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Just stumbled upon this tremendous and in-depth overview of witches in media and movies specifically and now I feel like a) I want to watch a bunch of witch movies and finish the new season of Sabrina, and b) Become a witch :) Enjoy! And what are some of y'all's favorite witchy movies?
:ghost_002:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMbGf1HGaSg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9gPaZYgL-U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irNsQLhwbpw&t=35s
Praise SATAN :)
The VVitch
I dated a witch many moons ago (insert joke here) but they were of the pagan variety and not the satanic kind. They don't even believe in Satan. Funny how movies, books and TV shows lump all witches together like that. I took part in the Samhain ritual and it was fun. I appreciate their appreciation of nature more than anything. Gay marriage has always been allowed in witchcraft as far as I know. But it wasn't for me because I don't believe in magic. I will think about some of the witch films I've seen and get back to you.
A few of the witches and I just happen to catch Rosemary's Baby on TV one night and they laughed through the whole thing. Ha!
Witchcraft through the Ages is a silent film that's a lot of fun to watch. It's probably on Youtube.
Witchfinder General is a brutal Vincent Price film. If you go searching, make sure to get the unedited version with the excised scenes put back in.....
I have always been fascinated with witchcraft! If I could find a coven in the bible belt, I'd probably be outside naked chanting right now. (Or maybe not naked...)
The VVitch was really well done. I adore Rosemary's Baby, but those are really more satanists than witches. Burn, Witch, Burn (also found as Night of the Eagle) is pretty good. It's based on a book by Fritz Leiber, and 2 of the screenwriters were Charles Beaumont and Richard Matheson which is why I watched it. The original Suspiria by Dario Argento (haven't seen the remake) is quite cool visually. Rob Zombie's Lords of Salem is worth a watch, but not two.
Rosemary's Baby is one of my all-time favorite films. The third part of the video series I posted talks a lot about these different films. One movie I hope more people see is The Devils. Tremendous film but hard to find.
That movie is fucked up. I've seen the "restored" version and I really can't beleive some of those big name actors took on that project. Good movie though....Quote:
Originally Posted by mae
Speaking of Witches, I saw this video on Youtube the other day where the guy really examined the shit out of The Blair Witch Project. He came up with the idea that there is no witch at all and that the two guys conspired together to kill Heather and make it look supernatural in nature to cover their tracks. Sounds crazy but if you look at some of the points he made, especially about the map, it's a half way decent argument....
Hocus Pocus was a blast and The Craft was cool (I know, not serious examinations of the witch life).
I am fortunate enough to live near Salem, Massachusetts (famed witch hunt central), so I/my family see lots of this stuff when we go up there (my daughter and I love Halloween, and I've had a non-practicing interest in the occult since I was a kid; I don't want to "dabble" in anything, but given my love for horror/spooky fiction, it was a natural thing).
That sounds cool; while I don't actually celebrate anything pagan, I like the idea of at least "observing" the natural signposts marking the passage of a year.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tommy
From my current partner, who is Catholic, the Samhain Holiday actually gets a little Catholic-y towards the end. Songs are sang and prayers are said. Candles are then lit for the dead and allowed to burn until they go out. A big difference is you get to ask for something from the Goddess and The God. Something you want for the upcoming year but like a birthday wish, you must keep it a secret. And of course everything takes place outside (and yes Dez, some covens do have what are called sky clad ceremonies where everyone is nude but this particular doesn't do that). A sacred circle is opened and the males are anointed with oil on their foreheads by the High Priestess and the females by the High Priest of the Coven. I have to go at the moment or I would say a bit more about it but it did give me a nice feeling to take part in something like that. Even though I'm basically an atheist (absurdist if you want to get technical), there was something comforting about thinking about all the folks I've lost and lighting candles in their name. After it's all over, we all get drunk around a bonfire and wait for the sun to rise. Hook-ups are not unheard of during this night as well but I will keep it PG. :)
I love The Craft so much. It's one of my guilty pleasure movies. I've seen it countless times, and will probably watch it countless more.Quote:
Originally Posted by St. Troy
For a non-horror witch film, one of my favorites is Kiki's Delivery Service. Such a cute fun film. And I turned my niece onto Miyazaki with that one :)
Has anyone else watched all three parts of that video series I posted? Opened my eyes so much to what witches are and the inhumane history behind it all.
I have not but I will. I've read absolute horror stories about how witches were burned on street corners all across Europe. There's one tale, not sure if it is true, that tells of a visitor that goes to a little town in Germany I think and notices there are no women or girls anywhere. He asks and is told that ALL the females had to be burnt because of witchcraft.Quote:
Originally Posted by mae
Witches knew things that some people to this day fight over. Like the right roots and purgatives to cause an abortion. They were early practitioners of herbal healing and people would go to them for many things that they would like to keep secret. Secrets get out and all of sudden it becomes BURN THE WITCH time.
The Malleus Maleficarum also comes to mind which is essentially a guide on how to torture and murder women and was very popular reading that added to the hysteria over witches.
It is as you say a long and sad history.
