Myth #1: Witches go after childrenĭon’t they? At least that’s what they do in Dahl’s traumatising story. While feminists around the world are re-appropriating and popularising spell books, potions and stones, let’s delve into some of the basic mythical attributes of witches and try to debunk them to understand what actually lies behind the prejudices sustained by popular culture. To quote Chollet, “the witch is both the ultimate victim, the one we demand justice for, and the persistent, elusive rebel.” She is therefore, and has been for quite some time, an ideal figurehead for many feminists. Take it as an invitation to read (for the French speakers at least) Chollet’s fascinating reflection on the types of women that witch hunts across Europe repressed and eventually removed from the popular ideal of what it means to be a woman. No no, this article aims to tackle some of the typical attributes of witches - those who were hunted down for quite a while, not those plotting to kill children in Dahl’s book, although we all know myths die hard. Don’t get me wrong, I won’t pretend to debunk myths of popular culture to give you a virtual portrait of the real witches. Why am I going on some childhood wicked memories, you ask? Well, inspired by Mona Chollet’s Witches – The unvanquished power of women,* E &M‘s Myth Buster and yours truly has decided to tackle the topic of witches.
Other title holders for the best scary witch from popular culture, in my humble opinion, are the old, deceitful, scary witch in Snow White and the maniac yet even scarier Bellatrix Lestrange in Harry Potter. I kept this image of witches for a while as the real representation of a witch – those who live secretly among us and who we should fear. And that’s mostly what I remember from the book.
But his grandmother, who used to be a witch hunter reveals ways to recognise them: witches wear gloves to hide the claws they have instead of fingernails, uncomfortable pointy shoes to hide their absent toes, and wigs giving them rashes to hide their hairless head. And it scared the hell out of me.įor those who never read the book, the storyline focuses on a young boy who realises that real witches live among us, hiding their true nature, and plotting to kill human children.
I remember being on holiday with my family, staying at a hotel and peaking into one of these huge conference rooms some hotels have: I was persuaded this was a perfect gathering spot for a society of witches like in the book. E &M’s one and only MythBuster chases witches for this issue.ĭid you ever read Roald Dahl’s The Witches? I did, and it traumatised me for a few years.
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