#21st century witch trials

[21st-century-witch-hunt]

The violent persecution of alleged "witches" has become a much deadlier, more widespread issue over the last 50 years than it ever was during the 300-year span of the European and Colonial Witch Trials -- and the issue is only getting worse.

CW: this post involves an ongoing human rights issue, with references to religious violence, child abuse, and murder

Violent attacks against alleged "witches" are becoming increasingly common in both rural and urban population centers throughout the world, and much of that violence occurs in places where religious fundamentalism (especially Evangelical Christianity) has collided with severe socio-economic instability. It is especially common for young children to be targeted in these attacks.

Between 1960 and the year 2000, it's estimated that more than 40,000 people in Tanzania alone were murdered due to the belief that they were "witches." Many others have been killed in similar incidents in more than a dozen other countries (on several different continents). 

Over the course of the last 100 years, it's estimated that there have been hundreds of thousands of deaths related to witchcraft allegations. Millions of people have also faced other forms of persecution, including imprisonment, torture, starvation, mob violence, branding, burning, flogging, public humiliation, and arson attacks. Many have been subjected to less violent forms of persecution, including abandonment, the confiscation of land and/or property, and the loss of parental or custodial rights; they are often denied access to education, employment, housing, and/or healthcare, too.

Millions of people are currently suffering as a result of these practices, and much of the abuse is now inflicted upon young children, who face allegations of being "child witches."

This issue is especially apparent in Nigeria, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Angola, South Africa, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Micronesia, Vanuatu, and India, but it has also been documented in countries like Nepal, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Syria, Saudi Arabia. Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Bolivia, Haiti, Poland, and the UK.

And it's only getting worse -- this issue is continuing to spread throughout different parts of the world, often facilitated by the destabilizing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the escalation of economic, environmental, and political crises, along with the rising popularity of Christian fundamentalism (or, in some cases, Islamic fundamentalism). As a result, acts of violence targeting "witches" have become increasingly normalized and are occuring with greater frequency throughout much of the world. The formal persecution of so-called "witches" by various governments has also become more common.

These are just a few examples of the "witch-hunting" incidents and issues that have developed over the last few decades:

It's estimated that most of the 25,000-50,000 children who live on the streets of Kinshasa (in the Democratic Republic of the Congo) were originally abandoned because their families believed that they were "witches." Many of these children were still just infants when they were abandoned.

Thousands of churches/pastors in the DRC, Angola, and Nigeria are known to perform "deliverance" ceremonies (i.e. exorcisms) on alleged "witches" for financial gain; the same pastors are usually the ones who identify these "witches" in the first place. Human Rights Watch and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees both estimate that as many as 50,000 children, having been identified as "witches," may still be imprisoned in religious buildings throughout the DRC, where they await "deliverance" ceremonies in which they often face abuse, violence, torture, and sometimes even death under the pretense of spiritual cleansing. During the "deliverance" ceremony, some victims are forced to drink battery acid, or the battery acid may be poured into their eyes, and many of the children are permanently blinded or disfigured by chemical burns.

In Ghana, a series of settlements known as "witch camps" have been established to provide shelter/safety to women who have been branded as "witches." Many of these women are widows with small children, and the children are often sheltered in the camps alongside their mothers. Local schools generally refuse to provide these children with an education. It is estimated that the "witch camps" in Ghana currently house between 1,000 and 2,500 women in total, along with hundreds of children, and some women have been residing in the camps for more than 40 years.

In India, records indicate that more than 2,500 people who were accused of practicing witchcraft were then captured, tortured, and killed between the years 2000 and 2016.

From 1996 to 2001, more than 600 so-called "witches" were killed in the Limpopo Province of South Africa.

When a wave of "witch-hunts" swept through East Java (Indonesia) in 1998, more than 200 people were killed over the course of just a few months.

From 2010 to 2011, more than 20 elderly women were murdered in Zimbabwe after facing allegations of witchcraft.

In 2008, the Gambian government imprisoned 1,000 alleged "witches" in a detention center, where they were tortured and forced to consume a dangerous hallucinogenic concoction.

In 2007, more than 200 suspected "witches" were killed within a single province in Papua New Guinea.

Reports indicate that thousands of women in the Indian state of Jharkand are formally accused of practicing witchcraft each month, and that hundreds of these women are beaten, tortured, and/or killed. In some of the most violent cases, the victims have had their eyes gouged out, and some have been set on fire. Others are forced to endure forms of public humiliation.

In May of 2008, 15 alleged "witches" in a region of Kenya were set on fire and executed by an angry mob.

In recent years, at least five different individuals have been officially executed by the government of Saudi Arabia on charges of practicing "sorcery." Other purported "sorcerers" have been tried and convicted in Saudi Arabia, though some have received public floggings (and other forms of torture) instead of the death penalty, and some are currently in prison awaiting trial. Saudi Arabia also has the dubious distinction of having its own official, state-sponsored "Witch-hunting Task Force."

Between the years 2000 and 2010, at least six children in the UK were also killed due to "child witch" allegations, and several other cases of non-lethal abuse have been documented there.

This form of violence has been on the rise for several decades now, and it occurs in many different cultural contexts. It goes without saying that there is no simple, one-size-fits-all explanation for all of these incidents, nor is there a simple explanation for the beliefs that have led to such practices. Religious rhetoric is obviously a driving factor, but there are other circumstances that may also contribute, including socio-economic disparities, social frustrations, a lack of resources, a compulsion to assign blame, the fear of "Otherness," etc. -- essentially the same factors that have always contributed to the witch-hunt phenomenon, and to scapegoating at large.

But there are some interesting trends that appear in the cases from West Africa, Central Africa, and Melanesia, where violent attacks against "witches" are especially prevalent: it's clear that these acts of violence are often intertwined with a particularly dangerous blend of Evangelical Christianity and socio-economic instability.

In Nigeria, for example, popular Pentecostal preachers like Helen Ukpabio have explicitly promoted the belief in "child witches," and they have encouraged the parents of the accused "witches" to subject their children to the cruel, abusive, and often violent exorcism rituals that are offered by local preachers...for an enormous fee, of course.

This article explains how religious leaders in Nigeria will often perpetuate and then exploit the belief in "child witches:"

The devil's children are "identified" by powerful religious leaders at extremist churches where Christianity and traditional beliefs have combined to produce a deep-rooted belief in, and fear of, witchcraft. The priests spread the message that child-witches bring destruction, disease and death to their families. And they say that, once possessed, children can cast spells and contaminate others.

The religious leaders offer help to the families whose children are named as witches, but at a price. The churches run exorcism, or "deliverance" evenings where the pastors attempt to drive out the evil spirits. Only they have the power to cleanse the child of evil spirits, they say. The exorcism costs the families up to a year's income.

During the "deliverance" ceremonies, the children are shaken violently, dragged around the room and have potions poured into their eyes. If the ritual fails, the parents know their children will have to be sent away, or killed. Many are held in churches, often on chains, and deprived of food until they "confess" to being a witch.

The ceremonies are highly lucrative for the spiritual leaders, many of whom enjoy a lifestyle of large homes, expensive cars and designer clothes. Some Nigerians blame the increase on one of the country's wealthiest and most influential evangelical preachers. Helen Ukpabio, a self-styled prophetess of the 150-branch Liberty Gospel Church, made a film, widely distributed, called End of the Wicked. It tells, in graphic detail, how children become possessed and shows them being inducted into covens, eating human flesh and bringing chaos and death to their families and communities.

