I have always loved witches. Probably my first was the ‘Wicked Witch of the West’ from ‘The Wizard of Oz’. I was terrified by completely absorbed at the same time. I still remember the feeling of watching her on the TV, screetching ‘I’ll get you my pretty, and your little dog too!’
From there, I started reading ‘The Worst Witch’ and I still remember the mishaps poor Mildred Hubble got in to. I was obsessed with those books (though never really got into the TV shows) and remember being constantly in trouble with my teachers because I refused to do up my shoelaces like my favourite heroine.
I was then terrified by the witches in Roald Dahl’s ‘The Witches’. The way they peeled off their ‘human’ forms still gives me the shivers and of course, their penchant for eating children! It did cause me to look at women, specifically those wearing gloves, very suspiciously for a long time after.
I think it was around this time that I discovered the Addams Family. They were either a Sunday morning show or something I’d watch after Blue Peter, I can’t remember but I adored Morticia and her outlook on life. It was equal measure realistic and also depressing. I have loved the assorted actresses who have played her by my personal favourite is Anjelica Huston. Whilst Morticia is never explicitly referred to as a witch, her mother is, so I always assumed she was too, she’d certainly put a spell on Gomez!
These were three of my favourite witches but I could have mentioned so many more, including the girls from ‘The Craft‘, ‘Sabrina‘ or the very scary series of comics by Cullen Bunn ‘Harrow County‘ published by Dark Horse Comics.
Who are your favourite witches? Let me know in the comments below. Don’t forget to follow all my Women in Horror Month posts, right here on my blog.