Saint Grit: A Tale of Witchcraft and Empowerment

 Saint Grit by Kayli Scholz

Saint Grit book cover from Ghoulish Books (artwork by Alejandra Oviedo)

Saint Grit author Kayli Scholz (photo by Sam Gehrke)

Big thanks to Ghoulish Books and Book Sirens for making SaintGrit by Kayli Scholz available to read, especially after its publication. I was so excited to find this book since it has been on my to read list even before publication. I think that I read about it in an email list of upcoming small press horror books. However, I think that I also read about Betty Rocksteady’s artwork somewhere else, and Saint Grit features some really cool artwork from Rocksteady. Her artwork along with Alejandra Oviedo’s amazing cover were really appealing to me. I was also attracted to the story about conjuring a witch that grows inside the narrator and leads her to act out. Nadine Boone is a typical 70s teenager who shows a burgeoning interest in witchcraft. The book starts out in the mid/late 70s in Florida, right around the time when the Satanic Panic may have begun, and follows Nadine and the witch she calls Saint Grit that grows inside her. Nadine was an interesting and attractive character, one who grows distrustful of others around her and can only seem to find satisfaction through herself. I loved how her interest in witchcraft ran much darker than some of the others in the book, like Cassidy and Elliot, who attend a kind of pagan/Wiccan festival. Nadine becomes acquainted with Saint Grit through a personal encounter in her backyard by the moonlight. She encounters a poisonous tree, yet after calling on Saint Grit, isn’t affected by the burning sap the way others are. Also, after conjuring Saint Grit, Nadine begins to emit leaves from her body. I loved this kind of imagery and how it connected Nadine more with nature than with evil. This was also around the time that Nadine met a boy, but their first encounter left her feeling somewhat dejected. Roger, her boyfriend at the time, disrespected her and didn’t really understand how to please her, so this also seemed to be what started Nadine on not relying on others for her own satisfaction. As Saint Grit begins to grow within her, Nadine begins to take revenge on the boys and men (as well as complicit women) who are in her life. Her haunting of Roger’s dreams in class was both humorous and reminiscent of the dream sequence from Hereditary. Nadine also has an older brother who is a football star, who seems to garner much of her family’s attention. Saint Grit also helps Nadine regain the power imbalance in her family. The fear that Nadine’s new spirit and being present to the men in her life (her brothers Hatch and Davey, her father George, Roger) was important to consider in the book as well. It seemed like the men feared empowered women who were not dependent upon them to provide financially or dictate their work around the house. Maybe this was also why Nadine was resentful of her mother, Louise, as well. She frequently disparaged her, especially after Louise confronted Nadine about her nightly rituals under the tree with Saint Grit. This was an interesting theme throughout the book, where Nadine was dismissive of these kinds of social mores and expectations for women, often following her own path of self-empowerment. Even after she marries Elliot, she begins to assert more agency and autonomy in her relationship, declaring that Elliot would provide her with 3 daughters. Elliot, like the other men in the novel, isn’t really that likeable of a character, so I enjoyed reading what eventually happens to him. Nadine also begins to raise her daughters, hoping for the day they hear the call of the witch’s horn, when she can initiate them into the ways of Saint Grit. Nadine’s parenting was kind of humous in ways, but nothing compared to how she managed to deal with Elliot. This was a short, but fun read. Some of the details were graphic and gross (especially Nadine’s last child to be born, Beckett). However, it was also a clever and creative Satanic/Witchcraft tale that also told of female empowerment and self-determination. I loved how Nadine’s story spans the late 70s through the 80s and 90s, a period when I grew up, and also coincided with the Satanic Panic and resurgence of conservatism. Nadine’s story and actions offer a tale of resistance to the patriarchy and domesticity that dominated this era. I hope to read more of Scholz’s books since Saint Grit’s horror was the kind that appeals to me. I also am excited to read more books from Ghoulish Publishers, glad to discover this horror publishing house.