How to Hang a Witch is a young adult novel by Adriana Mather that was published in 2016. The novel follows teenager Samantha “Sam” Mather, who feels her life has been cursed: Her father is in a coma, and her stepmother, Vivian, is moving them to an unfamiliar family home in Salem, Massachusetts. In Salem, Sam is confronted by the Descendants—a group of teenagers whose ancestors were hung as witches during the Salem Witch Trials—because Sam’s ancestor helped convict them. Not long after Sam arrives, deaths and accidents occur, and soon, Sam and a spirit named Elijah must persuade the Descendants to work with them to break a curse brought on by the 300-year-old anger of Vivian, the magically living version of Elijah’s fiancée, Ann. In rejecting her ancestors’ ways, Sam finds that she herself is a witch.

This guide refers to the Ember, Penguin Random House e-book edition, 2016.

Content Warning: The source material and this study guide reference death by suicide.

Plot Summary

Samantha “Sam” Mather and her stepmother, Vivian, move from New York City to the Mather family home in Salem, Massachusetts, so they can afford Sam’s father’s medical bills while he is in a coma. Despite being linked to Salem through her ancestors, who contributed to the hanging of witches in the 1600s, this is Sam’s first time in Salem. Their neighbor, an overly cheerful Mrs. Meriwether, and her handsome son, Jaxon, welcome them. Vivian tells Sam to be friendlier. During homeroom on her first day, Sam is told to move by two girls dressed in fancy black clothing, and when she refuses and says her last name is Mather, they glare and whisper. Jaxon tells her they are called “the Descendants,” a group of five— Alice, Susannah, Mary, John, and Lizzie—whose ancestors were executed during the Salem Witch Trials. Sam learns that John’s great-grandfather just died.

Her AP History teacher says they will do a historical reenactment of the witch trials, with descendants playing their ancestors, despite Sam’s protestations. Vivian gives Sam pastries to distribute during homeroom, and the kids who eat them appear to get food poisoning. Students accuse Sam of poisoning people, and someone writes “psycho” on her locker. Sam almost attacks John when he makes fun of her father, though Jaxon holds her back. She and Jaxon explore her house and find a hidden stairwell next to the fireplace, which leads to a study with her grandmother’s journals open on the desk. The journals show that her grandmother was looking for a house with a view of the spot where witches were hanged; the current hanging location is wrong. Sam goes to the library and gets locked in a research room after a confrontation with Lizzie. They must unscrew the door to release her, and Sam suspects Lizzie.

Sam feels guilty about her strained relationship with her stepmother. After a fight, Sam finds a secret compartment in the back of her armoire. It contains letters she thinks were written by a girl named Abigail, whose portrait hangs downstairs. At school, a dark-haired boy tells Sam to leave Salem. Jaxon takes Sam on a tour of the town, pointing out historical sites; they agree they don’t believe in ghosts.

Sam’s grandmother’s journals say that every 100 years, descendants of the Witch Trial victims suddenly begin to die. At school, she gets into a confrontation with the Descendants and lunges at the dark-haired boy, knocking herself out. He appears in her bedroom later, telling her to leave the letters. She realizes he is a ghost. On a field trip, the ghost distracts her and ruins her kiss with Jaxon. She goes to a coffee shop to avoid going home, but she behaves defensively when people notice her last name. Sam and the ghost, Elijah Roe, make a deal: He will help her solve the puzzle of the deaths if she will leave the house.

Sam and Jaxon find the house from her grandmother’s journal. It’s well-kept, except for the bedroom with the view of the true hanging spot. In the bedroom, the walls are covered with names, including Sam’s and her father’s, and there are feathers carved into the sill. Sam learns the deaths start when all families involved in the trials have at least one ancestor in Salem. She visits her father in the hospital and promises to fix the curse, even while she and Vivian argue. She tries to explain the curse to the Descendants. They take her into the woods where they do magic, revealing older faces that tell stories, over their own. Sam sees a young man crushed by something before the spell is broken. Vivian is furious when Sam comes home late. The next day, the Descendants make a date to meet Sam after a costume party.

