The element of the supernatural that I chose to write about was witches. I chose this element because I was fond of the television shows Charmed and Sabrina the Teenage Witch and I was an avid reader of the Harry Potter sequence of books. One definition of a witch is a person that uses supernatural powers, most likely black magic with the assistance of a devil or familiar. Another definition is a practitioner of Wicca. I used the dictionary definitions found at http://www.merriam-webster.com/netdict/witch?show=0&t=1285450468 because many websites do not offer an objective portrayal of the word and the Merriam-Webster dictionary is seen by many as a credible source. It surprised me that it was so hard to find an objective definition of the word witch. Depending on the website some portrayed it as bad or good rather than just giving a definition, with most websites depicting it as bad and something to be rejected or shunned. I found this interesting because witches are so common in today’s mass media.
There are many television shows and novels about witches in popular culture. Many of them center on the idea of good witches v. evil witches. The good witches keep the evil ones from taking over the “human world” and try to keep magic hidden from humans for their benefit and protection. As with the human world there runs the theme of good conquering evil in many of the books and shows. For example, the Charmed series focused on the idea of maintaining the delicate balance of keeping the forces of evil from taking over the world while keeping magic a secret even from close friends and significant others (boyfriends). Books such as Harry Potter made being a witch seem cool and something that people could relate to as opposed to the witches in books of old. Although bad witches existed in the novel, it was fascinating to read about and imagine living and taking classes in a magical castle, taking care of magical creatures and playing quidditch.
America is not exempt from the culture of witches. One example is the 1962 Salem Witch Trials that took place in Salem, Massachusetts. Nineteen men and women were hanged and one man was crushed to death with stones after being falsely accused as witches by young girls. The website http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/SAL_ACCT.HTM gave a good explanation of the trials and this memorable incident in early American history. I found this to be a credible and useful website because it gives a simple and clear account as to what happened in the trials as well as the paranoia about witches that gripped Salem in those days. It gives a brief and factual account that even has links to other websites so that information that is stated there can be independently verified.
Throughout history witches have been frowned upon especially during ancient times when people were burned at the stake for allegedly being witches. However, in today’s society as a result of books and television shows/ movies, the idea of witches being purely evil has changed a bit.
