by Pam Ripling
Inspired by my previous un-earthing of my Potterlike short story, WHEN HARRY MET SOLI, I dug out another little gem that I think’s appropriate in these days leading up to Halloween!
Although I’ve never dabbled in the supernatural, I’ve been called a witch upon occasion. But we don’t need to go there right now.
When you think about witches and their male counterparts, the warlocks, what does your mind conjure? I think a lot of folks recall Snow White’s dark nemesis, a poisoned apple in her outstretched hand. Or the evil incarnate Maleficent of Sleepy Beauty fame. Disney does know how to create baddies, don’t they?
But let’s delve a little deeper into the public image of witches, especially the one constructed on the Hollywood soundstage. Who can forget Ruth Gordan’s sickly sweet nurturing of Mia Farrow in Rosemary’s Baby?
Witches have always had a big presence on the silver screen. The verdant face of the Wicked Witch of the East still haunts children fleeing Oz, while grownups fondly recall Elizabeth Montgomery and her bewitching, twitching nose. Mary Poppins was another beloved witch type, making kids everywhere long for a nanny who could clean up a bedroom in a snap, later rivaled by challenger Nanny McPhee (a personal favorite.)
Susan Sarandon, Cher and Michelle Pfeiffer delighted us as Jack Nicholson’s Witches of Eastwick, while the divine Bette Midler charmed in Hocus Pocus. And tell me, is Elvira, “Mistress of the Dark”, a witch in real life?
The Blair Witch Project gave a new dimension to scare-the-pants-off-you flicks. Roald Dahl gave witches squared-off toes in The Witches. Ever seen Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman as the witchy sisters in Practical Magic? Fun stuff, that!
No list of “witch” films would be complete without a nod to the illustrious boy wizard and his flock of magic-wielding pals. Harry Potter has done for witchcraft what Frodo did for hobbits!
Hey, come to think of it, I was a witch once. Rather, as Elizabeth Proctor in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, I was accused! Then there was that other time when I slammed the door in a guy’s face. He called me something that sounded like witch, I can’t be sure because his voice was rather muffled.