Number 2 Witch of All-Time: The Wicked Witch of the West

Top Ten Witches of All-Time (Real or Imagined)

Unnamed by L. Frank Baum in the original The Wonderful Wizard of Oz book (1900), Elphaba Thropp earned her name in Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (1995) by Gregory McGuire. Perhaps best remembered from her portrayal by actress Margaret Hamilton in the Hollywood classic, The Wizard of Oz, her image changed the face of witchcraft forever. She is and always will be the measuring stick for witches, whether they like that stereotyped image or not.Wicked Witch of the West: Ah! You'll believe in more than that before I'm finished with you! 

Seldom do fictional characters dominate an image in popular culture for several generations, let alone present an everlasting icon of every wickedly witchy character to come after her. That is exactly what the Wicked Witch of the West has done. I’m sure that a lot of real witches do not care the stereotypical picture of the black clothed, wart nosed, and pointy hat witch, but I love it. Witches are just like any other people from any walk of life: some are good and some are bad. Then you have the Wicked Witch of the West, who is scrumptiously bad!

WWW: Ring around the rosie, a pocket full of spears! Thought you were pretty foxy, didn't you? Well! The last to go will see the first three go before her! And your mangy little dog, too! 

Yea, the Wicked Witch of the West definitely put the ‘wicked’ into ‘witchcraft’. Her character was as threatening as any character in any movie I can think of. Dracula? He would run from the Wicked Witch of the West. Freddie Kruger? Jason? They wouldn’t want to tangle with her, either. The thing is though, like a cat, she would rather play with her prey than kill it. Oh, and she doesn’t like dogs either.

WWW: How about a little fire, Scarecrow? 

Like I mentioned earlier, she could be downright vicious. Yea, she could have torched the Scarecrow man to ashes in a New York minute, or had him stuffed into a mattress, but she chose to play mind games instead and just sort of singed him. Great intimidation tactics, right?

WWW: Who killed my sister? Who killed the Witch of the East? Was it you?

Dorothy: No, no. It was an accident. I didn't mean to kill anybody.

WWW: Well, my little pretty, I can cause accidents, too! 

Dorothy surely raised the ire of the Wicked Witch of the West. I mean, she didn’t really kill the witch’s sister, but after her timid, way too polite way of trying to talk herself out of trouble, she became an easy target. C’mon, that’s no way to talk to a wicked witch! The pureness of Dorothy’s character certainly endeared her to generations of movie fans, but it definitely made her public enemy number 1 in the witch’s mind. Poor Dorothy…

WWW: Poppies... Poppies. Poppies will put them to sleep. Sleeeeep. Now they'll sleeeeep! 

Almost forgot to mention, the Wicked Witch of the West wasn’t afraid of using poison to do her bidding. Rather than a poison apple, she used magic poppies that put Dorothy and her entourage to sleep. Anyone see the hidden in plain sight reference to drugs here? If Alice in Wonderland has hidden references to hallucinatory drugs, then the Wicked Witch of the West is a heroin dealer!

WWW: You cursed brat! Look what you've done! I'm melting! melting! Oh, what a world! What a world! Who would have thought a good little girl like you could destroy my beautiful wickedness? Oooooh, look out! I'm going! Oooooh! Ooooooh! 

Ok, so maybe the Wicked Witch of the West and wasn’t so bright after all. Think about it, if you were a wicked witch, and the one thing that could kill you was water, why in the world would you leave a bucket of the stuff lying around?! Really, you would never catch Superman leaving Kryptonite lying around his pad!

WWW: Going so soon? I wouldn't hear of it. Why my little party's just beginning! 

That’s right! The party is just beginning! Next week, on this very blog, I will unveil my number one witch of all-time! Yes, you are more than welcome to guess who it may be, or add your own personal favorite. All I can say is that the number one witch of all-time is really the only witch that could possibly out-wicked the Wicked Witch of the West!

If you’re like me and can’t get enough witches, take a minute and visit my website to check out the details of my psycho-sexual/dark fantasy novel about dragons, undead knights, and you guessed it, witches! It’s called Rise of the Raven Knights, Suffer the Witch Volume I and can be found at http://sufferthewitch.com.

My apocalyptic sci-fi thriller, The Devil’s Prophet is also available at http://thedevilsprophet.com.

Number 4 Witch of All-Time: Stevie Nicks

Top 10 Witches of All-Time (real or imagined)

#4 Stevie Nicks

Without a doubt, my favorite witch on this list is Stevie Nicks. Whether she is or isn’t a witch is a matter of debate. She definitely has a mystical image and has lived an enchanted life. Her music has haunting themes that could be viewed as ‘Wicca’ oriented, Rhiannon comes to mind. But her religious beliefs aren’t really any of my, or anyone else’s business. Stevie Nicks’ music and image clocks into the Top Ten Witches of All-Time at number 3.

