Product Description

The fire was a family tragedy that Jamie can't forget, even in his dreams. And now there is something terrifying happening to him in Crownhill, the village where he's been sent to get over his problems. Something to do with an evil old witch who gets into his nightmares, and a frightened girl, the victim of a long-ago witch hunt, whose presence lingers on. A present-day boy, a seventeenth-century girl, an ancient crone: for a single moment their lives are fused by fire. And as the dark secrets of Crownhill are revealed Jamie has to confront his worst fears in order to free himself from the horrors of the past. Marcus Sedgwick weaves extracts from reports of a seventeenth-century witch hunt into a tense and brilliant novel.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #39677 in Books
• Published on: 2001-03-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

From the Back Cover
The fire was a family tragedy that will always haunt Jamie. And there is something else going on in the village of Crownhill. Something terrifying to do with an evil old hag who gets into his dreams, a scared girl, the victim of a witch hunt. Jamie senses her presence all around. If only he could cross the barriers of time and save her . . . A present-day boy, a seventeenth-century girl, an ancient crone: for a single moment their lives are fused by fire. And as the dark secrets of Crownhill and its witches are revealed, Jamie confronts his worst fears in order to free himself from the horrors of the past. A compelling novel from the acclaimed Marcus Sedgwick.

About the Author
Marcus Sedgwick works in children's publishing and before that he was a bookseller. His books have been shortlisted for many awards, including The Guardian Children's Fiction Award, the Blue Peter Book Award, the Carnegie Medal and the Edgar Allan Poe Award. Marcus lives in Sussex and has a young daughter, Alice.

Customer Reviews

Dark. Mysterious. Beautifully written.
Another brilliant and darkly compelling novel by Marcus Sedgwick, steeped in the history and mystery of seventeenth-century witch-hunts.

Jamie is haunted by fire... the fire that destroyed his family home. His waking moments and dreams are filled with thoughts of the fire. Jamie is sent to Somerset to stay with his aunt and his cousin, but still he is unable to escape the torment of the fire. In his dreams he is tormented by an evil old woman, and soon he becomes embroiled in the quest to find the true meaning of an ancient carving set in chalk in the hillside of the village where he's staying, Crownhill.

This is a short novel, but its length suits the pace of this intricately woven plot which is intertwined cleverly with a report from a seventeenth-century witch-hunt. We see more of the report as Jamie gradually unravels the truth. Really well-written. I recommend it!

A Wicked Book!
"Witch Hill" is a wicked book. It's about a boy who's sent to his auntie's after a fire in his house: every fire he sees afterwards reminds him of the tragedy of his sister's death.And there is something going on in the village that he's moved to that his auntie won't let him find out about. What's even worse, he's also getting haunted in his dreams: he gets chased by an old woman - infact she's a witch!

"Witch Hill" is for people who like spooky and funny stories, but if you haven't read such a story you should try this one !

Not the trick-or-treat type of witch - real witches!
The fire was a tragedy that Jamie could not forget and never would forget. It dominated his waking thought and it haunts his dreams while he sleeps. So he goes to the country to stay with his aunt and cousin in Crownhill. But there are more problems for him as a terrifying old witch takes over his dreams and only causes trouble. But then again so does the girl in his dream accused of witch craft. Only Jamie feels their presence around him. Can he cross the barriers of time to save her?

A present-day boy, a seventeenth century girl, an ancient crone: for a single moment fire and flames fuse their lives. As the dark secrets of Crownhill and its witches are revealed Jamie has to confront his worst fears in order to free himself from the horrors of the past.