Mrs. Ukpabio also wrote a popular book which tells parents how to identify a witch. For children under two years old, she says, the key signs of a servant of Satan are crying and screaming in the night, high fever and worsening health - symptoms that can be found among many children in an impoverished region with poor health care.

It's important to note that these "exorcism" and "witch-hunting" rituals have no real precedent among the native cultures of Nigeria -- they are a product of the modern rise of religious fundamentalism, the spread of Evangelical Christianity, widespread inequality and strife, and a general commitment to spiritualism. When those elements are combined, they form the perfect recipe for violence.

As this article explains: 

Although traditional beliefs in witch doctors are not so deeply buried in people's memories, and although there had been indigenous Christians in Nigeria since the 19th century, it is American and Scottish Pentecostal and evangelical missionaries of the past 50 years who have shaped these fanatical beliefs.

There is a degree of volatility that often arises when Evangelical beliefs about spiritual warfare, Satan, strife, and witchcraft are preached to communities that are already facing severe socio-economic challenges, especially in places where the scars of colonialism are still fresh.

The uncertainty and strife that often exists within these communities is framed as a direct consequence of "Satanic" influences that have infiltrated the community itself, manifesting in the form of an actual person...and the most vulnerable people (i.e. children, widows, elderly women, and disabled people) are usually singled out as those manifestations of evil. They are viewed as Satanic emissaries who are directly responsible for causing tragedy and hardship within the community, and the accused "witches" must then be punished and purged. They are a perfect target for all of the community's frustrations.

Similar circumstances can also be found in many parts of Melanesia -- especially in Papua New Guinea, where extreme Pentecostal rhetoric has likewise interacted with existing conditions to encourage the (often violent) persecution of alleged "witches."

This excerpt from The Introduction to Pentecostal Witchcraft and Spiritual Politics in Africa and Melanesia describes the religious rhetoric that has developed in Papua New Guinea:

In 1992, a well-orchestrated upsurge of third wave evangelism and apocalyptic thinking took off in the Mountain Ok area, which had a considerable influence on people’s lives and thinking. Jorgensen (2005) specifically addresses a local movement called "Operation Joshua" and the centrality of "spiritual warfare" within it. The focus of this movement was to attack directly invisible evil forces such as witchcraft and sorcery through "spiritual mapping," "healing," and "crusades." Through this confrontational, aggressive, and effective form of evangelism numerous charismatic movements and campaigns found their way into PNG, Fiji, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu.

During an intensive period in 2014, the entire Christian congregation of the small island of Ahamb in Vanuatu came out of their church building and besieged every corner of their island in order to drive out demons and evil spirits. It culminated in a witch hunt, where people of the congregation ganged up on accused witches, and in the end killed them by hanging them in the community hall.

The author also notes the influence of similar Pentecostal rhetoric in the "witch-hunts" that have taken place in certain parts of Africa:

... the demonization of children also highlights the crucial role played in the persecution of "witches" by the Christian Pentecostal sects that have proliferated in urban and rural Africa during the last twenty years ... the connection between Pentecostalism and the persecution of witches is well documented, possibly providing a clue to the rapid expansion of witch-hunting in so many different parts of the planet. ...

Through books and open-air sermons in market centers and other public spaces, evangelists increased people’s anxiety about their social environment, preached a connection between Satan, illness and death and incited a spiritual warfare of sorts.

I know this is a very lengthy post, so I'll try to wrap it up. I just wanted to share some of this information, along with the following list of advocacy and aid groups,  because very few people seem to be aware of the fact that this issue even exists.

Advocacy & Humanitarian Aid Groups:

Land of Hope

Safe Child Africa

South African Pagan Rights Alliance

Relief for Witch-Hunt Victims (Hexereianklagen)

Stop Sorcery Violence

Bethany Children's Trust: SCWA

Stop Child Witch Accusations

Sources & More Info:

The New York Times: The Persecution of Witches, 21st Century Style

BBC: Branded and Beaten: the children accused of witchcraft and murder

Reuters: Killing of Women, Child "Witches" is on the Rise, U.N. Told

CNN: Abuse of Child "Witches" on the Rise, Aid Group Says

New York Times: Women in Gambia Describe Torture After Ex-President Called them Witches

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: Witchcraft Allegations, Refugee Protection, and Human Rights (PDF)

Reuters: Children Accused of Witchcraft Find Solace in East Congo Shelter

Sydney Morning Herald: East Java Villagers Hunt Witches to Put an End to Nightmares and Sickness

Scientific American: Witch Hunts Today

Journal of Early Child Development and Care: Branding and the Abuse of African Children in the UK

[ririblogsss]

Danny the park crazy guy

Ok this follows Danny with him deciding he needs to get out of Amity Park cause he's parents are getting more and more obsessed with catching Phantom. And the plans he'd over heard were sending him into panic attacks. Not only that a new management was placed for the GIW, and with that they had become more brutal and accurate with their capturing. Danny couldn't make sure ghosts were safe and protect civilians, so Danny made a deal with Technus in exchange for most of the tech Danny has made in the past 6 months Technus has to hack into the portals that his parents and Vlad owned and permanently destroy them. Technus also made sure to wipe all the information on how to re-build the portal and planted a bug that will corrupt any file trying to mimic the portals code/mechanics. 

At first Dannys plan was to play the part of the defenseless boy who just witnessed his parents whole life work go down the drain, and pretend that ghost never happened. He's parents were sad (understatement of the century) but they soon found something to hyper focus on, before becoming ecto-biologist, they were trying to find ways to make liquid that would dissolve plastic in a non-lethal and non-toxic way. So after 2 months of not doing anything and only staying in bed eating ice-cream and fudge its like a light bulb turned on onto of their heads, and Madeline and Jack went back to their old selves. They still had moments were they would gaze back at their projects with heartbroken eyes, and Danny could help but blame himself for his parents suffering. 

Its like one day everything was close to normality (as normal as amity park could be) people weren't mentioning ghost in fear that one would appear out of spite. Classes went uninterrupted people were actually happy for that. 

But then the GIW started making moves, as they were getting more and more restless with no ghost sightings in the last 6 months. 

Then 3 months ago everything went to shit......

Danny could only explain it as if the Salem witch trials had started. But instead it was the 21st century and people were being accused of being / cooperating / aiding ghosts. The GIW had stormed into the town hall and had claimed that Amity park was in full quarantine. No one in no one out. Vlad was taken in for 'investigation' accused of working with the ghost because he never helped the GIW or offered funds, hence committing treason the US government. 

After that People would be taken out of their homes and obligated to take tests to prove they weren't with the enemy, if they passed they went back to their homes traumatized. if they failed.... Well no one really knows, but one might guess from all the screaming. 

Ironically. Dannys parents were the fist accused of cooperating with the enemy. The GIW stated that they seemed suspicious from the start as they never truly caught anything. he hadn't seen them since they were drugged and stuffed into the back of a van. Danny was thankful that Jazz (for collage) and Dani (traveling in Bangladesh) were out of Amity, but it wasn't like he could contact them and tell them what was happening. 

The GIW had cut all contact to the rest of the word from Amity Park probably because what they were doing was considered illegal and definitely were crossing human rights. 

Luckily Sams and Tuckers family were able to come to an agreement with the GIW so they could be exempted from the quarentine (buy themselves a way out). Unluckily Danny like most families didn't have those types of resources. 

