Which Witch Is Which? Halloween Thoughts On Wicked & Good Witches
Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes.
– Macbeth by William Shakespeare
As darkness approaches and the witching hour is neigh, creatures from fairy tales, horror stories and literature emerge into the night. These witches, goblins, monsters, vampires, fairies and other fantastical fiends come knocking on the door to demand “trick or treat” – don’t hesitate to invite them in, as it’s All Hallows’ Eve (Halloween) and they expect handfuls of tasty candy, chocolates, apples, or else!
Adults enjoy the frightful fun of Halloween too, dressing up in scary, wicked and even sexy costumes. Homes are turned into haunted houses, decorated with carved pumpkins, skeletons, bats and huge spiders. Doors creak eerily when opened and strange cackling sounds emanate from inside.
It’s Halloween, a festival that seems to have grown around the ancient Gaelic “Samhain,” that marks the end of the light summer half of the year, and the beginning of the dark half, winter.
Samhain was a harvest celebration, when the last crops were gathered and food was stored for the winter. The pagan Celts also believed it was a time when the walls that separated the living world from the spirit world became thin and allowed spirits to pass through. It is thought the wearing of spooky costumes may have had its roots in the belief that dressing up as a ghost would scare off the real ghosts. While dressing as a ghost is still popular, a most favorite character costume is that of a witch! Witches are the traditional and mysterious personifications we most associate with Halloween. When we think of a witch, an image of an old, ugly, hook-nosed woman comes to mind, stirring magical potions in a cauldron, riding on a broomstick with her black cat perched on the back. She casts spells and predicts the future, as in the classic opening scenes of Shakespeare’s Macbeth.