As I were going up Withered Hill
With night-time coming soon
I met a man under the trees
Whiter than the moon
He smiled at me and stroked my hair
I were frit for my life
He showed his teeth and smiled and said,
‘Owd Hob wants a wife’
An English folk horror novel, drawing on elements you normally find in dark psychological thrillers and fantasy tales, Withered Hill is a complex, rich and absorbing book.
The central character, Sophie Wickham, is an attractive woman in her early thirties living in London who finds she’s stuck in a rut. Whilst her friends are moving on with their lives, Sophie is rootless and lost, lacking purpose, with a drink problem and a history of bad, unhealthy relationships. Busy concentrating on having fun after leaving university, heedless of the future, she is now lurching from one pay cheque to the next in her dead end, temporary job. As I read this book I found myself thinking how Sophie is the essence of everything unlikeable about Bridget Jones, without the lightening humour and redeeming qualities which made that character so popular and appealing.
Sophie’s life is about to change when she stumbles into the village of Withered Hill, naked and completely disorientated, the memories of her old life gone. Withered Hill, which lies in an unspecified location in Lancashire, is totally different to London, giving her pause as she reflects on her life. Sophie tries to piece together her lost memories and make sense of Withered Hill, where the villagers are friendly and welcoming but at the same time make clear Sophie is unable to leave. At least, not until she is ready.
“Sophie never carries money in Withered Hill: she goes into one of the village shops and is given what she needs or asks for. Catherine turns up with gifts and clothing. Food fills her fridge and cupboards. It is as though Sophie is a child of Withered Hill, a shared responsibility, to be looked after and cared for by the community, even as they keep her prisoner in the confines of the ring of dark, thick woods.”
The story is told using a dual timeline narrative structure, which allows Barnett to explore Sophie’s life both before and after her arrival in Withered Hill. Barnett plays with the passage of time to great effect, and slowly the story of Sophie’s life is revealed.
The people of Withered Hill hold very different values to those who live, as they refer to it, ‘outside’, harking back to an older, pre-Christian Britain. Sophie learns more about their world through the ancient festivals they celebrate at Lammas, Samhain, Beltane, Faunalia and Yule. Withered Hill represents a more primal version of humanity, one where our savage nature is embraced and where the land is revered, tended and worshipped for the bounty it provides.
This novel takes us into some uncomfortable places. Sophie isn’t a likeable character but Barnett takes time to carefully explain why, so I still had empathy as her plight becomes clear. What’s so chilling about this story is the way Barnett makes you look at your own life through the lens of Sophie. We might like to think we’re better than her – but are we? There’s a message in this novel about our relationship with the land, our dependence upon it, and how we casually treat its gifts with thoughtlessness and disdain.
I think saying more would spoil the surprise, as this book is best explored with no pre-conceived ideas since Withered Hill is like a wonderous puzzle. The ending, whilst making perfect sense, completely threw me and I never saw it coming. Expertly building on a mounting sense of dread as the novel progresses, this is one of the most chilling and terrifying books I’ve ever read. It’s also one of the best.
