I decided to read The Ghost Woods by C.J. Cooke because the reviews I read about it said things like “Gothic”, “creepy” and “terrifying”. The Ghost Woods definitely has a Gothic vibe to it, but is it creepy and terrifying? Unfortunately, no. There was maybe one scene in the entire novel that had my skin crawling just a little it. But I still think The Ghost Woods is a good read. It had me fighting off sleep so could read just a little bit more each night before I went to bed. I appreciate how it leans hard into the supernatural elements of the story.

The Ghost Woods is set in Scotland and follows two different pregnant women in two different timelines. In 1959, teenage Mabel, an unusual young woman who thinks ghosts live in her body and has a creep for a stepfather, finds out that she is pregnant, but she does not believe that she can be pregnant because she has never had sex. In 1965, twenty-two-year-old Pearl becomes pregnant after a one night stand she had when her long-term boyfriend dumped her. Pearl is a nurse, but she is fired from her job because an unwed pregnant woman is considered unsuitable.

Both Mabel and Pearl opt to go to Lichen Hall to have their babies instead of the usual mother and baby homes in Scotland. Lichen Hall is a grand estate owned by the Whitlock family, who are said to be sympathetic towards unwed pregnant women. If you know anything about the history of the Magdalene Laundries and generally the horrible treatment of pregnant women at the hands of the nuns who ran the mother and baby homes, then it is understandable why Mabel and Pearl would each take their chance with Lichen Hall. However, Lichen Hall is run down, and one entire wing of the Hall is closed off because fungi have taken over. The telephone reception is spotty, there is never a lot of food in the pantry, and the pregnant women who stay there are expected to do all the housework. Doctors are not allowed in the Hall to help the women deliver their babies.

The Whitlocks have a bad reputation because when their son died, they took his body from the morgue. Mr. Whitlock is showing early signs of dementia by the time Mabel arrives at Lichen Hall, and Mrs. Whitlock at first seems like a kind, caring woman, but turns hostile and unfeeling at the flip of a switch. Lichen Hall itself has a reputation for being a cursed place after legend has it that a witch called Nicnevin impregnated a girl from Lichen Hall and the girl gave birth to a baby with long roots extending from its fingers and toes and a crown of mushrooms on its head. The girl’s parents killed the baby and Nicnevin cursed the entire family.

Both Mabel and Pearl are quick to realize things are not right at Lichen Hall, but they do not have any other option but to stay there. The Ghost Woods is really a social commentary on the marginalization of unwed pregnant women who are blamed for their own pregnancies, even when they are victims of sexual assault. They are called whores and shamed by society while the men who impregnated them suffer no consequences. These women have no control over their own lives as their families send them to the mother and baby homes to avoid the stigma that comes with having an unwed pregnant woman in the household. They are not allowed to keep their babies; they know that when they leave these homes after giving birth, they will not be taking their children with them. This is the most affecting part of The Ghost Woods, reading about Mabel and Pearl falling in love with their babies, and then experiencing their heartbreak when their babies are taken away from them.

When things really start to go south, though, Mabel, Pearl and the other women at Lichen Hall, decide to fight back and try to escape regardless of the uncertainty of what lies in store for them in the wider world. Not everyone escapes unscathed, but fortunately, The Ghost Woods has a satisfying, if bittersweet, ending.