The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike. Short summary

5 seconds

There are witches living in Eastwick. When a lonely man comes to town, they become his mistresses. He marries a young girl and the witches kill her.

1 minute

There are witches living in the town of Eastwick. Alexandra, Jane, and Sookie are divorced. When Darryl Van Horne comes to town, the women are eager to meet him. A romantic connection develops between them.

Witches put a spell on local activist Felicia, who begins to have feathers and pins coming out of her mouth. Felicia’s husband can hardly stand her talking. At one point his irritation reaches the point where he kills his wife and himself.

At the couple’s funeral, Sookie meets their children Jenny and Christopher. The witch invites the girl over to see Darryl.

Jenny and Christopher move in with Van Horn. He marries the girl. Out of resentment and jealousy, the witches cast a spell on Jenny and kill her.

They learn that Darryl ran away from town with Christopher. Van Horn was gay, and the marriage to Jenny was a cover-up. The witches realize they killed the girl for nothing. They leave Eastwick.