Supernatural Historical Chiller- Red Runs the Witch’s Thread by Victoria Williamson. Thank you to @The_WriteReads @WriteReadsTours @strangelymagic @SilverThistlePress for including Good Night To Read on this ultimate blog tour for a book that shines a spotlight on historical injustice.
ACROSTIC
Cursed
Hysteria
Raging
Inflamed
Spinner of yarns
Tantalised
Insane
Abstracted
Naïve
Woeful
Innocent
Tortured
Caring
Healers
Empty
Scapegoats
BOOK BITE
Is she shamed to wear a heart so white?
A sinister story steeped in symbolism redolent of ‘the Scottish play’ as the stricken protagonist Christian wrestles with painful flashbacks and hallucinations.
BOOK HAIKU
Christian battles
with her conscience haunted by
guilt, blood and madness.
BLURB
Paisley, Scotland, 1697. Thirty-five people accused of witchcraft. Seven condemned to death. Six strangled and burned at the stake. All accused by eleven-year-old Christian Shaw.
Bargarran House, 1722. Christian Shaw returns home, spending every waking hour perfecting the thread bleaching process that will revive her family’s fortune. If only she can make it white enough, perhaps her past sins will be purified too. But dark forces are at work. As the twenty-fifth anniversary of the witch burnings approaches, ravens circle Bargarran House, their wild cries stirring memories and triggering visions.
As Christian’s mind begins to unravel, her states of delusion threaten the safety of all those who cross her path.
Her fate hangs by a thread.
BOOK TASTERS
“A monstrous raven loomed over its kill, its beak stained red.” “If I don’t move now, my secrets will be shown to the world.” “Her shoes beat out the slow tattoo on the cobblestones, a dire warning that time had come full circle and the past was repeating itself.”
BOOK BLOGGERS- SPOTLIGHT
The psychological element of this book was what really pulled me in. The impact one small childhood experience can have on someone for the rest of their life is so interesting, and it really makes you think. There’s the common comment of “they’re young, they don’t understand” or “they won’t remember”, but it’s very clear that this is certainly not true, and people need to be more careful in regards to what children are experiencing. This book is a perfect example of that.”
A haunting and immersive read that will leave you enthralled. With its dark and atmospheric prose, Victoria Williamson delivers yet another standout addition to the genre. Fans of gothic storytelling and psychological horror will find much to savor in this chilling tale. If you’re seeking a gripping narrative that seamlessly blends history with the supernatural, look no further than “Red Runs the Witch’s Thread”.
“I loved how colours were used throughout the story, which is no mean feat given that this is not an image-based medium! It made the world seem so tangible, and really brought out Christian’s obsessive qualities, particularly around the colour red. “
By the pricking of my thumbs Something wicked this way comes.
Macbeth aka The Scottish Play [1606]. Act iv. sCENE 1.
Victoria Williamson infuses her latest novella with symbolism worthy of Shakespeare
“The raven himself is hoarse / That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan / Under my battlements”
ACT 1. SCENE 5.
“What, will these hands ne’er be clean?”
ACT V SCENE 1, MACBETH
as her deluded protagonist Christian unleashes an obsessive need to achieve purity by bleaching her thread “white as the first snows of winter.”
Haunted by the guilt of past sins and the clamouring cries of raucous ravens, she recalls her bouts of sleepwalking and memory lapses when she was a child only to awake in the dawn with bloody witness on her body.
Delineated by chapter headings pertaining to the components of weaving, the narrative is effectively broken into two historical periods- 1697 and 1722. The past is represented by a raven [symbolising the child Christian in the first person] and a needle and thread [representing the adult Christian in the third person].
The story explores a myriad of themes including the curiosity, fear and shame associated with the natural acts of periods and childbirth in a child’s mind in the 17th century [reflective in some ways of period shaming today],
Scarlet rags and raven women…in the dark”
guilt, hallucinations, hysteria, madness, scapegoating, the class structure and the trials of poverty.
Williamson’s writing is visceral with evocative imagery and disturbing scenes of horror, madness and trauma. She captures the fragmented psychology of Christian, the tragedy of the slaughter of the innocent and the danger of false accusations feeding religious piety, prejudice, superstition and hatred to the point of no return.
This book shines a spotlight on the injustice of the Bargarran Witch Craft trials and creates many questions about what motivated an 11 year old child to accuse and lie and why the adults encouraged her to do so.
A spine tingling, startling read with a Faustian vibe, a gothic heart and a Shakespearean voice that is not for the faint hearted. It will chill and thrill in equal measure.
GOOD NIGHT TO READ REVIEW RATING- 4 CHOCOLATE LIBRARIES
FIVE FACTS ABOUT VICTORIA WILLIAMSON
Victoria volunteered on digs with Archaeology Scotland.
Her novel Hag Storm explored the life of Robert Burns in 18th Century Scotland.
Victoria volunteered with The Book Bus charity in Zambia
She visits festivals, schools and library events to talk to children and educators about the important issues she raises in her books.
Victoria’s launch of Red Runs the Witch’s Thread was supported by the staff and volunteers of the Paisley Book Festival.
EXPLORING THE HISTORY OF SCOTLAND
Red Runs the Witch Thread is inspired by the terrible Witch trials which took place in Paisley, Scotland in 1697when the 11 year old daughter of the Laird, afflicted by hysteria and lies, condemned innocentsto a grisly death.
Williamson creates a chilling supernatural tale imagining the psychological state of Christian Shaw in 1722, 25 years after the crime. While attempting to reinvent herself as a businesswoman in control of thread manufacturing, she is haunted by wicked visions of the past, struggling to hold on to her sanity.
“Today, the movement demanding a formal pardon for those accused and convicted of the crime of witchcraft is growing in Scotland. In 2022, Scotland’s First Minister issued an apology to people accused during the time of the Witchcraft Act which was in force in Scotland between 1563 & 1736. The campaign for a legal pardon and a national monument is still ongoing.”
AFTERWORD
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Title: Red Runs the Witch’s Thread
Author: Victoria Williamson
Publisher: Silver Thistle Press
Publication date: April 11th 2024
Length: Novella
Genre: Gothic, Historical, Supernatural
Age group: YA/Adult
BEYOND THE BOOK
THE SCOTTISH PLAY
William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, also known as “Scottish Play” has themes which recur in Red Runs the Witch’s Thread. Shakespeare was influenced by King James VI’s treatise condemning Witchcraft which sparked vicious witch trials in Scotland.
Large scale witch trials took place in Scotland well into the seventeenth century, and an estimated 3,000 people – who were mostly women – were accused.”
McDonald SW, Thom A, Thom A. The Bargarran witchcraft trial–a psychiatric reassessment. Scott Med J. 1996 Oct;41(5):152-8. doi: 10.1177/003693309604100508. PMID: 8912988. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8912988/
LOCATION LOCATION
THE HISTORY OF BARGARRAN HOUSE, HOME TO 11 YEAR OLD CHRISTIAN SHAW, CHIEF WITCH ACCUSER
Victoria’s previous novels include The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle, The Boy with the Butterfly Mind, Hag Storm, Whistlers in the Dark, War of the Wind and The Haunting Scent of Poppies.
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