But Danny isn't a Fenton for nothing, craziness, gull and genius ran through his veins. So every morning when they were obligated out of their homes and made to sit on the grass of the park square while the agents searched for any 'evidence' in their homes. Danny would use his core to emit a frequency that only other ghost and some metas could hear. But that wasn't what Danny was communicating to no. 

He was sending commands to all the animals he had befriended the last 15 years of his life. You see ever since Danny was a kid he loved how one could be able to domesticate any animal as long as you had food. So Danny when he was a kid applied The Operant conditioning to all the animals he crossed paths with. 

A few weeks after his accident (death) when Danny was making his daily feeding times for the animals in exchange for trinkets and money he realized something. He could understand what the animals 'spoke' and the animals could understand him through the vibrations of his core. When he asked CW about it he only told him that ghost speak allowed him to communicate with anything and anyone if he had a close enough relationship towards them. 

Basically this meant that Danny had hundreds if not thousands of animals (rats, street dogs and cats, pigeons, squirrels ect.. ) at his disposal. The only reason he never used them when fighting Ghosts was obvious he wasn't going to risk the life of his friends. 

And right now his friends were making underground escape routes for all of the Amity Parkers. The plan was already being set in motion. Everyone knew their part. 

One group would be distraction, a group of kids would scream and point in the opposite direction of the escape route and say they had seen a ghost and it was trying to hurt them. The GIW would be guided into a wooded area were they would be attacked by the more predatorial animals. Making them call for back up. 

One group would composed of the most athletic adults / young adults would go into the main base of the GIW (check for survivors and help them get out). 

Another group (the elderly) was in charge of checking that everyone was accounted for. 

Mothers, would be evacuated first with their children, they would be the get away drivers. Different drivers would take different routs. Some left the country other the continent itself. Some when to larger cities for hiding amongst the crowd. But the main goal was stick to your family and preferably if you can go alone. The less people the less likely you are to getting caught. 

And the teenagers from casper high, would ensure all their traces were lost making sure all phones and gadgets were left behind, as to avoid getting tracked down. 

And that's how Amity Park became a dead town (pun intended) in less than 60 minutes. 

This leads us to the present. 

It had been 7 months since Danny had left Amity park. he hadn't seen anyone or contacted anyone from there since. The over all consensus was that everyone had to go no contact with one another as to not raise awareness as to why so many people from different places were constantly calling one another. Danny was certain that Jazz and Dani had been contacted by Sam and Tucker about the situation in Amity. What he wasn't sure of is if they knew he was out of Amity or even alive for that matter. 

Danny was not dealing with what happened well. One of the guys who went into the Town Hall pulled him a aside for a second when they were evacuating to tell him. That he had seen both his parents bodies. They had not survived. Not many who were taken against their will into the Hall came out spared. 

Danny was devastated with his parent untimely death, he only hoped they had a humane one. 

So no Danny was not ok. he knew Jazz would criticize his copping methods. But if taking over a park in the middle of a crime riddled city was sooooo bad then why did he have the support of the Bats. (not the vigilantes the actual cave bats). 

Danny had gotten to Gotham not too long ago (about 4 1/2) months, and decided that the GIW wouldn't dare on their life go into a city were the 'wolds greatest detective and most feared man live'. Danny made an abandoned building overlooking the park his own. he quickly became allies with the fauna there and soon his rein over the part began. 

---

It started slowly, honest to god not a single local though anything of the bony kid laughing his ass off as he oversaw birds and other critters alike help him build what looked like a greenhouse. They did what any Gothamite would do mind their own damn business and go on with their day. 

It wasn't unlit the trees and torn plants started to build a wall like structure around the park that they started to think that the kid was going to be the next Poison Ivy. Worst of all they some have speculated seeing Pamela and Harley go in and out of the park... both smiling like proud parents. Some say that the kid was an ex Wayne kid that was sent into an asylum, and was kept quiet. Some speculate that the kids a meta that controls all animals. Some state they saw the kid talk to the animals and the animals actually listened and did word for word what he asked. 

But Gothamites weren't that worried if they were honest. The kid (Danny as he was now known) brought more entertainment (of the good kind) to Gotham he fit right in. The only thing that made him stand out was his mid-western accent. When asked where he was from he would only stare at you while an animal (different every time mostly racoons) would chase you away. Other than that the kid was a sweetheart he would often bring the veggies and fruits he cultivates in the park to homeless shelters so that the residents would have a 'more nutritious and full diet'. 

The kid would send animals to keep watch on kids and be alerted if any were at risk he would drop in and help in a very unusual way. And he always traded money for little things and bottle caps anything handmade (especially by kids) was infinitely rewarded with money and an automatic meal. 

Danny was known as the Gotham parks crazy. But he was their crazy and no government (illegal) agency of a brigade of bats and birds was going to take him away from them. 

(waaa this was way longer that expected I only wanted to write a sentence of local crazy Danny, and I just ended up writting mostly art other stuff)

[britishchick09]

this used to be especially true for my stories... ;)

[sxnyarostova]

Hello Tumblr, it's certainly been a while since I've last posted on here! Anyways, I've been reading The Crucible in English, and my teacher absolutely despises Mary Warren-- I think that's a little unfair?

Like, let's face it-- Mary is a victim of the Witch Trials and Abigail's vengeance just as much as anyone else. Neither her personality nor her societal position really allows her space to do anything other than be deferential, so what else is there really for her to do other than obey when Abigail threatens her into submission? Mary is also arguably one of the only people in this play with some semblance of a moral compass (i.e. at the beginning she's the one who insists that they tell someone about the true nature of their sporting in the woods). Let's also not forget that Proctor threatens Mary and beats her into submission just to get her to admit to Hathorne and Danforth that the entire crying-out has been nothing but pretence. It's important to note that Mary is threatened and cowed into compliance/subordination in almost EVERY SINGLE SCENE of this play.

What my English teacher especially 'hates' is "how pathetic Mary is" and while I do agree that she's weak-willed and "pathetic," I think it's just plain unfair to call a seventeen-year-old girl living in a rigidly patriarchal society "pathetic" because she doesn't dare to speak out against authority. This isn't the 21st century; this is Salem in 1609, girl. She could've found herself amongst the accused-- and the dead-- if she hadn't played her cards right. And while we are supposed to valorise John Proctor for "keeping his integrity to the end, even if it means sacrificing himself," it's also important to acknowledge that maybe, just maybe, a teenage girl didn't want to die. How anyone can see her as anything other than a victim is beyond me.

However, my teacher is a millennial who has a very interesting idea regarding modern feminism, so maybe that's where she's coming from. This modern branch of extreme and borderline "shaming" feminism has done more harm than good for our society IMO. Imagine calling a fictional 17 year old weak and pathetic because she doesn't feel like she's equipped to speak out against age-old restrictions and boundaries that, when breached, could result in her death. Yeah. Real cool.

[adarkrainbow]

Spooky season fairytales (1)

I have been covering it these past weeks, and it is a perfect fit for Halloween: Hansel and Gretel.

This is one of the creepiest "popular" fairytales, that has terrified many children. The witch in the gingerbread house not only exemplifies so many bogeymen that caused children's nightmares, but is also one of the two most famous examples of witches in fairytales - and we know Halloween is one of the witchy holidays. And the whole story revolves around a house made of sweets - in modern day interpretations, Hansel and Gretel is THE candy-fairytale. And Halloween is THE holiday for treats and sweets.