I was actually in Salem last month. Found out some interesting stuff there that I didn't know about the Salem Witch Trials. That whole thing wasn't really so much about witch hysteria like it was in Europe. It was all started by some bored kids who made it all up. One of them even admitted it later in life. It then spiraled out of control to just people realizing they could just call anyone a witch they didn't like and get rid of them. Very odd stuff. In reality there were no actual witches in Salem, no one who practiced the religion. I think my favorite story though was the guy who was accused of being a witch, but was so stubborn he refused to confess or defend himself. They used a old torture method of piling rocks on him to try and get him to confess and instead of confessing he'd just say "More weight" until he was eventually crushed to death. You would always hear about the witch trials growing up and it was often made out to be that a ton of people where killed, in Salem at least it was surprisingly few.
As a side note, there's lots of cool stuff to check out in Salem, but I'd skip The Salem Witch Museum if you're ever there. It's pretty cheesy and kinda a tourist trap. Read the Wikipedia article instead and check out all the other cool / interesting spots in Salem
I agree. I went to the Witch Museum when I was little and thought and even back then thought it was pretty cheesy. Is it still one open room that you walk into and they highlight certain things?Quote:
Originally Posted by DanHocker
Did you go to Count Orlok's Nightmare Gallery? That was my favorite. Not sure if they're open in the off season though.
There's a 2nd room now where they talk about the "original" witch, the "pop culture" witch, and Wicca. They also talk about the idea of the "witch hunt". Via the witch trials, WWII, and communism.Quote:
Originally Posted by Heather19I agree. I went to the Witch Museum when I was little and thought and even back then thought it was pretty cheesy. Is it still one open room that you walk into and they highlight certain things?Quote:
Originally Posted by DanHocker
Did you go to Count Orlok's Nightmare Gallery? That was my favorite. Not sure if they're open in the off season though.
We didn't get to do much in Salem itself. We only had one day there, hit the Witch museum, walked around a bit, grabbed lunch, checked out the Peabody Essex Museum for maybe an hour or so, but then got chased out of town because of a snow storm. Wanted to get back to my friends house in NH so we didn't get stranded or whatever. I think we're planning on heading back up that way in May and are hoping to check some more stuff out.
Best time to go to Salem is October, earlier in the month than later. The closer you get to Halloween, the more crowded and wilder it gets. The House of the Seven Gables is pretty neat, read Nathaniel Hawthornes book first, I always thought it was a spooky story. As for the man that was crushed to death, if I remember correctly the person accusing him of being a warlock was his neighbor, who also was a constable or sheriff in town and wanted a piece of adjoining property of his.Quote:
Originally Posted by DanHockerThere's a 2nd room now where they talk about the "original" witch, the "pop culture" witch, and Wicca. They also talk about the idea of the "witch hunt". Via the witch trials, WWII, and communism.Quote:
Originally Posted by Heather19I agree. I went to the Witch Museum when I was little and thought and even back then thought it was pretty cheesy. Is it still one open room that you walk into and they highlight certain things?Quote:
Originally Posted by DanHocker
Did you go to Count Orlok's Nightmare Gallery? That was my favorite. Not sure if they're open in the off season though.
We didn't get to do much in Salem itself. We only had one day there, hit the Witch museum, walked around a bit, grabbed lunch, checked out the Peabody Essex Museum for maybe an hour or so, but then got chased out of town because of a snow storm. Wanted to get back to my friends house in NH so we didn't get stranded or whatever. I think we're planning on heading back up that way in May and are hoping to check some more stuff out.
I believe he got it.
Other than the fact that it was like 8 degrees out I actually really enjoyed Salem in January. There were no crowds at all, which was perfect for my tastes. I'll be interested to see what it's like when I'm up there in May.Quote:
Originally Posted by IvoBest time to go to Salem is October, earlier in the month than later. The closer you get to Halloween, the more crowded and wilder it gets. The House of the Seven Gables is pretty neat, read Nathaniel Hawthornes book first, I always thought it was a spooky story. As for the man that was crushed to death, if I remember correctly the person accusing him of being a warlock was his neighbor, who also was a constable or sheriff in town and wanted a piece of adjoining property of his.Quote:
Originally Posted by DanHockerThere's a 2nd room now where they talk about the "original" witch, the "pop culture" witch, and Wicca. They also talk about the idea of the "witch hunt". Via the witch trials, WWII, and communism.Quote:
Originally Posted by Heather19I agree. I went to the Witch Museum when I was little and thought and even back then thought it was pretty cheesy. Is it still one open room that you walk into and they highlight certain things?Quote:
Originally Posted by DanHocker
Did you go to Count Orlok's Nightmare Gallery? That was my favorite. Not sure if they're open in the off season though.
We didn't get to do much in Salem itself. We only had one day there, hit the Witch museum, walked around a bit, grabbed lunch, checked out the Peabody Essex Museum for maybe an hour or so, but then got chased out of town because of a snow storm. Wanted to get back to my friends house in NH so we didn't get stranded or whatever. I think we're planning on heading back up that way in May and are hoping to check some more stuff out.
I believe he got it.
Yeah, it's pretty crazy around Halloween time, but so much fun. They close down the street and have tons of vendors, also random horror celebrities throughout the month. I also highly recommend Count Orlok's Nightmare Gallery when you return. It's a wax museum of horror icons and monsters. They even had a wax face of Stephen King.
Gretel & Hansel is getting surprisingly pretty good reviews, I might go see that if it's still playing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIKVGLdw97g http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0q5pPogmXO0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clk2ClBOGTM
By the way, highly recommend to watch the video series that started this thread if you havent for spooky season!