Here are some of the standout stories by ladies of horror fiction:

Crisscross Girls, by Ruthann Jagge – Birdie Montrose is a spirited young woman with the mark of the witch… something that could get her killed in her small Texas hometown. Crisscross Girls is not only well-written, but it is thought-provoking and empowering.

Rise of the Mother Bear, by Indigo Giordiana-Altu – Kiara is a single mom doing the best she can to raise her gifted son, Jayden. When Jayden’s birth-father comes back into the picture, everything changes. Rise of the Mother Bear will lift the evil spirits of anyone who has ever been done wrong by a former spouse.

That They Should Come Unto Me, by Lucy Bennett-Gray – River and Rain are mere tots when they’re abandoned by their mother. When they’re taken in by a kindly stranger, they realize freedom was their destiny all along. This story reminded me of the great Twilight Zone episode, ‘It’s a Good Life’ (the one with Billy Mumy as the boy with the ability to create or destroy anything using the power of his mind).

Beating Seventeen, by G. Lloyd Helm – Seventeen Williams is a gambling man who decides to play with the odds by enlisting the help of a local witch. But winning is not guaranteed. Beating Seventeen is a vivid, memorable tale with a twist you won’t see coming.

WomenInHorror.com's Girl-Power Percentage: 80% -- Good Southern Witches is edited and produced by a man, and some of the stories are by male authors. But given that this collection is a love letter to the witch, in all her glorious and fearsome incarnations, its girl-power percentage ranks high.

An absolutely brilliant collection of southern tales about witches. I'm definitely purchasing this one as this is one of my favorite tropes. I'm from the south, so I'm partial to southern horror. A very talented author. I was taken in by every story. Some were very short but still very entertaining.

The introduction to this book states that you can find this book, or it will find you. It found me and never let go.
An anthology of witch stories that go from ancient to modern with not a bad story at all is hard to find.
It deserves more stars

Good Southern Witches is one of those rare anthologies every single story in the collection was enjoyable. Yet I do have a weaknesses for stories about witches and I haven’t found a contemporary anthology about witches as enticing as this one since Hex Life.

The collection pulled me in at the very first line of the very first story ‘’Baby” by R. A. Busby with the line, the baby bit hard into my flesh and held there.” This anthology was too irresistible to put aside!

The librarian named Elizabeth who found a mysteriously magical manuscript left behind by a library patron in "Bibliomaniwac" by J.J. Smith felt like it was written just for me as it stressed a love of libraries and old manuscripts. (Oh, and my legal name is Elizabeth) And there were more eerie undertones when a dead woman came back to life on All Hallows Eve in "405 Fort Erie Lane" by Rod Martinez. The large range of stories about witches in this anthology is a delight---just a few of the examples of the different types of stories are of a witch who sought revenge for having her son kidnapped in "Rise of the Mother Bear" by Indigo Giordana-Altú or a woman learning about her own magical powers and that she came from a lineage of witches in "Granny Witch” by Rachel Coffman. Anyone who loves stories about witches will love this book. Many of the stories will appeal to fans of dark fantasy and supernatural horror.

I am thankful to Netgalley for providing me this ARC. I rarely justify purchasing books I obtain as ARCs, but as someone who loves having a good collection of witch stories on my shelf, this will be a collection I will definitely plan on purchasing when it officially releases next month!

I hadnt read a collection of short stories for ages but as soon as I saw the theme and read the words 'the witch is a wildflower, ready to thrive anywhere she chooses to take root' I knew i had to read this. I was not disappointed, I think a lot of thought went into choosing the particular texts and artwork which was beautiful. This is a perfect autumn or winter evening read full of stories that will bring a chill down your spine, in a good way. I was impressed by the diversity of the stories and how they each had their own unique takes on the theme, they all felt modern in style and it was interesting how they translated traditional concepts like the changeling or figures like Baba Yaga into these modern worlds. A lot of the texts leave me with questions and a need to re read them to learn all their secrets just like a spellbook.

Such a fun collection of stories. I especially love anything and everything by J.D. Horn. A great collection to introduce you to different authors you may not have heard of.

This book is a treasure trove of witty, canny, well-told short stories, each one introducing the reader to a unique and interesting Southern witch. As you might expect, there are some cunning women in the Appalachian tradition, but also practitioners of vodun, weather witches, non-human witches, and more. This collection was a delight to read and I was sorry when I reached the end of it.

dnf at 40%

This anthology is all about witches who happen to live and work in Southern USA. The marketing promised horror, which this really isn't. Horror is supposed to make you feel <i>something</i>, but I was mostly bored by these stories so I stopped. On one hand, they're very short, most between 7-10 pages, and don't even get to settle in before they end.
I can't even tell you about trigger warnings, which this book surely needs, but all I read morphed together to one big lump and I can't tell you <i>any</i> details.

The arc was provided by the publisher.

This book was a bit different than I expected. I couldn’t really get into it. The writing style and the wording just didn’t blend. I also found it hard to connect with any characters.

I suspect this was mislabeled as a horror, as it really doesn’t hit many of any horror notes at all. There’s nothing particularly wrong with it, I just didn’t find it compelling. But that might be because it’s not my genre. This collection is better aimed at fantasy readers.

I only made it through the first story in this collection. Between the abuse, cheating and horrible grammer I cannot bring myself to continue. I felt no connection to the characters. This might be something someone enjoys, but unfortunately this book is not for me.