Finding Fright in Books : Michelle Krys' Favorite Witches


Hexed
Michelle Krys
Series: The Witch Hunter, #1
Released: June 10th, 2014
Publisher: Delacorte Press

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If high school is all about social status, Indigo Blackwood has it made. Sure, her quirky mom owns an occult shop, and a nerd just won’t stop trying to be her friend, but Indie is a popular cheerleader with a football-star boyfriend and a social circle powerful enough to ruin everyone at school. Who wouldn’t want to be her?

Then a guy dies right before her eyes. And the dusty old family Bible her mom is freakishly possessive of is stolen. But it’s when a frustratingly sexy stranger named Bishop enters Indie’s world that she learns her destiny involves a lot more than pom-poms and parties. If she doesn’t get the Bible back, every witch on the planet will die. And that’s seriously bad news for Indie, because according to Bishop, she’s a witch too.

Suddenly forced into a centuries-old war between witches and sorcerers, Indie’s about to uncover the many dark truths about her life—and a future unlike any she ever imagined on top of the cheer pyramid.


In honor of Halloween and my debut novel HEXED (which, spoiler alert, is about witches), I’ve compiled a list of *some of my favorite pop culture witches.

*The list originally included movie, TV, and book witches, but it ended up being 15 + pages long, so now it’s just movie and TV show witches. Even though I’m an author—don’t judge.

*I haven’t included Hermione on this list. I mean, she’s everyone’s favorite witch, right? No one needs me to explain why.

*Ok I’ll start the list now.

Willow Rosenberg


Honestly, if I even have to tell you who Willow Rosenberg is then I’m not sure we can be friends. But anyway, Willow is a character on Buffy the Vampire Slayer—one of the best, if not the best, TV shows of all time. 

In the first couple of seasons we see Willow as the brainy, awkward, eager-to-help-save-the-world best friend of the heroine, Buffy. But over the course of the show, as Willow discovers her magic, she transforms from computer geek into one seriously badass witch. What I really love about Willow’s story arc, though, isn’t so much her transformation, but the later discovery that she was never really as confident as she outwardly appeared. Remember the episode where Willow has the nightmare that she’s reading a paper in front of the class and all of her friends are either ignoring her or laughing at her? Her deeply rooted insecurities and fear of being once-again labeled as a geek are some of the reasons Willow is so loveable—she’s relatable. Her struggles with being who she is versus being who others will like represent what a lot of young people go through while trying to find themselves. 


The Sanderson Sisters


For those of you who have never turned on a TV during the month of October, Hocus Pocus is about a teenager who inadvertently resurrects three child-eating witches, and now must stop them from wreaking havoc on Salem, Massachusetts. All three of the Sanderson sisters are so completely amazing it’s impossible to choose a favorite, so they all get a spot on this list. Sarah’s delightfully ditzy antics, Mary’s perpetually downturned mouth, Winifred’s . . . everything about Winifred—what’s not to love about these witches? If you haven’t seen Hocus Pocus, drop everything and do it now. Actually, that’s good advice for everyone. 


Sabrina Spellman


I feel bad for kids who have to grow up in a world without TGIF on Friday nights. If you weren’t lucky enough to have watched Sabrina during your formative years, then allow me to summarize the show for you: There’s a teenager. Her name is Sabrina. And she’s a witch.

There’s so much to love about Sabrina—her infectious charm, her quirky sense of humor, the way she’s always getting into trouble with her magic and then turning to her aunts to bail her out, how she gets ready in the morning by standing in front of the mirror and pointing down at herself until she finds an outfit she likes. Oh, how Sabrina made me wish I was a witch!

Which leads me to my favorite witch of all:

Nancy Downs



For those of you not already rabid fanatics of The Craft, this movie follows a group of four misfit girls who get involved with witchcraft and use their newfound powers to exact revenge on their high school nemeses. Things start looking up for the girls until their spells begin to backfire in some very disturbing ways (Dun dun dunnn).

It hurts how much I love this movie. I loved it so much that after it first came out, me, my sister and a friend took books out from the library and started a witchcraft club. We ‘levitated’ each other in our bedroom (Honestly, who didn’t try “Light as a feather, stiff as a board” after watching this movie?), and I can’t tell you how many times I tried blowing at streetlights to change them from red to green and then was infinitely disappointed when it didn’t work.

