The Witches — Norah Lofts

This 1960 horror classic is a masterpiece of sinister malevolence

Walwyk seemed a dream village to the new schoolteacher, Miss Mayfield. But dreams can change into nightmares. When one of her students accuses his friend Ethel's grandmother of abusing her, Miss Mayfield cannot let it go -- but Ethel won't say anything, despite the evidence of Miss Mayfield's own eyes. But as Miss Mayfield attempts to get to the truth of the matter, she stumbles on something far more sinister. Walwyk seems to be in the grip of a centuries-old evil, and anybody who questions events in the village does not last long. Death stalks more than one victim, and Miss Mayfield begins to realize that if she's not careful, she will be the next to die.