Despite being an obvious choice to make fairytale horror movies, and the fairytale having inspired several great horror classics (the scene I posted before in Stephen King's IT involving the witch of Hansel and Gretel), the tale doesn't actually have a lot of treatment in the world of horror... Yeah, it is surprising, but the first true "horror movie" about Hansel and Gretel would be the Korean 2007 movie of the same name, that was recognized as a great Korean horror piece and a very touching tragic story, but is not an actual retelling of "Hansel and Gretel" - or rather it is a twisted, reversed-retelling that mostly uses Hansel and Gretel as a motif and reference rather than actual plot material.

To have "Hansel and Gretel" REALLY enter the horror movie world, we would have to wait for the year 2013, and a dual release. The first one is a famous movie by fairytale enjoyers, that is still quite popular online: "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters". This movie is what the 2005's "Van Helsing" movie was to Dracula.

What to say about this movie? It is a dark fantasy, action-movie acting as a sequel to the original fairytale and depicting the two protagonists as gun-and-arbalet-wielding witch hunters. It is everything you except from a a big studio classic action gritty-fantasy movie. In fact, that's the main flaw of the movie: it is extremely generic, formulaic and "by-the-book". There's no real inventivity or uniqueness in terms of plot, setting or characters. If you played dark fantasy action video games, you watched this movie already. It didn't even invent the concept of Hansel and Gretel as witch hunters - Fables for example had done it already by making Hansel a fanatical Puritan witch hunter in the style of the Salem witch trials. As a result, what could have been a really good, inventive, interestng movie is just... a neutral, generic movie. The kind you can watch and enjoy but that won't transcend anything and isn't groundbreaking in any way.

Not that the movie is bad, it has some highlights and qualities to it that avoid making it bad. For example, several of the actors in this movie are really good and give their best despite playing bland or generic characters (and in fact it sames some flat characters, who are given depth by their actors' work) ; and there is a true visual work, with some fascinating designs. This all makes the movie enjoyable in several aspects - but just having good actors and good visuals won't make the movie good given how generic it is in plot and style, and how incoherent the worldbuilding and the tone feels, tiptoing around anachronisms for the sake of "let's make it cool and steampunk", and failing to find a balance between dark comedy and serious movie. (Oh yes and it also dreadfully suffer from the awful "3D movies" trend of the time)

And to this movie answered another movie: 2013's "Hansel and Gretel", aka The Asylum's Hansel and Gretel. A movie which is the perfect twin to "Witch Hunters" - in fact you could say they are the yin and yang to each other.

This movie is a full horror movie, not a dark fantasy/action piece. This movie is a retelling of the original story, not a sequel to it. This movie takes place in modern day, the 21st century, instead of a fantasized Germany of unclear era. And whereas "Witch Hunters" kind of fails at meeting the hype it built up, and is a neutral, average, not-good not-bad big budget movie, this movie is... surprisingly good for what it is, and ends up much better than what it should be.

If you do not know The Asylum, the group behind this movie, they are well-known producers of mockbusters, unofficial sequels and B-movies, and very proud of it. In fact it is their goal: make mockbusters to propose a cheaper alternative to big-studio movies, and turn the making of "second-rate" movies into a true art. They make their movies very fast, they release them against big studios movie they openly took inspiration from, they use cheap special effects, they select for actors either "no-names" or "has-beens"... I think I can sum it up enough by the fact they are the makers of the "Sharknado" movies. As a result, this movie was probably going to be an utter mess and ridiculous schlock...

... But it was surprisingly good. Better than what it should be. Of course The Asylum's marks are still there. The movie opens and closes on two very ridiculous scenes (the first victim's flight in the night ; the explosion of the house), there is some cheap "sexy-horror" audience-appeal (it is no mistake the only victims to be eaten are women that are forced in underwears before being pushed in the oven), and the plot is basically Hansel and Gretel X The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. BUT all that being said, this movie actually works! In its own, small-budget, no-real-ambition way. It doesn't try to be too snobby or arrogant - it knows it is a small, derivative, B-horror movie, and it stays in its lane. There are some interesting scenes and concepts (such as the drugged-colorfed nightmares). They do manage to create some disturbing elements - while also purposefully breaking several horror stereotypes and cliches. They try to keep a "maybe magic, maybe mundane" approach to the story in their own clumsy way but that is interesting. And more importantly - the character of the witch is SO GREAT!

I can't say enough how I enjoyed the witch (Lilith) on screen, and I do believe that this is due to the incredible work of her actress. Because she is played by none other than Dee Wallace (a horror movie regular who began her career with E.T.) - and she manages to make the character entertaining and disturbing. It really works, and I suspect that if a bad actress had been placed there, the role might have felt flat and generic. But she brings extremely well the disturbed state of mind, the humanity of the monster, and the true descent into horrible madness of the character. They are notably the first movie, to my knowledge, which actually acknowledges and reflects upon the special relationship between Gretel and the Witch, invoking elements that would later become common in "Hansel and Gretel" retellings, such as the witch wanting to make Gretel her "heir", or seeing her as a daughter substitute.

Beyond the year 2013, of course, now, you hit "Hansel and Gretel - horror" in any web research system, and you get the recent horror movie by Oz Perkins, the 2020's "Gretel and Hansel".

I do believe that this movie, and The Asylum's movie, truly reflect the two sides of horror movies and how one same story can be treated under these two lenses. The Asylum's is a gory, brutal, low-budget but decent and interesting horror movie, that still works in its limitations and intends to be just your random "fun little horror slasher movie" ; this movie is the artistic, big-budget, much more stylized and psychological disturbing horror movie that veers more into dark fantasy sometimes and tries more to be an actual nightmare, in the most abstract and eerie sense.

Personally, I did enjoy the movie as a whole and I think it is a good Hansel and Gretel movie. I do think they did a good job at mixing the fairytale with the entire Christian myth of the witch as built by the witch-hunts and other countryside superstitions (they weaved in the story for example the topics of the magical ointments and the idea of witches feasting on the dead) ; and I did love the dark twists and reveals at the end ; and I also liked very much the subtle references to other fairytales slid in the story (Little Red Riding Hood, and The Juniper Tree).

However it is not a movie without flaws - and I would never call it a perfect movie. It got the ideas, the visuals, the will, the inspirations, but... sometimes it does too much, there's unecessary things that could have been cut out and do ridiculize a bit the movie (the first third of the movie is filled with unecessary and random moments like the bizarre hostile man in the abandoned house, or the "mushroom" scenes, which clearly were not needed - there's also jumpscares that are just... there, for jumpscare sakes, when this movie clearly does NOT need jumpscares). There is also the fact that while often it manages to drive its themes, messages and topics in subtle or clever ways (the dialogues of Gretel and the witch, about things such as power, womanhood, the world, are all very well done), a few times it becomes suddenly very clumsy and awkward (one particular moment was the line of Gretel about "the system" in her very first scene, which felt definitively too political and modern to fit in the context).

I do remember the so-called "debate" there was when this movie was released, and the so-called "scandal" of putting Gretel's name first. But it makes full sense when you understand that Gretel here is the main character, that we are told the story through her, and that it doesn't try so much to be a Hansel and Gretel retelling, as rather a dark and morbid fantasy movie that uses the Hansel and Gretel tale as a driving plot to explore more things - the European witchcraft myth, the theme of "Faustian deals", etc, etc... And despite some clumsiness here and there that do flaw the movie (I haven't mentionned it, but the choice of the tattoos for the witch's "final" form seemed very random and ill-thought, which is one of the several little details that don't work ; balanced by details that do work, such as the idea of having a more modern architecture for the witch's house), it still works for most of its course.

