Witches on Screen - From Celluloid Shadows to Cinema’s Spell

From silent trick films to technicolour queens, from broomsticks to suburban sitcoms, from horror’s hysteria to feminist reclamation - cinema has never stopped conjuring the witch.In this episode of Hex & Muse, we trace her journey through a century of film: the haunted illusions of Georges Méliès, the fevered beauty of Häxan, the vanity of Disney’s mirror-obsessed queen, the domestic rebellion of Bewitched, the dread of Rosemary’s Baby, the velvet defiance of the 90s, and the reflective power of modern cinema.The witch has worn many faces - monster, muse, scapegoat, saint - but her image on screen tells us more about us than her. Each era projects its fears and fascinations onto her body, revealing what the world loves, hates, and still doesn’t understand about women who refuse to soften.A cinematic séance for those who love folklore, feminism, and film history - with a touch of candlelight.Films & Television:Le Manoir du Diable (1896), dir. Georges MélièsHäxan (1922), dir. Benjamin ChristensenSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), dir. Walt DisneyThe Wizard of Oz (1939), dir. Victor FlemingBell, Book and Candle (1958), dir. Richard QuineBewitched (1964–1972), created by Sol SaksRosemary’s Baby (1968), dir. Roman PolanskiSeason of the Witch (1972), dir. George A. RomeroThe Exorcist (1973), dir. William FriedkinSuspiria (1977), dir. Dario ArgentoThe Craft (1996), dir. Andrew FlemingPractical Magic (1998), dir. Griffin DunneCharmed (1998–2006), created by Constance M. BurgeThe Witch (2015), dir. Robert EggersThe Love Witch (2016), dir. Anna BillerAmerican Horror Story: Coven (2013), created by Ryan Murphy & Brad FalchukMotherland: Fort Salem (2020–2022), created by Eliot LaurenceSuspiria (2018), dir. Luca GuadagninoThe Wailing (2016), dir. Na Hong-jinNovember (2017), dir. Rainer SarnetBorder (2018), dir. Ali Abbasi📚 Further Reading Marina Warner – No Go the Bogeyman: Scaring, Lulling, and Making Mock (Oxford, 1998) Diane Purkiss – The Witch in History (Routledge, 1996) Ronald Hutton – The Triumph of the Moon (OUP, 1999) Silvia Federici – Caliban and the Witch (Autonomedia, 2004) Barbara Creed – The Monstrous-Feminine: Film, Feminism, Psychoanalysis (Routledge, 1993) Lucy Johnston – Witches: A History of Misogyny, Feminism and Magic (Laurence King, 2022) Anna Biller – “Witch, Please: Women, Power, and the Gaze,” Sight & Sound (2017) Kristen J. Sollée – “The Witch Wave: Pop Culture and the Occult Revival,” The New Inquiry (2018) Jason Colavito – “The Occult Roots of Cinema,” Journal of Film and History (2015)Hex & Muse is recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. I pay my deepest respects to their Elders past and present - and to all First Nations people, whose stories and spirits continue to shape this land.Follow along for more folklore, magic, and mythic musings:Instagram: @hexandmuse Website: www.hexandmuse.comHex & Muse is a spellbound journal of folklore, magic, art, and the sacred feminine - told through cinematic storytelling and whispered histories.From my altar to yours… thank you for listening.