Witches in popular culture

Witches have been a prominent and enduring figure in popular culture across multiple media, including literature, film, television, music, and video games. Drawing from historical folklore, religious traditions, and literary archetypes, popular representations of witches have evolved significantly over time, ranging from malevolent antagonists in fairy tales and horror stories to sympathetic protagonists in modern fantasy and supernatural fiction, particularly in works aimed at young adult audiences. These portrayals have both reflected and shaped societal attitudes toward witchcraft, femininity, and the supernatural.

Historical context

The concept of witches has a deep association with witchcraft and has historically been viewed as the epitome of evil across most cultures. This negative perception largely originated in Europe through Christian beliefs, where witches were accused of causing chaos through "vile behavior and demonic rituals". While often visualized as hideous females, male witches also existed, and in France, there were even believed to be more male witches than female. Discovery of a witch's true identity often led to fatal consequences, such as being burned at the stake or hanged, with the Salem Witch Trials being a well-known example.

Witch representation in Western popular culture has evolved significantly, reflecting societal changes, particularly in feminist politics and views on women's agency. Historically, the witch served as a "controlling image," designed to warn women against defying patriarchal norms by embodying evil and isolation. This archetype, described by Barbara Creed as representing the "abject nature of femininity," conflated women's power with malevolence and naturalized gender inequality. However, the image of the witch has been reclaimed by feminists as an allegory for persecution or an emblem of resistance. This evolution raises questions about whether contemporary witch representations truly resist patriarchy or subtly reaffirm it.

Witches in film and television

Historically, witches in classic cinema and literature largely fit into two categories: the disempowered victim or the empowered evil. The disempowered victim trope is common in dramatizations of historical witch trials, such as Witchfinder General, highlighting how anxieties about women's sexuality led to persecution. The empowered evil witch is even more prevalent, embodying a dangerous femininity, as seen in films like Black Sunday or The Blood on Satan’s Claw. These witches are often depicted with beauty and grace that mask death and decay, ultimately serving as agents of Satan who must be defeated by men reasserting patriarchal law and order. This dichotomy limits women to either being powerful but morally corrupt, or powerless but beyond reproach, conflating female agency with evil. Queer theorists note that such either/or boxes marginalize those who don't fit, especially when combined with moral binaries like good/evil. Ultimately, this framework dictates that powerful women must be punished, and good women must suffer, both under patriarchal subjugation.

Historical Representations of Witches (1960s-1980s)

More nuanced representations of witches began to emerge from the 1960s to the 1980s. This period followed the 1951 repeal of the Witchcraft Act in the UK, leading to a rise in Modern Pagan Witchcraft and a growing interest in alternative, environmentally friendly, and gender-balanced belief systems. The burgeoning second-wave feminist movement further fueled Wiccan interest in empowering the sacred feminine, particularly through Dianic Witchcraft focused on goddess worship.

Bewitched 1968

Filmmakers like George Romero contributed to this shift with more sympathetic portrayals. His film Season of the Witch (1972), which he considered feminist, features a protagonist named Joan who turns to witchcraft to address dissatisfaction with her controlling husband and jealousy over her daughter's sexual freedom. The film notably deviates from traditional narratives by not punishing Joan for violating taboos, such as having an affair and accidentally killing her husband; instead, it ends with her tempting other housewives towards "witchy empowerment". However, the film's climax is ambivalent, suggesting that empowerment doesn't guarantee happiness or freedom.

The TV show Bewitched (1964–72) introduced Samantha Stephens, a suburban witch with morally neutral magical powers. While Samantha represents a prototype for future witches "born with" magic, her empowerment is often undercut by her controlling husband, Darren, who pressures her to abandon magic for "normalcy". Even when she rebels, her magic is typically domesticated to serve the patriarchal nuclear family. More radical figures like her mother Endora and cousin Serena, who embody a transgressive future for witches, are often narrative obstacles to Samantha's domestic bliss. This "old-school" media would often "queerbait" feminist viewers with rebellious characters only to ultimately punish them.

The "Born This Witch" Archetype (1990s-early 2000s)

The late twentieth century saw an explosion of positive witch representation, shifting the very source of witchiness. Instead of being branded by communities or making a pact with the Devil, these witches were simply born witches.

