Recently, I asked a large sampling of my
friends to list their favorite TV shows and movies featuring witches. I
collected their data (and added mine in too). See if you agree with the
following list:
(Note: I realize that many were left out but
I could only include ten. I chose the ones that were repeated the most often).
The Top Ten Movies and TV Shows Featuring
Witches
10. H.R.Pufnstuf - If you were a kid
in the 1970’s you probably remember watching H.R.Pufinstuff (and if you were an
adult in the early 1970’s you probably remember tripping out while watching
H.R. Pufnstuf). H.R.Pufnstuf was a live-action puppet show that featured a
giant talking cheeseburger with a heart of gold and his arch nemesis, the evil Witchiepoo.
A green meanie, Witchiepoo lures innocent Jimmy and his talking flute Freddie
to the crazy Living Island in order to get her hands on Jimmy’s instrument (His
flute! It’s a family show!). Unfortunately, she is thwarted at every turn.
Witchiepoo was the embodiment of the bumbling, broomstick-flying, nasty witches
we all learned to fear as children. Although it only ran for 17 episodes it was
very popular in its day, freaking out an entire generation of kids.
9.
Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - One of Disney’s first,
full-length animated classics, this movie features an evil queen who
wields dark, magical powers. When the queen learns from her magic mirror that
she is in danger of losing her title as ‘the fairest in the land’ she goes to
great lengths to ensure that this doesn’t happen. No one who has ever seen this
film will forget the image of the evil queen in the guise of an old woman,
handing Snow White a red poisoned apple. For this reason it made my
list.
8.
Sabrina the Teenaged Witch - Originally a comic book in the 60’s and
70’s, Sabrina was resurrected in the mid 90’s as a television series.
The plot was simple, Sabrina, a half-witch living with her two witchy aunts,
discovers on her 16th birthday that she too has magical powers. Of course,
being new to the world of witchcraft, her spells don’t always turn out like she
planned. Sabrina made my list because she was fun and fashionable and her heart
was always in the right place even when her spells were not.
7. Hocus Pocus - This early 90’s flick didn't do well with
critics but gained a big following once it was released on VHS and aired on
cable channels. The story chronicles three naughty witches, the Sanderson
sisters, who are resurrected from the dead and must use their witchcraft to
siphon the life force from children in order to stay alive. The film has a dark
theme but thanks to Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker, has
many fun and zany moments that lend to its charm. Besides, good eventually
prevails in the movie, but it’s very entertaining to see how it plays out.
6. Charmed - In the late 90’s and into the mid 2000’s
we got to know Piper, Phoebe, Prue (and later Paige) Halliwell,
otherwise known as the Charmed
Ones. These gals had some awe-inspiring magic and
with help from their Book of Shadows, continued to grow in power. What I loved
about the show was that it focused on the three sisters trying to maintain a
normal life including dating and family dramas while protecting the innocent
from things that go bump in the night.
5. Bell, Book and Candle - No witchy list is complete without this 1958
classic. The film focuses on witchy Gillian who falls in love (of
course) with a mortal man and, because of this, is in danger of losing her
magical powers. I loved this movie because the chemistry between free-spirited
Gillian (Kim Novak) and Shep (James Stewart) is as bubbly and
delicious as a fine glass of witches brew. Plus, it’s a classic and one of the
first witchy movies my mother introduced me to. You can never go wrong with a
classic.
4. Practical Magic - So, confession here. This is probably my
all-time favorite witchy movie. BUT, not everyone I queried agreed. The plot
follows two sisters, Sally and Gillian Owens, who live with their
eccentric witchy aunts on Maria’s Island. The family has been cursed and no man
can ever love an Owens woman without dying at a young age. The plot sounds
tragic, and at times it, but it’s also sweet, and poignant, and hilarious. And
very romantic. Don’t wait for Halloween to watch this movie. It’s great any
time of the year.
3. The Harry Potter Series - I originally forgot to include Hermione
Granger from the Harry Potter films. When I think Harry Potter, I think
wizards, but as I’ve been thoroughly reprimanded and reminded by all my
Hogwarts loving friends, Hermione Granger is a
witch, and a powerful one at that. I don’t have to list all the great things
about this series. It’s a fantastic, magical world that you can get lost in for
hours. The characters are interesting and well-developed, and they grow up in
many ways along their journey. Though Harry is the star of the show our little
witch Hermione holds her own with a quick wit and a quick wand. Plus, she’s
super cute and someone we want to root for.
