Are you a witch? Girl, same. Witchcraft has become a huge trend across social media in recent years. Witchcraft gets more mainstream by the day, but it wasn’t always so. If you draw a line from the European witch craze, to the Salem Witch Trials (we still use terms like “witch hunt” and “hysteria” too much for my liking), to the modern occult revival in the 1960s (when witches were part of the women’s liberation and environmental movements), to the Wicca of the “New Age” 1980s, to the Satanic Panic of the 1990s, we see that witches have always been outsiders. Nowadays, witchcraft is aligned with self-care, identity, social change, personal empowerment, and getting closer to nature. Not to mention magic, tarot, astrology, spells, crystals, and herbcraft.
Hallowe’en is nigh, and we all know what that means: sweater weather, cider, seasonal angst, and watching as many horror movies as possible. But wait…what if you only like spooky content that features witches? And what if you feel like you’ve already seen everything that’s out there? I mean, how many times can you watch TheCraft? (Answer: as many times as you want!) But I’ll bet you a bag of creme pumpkins and a vintage cashmere cardigan that there’s some wonderful witchy fare (some scary, some satirical, some arty) you may not have seen (some of it made before you were born — now that’s scary)! And these witchy picks are all available to stream!
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‘Season Of The Witch’
Horror master George Romero’s take on suburban life in the hippy era has a sly satirical tone that makes this film feel way ahead of its time. An unhappy housewife in a passionless marriage has eerie dreams of bondage and finds her way into witchcraft.
Watch on Amazon.
‘Luna Nera’
This lush Italian series, set in the 16th century, has stunning costumes and cinematography. It tells the story of a young woman awakening to her family heritage as a witch, the persecution overpowering her village, and the secret society of forest women who help her hide from witch hunters.
Watch on Netflix.
‘Beautiful Creatures’
Based on a popular novel, this gorgeous film features a stellar cast (Emmy Rossum, Emma Thompson, Viola Davis, Jeremy Irons) as a noble family of witches doing their best to groom their latest neophyte (Alice Englert). Over-the-top sets and costumes fit the melodramatic tone perfectly.
Watch on Amazon.
‘The Lords of Salem’
Rob Zombie’s atmospheric slow-burn follows a Boston DJ (Sheri Moon Zombie) as she becomes slowly obsessed with the three older witches who live in her building, convinced they’re performing some kind of malevolent magic. The witchy trio, odd and quietly menacing, may well have influenced the strange matriarchal coven portrayed years later in the remake of Suspiria.
Watch on Amazon.
‘Motherland: Fort Salem’
Set in a not-so-implausible future where witches fulfill their magical duties as military service, this is an entertaining coming-of-age series with a number of young characters struggling to become who they are within systems that constrain them. Plenty of romance, sex, intrigue and non-stop suspense.
Watch on Hulu.
‘I Married A Witch’
This comedy stars Veronica Lake as a 17th century witch who, after cursing the Puritans who try to execute her for witchcraft, finds herself centuries later drawn to one of their ancestors who is a rising politician (Frederic March). Clever, witty, and engaging, this classic film has lost none of its magical charm.
Watch on Amazon.
‘Marianne’
This intense French series follows a successful novelist whose books about an evil witch that haunted her childhood begin to influence real life events, with horrifying (and violent, scary, bloody) consequences. She returns to her coastal village to exorcise her demons and contain the witch’s possessive powers.
Watch on Netflix.
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