Witches and Werewolves: A Look At the Modern Form

As we all know witches and werewolves have changed over time.  Not only in appearance but also in what they symbolize.  In today's reading by Sidky, he concludes with that the witch and witch hunts "were a function of political and economic instability,.... and were set in motion to punish and suppress, with the ultimate objective of undermining potential resistance and ensure compliance and conformity" (Sidky p. 265).  The same can also be said about the werewolf and the werewolf hunts.  However Sidky does point out that Satan and the werewolves could just be a scape goat for the witches wrong doings in order for them to escape persecution.  By blaming Satan or the wolves, they were not taking blame for their actions which made them into symbols of murder, lust, power, etc.  He also mentioned that the drugs henbane and datura, according to modern researchers, " produce the subjective impression of transformation into animals, and hence drugs can account for the phenomenon of lycanthropy in Europe" (Sidky p. 249).  So not only were witches and werewolves used to persuade the people into following the laws, the herbs they were consuming also made them see things that were not really happening. Making the witches and werewolves come to life. 

Looking at today's witches and werewolves we get a completely different vibe.  In Twilight we get the hunky werewolf that wants to protect the person he loves while in Sabrina The Teenage Witch we have a teen witch that just wants to help her friends and family.  Although those are very entertaining examples, I will be using Tim Burtons Sleepy Hollow.  The 1999 loosely adapted film was inspired by Washington Irving's short story "The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow", which was written in 1820.  The main female in this film is Katrina (Christina Ricci), who is the daughter of the Van Tassels and a practicing witch.  However unlike Lady Van Tassel, who we find out later is an evil witch that is in control of the headless horseman, Katrina is a good witch.  In multiple scenes in the movie, Katrina draws protection circles in order to protect the one she loves.  She also mixes potions to help with sleep and healing. These behaviors are not like the witches Sidky and others have described in the readings. Witches are supposed to lust, punish others, and murder. Another interesting fact is unlike most witch cases, Katrina was not persecuted and actually left with love interest Crane to live a normal life in the city.  This is odd because witches in Sidky's examples were always executed even if they were wrongfully accused of the crime. It could be that the community was oblivious to her powers or that Crane loved her for being a witch. I however have a theory that Katrina represents the original witch that existed before the hunts.  If so then could it have been people were confused about the healing potions and mistook them for poisons? Could their drawings for protection have been confused with curses?  Were people claiming to be witches just mocking the actually craft of witchery? Maybe the people in power were worried of people turning to the witches for help instead of turning to them?  Although there are many questions, I do believe I have an answer as to what Kristina represents.  She represents the potential for good and that love can be powerful when used properly.