2.The Wizard of Oz - We all know the story: small town girl
gets tossed by a tornado into the magical world of Oz. There, she meets Glinda
the Good Witch and The Wicked Witch of the West. She also
inadvertently knocks off the Wicked Witch of the East in the process. The movie
is great in so many ways: amazing song and dances sequences, brilliant use of
Technicolor, and unforgettable characters. The real charm of the movie,
however, lies in it’s simple storyline: the pure heart of one little girl is
more powerful than any magic a witch can do.
1. Bewitched - Every person I asked mentioned the 1960’s
sitcom, Bewitched. Samantha Stephens is a lovely young witch who loves
her dull husband so much that she is willing to give up her magical powers in
order to please him. This includes doing her housework like (egads!) a normal
woman.(Ladies, it’s not worth it! The only thing cowing to a man ever got poor
Samantha was an even duller doppelganger version of her husband who appeared in
the sixth season). Of course, Samantha’s nosy neighbor, her disapproving
mother, and her practical joke playing uncle add drama and hilarity to the mix.
This is one of the most beloved witchy shows ever made and in 2002 was listed
in TV Guide’s 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. To this day, whenever I catch an
old rerun on TV, I have to revisit Samantha and her zany family. It just feels
like home.
The Witches of Dark Root
The Daughters of Dark Root Series
The Daughters of Dark Root Series
April Aasheim
Genre: Paranormal/Fiction
Publisher: Dark Root Press
Date of Publication: June, 2013
ISBN-13: 978-0615819327
ISBN-10: 061581932X
ASIN: B00D6OUDDG
Number of pages: 350
Word Count: approx. 112,000
Cover Artist: April Aasheim
Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/klihdS5tQr4
Book Description:
Deep in the forests of Central Oregon is a town called Dark Root, a place shrouded in secrets, mystery, and witchcraft.
But for Maggie Maddock, Dark Root is also a prison, a place where she is forced to spend her days working in her mother’s magick shop, forfeiting any dreams of her own. So when a mysterious stranger suddenly appears and offers to take her away from it all, Maggie jumps at the chance.
Now, seven years later, a strange phone call sends Maggie back to Dark Root and she is unprepared for what awaits her: a dying town, a sick mother, a renewed sibling rivalry, and a past she had hoped to forget.
Part Practical Magic, part Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, The Witches of Dark Root is a tale that seamlessly weaves the normal with the mystical, the mundane with the fantastic. Zipping in and out of time from Maggie’s childhood as an apprentice witch to current day, where Maggie struggles with her increasing powers, as well as family obligations, The Witches of Dark Root is a book rich in both fantasy and heart which will leave readers believing in magic.
Part Practical Magic, part Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, The Witches of Dark Root is a tale that seamlessly weaves the normal with the mystical, the mundane with the fantastic. Zipping in and out of time from Maggie’s childhood as an apprentice witch to current day, where Maggie struggles with her increasing powers, as well as family obligations, The Witches of Dark Root is a book rich in both fantasy and heart which will leave readers believing in magic.
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About the Author:
April Aasheim spent her childhood traveling the Southwestern portion of the United States with her fortune- telling mother and her get-rich-quick dreaming stepfather. During that time, April and her family toured with a carnival company, sold bug repellant door to door, and resided in an abandoned miner’s shack in The Superstitious Mountains of Arizona.
When April became a teenager she went to live with her biological father in California. Her father saw April’s need to express herself and encouraged her to write her stories rather than tell them. By learning to write April was able to make sense of her family and the world she lived in. She continues to do that to this day.
April currently lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband. She is the mother of two incredible sons and the step-mother to a beautiful little girl. She is the author of numerious short stories, has contributed to several anthologies, and is the author of the well-received novel: The Universe is a Very Big Place.
The Witches of Dark Root is The first in the Daughters of Dark Root series and April looks forward to writing the second book in 2014.
Website: http://www.aprilaasheim.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AprilAasheim
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