To conclude this post, I need to talk about one last "Hansel and Gretel" movie. A movie which American audiences are not actually familiar with. Because it is a German movie, that got released around Europe (I saw it in French), but to my knowledge never crossed the Atlantic. Made by Anne Wild and written by Peter Schwindt, this movie is probably the eeriest Hansel and Gretel adaptation I have seen. It is not "disturbing", "shocking" or "horrifying" - it is just creepy and unsettling. It is not a rewrite or a "retelling" per se, because it stays faithful to the original tale and barely changes anything. Out of the five movies I present you, this is the most faithful movie when it comes to adapting the brothers Grimm fairytale.

EDIT: I originally wrote this part thinking the movie was very hard to find... TURNS OUT IT WAS POSTED ON YOUTUBE! The full movie is on Youtube - in its original German though

This movie made the fairytale eerie with two things. 1) Little unsettling and creepy details in terms of style and movie editing. This movie actually has several things in common with the 2020's Gretel and Hansel - such as the heavy use of the forested landscape to make one feel both lost and trapped at the same time (helped by the fact the protagonists are here played by actual children), and bizarre camera angles and movements (including disturbing close-ups and brutal cuts). The score also includes eerie songs and creepy children whispers, that add to the general spookyness. 2) A work on the realism on the tale. There's still magic and supernatural in there, definitively. But overall it is all... "realistic" in style, making it all more unsettling. Hansel and Gretel behave like actual children - and are in fact often unaware of the danger they are getting themselves into. The color palette is drab and lightless.

Don't get me wrong: this is not an adult-aimed movie, it is not a horror movie. It is still a kid-oriented, fairytale movie, with some moments of humor (though it is mostly dark humor, such as Hansel, blissfully unaware of the witch's plan, coming to enjoy his life in a cage eating good food all day long), a happy ending, and many beautiful visuals (the witch's bedroom is especially interesting - slight spoiler but there is the beautiful visual of the witch keeping petrified birds and butterflies in her room, that come back to life once she is dead). It has poetry to it - but it is definitively not a Disney movie and not what we usually think of as "fairytale movie for kids". It is a quite dark one.

One good illustration of this would be the family dynamic at the start of the tale, and how this movie slightly changes the whole abandonment episode. In this movie, the character of the mother is actually sick - and having her suffering from what will be a deadly disease puts her entire character into a very different light. Another major change they did is that the second time the children are abandoned - the parents do not hide the fact they are abandoning them. Hansel and Gretel know it, and the parents don't bother lying or even pretending, but there is still this sort of untold shame as they don't openly admit it and flee from their crying children... It hits hard.

The creepiest part of the whole movie is however, without a doubt, the witch. By gosh, this is one of the creepiest incarnations of the character I saw. She is a perfect embodiment of the uncanny valley: she is not some cartoonish monster, she is just this pale middle-aged woman that never blinks. She does perform magic, but her magic keeps with the "realism" style of the movie - no flash, no music, no smoke. When she teleports, she is just here one moment, another the next. She prevents Gretel from leaving by casting a spell that makes it so that each time she walks away, she ends up finding herself in front of the house - despite it being impossible. Her rhyming "Who's nibbling on my house?" is actually a disembodied whisper in the ears of the children as they see nobody, making their answer "It's just the wind" an actual comforting sentence they say to themselves thinking they imagined it all. Her bedroom cannot actually exist because it is located in an impossible part of the house that does not appear from the outside. And there are those little details that do hint at her maybe not being actually human but just looking like a human - when she moves sometimes her bones crack, and other times her voice seems to double itself in a strange echo... And when she is pushed into the oven (light spoilers too) - she doesn't scream. She doesn't make a sound. Once she is pushed and the door is closed, it is dead silence, and that makes it even more disturbing than if she actually screamed in agony.

And there are other little morbid details in the movie - too many for me too count. But one thing that does stick with me was the way Gretel pieced up together the witch's real intentions for Hansel (because of course she didn't tell them she was going to eat them), by noticing little details straight out of Pan's Labyrinth - such as Gretel noticing the witch's wind-chimes is made of bones and hair ; and the witch keeping in her house a closet filled with an ungodly amount of toys in various states of aging. This latter detail was notably taken back by "Gretel and Hansel", where the first hint of the witch's previous victims are toys scattered in the wilderness around the house. In fact, I do wonder if Perkins didn't take some inspiration from this 2005 movie, because there is definitively something similar between the two.

And with this, you have to my knowledge the perfect Hansel and Gretel movies for the spooky season.

The supernatural tragedy inspired by, and a famed piece of Korean horror. The surprisingly good B-horror movie that turns the story into a new "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre". The dark fantasy action-packed blockbuster that is just halfway there. The recent, heavily stylized, witch-hunt inspired artsy/socio-political horror movie. And the eerie, unsettling, faithful retelling as a dark German children movie.

[l-in-c-future]

The future of US liberal democracy 3: the fall of freedom and the rise of illiberalism

Nierman and Sachs continued to describe the rise of illiberalism in USA in chapter 3 of their book Cancel Culture: from rage to redemption in a world gone mad.

Restrictions of freedom

Restrictions of freedom can be imposed by citizens and governments, whether they are from the left or right sides of the political spectrums: the communists; the ethnic-nationalists; the blackshirts ( squadristi); the skinhead; a theocratic government or a secular government.

In fact, these seemingly contracdictory ideologies share one common value: they are all authoritarianists or populists who believe that so long as the majority agree to revere a certain ideology, even that is individualism and the freedom to define and shape individualism, then the WHOLE of the society should obey the will of the majority.

Authoritarian populism from both sides of the political spectrum are very similar but such ideologies are contradictory to the concept of individual freedom as understood by the Founding Fathers and classical liberalism philosophisers who inspired them.

Populism is not far from authoritarianism

Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and other Founding Fathers were correct in warning that citizens would feel fear and angry in a society that had lost philosophical and moral anchorage.

They are eager to react in close authoritarian populistic behaviours in respond to different views and opinions. The situations will get worse. Regardless of whether the cancel intentions come from the left or right side of the politics, it will erode our much treasured democratic principles.

For centuries, USA had been proud of being the world's leading example in the championship of the rule of the laws, compliance with proper procedures and maintainance of liberal thoughts. Unfortunately, this world is slowly being twisted to a dystopian Orwellian world. There are a lot of similarities between 17th century and 21st century.

The ways people are witch hunted (for whatever reasons) in today's society are very similar to the fundamentalistic belief held by the Puritans during the colonial period within an intolerant society.

In our era, the red "A" in the Scarlet Letter is ironed on the hunted preys' reputation and goodwill via internets, especially social media, executed as mobilised mass trials over the cyberspace.

The icons of such apexes can be seen throughout Trump's election campaigns and his past and soon to be another term of governments. Trump consistently uses derogative, denouncing and vulgar languages to diminish his opponents by molding them into some sort of despicable figures. He started a political norm to ridicule and insult his opponents and election contestants. He wiped out the remains of civil discourse. He subverted what SHOULD BE appropriate decent speeches and manners. USA suffers from the bad consequences.

