Season of the witch

Everyone has a different relationship to the word “witch”. Some think of black pointed hats, cats, and spells; others might think of hags with poison apples. But one thing that all the images across the witch spectrum have in common is that 9 out of 10 times your mind will conjure up a woman. A woman who can manipulate the laws of physics, she could be conventionally pretty or conventionally ugly. A woman who is not afraid of the power bestowed upon her. Over the years our ideas of what witches look like have morphed and change but what remains the same is the underlying meaning of what makes the iconic witch so enchanting.

Like most women in horror my first introduction to witches was through the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. Growing up I was obsessed with this film and watched it so regularly we had to buy a new VHS because I had worn my first copy out. Tiny me was entranced by what I now realize was my earliest exposure to feminism. Dorothy and her dog Toto, from a little farm in Kansas, get swept up in a twister and land right in the middle of Munchkinland. After having landed smack dab on the poor Wicked Witch of the East, she has freed the Munchkins from this life of oppression they’ve faced under the witches’ rule. As Glinda the Good Witch of the North comes floating in on a bubble to help Dorothy get home, the Wicked Witch of the West comes up from the ground in a blast of smoke to seek revenge on the person her killed her sister. Two women, and the idea that if you are good you are beautiful and if you are evil you are ugly and green. You have costume designer Adrian Adolph Greenburg to thank for propelling the iconic black hat look into the mainstream.

Society tells women that your life is either black or white in these stark contrasts, but there are tons of grey areas for what women can be. Fast forward 56 years later to Gregory Maguire’s novel Wicked and you will soon learn that our Wicked Witch of the West, aptly named Elphaba after L. Frank Baum’s name, wasn’t evil at all but misunderstood and labeled that way because of her physicality.  The land of Oz means more to me then you could even imagine, I devoured the books and any adaptation, from the 1978 musical The Wiz to that weird Sci-Fy channel miniseries with Zooey Deschanel Tinman. And when Maguire’s novel was turned into a musical in 2003, I went that first year, that was the year that changed my life. When Glinda (Kristen Chenoweth) came flying in again on that bubble I knew I wanted to work in theatre and help tell these stories. My Oz rant aside, what makes each of these stories and adaptations so powerful was the idea that women could write their own destiny, they could make choices for themselves and make mistakes based of how society pushed them in negative ways. I was shown agency.

Since then, the later half of the 20th century into the 21st century has seen a reawakening of witches at every turn. I get asked a lot “When do you think the witch film will make a comeback?” and my answer is always the same, it doesn’t need a comeback because unlike other subgenres of horror the cycle the witch films have been quietly simmering under the surface for years. We constantly see new witch films all the time. Within the last decade, however, we are shining a brighter light on these films and hashtags like #WitchesofInstagram have made the occult woman that of #Goals more then ever. This all ties into our political climate as well, women more then ever are stepping up and using their right to be loud and heard and witches are the best mascots for being unapologetically yourself. It’s hard to talk about the look of the witch without branching off into all of the socio-political implications behind it, after all fashion in itself is a revolution. Don’t believe me, why don’t you dig a little deeper into the French Revolution and learn that it was all started because groups were dividing themselves by dress, it’s fascinating and the women over at the Dressed Podcast have a great episode on it.

We do see a shift, however, by the time the 1960’s starts where more mainstream witches are depicted in regular clothing showing that witches are among us in everyday life. Who could forget the timeless housewife look of Samantha played Elizabeth Montgomery in the series Bewitched. Vi Alford did a brilliant job as the Costume Designer to the women in that series and shows a wide range of the colors and styles of the day.

With the counterculture of the late 60’s early 70’s we see a new interest and push towards other forms of spirituality and ways of life, and we see an uptick in the Occult and Pagan practices. While there have always been underground groups of Pagans in parts of Europe and North America, the religion Wicca became widely known and more people turned to ceremonial magic and infused the issues of the time. I am not Wiccan, although I do identify as a witch that word is very personal to me and means a myriad of things in my life, so I do not know much about the inner teachings. But what I can say is that it influenced greatly how witches were portrayed in the media moving forward.

The image of the witch evolved from the pointed hat to a woman draped in lightweight fabrics. An ethereal being that almost floated through space. To me there is no one better for this image then the Supreme herself, Stevie Knicks. Layers of chiffon, silk, and lace drape her body as she casts spells singing of Celtic folk lore and earthly myths. Perfectly capturing, metaphorically, the ways in the 70’s women were trying to be heard. They wanted to breathe and move to create their own way in life, be that the work force or the home. The most important thing was options and choice. The style of the 70’s and particularly the 70’s witch allowed for movement and freedom, but the lightweight nature allowed for the air to be felt on your skin for you nights beneath the moon or your place in the office making your way in the world.

Witches would not influence fashion in this way again till 1996, in Andrew Flemings film The Craft. As far as modern witches go this film has to be the most influential film for my generation. Surprisingly enough I was not into The Craft growing up but now as an adult I see its cultural significance that shaped a generation of girls who felt like outcasts. Deborah Everton was the films costume designer and she talks about her influence in the Oct 28, 2019 Bustle articles on witches ” My job as a costume designer is to tell the story of each character through what they're wearing. Not so much tell the story of witchcraft, but for each character to emote visually what's going on inside of them” She uses the girls as the four elements which are important factors in Wicca and in natural law. By infusing their personalities into earthly matters, she completely transforms their uniforms into being statements of their inner feeling and individual identities as women. Now I went to school with a uniform for 12 years and if I did that to my clothing I would be hurled home immediately, but hey it’s a fantasy world.

1996 was the year of the witch with the premier of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and our introduction to Willow, the first open LGBTQ character and story line on a teen show, and my favorite Sabrina the Teenage Witch. In both shows the costume designers, Cynthia Berstrom (Buffy) and Rachel Stanley and Dianne Kennedy (Sabrina), perfectly convey the modern fashion of the day with a magical twist. What I remember so vividly in that first season of Sabrina was the nod to the iconic witch in their first Halloween episode. Sabrina attends a Halloween party at Harvey’s house in a black bell sleeve shift dress complete with pointed hat!

While we really don’t know where the origin of the black pointed hat comes from, some say the “witches of Subeshi” a group of 3rd or 4th century Chineese witches that were found buried in “extremely tall pointed black felt hats” or Mother Shipton a 16th century English prophetess who was said to have predicted future events while wearing this hat. Since the turn of the 20th century women every Halloween can be seen wearing this look. Black is another common thread among witches. As being depicted as creatures of the night, black while concealing adds a layer of mystery to the wearer. But no one brought this trend into the mainstream like AHS Coven Costume Designer Lou Eyrich. She herself is an enchanting figure, but she so brilliantly brings out each character’s individual style in the color that looks good on any woman. The unique styling with a heavy 70’s influence blends the modern runway with Voodoo traditions, which up until that point usually witches are depicted as Anglo-Saxton when we have witches in every culture. Lou and Ryan Murphy wow the audience time and time again with their flair for outrageous images and wild use of colors.

With years of influence, the rise in women and femme voices taking center stage, it is no wonder that witches have consistently been the number one Halloween costumes year after year. There is sacred power in being a woman (in whatever way that word means to you) through fashion and magic we can truly uncover who we are in the process. So whether you drape yourself in layers of black and hit the town with your coven, or you wear colorful gowns like the Sanderson Sisters, being a witch can look like anything if you feel confident and powerful. The witch time and time again will always be visited by those who are different, those looking for a space to belong, to be seen, and to be heard. So yes, while October is the official “Season of the Witch” when you harness your internal power everyday is the season!