Elijah confides that his sister’s letters are mostly love letters to a boy she thought she was going to marry. He brings Sam a dress to wear to the party. Vivian contributes a cloak and an old necklace. Sam sees a medical bill that says no money is due and decides to ask about it later. Sam and Jaxon go to the party, but a painful rash that looks like bites spreads throughout the partygoers, affecting everyone but Sam. Jaxon helps her escape as kids turn on Sam. Elijah comforts Sam with stories about his sister being accused of witchcraft with information from his fiancée. He says his sister’s love left her to die of grief and sickness. He later died by suicide.

Sam dreams about her ancestor Cotton Mather, a crow, and a noose, and wonders if the drawing of a woman with a crow in her grandmother’s journal is significant. She and Jaxon go to a local fair, where Mrs. Meriwether confirms the crow woman was a figure in Sam’s grandmother’s dreams. The Descendants agree to repeat the magic with Sam to learn more about the curse. Sam’s face appears as Cotton Mather. The other girls confess they’d had signs anticipating her arrival, and Lizzie thinks Sam’s the cause of all the trouble: More people are dying and having accidents. Sam confirms that she can see spirits. When Sam gets home, she and Vivian fight, and Vivian slaps her. She and Elijah compare the Salem Witch Trials to bullying in high school, where no one will stand up to the accusers. They kiss but are interrupted by Jaxon’s text.

At a rehearsal for the reenactment, John assaults Sam backstage, and she blacks out, having a vision of her ancestor and an unknown girl hanging. When she comes back, she sees John crushed by a large metal shelf, just as her vision foretold. She and Elijah go to Nathaniel Mather’s grave, and Sam antagonizes Cotton into appearing and sharing that the girl hanging in her vision is Susannah. He further reveals that someone pretending to be her ally is evil. She tries to warn Susannah, but the Descendants’ parents have banned them from seeing Sam. Sam and Elijah map the parallels between the witch trials and what is happening now in the school and town. They must break the cycle by convincing people to listen to and help her. At an assembly for John, Sam stands up and talks about the curse and seeing spirits. Elijah lifts her into the air to prove her point.

Elijah discovers the house in the woods was his fiancée’s. He says she dug up his body and seems to be linked to the curse. The feathers on the sill remind him that he said her hair was like a raven, and she called him Bird. Elijah finds an old spell book, as well as paper with symbols in Susannah’s dress. They get Mrs. Meriwether to help them do a spell to reveal who made it. It reveals a feather. Sam and Vivian argue again.

Elijah thinks Sam is in danger because now his fiancée, who they are sure is the evil presence who appears to be friendly, knows Sam is onto her. They decide to do a truth-telling spell using Vivian’s necklace, which they discover is a symbol of protection. They do a third spell to make the Meriwethers sleep instead of going with Sam. The police are looking for Sam, as the Descendants are missing.

Sam and Elijah go looking for the Descendants and his fiancée in the house in the woods. The Descendants are on stools with nooses around their necks. Vivian reveals herself as Elijah’s fiancée; she used spells to grant herself life. She needs a willing participant who caused Elijah’s death to help bring him back to life. Because Sam is a Mather who can also see spirits, she is the perfect candidate. Vivian threatens to hurt Sam’s father and the other girls. She tells Sam to choose which girl will hang. Sam volunteers herself, but Elijah holds her up even while Vivian does the spell to bring him back. Elijah releases Sam from the noose, and Sam throws the truth serum on both her and Vivian, making them speak their thoughts about killing the other. Vivian is unable to force Sam into the fire, as Cotton Mather appears in Sam’s body and pushes back. Sam destroys the spell book, and Cotton makes her strike Vivian in the head with a poker. Sam stops him from doing it again, and she struggles with herself, saying she won’t be the power-crazed bully who continues the cycle of killing. This breaks the curse, and Vivian dies in Sam’s arms. Her spirit emerges as young and innocent. She has a moment with Elijah before disappearing. Elijah confesses that he loves Sam, but their relationship is impossible. Cotton and old women step from Sam and the Descendants. Elijah’s sister appears, and they disappear together just as Jaxon runs in.

Sam arrives at breakfast and is told by Mrs. Meriwether that her father is awake and will be attending the meal. Sam finds a black-eyed Susan on the doorstep and knows Elijah left it for her.