A more radical imbalanced society

The two parties system in USA has been producing more and more authoritarian/populistic election contestants to fit the tastes of their loudest and most active voters in the initial elections. These people demand more ruthless and less civilised behaviours from their politicians.

A thick layer of stratosphere is created by the rapid increase in the numbers of radical politicians from both sides of politics with the aid of their respective media platforms to fit the tastes of their own electorates. The environment is flavourable to cradle more political organisations that embrace extreme and radical behaviours.

Politics from both sides see each other as enemies. Even they don't compete to death, they will exhaust every mean to hit each other badly. There are too many people from both sides of the politics believe that it is inevitable to sacrifice freedom in order to win. Both sides consider that restriction of the freedom of the other side has instrumental value to achieve what they think of as 'the best interests' for the future of their country.

BOTH sides of the politics have misintepreted what was the freedom envisioned and laid down by the Founding Fathers.

Consequence: Their ignorance of such freedom have created a radical imbalance society where people live with fear and fill with rages.

Because of this, a society that is supposed to be without fear is plagued by another kind of fear.

[major-knighton]

HALLOW-LEE-N movie review Oct 21st : The Curse of the Crimson Altar (1968)

Boris Karloff returns, and so does Michael Gough who had previously been in Dracula and Dr Terror's house of horrors.

This witchy, campy film was quite nothing groundbreaking but it did keep me up till 3am so it certainly isn't boring. It felt very 60s in a fun way.

Our story is about big flirt Robert Manning, who is looking for his brother Peter. Peter last sent sign of life from a mansion in Greymarsh, so our good Bob goes there. He is greeted by a party of wild youngsters celebrating Burning Day, only they don't burn an effigy of Guy Fawkes but one of a witch, Lavinia, who was burned centuries ago.

In the house, beyond the party, live Mr. Morley, (Lee) and his niece Eve, as well as a servant, Elder. None of them have ever heard of Peter, but they invite Bob to stay while he conducts inquiries in the village. That evening, Eve takes Bob to the burning and they all have some jolly good fun.

Bob also meets Pr. Marsh, a creepy specialist of witchcraft and the village history.

That night, Bob finds clues that Peter did in fact stay at the mansion, then has spooky nightmares. The nightmare is about a blue-skinned witch wearing a truly scrumptious headpiece surrounded by sacrificed animals and people in bdsm gear, trying to get Bob to sign his name in a book.

Weird and spooky things keep happening, until Bob and Eve find a secret attic in the house with all the objects of Bob's nightmare, including the book. Looking through it, they figure out that those are all the names of descendants of the accusers at Lavinia's trial.

Turns out, ol' Uncle Morley was using hypnotism to find and then sacrifice descendants of the accusers to avenge his own ancestor Lavinia and now he's got Bob, and Eve will be sacrificed too because she "betrayed" Lavinia's blood. Rescue arrives just in time in the form of old Pr. Marsh as Morley is torching the entire place.

He ends up on the roof, surrounded by fire, laughing while transforming into Lavinia while I get to see a 60s firetruck in action. Very happy about that.

I like that the movie was a bit meta, at the beginning Bob comments that the house looks like a horror movie house and "you'd expect to see Boris Karloff any moment". The very very 60s vibe was fun, except for a few moments where Bob is quite too insistent in his flirting with Eve.

A fun flick that doesn't take itself seriously, 7/10.

[haggishlyhagging]

Jul - Dec 2023 Reading List:

Bernard, Jessie. The Future of Marriage. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1982.

Budapest, Zsuzsanna Emese. The Holy Book of Women’s Mysteries. San Francisco: Weiser, 2007.

Cady Stanton, Elizabeth, “The Destructive Male.” 1868. http://edchange.org/multicultural/speeches/stanton_destructive_male.html

Chollet, Mona. In Defense of Witches: The Legacy of the Witch Hunts and Why Women are Still on Trial. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2022.

Christ, Carol P. Rebirth of the Goddess: Finding Meaning in Feminist Spirituality. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1997.

Cloninger, Sally J. “A Rhetorical Analysis of Feminist Agitation.” The University of Michigan Papers in Women’s Studies 1, no. 1 (February 1974): 44-50. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/mfs/acp0359.0001.001/46:4

Daly, Mary. Beyond God the Father: Toward a Philosophy of Women’s Liberation. Boston: Beacon Press, 1973.

Dworkin, Andrea. Right-Wing Women. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1983.

Echols, Alice. Daring to Be Bad: Radical Feminism in America: 1967-75. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1989.

Eisler, Riane. The Chalice and the Blade: Our History, Our Future. New York: HarperCollins, 1987.

Faludi, Susan. Backlash: the Undeclared War Against American Women. New York : Crown Publishers, Inc., 1991.

Frymer-Kensky, Tikva. In the Wake of the Goddesses: Women, Culture, and the Biblical Transformation of Pagan Myth. New York: The Free Press, 1992.

Griffin, Susan. Pornography and Silence: Culture’s Revenge Against Nature. New York: Harper & Row, 1981.

Harding, M. Esther. Woman’s Mysteries: Ancient and Modern. Boston: Shambhala, 1990.

Janega, Eleanor. The Once and Future Sex: Going Medieval on Women’s Roles in Society. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2023.

Johnson, Sonia. From Housewife to Heretic. Garden City, N.Y: Doubleday, 1981.

Jones, Ann. Women Who Kill. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1980.

Jones, Beverly and Judith Brown. “Toward a Female Liberation Movement.” Jul 1968. https://www.redstockings.org/index.php/main/classics-of-1968

Judd, Elizabeth. “Women Before the Conquest: A Study of Women in Anglo-Saxon England.” The University of Michigan Papers in Women’s Studies 1, no. 1 (February 1974): 127–49. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/mfs/acp0359.0001.001/129:8

Koedt, Anne. “The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm.” 1970. https://www.cwluherstory.org/classic-feminist-writings-articles/myth-of-the-vaginal-orgasm#

New York Radical Women, Notes From the First Year (June 1968). https://www.redstockings.org/index.php/main/classics-of-1968

Raworth, Kate. Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st Century Economist. White River Junction: Chelsea Green Publishing, 2017.

Reed, Evelyn. “The Myth of Women’s Inferiority.” The Myth of Women’s Inferiority by Evelyn Reed 1954. Accessed July 9, 2023. https://www.marxists.org/archive/reed-evelyn/1954/myth-inferiority.htm.

Spender, Dale. There’s Always Been a Women’s Movement This Century. London: Pandora Press, 1983.

Starhawk. The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great Goddess. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1999.

Women’s Majority Union, Lilith (Dec 1968). https://www.redstockings.org/index.php/main/classics-of-1968

Zeisler, Andi. We Were Feminists Once: From Riot Grrrl to CoverGirl®, the Buying and Selling of a Political Movement. New York: BBS PublicAffairs, 2016.

[astriiformes]

I want to make it clear that I mean this 100% lovingly and unironically, but the best comment anyone has left on the trans Caleb fic so far is the person saying they're excited to read it because they really enjoyed The Crucible in their literature class.

