Richard Russo found himself sifting through his parents' possessions after their uncannily close passings, when he stumbled upon some letters between his great aunt and mother. They made strange references to spells, spirits, and altered states of consciousness. Unsure of what to make of the series of letters stretching out over many years, he decided to launch an investigation. He poured over the letters everyone and every place mentioned and sought them out.
After several years of research, he was able to paint a picture of a close-knit, moderately wealthy community of summer witches on the Cape. During the Civil War, a very small community of young girls in Eastham decided they were fed up their predictable farmers' wives' lot, and founded a coven for themselves using books found in curiosity shops on scant visits to New Bedford or Boston. They were never able to do much more than talk to Ouija Boards or put themselves into potion induced trances, but they laid the groundwork for a loving and supportive secret society for future generations.
As the years went on, the books and new traditions were passed down to daughters and friends. Stories would occasionally grace the local paper speaking of wailing on the dunes or demons dancing naked on remote beaches, but there was never a Salem style witch hunt.
These women, and a surprising amount of men, were encouraged to use their powers in private, and only for good. The letters and diaries uncovered spoke mostly of efforts to connect with nature, other worlds, spiritual realms, and more deeply with each other. Occasionally spells would be cast for good fortune and the like. Anyone found using magic for ill will was castigated, expelled if their transgressions continued.
As the Cape made its transition from farming to vacationing in the twentieth century, the witching tradition evolved. Vacationers found their way into this tight-lipped society over the years. They had little room for magic at home, but their summers of spells helped shape their lives. Many of the original witching families abandoned Cape Cod as the farmlands were bought up by private developers, but some still came back for the warmer months. Over a relatively quick period of fifteen to twenty years, the community had become almost completely summer witches.
This history is elegantly spliced together with they pieced together story of Russo's mother, and what seem to be the last witches of the Cape. Her aunt introduced her to her magic friends as a teen, and her life flourished from there. It really becomes a touching story of a man getting to understand his mother deeper than he ever thought possible (and thus explaining so many things about her attitude towards life and her family that alienated them for such a long time) while exploring a unknown and uplifting little corner of human history.
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