents of Black Spring are cursed by a 17th century witch who inhabits their town. She appears throughout the day in homes and on the streets of Black Springs. Her eyes and mouth are stitched shut to prevent her from casting more curses. The residents of Black Spring know not to touch the witch or speak to her. They do their best to ignore the witch, but it’s hard to ignore the witch when she shows up next to your bed at night while you’re sleeping!
The town has a committee called HEX that has developed a high tech surveillance system to track the witch’s whereabouts. Residents know that her name is Katherine and that she was killed for witchcraft in the 17th century. They’re also aware that Black Spring is haunted land, but most of them never learn the town’s secret until they move there. Once you’re a resident, you can’t leave again. The curse will bring you back, even if you attempt to leave.
A group of teens in town have become tired of being kept locked down from the outside world. No one can speak about the curse or Katherine outside of town, and their online activity is restricted. Even their ability to move around is compromised because they can’t leave the town limits for long. The boys finally get fed up and launch a plan to expose the witch and her curse on the residents of Black Spring to the rest of the world, but when they take things too far, all hell breaks loose.
At times, the way the teens recorded the witch and the tricks they played on her reminded me of The Blair Witch Project. Their cruelty towards the witch is nothing compared to her revenge on the town.
I’m not even a fan of ghost stories and this story blew me away! So good! If you’re looking for a completely original and super creepy ghost story, HEX is likely to leave you feeling scared, creeped out, and very uncomfortable. Whatever you do, don’t let her open her eyes – and never, ever mess with a witch! The last sentence of this book is a real zinger.
I really loved the author’s note at the end and look forward to reading more of his work. Thank you for a wonderful tale!
Best Takeaway Quotes
“Humanity has proven time and time again that it has a tendency to cross boundaries it shouldn’t.” ― Thomas Olde Heuvelt, Hex
“Magic exists in the minds of those who believe in it, not in its actual influence on reality.”
― Thomas Olde Heuvelt, Hex (less)
I bought Hex, written by Thomas Olde Heuvelt, because it was recommended by Stephen King. I curled up on the second floor, covered deck of our family’s rented beach house last July, and while my family was getting burned, I was reading about burning witches. The witch in Hex gets her revenge, though, and it was more gruesome, more terrifying, at than I ever would have guessed it would be. This is a book that throws 21st century technology at a small, cursed town. For its own good (and you’ll have to read the book to find out why), knowledge of the witch’s curse must be kept to townsfolk only. Outsiders can never find out. And when outsiders become insiders, they can never, ever leave. Reading this book at night with ocean waves crashing not far from my bare feet made my beach escape from reality complete. If you love horror, you will love this book.
Crafty, unnerving, and extraordinary. A 21st century tale of witchcraft. The plot was quite clever.
Creepy
What a ride!
Hex had been on my TBR for some time, and once it went on sale I snagged it!
This is a very interesting horror story, as I found it more atmospherically scary than shocks and gore!
The start was a bit bogged down and took me a bit to get into it, but once it got rolling, I was hooked!
Definitely check this out, if you haven’t yet!
Interesting premise
Although the subject is a town held hostage by a witch, after a few pages I found myself totally engrossed in the affairs of the characters. The descriptions are vivid and the plot moves right along. There are enough twists and unpredictable moments that I found it very entertaining.
Great atmosphere in this book – like a movie, the terror and the dread of what is to come kept building and building to the climax. The author pulled no punches in this book, and the ending was logical given where the lead characters’ journey had led them. Loved the modern touches with the ancient evil in this story. Hope this author has more of his works translated soon.
Well written . Haunting character. Didn’t like the ending but otherwise good read.
The author took advantage of a unique opportunity to rewrite his Dutch novel for English readers by moving it from holland to the woods just north of NYC. While there are echoes of “Carrie” in a few scenes this is a ferociously original story about a ghost who has cursed this New York community since before the American revolution.
What would appear to be at first an unbelievable premise becomes feasible thanks to the writers skill. The challenges of raising kids in the 21st century gets a nice twist and going to small town Halloween festivals will always remind me of this story.
great scary book, reads like early King