First because it has immense "If you enjoyed Encanto, have you considered reading One Hundred Years of Solitude?" energy, but in reverse -- If you enjoyed Arthur Miller's classic 1953 play that got him put in front of the House Committee on Un-American Activities, have you considered reading a fanfic interpreting an extremely minor background character in Disney's The Owl House (2020-2023) as transgender? -- which is funny and great, but also because if you prod at all beneath the surface, there is an actual interesting thesis lurking down there about modern (20th vs 21st century) portrayals of the witch trials and the respective contemporary events they are interrogating. Like hm I wonder if perhaps the 1950s work interrogating McCarthyism via Salem and the 2020s one that places its Puritan villain opposite a decidedly queer cast of main characters in a series that very intentionally associates its witches with queerness and acceptance of "weirdos" (in this, the political climate of 2022; I saw Goody Proctor using the wrong restroom, etc etc) are perhaps actually doing something similar vis-à-vis cultural commentary. Even if one of them is on the Disney channel, that doesn't necessarily keep it from saying something about the zeitgeist.

(And like, I have thought vaguely about this before, I wrote a short essay about The Owl House, the irony of TERFs crying out about "witch hunts," & Silvia Federici's extremely political scholarship on the witch trials for a midterm in a cultural studies class last year, but some other gears are amusingly turning in my head now. I love themes and media.)

[druckkugelschreiber]

I would like to read something about Artemis ❤️

Hi! Thanks for the ask!

Artemis is a The Old Guard OC (cause you know what else am I writing recently ^^) and she is an immortal on Andy's team (though the on team status is actually up for debate) and old enough to be the inspiritation for the goddess Artemis.

She, Andy, Quyhn and Lykon were a polycule for a long time until Lykon dies and Quynh is lost, due to the unfortunate circumstances around the witch trials.

Andy and Artemis have a major falling out over the whole thing because Artemis murders a lot of people in rage and desperation.

Their story picks up again in the 21st century, when Nile as a new immortal shows up and forces Artemis and Andy to interact again after 600 years of not seeing each other. Artemis helps the team and maybe she and Andy can reconnect. Who knows!

A snippet of their reunion below!

I entered my house. Ril was already asleep on his perch in my office. I spotted him easily through the open door. The windows were almost always open, except when there was a major storm rolling in. 

I let out a long breath, pulled out my hair tie and began undoing the complicated braid in a style this world hadn’t seen in millenia. 

“Still with the fancy braids?” an all too familiar voice said. 

I nearly jumped high enough to hit my head on the ceiling. “Zeus fucking balls!” My eyes found Andromache in the dark of the living room. A couple of the braids now fell into my face, while the others were braided along my skull. “How did you get in here?”

“You think I don’t know all the tricks you taught your huntresses?” Andy said and it sounded very ominous. 

I let my hands drop from my half undone braids and threw her a wary glance in the near pitchblack living room. Only moonlight fell in from the outside. “You know, you’re very badass assassin in that corner. Mind some light?”

Andy reached over and turned on the soft wall lights. “Better your grace?” she mocked. 

My heart tensed. My stomach coiled. Our argument from 600 years ago replayed in my mind, like it always did when I was feeling low, but now I felt like all the walls I had build around my heart, the stitches I had put in the cracks, Andy just tore them all open again, but 4000 years had taught me a couple of things. Mainly a good pokerface. “Actually, it’s ‘my lady’ or ‘high lady’ or ‘lady Artemis’ you may pick and choose.”

“Where’s the new one?” Andy’s voice was dark and threatening. 

“That’s why you’re here?” I couldn’t say I was surprised. “Actually probably helped you find me, right?”

“Artemis, I’ve known you for 4000 fucking years and you’ve never abandoned this temple.” 

Again fair point. “Yeah, I’m kind of bad at staying hidden from people who saw me grow up apparently.” I fought the urge to step closer. “Why do you care so much about the new one?”

Andy’s eyes were as cold as a winter’s sky. It was always fascinating how they changed colour with her moods. How laughter put all the green back in them and anger made them ice blue. “Maybe I care about what you’ll make of her. You really think the world needs another you?”

I swallowed hard. My jaw tensed. “You really want to rehash that particular argument?” 

“No, I told you what I want”, Andy stood up from the armchair and slowly walked over to me. 

I took half a step back before I could stop myself. But Andy didn’t stop. She reached out to take one thin braid between her fingers, twirling it softly, the strand almost the same colour as the moonlight. 

“So, are you going to tell me?” Andy said softly but somehow not any less threatening, “or do I have to test quite how good your huntresses are?”

My eyes flew over Andy’s face. I fought the fear. Mostly fear for what she’d do to my emotions rather than fear for her attacking me. Even back then, after I had lost myself in rage and blood, she had never attacked me with more than words, but those had stung deeper than any weapon as I had found out soon enough.

[mouldy-old-books]

Bit late but I was busy in December: Favourite Books of 2022!

Number 10

The Ruin of All Witches by Malcolm Gaskill (2021)

I love a history book with a very narrow scope, books about the witch mania and books about new religious movements, and this ticks all the boxes nicely! It's beautifully written, tense and atmospheric without being sensationalist - although some of his insights into his subjects' supposed thoughts and feelings are a bit implausible. Still, with so many stories being published these days trying to Girlbossify the victims of witch trials and force 21st century mindsets onto early modern people*, I'd like to see more books like this doing well. It's dark, it's fascinating, I learned a lot and I'm sure I'll return to it as a reference!

*The newest offender, the Witches of Vardø, is published this week. Its author suggests that women accused of witchcraft probably claimed to have magical powers to give themselves "a sense of empowerment". The fact that justice in this period largely relied on torturing confessions out of people seems a more likely reason to me, but what do I know.

[just-1other-nerd]

Future historians seeing this:

According to this ancient post about the times early 21st century people referred to as "medieval times", children used to accuse each other of being intimate with the "devil" or of being a "demonic creature", which was considered unforgivable back then. And so it was that the witch trials started...

Do y’all think siblings in medieval times would look at the little beasts in illuminated manuscripts and point at each other like ‘ha! ‘Tis thou!’

[lunarcovehq]

Avery Fell s a witch that currently resides in Downtown and has been a Lunar Cove resident for 2 months.

ITS THE END OF THE WORLD

GENDER/PRONOUNS: Cis Woman, She/Her

DATE OF BIRTH: October 31, 2002

OCCUPATION: New Leaf Bookstore Employee

FACECLAIM: Abigail Cowen

AS WE KNOW IT, AND I FEEL FINE

SPECIES: Witch

INHERENT ABILITIES: Air Manipulation, Healing, Tracking

COVEN POSITION: Non-member

COVEN ABILITY: N/A

WELCOME TO LUNAR COVE, AVERY FELL

Trigger Warnings: Death

Avery Diana Fell was born to Isidora “Izzy” Fell on October 31st, 2002. Kids had been running around in Halloween costumes as Isidora cursed under her breath while driving herself to the hospital. Muttering all sorts of curse words as she tried to go into full labor at the hospital and not before she put her feet inside the entrance of the tall building that smelled like disinfectant all year ‘round. However, as soon as Isidora delivered Avery, she knew her baby was special. Not because of the cries little Avery let out, but because of the static in the air. A new witch was born…

Avery grew up loving anything and everything even remotely spooky. She watched Dracula with Bela Lugosi, every time she couldn’t sleep, read books on witches and the witch trials, only to grow into the true crime genre. Soon, the hundreds of books on the history of the witch were replaced with books of serial killers and crimes of the centuries. Avery spent hours reading, waking up with black circles under her eyes and devouring coffee to survive school at the age of 15. Followed by lots of tea in the evening, resulting in a vicious cycle. Broken by her dropping grades and her mother banning books from her bedroom. Of course that didn’t stop Avery from finding the books stashed away in her mother’s “off limits” room. Which turned out to be the room where she did all her magic. 