This witchiness often became a family trait, passed down intergenerationally or genetically, as seen in Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Charmed. Even without direct genetic ties, characters like Hermione Granger (Harry Potter) or Willow Rosenberg (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) possessed innate, internal magic. This marked a shift from the witch as a "temporary aberration" to a "species," an inherent identity.

This boom in witch essentialism coincided with the "girl power" movement of the 1990s and early 2000s. Corporations and media capitalized on a sanitized version of women's empowerment, creating a market for witches who could serve as heroes for young girls.

This trend also paralleled the LGBTQ+ movement's mobilization around essentialist understandings of identity, rejecting notions of sexuality as a "sinful lifestyle choice" in favor of innate, biologically determined identities. Like millennial gay/lesbian activists, the millennial witch was not "choosing to embrace evil" but was simply "born this witch".

Witch essentialism offered empowerment by decoupling the witch from the traditional disempowered victim/empowered evil dichotomy, allowing them to be both good and powerful. This made them an aspirational figure for young girls without necessarily scandalizing religious communities. Examples of "good witches" from this era include Glinda from The Wizard of Oz, Sabrina Spellman, and the Charmed sisters, who use their powers to help others.

Limitations and Critiques of the "Born This Witch" archetype

Despite its empowering aspects, the "born this witch" archetype became another "controlling image" that naturalized inequality and created new limiting dichotomies.

These magically empowered millennial witches were often trapped within heteronormative boundaries, not necessarily liberated in their romantic relationships or from traditional gender norms. The "good (girl) witch" was often expected to be feminine and have her story arc centered around romance rather than self-actualization.

For instance, Hermione Granger, admired for her brilliance, primarily served as auxiliary support for Harry and a romantic interest for his best friend. Her competence was allowed only as long as it didn't challenge Harry's protagonist role, exemplified when she dismisses her own power in favor of "friendship and bravery". In this series, women's heroism is largely confined to sacrificing for their children (e.g., Lily Potter) or defending their families (e.g., Molly Weasley). Career-oriented women are often vilified (e.g., Rita Skeeter, Bellatrix Lestrange, Dolores Umbridge).

A power-hungry "born this witch" was typically framed as threatening, echoing the Christian-inspired "evil witch" archetype. Willow Rosenberg initially used magic for good but later turned to it for personal gain, leading to a "dark magic spiral" that destroyed relationships and culminated in her becoming the season's "Big Bad" after her girlfriend's murder. While some argue her revenge arc provided catharsis, the narrative portrays her magical power as a dangerous temptation to be resisted. Willow eventually learns to fear her magic and must use light magic to combat the evil her dark magic brought into the world.

When "good (girl) witches" stray from noble purposes, their magic may be confined or destroyed. In The Craft, outcast witches Nancy, Bonnie, and Rochelle lose their powers, and Nancy is institutionalized after using magic for personal gain and vengeance, leading to a death. Critics have noted the film's discomforting demonization of characters like Nancy (poor, abuse survivor) and Rochelle (racially bullied) to uplift the "purity" of an upper-class white girl, Sarah. This suggests that the power of the "born this witch" is limited; she cannot use her magic for self-interest or revenge against systemic oppression, and the magic of non-straight, non-white, non-affluent, or unconventionally feminine witches is viewed with suspicion.

The "Bad Bitch Witch" archetype (21st Century)

The twenty-first century has seen the rise of the "bad bitch witch", a potentially more revolutionary archetype driven by growing religious disaffiliation and a resurgence of feminist anger. Popular culture's embrace of moral ambiguity, though often benefiting masculine antiheroes, has also produced complex women who unapologetically wreak havoc on their oppressors without being punished.

These "bad bitch witches" use their magic to challenge traditional archetypes and actualize the subtextual empowerment that resistant readers have long found in witch narratives. They escape the disempowered victimhood/empowered evil trap that constrained their predecessors.

Examples include the protagonists of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, who initially worship Satan but ultimately overthrow him to build a matriarchal witch society, recognizing their subjugation to the Dark Lord was akin to Christian patriarchal constraints.