The truth of the matter is Stevie Nicks is a very spiritual person. She is also very private. And who can blame her? When one reaches to level of popularity which Stevie has attained, why set yourself up for criticism and attacks from other religious groups? For that reason, I will focus the rest of this post on her life and music.

Stevie met Lindsey Buckingham in the late 1960’s and quickly starting performing together. Star-crossed lovers that they were, the duo ended up becoming famous for their songs, many of which were about their relationship gone awry. And you thought Taylor Swift invented that idea!

Anyway, across the pond over in merry old England, Fleetwood Mac’s frontman/guitarist Peter Green feel by the wayside because of mental illness brought on by psychedelic drug abuse. Green, a blues guitar player on par with Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Leslie West, left the band in 1970. The group floundered on without a powerful frontman until 1975. Enter Nicks and Buckingham.

The duo brought an entirely new pop feel to the band, gaining them mega-star type popularity. With that type of success and a ‘gypsy’ lifestyle of a touring rock band brought lots of pressures. Add drugs to the picture and everything else starts becomes a smorgasbord of excessive behavior. The pressures eventually took their toll and Stevie and Lindsey broke up. The next series of events was truly shocking. As the band carried on despite the relationship drama, Nicks and the band’s founder/drummer Mick Fleetwood started an affair, which would lead to more broken relationships and the band’s demise.

After the band crashed, Stevie Nicks began her solo career, which was also stellar. Her first solo album made it to #1 on the Billboard charts and her fame continued to grow, as she mesmerized audiences with her beautiful voice, perfect sense of melody, and elegant mystical imagery.

Some of my favorite songs of Stevie are from her Fleetwood Mac days. Tunes like Landslide, The Chain, Rhiannon, Silver Springs and Gypsy are simply unforgettable. I get cold chills every time I listen to her sing. Stevie still tours with her solo band and Fleetwood Mac.

Even today, Stevie has become somewhat of a cultural icon. Her and her music is featured prominently in the hit television series American Horror Story on AHS. Misty Day, a lone witch named with the power of ressurection, is infatuated by Stevie. Every scene she is in plays Stevie's music in the background. The character is played by Tony nominated actress Lily Rabe, and one cannot deny the resemblance. She kind of dresses like Stevie and even has her pirouetting dance moves down. Great actress! One of the best scenes on AHS Coven was when Stevie Nicks made a surprise appearance, playing herself of course, serenading Misty Day and Fiona.

Misty Day as portrayed by Lily Rabe

I really wanted to make Stevie Nicks the number one witch on the list, but the three witches that are ranked higher were just impossible to knock down. Before I reveal the top two though, my next post will be about the wonderful witches that didn’t make the list, an honorable mention, so to speak. 

Then I will give you a teaser bio of a new witch I would like to introduce you to. Her name is Lori Windstorm and she is the female protagonist in my dark fantasy novel, Rise of the Raven Knights, book I, Suffer the Witch Chronicles. She is a headstrong woman who battles an evil coven with the power of shapeshifting, as well as her intellect. I believe you will find her fascinating as I find Stevie Nicks, and very magickal as well. Please give her a look!

Thanks for reading my blog. Please follow me, share and tell an enemy and a friend. I look forward to seeing you next time. I also encourage you to visit my author website to check out my novels and short stories. My psycho-sexual/dark fantasy novel about dragons, undead knights, and you guessed it, witches is called Rise of the Raven Knights, Suffer the Witch Volume I and it can be found at http://sufferthewitch.com.

My apocalyptic sci-fi thriller, The Devil’s Prophet is also available at http://thedevilsprophet.com.

No. 7 Witch of All-Time: Hermione Granger as portrayed by Emma Watson (Harry Potter)

Top Ten Female Witches of All-time (real or imagined)

What fantasy author can resist a witch that loves the library? Certainly not this one! For that reason, and many more actually, Hermione Granger, Harry Potter’s female sidekick, comes into my list of the Top Ten Witches of All-Time at number seven.

The character of Hermione, portrayed in the Harry Potter movie series by the lovely Emma Watson, is more than just a sidekick. Her magick is as powerful as any witch on this list, and without her unique and well studied magickal talents, Harry Potter would have been up the proverbial crap creek without a paddle on more than one occasion.

In a world where female protagonists with super powers are much more common than yesteryear, I certainly like Hermione better than Bella on Twilight. My daughter might feel differently, but Hermione always had a purpose and that purpose usually had more to do with righting wrongs than falling in love. There, I said it…whew!