It wasn’t until her teenage years really kicked off that her mother, Isidora, found her daughter brewing her own blends of tea and sneaking books inside her bedroom to read. As Avery graduated and spent some years working with her mother at the bookstore, she found that not every witch was as kind as her mother. Avery soon found that the coven she was born into and the legacy that came with it, was not one to be happy about. If the mundane world had shady politics and worrisome schemes, the world of the witches was one not to be trifled with. After one of the coven’s leaders ended up dying of old age, a new one was appointed. The coven took a turn for the worst and in the end, this resulted in the leader to be excommunicated from the coven. 

It wasn’t until Isidora and a few others, finally appointed a new coven leader, that things started to change. For the better. 

But the good times didn’t last. Avery Fell met a tragic fate in the shape of her mother being brutally murdered in their apartment. Avery had been out, cleaning the bookstore after a popular event that very evening. People had been coming and going all evening at the bookstore, ready to buy new tarot decks for their sixteen year-old daughters and wanting to buy the candy and pastries Isidora and the coven had baked. Of course the event had been for mortals, the mundane. But that didn’t stop the coven from trying to do something good. They all helped Isidora out and some stayed behind to help Avery clean up after the event was over. At exactly midnight, Avery came home to a ghastly scene, her mother had been murdered. Isidora had put up a great fight and the whole apartment was in disarray. But that hadn’t stopped the one responsible from murdering Isidora, no matter how hard she fought. 

Avery was questioned by the police, the coven decided she was too much to handle and turned away from her. Avery later found out, most of the witches tried to find an excuse to turn away both Avery and Isidora. All because Isidora wanted to welcome the 21st century and others refused to say goodbye to old traditions. While some witches mourned Isidora’s death, others were overjoyed and relieved. 

The constant reminder of her mother, inside their New York City apartment, made Avery decide it was time to leave. Wanting to know the woman or girl Isidora used to be, Avery decided to move to Lunar Cove. Where she would breathe in the same air as her mother once did. Where she would walk the same roads as her mother. Lunar Cove served as a new beginning for Avery and a way to still be close to Isidora Fell.

[worldofwardcraft]

Thanks for nothin'.

May 31, 2024

One of the great questions of the 21st century is: Just how dumb are Donald Trump's MAGA supporters? Sure, some were stupid enough to lose their shirts buying shares in his scam social media platform, Truth Social. And others spent $300 on his cheaply made golden sneakers. Or forked over $60 to get a Lee Greenwood bible. But are MAGAs actually dim-witted enough to buy something from Trump that's patently, clearly and totally worthless? The evidence suggests they would. By the millions.

Recently, the digital news site AlterNet compiled a catalog — based on Trump campaign solicitations through the years — of the completely valueless things Trump will give you for your money. To begin with, there are his useless cards.

• Gold card: Be advised that the "NEVER SURRENDER 2024 GOLD LIMITED EDITION" card isn't real gold. Neither is the 2020 edition (pictured above and, yes, they misspelled that word). • Platinum card: The "TRUMP 2024 BALLOT DEFENDER PLATINUM LEVEL METAL LIMITED EDITION" card isn't platinum, either. • Black card: First issued in 2016, Lara Trump is now hawking a new "very limited edition Trump black card."

Then there's the assortment of clubs and memberships that don't come with any particular benefits or privileges.

• Life Member: For those willing "to lead the charge against Crooked Joe and Democrats in the fight to SAVE AMERICA." • Diamond Club: Membership is an affordable five bucks. • Gold Club: your reward for standing with Trump during his Biden Hoax trial (and for giving him money). • Platinum Club: "One of our most EXCLUSIVE memberships EVER." • Sustaining Member: Requires you to commit to a monthly donation, but you don't get a tote bag.

And, of course, you have Trump's bogus advisory committees.

• Advisory Board Member: "I need to know that my most trusted advisors like YOU are by my side." • 47 Club: For the "Top 47 Patriots" Trump will rely on for "the insight and support to RECLAIM America." • 100 Club: Like the 47 Club, only with more trusted advisors. • Campaign Cabinet: "will be made up of my most ELITE, PATRIOTIC, and TRUSTED supporters."

Oh, we almost forgot the America First Lifetime Achievement Award for Patriotism that Don Jr. nominates you for because of "your unwavering commitment to defending my father against the endless witch hunts and sham trials he faces from the radical left." Naturally, all these items and honors require you to part with your cash. And all are guaranteed to be worth precisely zip.

[meandmybigmouth]

When will they be brought back by barbaric American Christians cults?

[maniculum]

I do want to make the note that people in the Middle Ages did, in fact, believe in magic. (Source: I’m a medievalist and have a degree in this stuff.) They just didn’t escalate to the moral panic we’re familiar with until the Early Modern period, after the publication of the Malleus Maleficarum.

If you look through medieval texts, you see a number of different takes on the whole magic business. Some of them are pretty much compatible with the witch-trial stuff that would come later, like:

Magic is totally real but you shouldn’t do it because it’s demons.

Magic is real but kinda pagan. After long consideration we have decided to make it Illegal to curse people, for the sake of public safety.

Others are actually more familiar to a 21st-century context, like:

Magic is real and it’s fine and people can totally do it; it mostly involves astrology.

I need you to understand that this little ritual I’m doing to protect myself from harm is not a “spell”, it’s religious and therefore Different From Magic.

My favorites are the attitudes you find in Old English books of remedies, which include largely-unspoken background assertions that boil down to:

Excuse me this is not magic at all, but good god-fearing Christian practice, as you can tell by the way I have crossed out “wizard” and written “priest”.

This one is also not magic; drawing esoteric symbols on a sick man and doing a little chant over him is simply good medical science.

None of this is to say magic is not real, which is why I have written this explanation of how to protect yourself from goblins. It involves butter.

Bonus take from the 12th-century abbess Hildegard of Bingen, polymath, mystic, and visionary:

Okay, so this text is mostly focused on science and natural remedies that probably aren’t magic, but listen. Listen. Sometimes, in one’s capacity as an abbess, it’s necessary to invoke a demon to keep young men in the town away from the novice nuns under your care. Listen. It’s Fine. Here’s how to do it.

Anyway, yeah, I think it’s overcorrecting to say that medieval Europeans didn’t believe in magic. Plenty of them did, they just weren’t up in arms about it the way people got later.

Learning that certain things that you thought were widely accepted at the time actually had a lot of pushback kind of shakes up your perception of the world a little.

Like for example when a lot of people in the 1400s and 1500s read the Malleus Maleficarum, basically the book that set off the trend of witch trials in Europe, they knew it was bad and even called it unethical. And before 1400 most people in Europe didn't even believe that witches existed. Because most Christians before the 1400s didn't even believe that magic existed. Because "magic" was thought to come from pagan gods, and, you will note, most monotheists don't believe that other gods exist. So witches weren't even something that people thought about.

And when Christopher Columbus was off committing crimes against humanity a bunch of people were like "Hey, this guy is committing crimes against humanity. Someone stop him." And eventually they did, even if they did stop him far too late. He was fired from his position as governor. He was arrested and banished from Spain. And there were people, both native South Americans and Spaniards, who actively opposed the colonization efforts while they were happening.