Symbols The Dark Wives Ann Cleeves

The Witch Hunt Tradition: Symbol of Scapegoating and Murder in The Dark Wives

Introduction

In Ann Cleeves’ The Dark Wives, the annual Gillstead Witch Hunt is more than a quirky local custom. This ritual—where children search for a “witch” hiding on the fell—becomes a literal cover for murder and a potent metaphor for how communities scapegoat vulnerable individuals. The tradition weaves through the investigation, revealing character fears, institutional failures, and the deadly consequences of suspicion turned outward. This analysis unpacks the symbol’s literal form, its recurrence in the novel, its evolving meaning, and its ties to key characters and themes.

What the Witch Hunt Tradition Literally Is

The Witch Hunt is a village game held each November in Gillstead, a remote Northumberland settlement. A volunteer—one year the pub landlady Ma—dresses as a witch in black, with a grey wig and painted white face. After dark, the village switches off its streetlights, and the “witch” hides on the fell. Children and some adults then search for her, using only moonlight and head torches. The rules are simple: if the witch touches a searcher on the shoulder, that person is out; if a searcher sees the witch first and shouts “Witch, witch, I see you,” they win. A bell rings to signal the hunt’s end, and the community cheers. The event is chaotic and disorderly, with parents often drinking beforehand, and the council has tried to shut it down but failed.

Everywhere in the village, posters display a single staring eye—the symbol of the hunt, meaning “we’re watching you.” The tradition is rooted in pagan superstition, and locals embrace the dark, edgy atmosphere. For Joe Ashworth, raised Methodist, the ritual feels blasphemous, “a celebration of evil and the supernatural.”

Where the Symbol Recurs

The Witch Hunt is referenced or directly depicted in multiple chapters across the novel:

  • Chapter 18 (Ch. 19 in outline): Gordon Spence tells Vera about the hunt, remembering it fondly from his childhood while Vera notes the posters and the village’s eerie preparation.
  • Chapter 37 (Ch. 36 outline): Joe sees the procession featuring costumed teenagers and children, led by a brass band, parading through the main street.
  • Chapter 39 (Ch. 38 outline): Vera observes the village’s excitement, with decorations and more eye symbols appearing; she uses binoculars to watch the farmhouse.
  • Chapter 40 (Ch. 39 outline): Rosie explains the mechanics of the hunt to Joe, and Ma appears in witch costume to announce the start.
  • Chapter 42 (Ch. 40 outline): Joe and Charlie run through the dark during the hunt, navigating by moonlight, until the bell rings and the lights come back on. The climax occurs at the gate, where Vera has detained Chloe, and Charlie arrests Chris Woodburn.

The symbol also echoes in the “evil eye” posters that appear as early as Vera’s first visit to Gillstead, acting as a constant visual reminder of the community’s watchfulness.

How the Meaning Changes

Initially, the Witch Hunt seems like harmless folkloric fun—a way to build community pride and attract tourists. Gordon Spence recalls it fondly, and Vera herself recognizes it as “a kind of glorified game of hide-and-seek.” But as the murder investigation unfolds, the tradition’s innocent veneer cracks.

First shift: The hunt becomes a strategic tool for the killer. Chris Woodburn uses the chaos and darkness to pursue Chloe undetected. The very elements that make the hunt exciting—the blacked-out village, the hill full of moving figures, the distraction of costumes—also make it an ideal cover for violence. Vera realises that the killer can “hide in plain sight” among the revelers.

Second shift: The tradition emerges as a metaphor for scapegoating. A “witch” is chosen each year to be hunted, a symbolic outsider. In the narrative, the true outcasts are vulnerable children like Chloe, whose placement in a failing care home already marks her as different. The ritual mirrors how society targets the weak: Chloe is hunted not only by the killer but also by a system that ignores her cries. The word “witch hunt” itself takes on its modern meaning—a campaign against a person perceived as threatening, often based on prejudice. The novel exposes how institutions (the care home, the school) participate in their own version of a witch hunt by neglecting the powerless.

