Category Archives: Witchcraft

LMK Sheppard on Faith Horror: Cinematic Visions of Satanism, Paganism and Witchcraft, 1966-1978

November 29th, 2022 | Posted in horror, Paganism, Satanism, Witchcraft

I had a great conversation with LMK Sheppard about her new book that touches on some great horror films during an important historical and cultural period, and involving certain new religions. A topic that has relevance and application in the present as well.

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FAITH HORROR: CINEMATIC VISIONS OF SATANISM, PAGANISM AND WITCHCRAFT, 1966-1978

November 4th, 2022 | Posted in film, horror, Paganism, religion, Satanism, Witchcraft

I recently learned about a book that appeals to me in a number of ways. It is titled Faith Horror: Cinematic Visions of Satanism, Paganism and Witchcraft, 1966-1978. The subject matter of this book dovetails with the two expressions of my work in religion, specifically certain new religious movements, and religion in pop culture as […]

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Heather Greene on her new book “Lights, Camera, Witchcraft”

November 9th, 2021 | Posted in film, television, Wicca, Witchcraft

From Joan the Woman and The Wizard of Oz to Carrie and Charmed, author and film scholar Heather Greene explores how these movies and TV shows helped influence the public image of the witch and profoundly affected how women negotiate their power in a patriarchal society. Greene presents more than two hundred examples spanning silent […]

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Titles of Interest – Bell, Book and Camera: A Critical History of Witches in American Film and Television

April 25th, 2018 | Posted in occult, Titles of Interest, Wicca, Witchcraft

A new book by my friend Heather who does an outstanding job as editor of The Wild Hunt blog. Bell, Book and Camera: A Critical History of Witches in American Film and Television by Heather Greene McFarland, 2018 The witch as a cultural archetype has existed in some form since the beginning of recorded history. […]

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“The Autopsy of Jane Doe” – Surprised by Witchcraft

June 11th, 2017 | Posted in horror, Witchcraft

I’d heard quite a lot of positive buzz about The Autopsy of Jane Doe. Since I added it to my Blu-ray collection I watched it Saturday. I don’t have much to say about it other than it was a satisfying horror film that focuses more on suspense and the creep factor than gore. Even the […]

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Why did satanists endorse “The Witch”?

February 21st, 2016 | Posted in horror, occult, occulture, Paganism, Satan, Satanism, Wicca, Witchcraft

The new horror film The Witch is getting positive reviews, but prior to that it was the stuff of minor controversy as a Satanist group issued a public endorsement for the film, calling it a “satanic experience.” Such an endorsement would have caused a major controversy in the culture wars from Christians as happened in […]

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Witches and Wicked Bodies at the British Museum

October 7th, 2014 | Posted in Body, Paganism, Wicca, Witchcraft

From the website of the British Museum: 25 September 2014 – 11 January 2015 This exhibition will examine the portrayal of witches and witchcraft in art from the Renaissance to the end of the 19th century. It will feature prints and drawings by artists including Dürer, Goya, Delacroix, Burne-Jones and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, alongside classical […]

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Pop Culture Reactions to “Salem”

June 2nd, 2014 | Posted in horror, Satan, television, Wicca, Witchcraft

If you haven’t seen the Salem television series on WGN it’s worth checking out. It eagerly scoops up Christian mythologies of the Witch as the consort of Satan, a frequent trope in horror films, and uses this as the major element in a reframing of the events surrounding the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Given […]

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Cinefantastique Podcast on ‘The Wicker Man’

September 23rd, 2013 | Posted in 1970s, occult, Paganism, Wicca, Witchcraft

I was invited as a guest participant in the Cinefantastique Spotlight podcast to discuss The Wicker Man in light of the release of the “restored version,” and Rialto Films’ re-release for its 40th anniversary. This film was shot in 1973 and released in 1979, and has since become a cult classic. The story revolves around a […]

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Titles of Interest: Bewitched Again

August 7th, 2013 | Posted in Books, horror, Titles of Interest, Western esotericism, Wicca, Witchcraft

This title of interest is Bewitched Again: Supernaturally Powerful Women on Television, 1996-2011 (McFarland, 2013) by Julie D. O’Reilly. Starting in 1996, U.S. television saw an influx of superhuman female characters who could materialize objects like Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, defeat evil like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and have premonitions like Charmed’s Phoebe. The extraordinary […]

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