WitchLit – So much more than Black Hats & Broomsticks!

Witches – broomsticks, black hats, cats, cackling, spells… we often have some very fixed images in mind when we think of a witch. The Witch has been a huge source of inspiration to writers and creators throughout the centuries and WitchLit (books about witches, their legends and history) has been having a bit of a moment in recent years. With the movie version of Wicked, starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, coming to the big screen later this year witches are sure to be in the spotlight. So, what is it about witches that continues to fascinate and inspire us? How have witches been viewed and represented in books throughout the years? Here’s a very brief look at why I think witches and all the history that surround them are so interesting along with some of the witchy literature that I love…

For many of us, our first experiences of witches will be through fairy stories where witches are responsible for placing curses on blameless princesses or imprisoning children (despite her monstrous depiction I have always felt a little sorry for the witch in Hansel & Gretel, she simply wants to live in the woods in peaceful solitude and then some children appear and start eating her house  - is it any wonder she is annoyed?!). Whilst fairy tale witches are often very much the baddies in the stories, witches in children’s books can be many different things. Young children may be scared of the witch in Disney’s Snow White (I know I was!) but will love the kind and thoughtful witch of Room on the Broom or (my personal favourite) Meg from Meg and Mog. The descriptions of ‘real’ witches in Roald Dahl’s classic The Witches are deliciously terrifying but I’ve always much preferred Mildred Hubble and her classmates and teachers in The Worst Witch series by Jill Murphy. As a teen I loved the strange and gorgeous The Changeover by Margaret Mahy, a supernatural romance about a girl who, with the help of the enigmatic love-interest, must become a witch in order to save her little brother from a horrifying evil demon.

Witches have been a staple in legends for millennia and societies across the world have various versions of witches. Historically, witchcraft was a positive force in many cultures - Ancient Egyptians practiced witchcraft and called upon witches to solve any number of everyday problems and those who practiced were revered rather than feared. Some of the most interesting characters from Greek myths are witches – Medea uses her skills in witchcraft to help Jason win the Golden Fleece and Circe changed Odysseus’s companions into swine when they landed on her island Aeaea. Many other legends from around the world also have witch characters including Morgan le Fay from Arthurian legend and Baba Yaga from Slavic folklore.

Much as we may enjoy the tales of witches and witchcraft from around the world, the history and stories of real witches can be shocking, political and very sad. Many of the books published categorised in the sub-genre of WitchLit take inspiration from historical events, often from the medieval and early modern periods when the witch-hunting craze was at its peak. Whilst many cultures revered and respected those who practiced enchantments and witchcraft, early European Christians perceived witches as pagan beings practicing the devil’s work. The European and North American Witch Hunts and Witch Trials, which largely took place between 1400 and the late 1700s, are probably some of the best-known and most documented. In 1486 the Malleus Maleficarum (usually translated as ‘The Hammer of Witches’) written by a German Catholic clergyman was first published, this book called for the practice of sorcery to be prosecuted and suggests torture as a means to get a confession. The Malleus was very popular and began a craze for witch-hunting and witch trials across Europe. Neighbours and even family members often accused each other of witchcraft and around 100,000 people were prosecuted for witchcraft in Europe and North America; between 40,000 and 60,000 were executed, often by hanging but also by burning at the stake. Roughly 80% of those convicted of witchcraft were women (accusers were both male and female) and most were over 40.

Some of the most notorious Witch Trials have found their way into legend with works of non-fiction and fiction about them. In the UK, two of the best-known are the North Berwick Trials and the Pendle Trials. In 1589 James VI of Scotland (later James I of England) sailed to Copenhagen to collect his new bride but encountered severe storms and was forced to turn back. James blamed the storms on witchcraft, convinced that witches were trying to destroy his plans and cause him harm. 70 people - mostly women and including some Scottish nobles - were accused with many tortured into confession. James would go on to establish commissions to hunt witches across his realm. In Scotland, around 4,000 people would be executed for witchcraft – a huge number relative to the population. Many accused of witchcraft in this period had argued with neighbours or were simply different; A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll is a book about a neurodivergent girl who campaigns for a memorial when she learns that her small Scottish hometown used to burn people as witches just for being different – like her. This book is a great look at how people who don’t fit into rigid societal expectations have been and are viewed and uses the Scottish Witch Trials to examine how we treat others. The Scottish Witch Trials have also found their way into other popular literature, from Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series and Deborah Harkness’ Shadow of the Night which mentions the North Berwick Witch Trials. In England, the Pendle Witch trials are some of the most widely known and best recorded. These began when a young woman from Pendle Hill, Lancashire was accused of cursing a local peddler who soon afterwards fell sick. The accusations continued to spread and in total 10 men and women were hanged as a result of the trials. One of the most influential witnesses at the trials was nine-year-old Jennet Device (who gave evidence against her own family) and this case was used as a legal precedence to allow the testimony of children at witch trials. The Pendle Witch Trials have also found their way into fiction, most notably in Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, which features witch characters named after the original Pendle witches like Agnes Nutter, and The Familiars a spellbinding and evocative fictionalised look at the trials.

Most of the evidence in arguably the most famous witch trials of all – the Salem Witch Trials in Massachusetts – was given by children. When the daughter and niece of the local pastor, Samuel Parris, began behaving oddly and having fits and convulsions, witchcraft was suspected and Betty (Parris’s 9-year-old daughter) and Abigail (his 11-year-old niece) accused their neighbours. Other girls and young women began experiencing fits and similar symptoms to Betty and Abigail and the hysteria and accusations spread. The Salem Witch Trials took place between 1692 and 1693 and in total 19 ‘witches’ were hanged and many others were imprisoned and tortured. Arthur Miller dramatized and partly fictionalised the Salem Witch Trials in his acclaimed 1953 play The Crucible. Miller wrote the play as an allegory for McCarthyism when the United States government persecuted and accused people (including Miller) suspected of being communists. The Crucible is regarded as one of the great works of American drama, is regularly performed and studied across the world and has been adapted for TV and film. Young Adult Fiction has also drawn on the Salem Witch Trials for themes of alienation and ignorance, with fantastic titles like Witch Child and How to Hang a Witch.

Witches, their legends and history really are a fascinating subject and one that is often full of interesting real-life characters and surprising twists. If you fancy exploring the WitchLit subgenre, here are just a few of the great books available. Remember, witches aren’t just black hats and broomsticks! 

Kate, Content Selection Team