Third shift: The symbol becomes one of resistance and justice. Vera appropriates the hunt to trap the real killer. She orders the team to let the hunt proceed, using Chloe as bait—a controversial decision that protects the girl while drawing out the culprit. In the final scene at the gate, Vera stands “implacable” next to Chloe, effectively becoming the guardian who ends the hunt not for a witch but for justice. The tradition, originally a means of persecution, becomes the stage for its own undoing.

Character and Theme Connections

Characters

  • Vera Stanhope: She exploits the hunt’s predictability to catch the killer, showing her tactical cunning. While she dismisses superstition, she respects the ritual as a tool. Her own experience of being an outsider (she is gruff, eccentric, and often underestimated) gives her empathy for Chloe, another figure “hunted” by circumstance.

  • Joe Ashworth: He is deeply uncomfortable with the hunt, both as a Christian and as a cautious detective. His lack of a head torch and his disorientation in the dark mirror his fear of taking responsibility. The hunt forces him to act without Vera’s guidance, ultimately proving he can handle the pressure.

  • Chloe Spence: As the missing teenager, Chloe becomes the real “witch” of the story—hunted not by children but by a murderer. Her dark goth makeup and her diary’s desperate entries mark her as different from the village children. She hides on the fell, exactly where the witch would hide, linking her fate to the tradition.

  • Chris Woodburn: Hunters become the hunted. Woodburn, who hides his role in the care home fraud and murders, uses the hunt’s confusion to try to silence Chloe. He is caught in the same chaos he exploited, his “mud-stained” face revealing his guilt.

Themes

  • Community vs. Outsider: The Witch Hunt reinforces village identity by defining a “witch” as the Other. Yet the real threat comes from insiders—the respectable figures running care homes. The novel questions whether community traditions hide as much as they reveal.

  • Secrecy and Double Lives: The eye symbols everywhere suggest constant surveillance, but everyone is hiding something. Ma hides her stage fright, Chris hides his crimes, and Chloe hides from her abusers. The hunt exposes secrets.

  • Institutional Failure: The council’s inability to shut down a dangerous tradition parallels the failure of social services to protect Chloe. Both systems prioritise tradition or budget over child safety.

  • Greed and Corruption: Helen Miles’ care home fraud is the inhuman “witch hunt” that drives the plot—hunting profits at the expense of children’s welfare.

Study Questions with Answers

1. How does the Witch Hunt tradition function as a plot device in the climax?
Answer: The custom provides the perfect cover for the killer to approach Chloe unnoticed. Vera leverages the hunt’s confusion to lure the murderer into the open, using Chloe as bait with police protection. The final confrontation at the gate, where Vera detains the girl and Charlie arrests Chris Woodburn, happens as the hunt ends, with the bell still ringing. The tradition’s narrative role shifts from a local curiosity to the stage where justice is served.

2. In what ways does the Witch Hunt reflect the theme of scapegoating in the novel?
Answer: The ritual literally selects a “witch” to be hunted, mirroring how society singles out vulnerable individuals. Chloe, a foster child from a troubled home, is scapegoated by the care system that dismisses her fears and by the killer who sees her as a witness to eliminate. Similarly, Josh Woodburn is scapegoated as a suspicious newcomer, while the true criminals hide behind respectability. The hunt shows how collective suspicion can be weaponised.

3. Why is Joe Ashworth so unsettled by the tradition, and what does this reveal about his character?
Answer: Joe’s Methodist upbringing makes him see the hunt as blasphemous and evil. More deeply, the chaos and lack of control upset his need for order. His discomfort exposes his fear of making decisions without Vera; he feels “lost” and indecisive. The hunt forces him to act alone, eventually helping him overcome his anxiety about promotion and responsibility.

4. How do the “evil eye” posters connect to the novel’s broader themes of surveillance and secrecy?
Answer: The posters—staring eyes on windows—symbolise the community’s watchfulness. Yet no one sees the real threats: fraud at Rosebank, abuse by Brad Russell, or the killer’s movements. The eyes create an illusion of safety while allowing criminals to hide in plain sight. This contrast draws attention to how surveillance can be both oppressive and ineffective, a theme echoed in the police investigation’s reliance on observation and Chloe’s diary.