The Witch
Women, Religion, and Sexuality in Colonial New England
I hate horror movies. Absolutely hate them. I don’t like being afraid for my life (I’ve had a mother-in-law) so horror films may rank below even musicals on my list of things I want to watch. And being raised a devout Southern Baptist, movies about the supernatural always freak me out.1 Despite this, many of you LOVE to be scared and this week’s film was actually the very first Halloween edition we did on Historians At The Movies back in October 2018.
2015's The Witch is in my mind about as scary as they come. It's also an incredible foray into the world of 17th century New England colonists and the chance to see how their fears manifested themselves in the world around them. Our guest on the pod this week, Mikki Brock, is no stranger to fear. She researches and teaches on the supernatural, plagues, and worst of all, the British (WOO HOO AMERICA). We talk all about this terrifying film and how Puritans conceptualized the worlds beyond, as well as exactly how one goes about talking about demon sex in class. This pod is a romp. I hope you enjoy it.
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And you can check out Mikki’s books right here:
Big news coming soon.
I am a proud heathen these days, much the the chagrin of my family.
“Have you been to church lately to save your heathen soul?” is a common question from my father.
In the musical *Brigadoon* the schoolmaster, Mr. Lundie, explains their miracle to Tommy, that to protect the village from witches the local minister prayed to God to have Brigadoon disappear, only to reappear for one day every 100 years.