The Wardstone Chronicles?

While watching this, I was immediately reminded of a book series I read a few years back called "The Wardstone Chronicles". While the story is quite different in the most part, the premise is more or less the same as this movie. The main thing about the movie that actually reminded me of the series is the way witches are portrayed. For example:

- The witches are physically strong, very good fighters, and can be ugly or deformed due to their black magic practices (though not as exaggerated as the movie)

- There can be good witches, though they are far rarer than the evil ones. The good ones are usually normal looking women.

- Witches can come in varieties, such as water witches and lamia witches. They look distinct, such as the water witches being scaly amphibians and the scale-and-feather raptor like lamias. Similarly, the movie mentions "swamp witches" and "serpent witches".

- Witches are prone to kidnapping children and using their blood (as well as bone) for magical practices.

- The best way to kill a witch is by burning or cutting out her heart and devouring it.

- One of the major characters (Alice) is a good witch (most of the time). She is an excellent healer, like Mina. She's also the main love interest of the main protagonist.

- The story is centered around a boy names Tom Ward who is apprenticed to the local spook. A spook is a man who deals with supernatural problems for a fee, similar to Hansel and Gretel hunting witches for a price.

- Spooks are usually a seventh son of a seventh son, which gives them sixth sense and a small amount of immunity to a witch's magic. This can be compared to H&G being completely immune to witches.

- The spooks use gadgets, like the siblings in the movie. There's a staff that has a retractable blade, and another one that has a lighter on its tip that can automatically flame up. There are also chains made of silver that can be thrown to wrap around a witch. While these are nowhere near as steampunk-y as the ones in the movie, they're still quite similar.

- The main character's mother is a witch.

- Both the books and the movie are set in an ambiguous old school time period (kinda sorta around the 1700's)

I'm not suggesting the movie ripped off the books. There are far too many differences in story and tone. But like I said, it reminded me of those books which actually enhanced my enjoyment of the movie. In fact, this movie reminded me more of the books than the actual awful adaptation (The Seventh Son) that came out a year ago.

Ghost dancers slay together and you're just in my grave