Rowena MacLeod from Supernatural deconstructs the empowered evil archetype. Despite damning her soul for power and being slut-shamed, she proudly embraces being an "evil skank" and remains unapologetically devious. Even her ultimate sacrifice is for her belief in magic and prophecy, not altruism, and she ends the series happily ruling the underworld, unlike past "evil witches" who were punished.

Thomasin from The Witch deconstructs disempowered victimhood. Initially appearing as a passive victim of anti-witch hysteria, she rejects this status by signing the Devil's book and choosing "to live deliciously," triumphantly rising nude into the air with the coven. This portrays how religious and patriarchal oppression can ironically forge the very witch they fear.

The Fear Street trilogy similarly reveals that Sarah Fier, initially presented as a malevolent "evil witch," was falsely accused due to her taboo love. Her ghostly vengeance targets a wealthy, white family who made a demonic pact, ultimately ending their tyrannical grip and bringing about a more just world.

These portrayals have the potential to empower women to embrace transgressive liberation, allowing them to lean into "darker urges to punish agents of the systems of inequality". These witches are unapologetic about their sexuality and unafraid to be "mean". Unlike some previous archetypes, embracing this "badness" does not always lead to new forms of subjugation or death, as seen with Susie Bannion in the Suspiria remake, who transforms from victim to a powerful goddess capable of both mercy and brutal retaliation.

Limitations and critiques of the "Bad Bitch Witch" archetype

Despite their transgressive appeal, not all critics find these portrayals empowering. Some argue that characters like Thomasin merely submit to a new form of patriarchy, and some real-life witches express concern that associating witches with Satan feeds negative stereotypes. The "bad bitch witch" archetype is not inherently utopian, and its limitations are demonstrated in shows like American Horror Story: Coven. This series illustrates how intersecting identities (such as race, femininity, and attractiveness) influence who is permitted to transgress and who is punished. While white, conventionally attractive witches like Madison and Zoe receive empowerment for retaliatory violence, Queenie, who is "othered" due to her fatness and Blackness, is punished through her power being tied to self-harm as a "human Voodoo doll". The persistence of the "evil witch" framework often undermines the power of these transgressive witches. Powerful figures like Supreme Witch Fiona Goode and Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau, despite being ultimate "bad bitch witches," are ultimately punished with damnation. The show concludes with a "good (girl) witch" archetype, Cordelia, leading a "White feminist" witch academy that is largely white despite performative nods to diversity. The history of witch representation is not a linear, progressive narrative. New and old frameworks often coexist, meaning the "moral restrictions of the 'born this witch'" continue to influence newer stories, and the "bad bitch witch" can easily revert to the maligned "evil witch" Simply embracing the transgressive witch archetype does not guarantee inclusive and feminist representation. Often, it ignores power dynamics and reinforces regressive binaries like white/Black or thin/fat. For witch representation to be truly inclusive, it requires empowering women, LGBTQ+ people, and people of color to tell stories that reflect their lived experiences. Only then, the sources argue, can the witch truly live "deliciously".

Witches in animated films

Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty (1959): Identified as a "malevolent fairy" and a Disney Witch who lives up to her title as "Mistress of All Evil". She places a curse on Princess Aurora and can hypnotize her or transform into a dragon.

Madam Mim from The Sword in the Stone (1963): Described as a "wicked and villainous witch" who uses her magical abilities to make others' lives miserable. She is a "cruel and depraved woman" who despises anything wholesome, such as sunlight, and can transform into various forms, including a dragon.

Ursula from The Little Mermaid (1989): One of the most popular witches in the Disney world. She was exiled from Atlantica by King Triton and seeks revenge. Ursula strikes a deal with Ariel to exchange her voice for human legs, aiming to permanently bind Ariel to her and gain the upper hand over King Triton.

Jafar from Aladdin (1992): Recognized as one of the most popular wizards in the Disney universe. He is an "evil sorcerer" and royal vizier who desires more power, aiming to overthrow young Jasmine’s kingdom and become the Sultan of Agrabah.

Dr. Facilier from The Princess and the Frog (2009): An "evil Wizard" and "evil witch doctor/bokor". He turns Prince Naveen into an amphibian and plans to rule New Orleans with the help of his "friends on the other side."