Another thing that impresses me about Hermione is that she doesn’t have to be perfect. She has doubts, fears and questions everything, but when push comes to shove, she isn’t afraid to shove.

As I researched this character I learned that she has a lot in common with her author and creator, JK Rowling. It’s nothing unusual for an author to put tidbits of themselves into their works, but if JK is anything like Hermione in real life, then she must be as good a person as she is an author.

As the series grows, so does the character of Hermione. Nothing more than a child in the first Potter books, she is a fully grown young woman by the time it all ends. I always kind of wished she and Harry Potter would fall in love, but Rowling chose the third protagonist from the series, the ever loyal Ron Weasly to be her love interest. Through all the bickering they slung at each other, a strange chemistry developed between the two and by the epilogue of the final book, they were married and had children. Perfect fairytale ending, right?

Beyond her magickal abilities, I think the things that make Hermione so charming are her intellect and her loyalty. Never one to back down from a challenge, her response to the antagonists in the series, such as the ever frowning Malfoy, was to get revenge by outsmarting the bad guys. And she did quite a good job of that!

Though some might have seen Hermione as standoffish, I felt relatively the opposite. Being a book worm and someone who did outstandingly well in class, I can relate to her character, even though she is meant to be a geeky female heroine. There is far more to Hermione than that. Seemingly always the first to master new lessons and spells, who else would Harry Potter call upon when he was in a bind against the formidable antagonists he had to face? I am sure Harry would have Hermione a bit higher on the list, but I think she is perfect here at number four. Do you agree?

What this says for the final four witches on my list is that they are amazing! I can’t wait to reveal them to you! Stay tuned!!!

Thanks for reading my blog. Please follow me, share and tell an enemy and a friend. I look forward to seeing you next time. I also encourage you to visit my author website to check out my novels and short stories. My psycho-sexual/dark fantasy novel about dragons, undead knights, and you guessed it, witches is called Rise of the Raven Knights, Suffer the Witch Volume I and it can be found at http://sufferthewitch.com.

My apocalyptic sci-fi thriller, The Devil’s Prophet is also available at http://thedevilsprophet.com.

Number 5 Witch of All-Time: Bewitched Samantha Stephens (Elizabeth Montgomery)

Number 6 Witch of All-Time: Bewitched Samantha Stephens (Elizabeth Montgomery)

Elizabeth Montgomery portrayal of Samantha brought witchcraft properly into the nineteen-sixties with a twinkle of her nose, forever changing primetime television and becoming the most mainstream witch in history. The contemporary sitcom, Bewitched, was her vehicle, and the blonde bombshell with girl next door innocence came complete with a bumbling husband who despised her religion, but reaped the rewards anyways, a beautiful daughter, a meddling mother and her husband’s buffoon of a boss. That sits Elizabeth’s character, Samantha, and her little nose trick, which I still haven’t figured out, squarely in the top ten female witches of all-time, at number six.

While the show shared a lot in common with another sitcom, I Dream of Jeannie, what set this show apart was Samantha’s devotion. She was a devoted wife, mother and daughter and even though her husband forbade her from using her formidable witchcraft skills, she still found a way to help him out of personal crisis after personal crisis, with a twitch of her magickal nose.

While Barbara Eden’s Jeannie character was drop dead sexy, (sans the belly button), Samantha did all her magick with a sleek, but chic fashion. Even without the magick, she would have been the perfect wife. She cooked, cleaned, took care of the family and her man, but when you added her magick, she was more than a handful.

Born from a long line of witches, who could appear and disappear at will, and even travel time, Sam’s mother did everything in her power to keep the family tradition alive, despite husband Darrin’s (originally Dick York, later Dick Sargent) protests. Often the catalyst to the shows appeal, the friction between Sam, her husband and her mother was hilarious. Even though fictitious, the show’s appeal lay squarely on Elizabeth Montgomery’s realistic portrayal of Samantha. It was kind of like Lucille Ball meets Glinda the Good Witch of the East, set in modern times, of course, at least at the time of its production. The show was simply beloved by millions, men, women and children alike.

Now, I must give the creators and writers credit as well. The brain trust of this series knew that in order to reach mainstream America with a witch story, they had to make her appealing and tasteful. If I possessed the kind of powerful magick that could make anything appear from out of nowhere, I would certainly be courting the kind of wealth of the likes of Bill Gates and the children of Sam Walton (Walmart). I would be a philanthropist, a world traveler, a playboy along the lines of Bruce Wayne. But Samantha never aspired to those heights. She kept it simple, and kept her powers in check, only using them when she felt necessary. Perhaps that was the most impressive thing about Samantha. She put her family and their hopes for the 1960’s style American Dream first. Kudos, Samantha Stephens!

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