diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 83f0c83a..62939110 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -210,10 +210,26 @@ parallel glob operations will be sped up by sharing information about
 the filesystem.
 
 * `cwd` The current working directory in which to search.  Defaults
-  to `process.cwd()`.
+  to `process.cwd()`.  This option is always coerced to use
+  forward-slashes as a path separator, because it is not tested
+  as a glob pattern, so there is no need to escape anything.
 * `root` The place where patterns starting with `/` will be mounted
   onto.  Defaults to `path.resolve(options.cwd, "/")` (`/` on Unix
-  systems, and `C:\` or some such on Windows.)
+  systems, and `C:\` or some such on Windows.)  This option is
+  always coerced to use forward-slashes as a path separator,
+  because it is not tested as a glob pattern, so there is no need
+  to escape anything.
+* `windowsPathsNoEscape` Use `\\` as a path separator _only_, and
+  _never_ as an escape character.  If set, all `\\` characters
+  are replaced with `/` in the pattern.  Note that this makes it
+  **impossible** to match against paths containing literal glob
+  pattern characters, but allows matching with patterns constructed
+  using `path.join()` and `path.resolve()` on Windows platforms,
+  mimicking the (buggy!) behavior of Glob v7 and before on
+  Windows.  Please use with caution, and be mindful of [the caveat
+  below about Windows paths](#windows).  (For legacy reasons,
+  this is also set if `allowWindowsEscape` is set to the exact
+  value `false`.)
 * `dot` Include `.dot` files in normal matches and `globstar` matches.
   Note that an explicit dot in a portion of the pattern will always
   match dot files.
@@ -332,6 +348,11 @@ Results from absolute patterns such as `/foo/*` are mounted onto the
 root setting using `path.join`.  On windows, this will by default result
 in `/foo/*` matching `C:\foo\bar.txt`.
 
+To automatically coerce all `\` characters to `/` in pattern
+strings, **thus making it impossible to escape literal glob
+characters**, you may set the `windowsPathsNoEscape` option to
+`true`.
+
 ## Race Conditions
 
 Glob searching, by its very nature, is susceptible to race conditions,
diff --git a/changelog.md b/changelog.md
index e3dd7354..80e2e5b2 100644
--- a/changelog.md
+++ b/changelog.md
@@ -1,3 +1,7 @@
+## 8.1
+
+- Add `windowsPathsNoEscape` option
+
 ## 8.0
 
 - Only support node v12 and higher
diff --git a/common.js b/common.js
index e094f750..61a4452f 100644
--- a/common.js
+++ b/common.js
@@ -57,6 +57,12 @@ function setopts (self, pattern, options) {
     pattern = "**/" + pattern
   }
 
+  self.windowsPathsNoEscape = !!options.windowsPathsNoEscape ||
+    options.allowWindowsEscape === false
+  if (self.windowsPathsNoEscape) {
+    pattern = pattern.replace(/\\/g, '/')
+  }
+
   self.silent = !!options.silent
   self.pattern = pattern
   self.strict = options.strict !== false
@@ -112,8 +118,6 @@ function setopts (self, pattern, options) {
   // Note that they are not supported in Glob itself anyway.
   options.nonegate = true
   options.nocomment = true
-  // always treat \ in patterns as escapes, not path separators
-  options.allowWindowsEscape = true
 
   self.minimatch = new Minimatch(pattern, options)
   self.options = self.minimatch.options
diff --git a/test/windows-paths-fs.js b/test/windows-paths-fs.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..85ff9ab8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/windows-paths-fs.js
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+// test that escape chars are handled properly according to configs
+// when found in patterns and paths containing glob magic.
+
+const t = require('tap')
+const dir = t.testdir({
+  // treat escapes as path separators
+  a: {
+    '[x': {
+      ']b': {
+        y: '',
+      },
+    },
+  },
+  // escape parent dir name only, not filename
+  'a[x]b': {
+    y: '',
+  },
+  // no path separators, all escaped
+  'a[x]by': '',
+})
+
+const glob = require('../')
+t.test('treat backslash as escape', async t => {
+  const cases = {
+    'a[x]b/y': [],
+    'a\\[x\\]b/y': ['a[x]b/y'],
+    'a\\[x\\]b\\y': ['a[x]by'],
+  }
+  for (const [pattern, expect] of Object.entries(cases)) {
+    t.test(pattern, t => {
+      const s = glob.sync(pattern, { cwd: dir })
+        .map(s => s.replace(/\\/g, '/'))
+      t.strictSame(s, expect, 'sync')
+      glob(pattern, {cwd: dir}, (er, s) => {
+        if (er) {
+          throw er
+        }
+        s = s.map(s => s.replace(/\\/g, '/'))
+        t.strictSame(s, expect, 'async')
+        t.end()
+      })
+    })
+  }
+})
+
+t.test('treat backslash as separator', async t => {
+  Object.defineProperty(process, 'platform', {
+    value: 'win32'
+  })
+  const cases = {
+    'a[x]b/y': [],
+    'a\\[x\\]b/y': ['a/[x/]b/y'],
+    'a\\[x\\]b\\y': ['a/[x/]b/y'],
+  }
+  for (const [pattern, expect] of Object.entries(cases)) {
+    t.test(pattern, t => {
+      const s = glob.sync(pattern, { cwd: dir, windowsPathsNoEscape: true })
+        .map(s => s.replace(/\\/g, '/'))
+      t.strictSame(s, expect, 'sync')
+      glob(pattern, {cwd: dir, windowsPathsNoEscape: true}, (er, s) => {
+        if (er) {
+          throw er
+        }
+        s = s.map(s => s.replace(/\\/g, '/'))
+        t.strictSame(s, expect, 'async')
+        t.end()
+      })
+    })
+  }
+})
diff --git a/test/windows-paths-no-escape.js b/test/windows-paths-no-escape.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..6a1bf1d9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/windows-paths-no-escape.js
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+const t = require('tap')
+const g = require('../')
+
+const platforms = ['win32', 'posix']
+const originalPlatform = Object.getOwnPropertyDescriptor(process, 'platform')
+for (const p of platforms) {
+  t.test(p, t => {
+    Object.defineProperty(process, 'platform', {
+      value: p,
+      enumerable: true,
+      configurable: true,
+      writable: true,
+    })
+    t.equal(process.platform, p, 'gut check: actually set platform')
+    const pattern = '/a/b/c/x\\[a-b\\]y\\*'
+    const def = new g.Glob(pattern, { noprocess: true })
+    const winpath = new g.Glob(pattern, {
+      windowsPathsNoEscape: true,
+      noprocess: true,
+    })
+    const winpathLegacy = new g.Glob(pattern, {
+      allowWindowsEscape: false,
+      noprocess: true,
+    })
+    const nowinpath = new g.Glob(pattern, {
+      windowsPathsNoEscape: false,
+      noprocess: true,
+    })
+
+    t.strictSame([
+      def.pattern,
+      nowinpath.pattern,
+      winpath.pattern,
+      winpathLegacy.pattern,
+    ], [
+      '/a/b/c/x\\[a-b\\]y\\*',
+      '/a/b/c/x\\[a-b\\]y\\*',
+      '/a/b/c/x/[a-b/]y/*',
+      '/a/b/c/x/[a-b/]y/*',
+    ])
+    t.end()
+  })
+}
+
+Object.defineProperty(process, 'platform', originalPlatform)