But can we talk about Fairuza Balk? Girl is brilliant as power-crazy, unhinged Nancy. The scene where she loses her shit on Sarah’s stalker? (Don’t watch if you haven’t seen the movie!)


*shudders* Is that not some seriously freaky stuff?

Okay, that’s it, folks! *Some of my favorite pop culture witches. Feel free to sound off on your favorite witches in the comments section!

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Michelle Krys is the author of HEXED, coming from Delacorte Press/Random House Children’s Books June 2014. Michelle is a shameless lover of bad reality television, celebrity gossip, dancing badly to good music, and queso by the spoonful. She lives in Northwestern Ontario with her husband and son. You can learn more about her at michellekrys.com or by following @MichelleKrys on Twitter.

24 comments :

  1. I am a big fan of Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Hermione-- the two best witches ever. And Hermione is one of the BEST characters for that fact. Great guest post, Michelle Krys :)

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    1. Sabrina the Teenage Witch is the epitome of nostalgia. And Hermione is just a given. ;)

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  2. See, I'm not a fan of witch T.V or movie shows, I don't mind them in books however I strangely just have not been a fan. HOWEVER. Since I don't plan to watch the movie, I watch the YouTube clip. That video is maddeningly creepy- Nancy kinda went psyco at the end which was pretty awesome. Thanks for sharing Blythe and Michelle!

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    1. I watched the clip, too, even though I haven't seen The Craft! *high fives for being rebels* But oh, that video was so creepy.

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    2. You really should watch, guys! I promise it's an excellent movie!

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  3. Nice, timely post.

    For me, the witch that stands above all others is Samantha Stevens.

    You know, Bewitched!

    I'm showing my age.

    Sometimes, Samantha's sister Serena would show up. (Interesting alliterative last sentence!)
    It was the same actress but dressed differently and with a slightly darker attitude. Kind of like Dark Willow!

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    1. Ah, I've never actually seen Bewitched (show or movie). And yes, Dark Willow, Katherine (Vampire Diaries)...

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    2. I've never watched Bewitched either--I really should!

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  4. Rewatched The Craft last week! I hadn't seen it in years and I really enjoyed it. And now that Buffy is on Netflix . . . well, I think that might be something I need to do soon.

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    1. I really need to get to watching The Craft! Have never seen it before. But YES, watch Buffy on Netflix. After I finish Breaking Bad on there, I'm continuing season 3 of Buffy (where I left off) immediately.

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    2. I watch The Craft probably once a year. It never gets old! Buffy, though, I haven't seen in years. Maybe I'll have to reconsider Netflix again.

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  5. Great post Michelle! I absolutely love all of these choices, but especially The Craft! That Nancy scene still gives me the chills.

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    1. Aaaaaah, I really need to watch The Craft. Why can't it be on Netflix? :(

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  6. You've gotta love the Sanderson sisters. I love Hocus Pocus. The Craft always scared teh crap outta me, though.

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    1. Hocus Pocus is the best thing to ever happen to Halloween. Ever.

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  7. I still try to blow the lights to green. Maybe that's why my driving record is not amazing. Great post!

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  8. I watched the clip even though I haven't seen the movie. I've always been a bit of a rebel like that. I am now terrified. I think I was more scared than the dude. Lol. I think I need to watch that!

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    1. Stephanie, you haven't seen The Craft?!? This is inexcusable ;)

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  9. Oh to re-watch Sabrina. I've decided I need to look into getting the DVDs at some point since SOMEONE *glares at Netflix* hasn't added it. Sabrina and TFIG were my life as a teen, during sleepovers at my BFFs house. I still swoon over Harvey/Sabrina.

    WILLOW. Related: OZ/WILLOW. I watch Buffy about once a year and I ALWAYS (still) identify with Willow, even as an adult.

    And dude. I watched The Craft like a million times as teen. And Hocus Pocus is legit my favorite Halloween movie! :D

    Molli | Once Upon a Prologue

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  10. Now I want to go watch ALL of those! :o

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