When thinking of witches, one might think of a grotesque and green-faced hag on a broom. Or, will imagine a housewife who can clean a room with the twitch of her nose. Any portrayal of witches has a source that transforms over centuries into what it is today. 

    The concept of witchcraft can be traced to ancient Greece where Plutarch mentions it in his treatise (On Superstition) and Homer tells the story of Odysseus and Circe, who turned his men into animals.  

     Centuries ago, healers—sometimes called wise women—would use herbal remedies. They would become some of the first victims of witch trials. 

     A treatise called Malleus Maleficarum was published in 1486. It detailed how to detect, torture, and prosecute and kill so called witches. For 200 years it would be the second bestselling book, succeeded only by the Bible. The widespread reading of this “Hammer of Witches” would incite paranoia into among Christian communities.  

Jennifer Eiler, a history teacher at Lewis County High School, said “Witches…throughout history they have been a negative being that need to be destroyed. These once revered herbalists and medicine women will be condemned by Ancient Christian society and punished severely.”  

     Scotland in the 16th century was one of the first to hold a witch trial. 

     “Witch Finders” would use various methods to identify witches such as binding the accused’s hands and feet and tossing them into water. If they drowned, they were innocent; if they floated, they were a witch. 

     Another method was using a pin to prick the defendant; however, some witch finders would use a retractable blade. When no blood was drawn, they were declared a witch. 

     The hysteria spread from Europe to Puritan New England. The witch hunts in Salem, Massachusetts became some of the most infamous.  

    More modern interpretations of witches can be found everywhere. From Disney’s Ursla and Maleficent to sitcoms like Sabrina, the Teenage Witch and Bewitched. 

“As time passed, I noticed a shift in how witches are depicted,” Eiler reflects. “Instead of being ugly, old hags, they are often portrayed as young, beautiful, and assets to the world! Shows like Charmed, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and Twitches, show a different side of witches. We still have depictions of them as being evil, but it’s portrayed as a choice that witches make instead of being their nature.” 

     The question is: how did witches go from being viewed as a real threat to an iconic Halloween symbol?  

     It could be as simple as people not believing in witches over time. Perhaps as their role as movie villains became more commonplace, people started viewing them as just that.  

     However, witches’ roles in pop culture transformed as well. They started being portrayed with sympathy too. 

    “I think a lot of feminists, like myself, have romanticized witchcraft for a few reasons. One, it’s a woman using powers to change a world that doesn’t like her in the first place. 

     “A witch tale is a feminist fantasy because it’s about having a physical, mystical power that can create real, dangerous change in a world that would rather take power away from them,” writer Hazel Cills said in an interview with The Guardian.  

     Gender and the rise of feminism has played its part in molding the representation of witches. During the witch trials, women who did not fit into the strict role of feminine and maternal, were regarded with suspicion.  

     With the defiance against adhering to these roles becoming more common, witches became feminist became that “feminist fantasy.” 

Resources: Laura Bates, Hazel Cills, Anne T. Donahue, Jennifer Eiler