Age of the Fire Dragon. Suffer the Witch Vol. 3 June 17, 2015

The final book in the Suffer the Witch Chronicles is nearly here!

June 17, 2015

Fire Dragon Gazzy Windstorm discovers that world leaders are secretly plotting to rid the world of dragons. When his friend and mentor Sir Giovalde is captured, Gazzy goes on the offensive, attacking armies and destroying all the nuclear weapons on Earth. His plans for world peace become shattered though, when a new fire dragon with a treacherous secret emerges and quickly becomes Gazzy’s most dangerous enemy.

Gazzy the Fire Dragon Comes Out of the Closet

Coming Soon

I saw a television news crew setting up shop on Times Square.  The thought hit me to go tell them my story, to try to set things straight, even though it could backfire and make my human persona an outlaw throughout the world.  But it was a sacrifice I knew I had to make, in order to allow the peoples of the world feel safe again. 

Getting the news crew to believe my wild story would be a tricky proposition.  I was sure they’d seen their fair share of weirdoes on the streets of Manhattan.  They’d probably never believe my tale anyway.  I almost talked myself into walking right past them, but for some reason I couldn’t resist the urge to talk.

     
“Excuse me, miss,” I said to the pretty young reporter.

    
“We don’t have time, sir,” she shushed me away without even looking at me.  “We’re in the middle of a story here.”

“I have some very important news,” I insisted.

     
“Call the hotline.  The number’s on the truck.”

     
“I can give you a scoop,” I promised.

     
“I can yell for a cop,” she volleyed, finally looking at me, with an old fashioned New York hairy eye.

     
“Look lady, just here me out,” I tried pleading.

     
“Look yourself,” she interrupted me.  “We don’t have time for your bullshit.  We’re very busy, if you haven’t noticed.  News is news and you’re obviously not newsworthy.  Scum.”

     
“I can explain the dragon attacks,” I pressed on, ignoring her negativity.

     
“You’re wasting my time,” she barked.  “Officer!”

     
Seeing I was getting nowhere with the stubborn reporter, I turned away.  But when I saw two policemen rushing me, I jumped into the air and turned into a fire dragon.   I had no desire to spend another night in jail.

Within seconds panic ensued.  People were screaming and running in every direction.  I hovered in midair and watched the spectacle.  The reporter and her cameraman stood their ground.  She started talking into her microphone and the cameraman started shooting me.  The cops had their guns drawn but hesitated firing them. 

     
I stayed there, hovering, until most of the people were far away.  A few brave souls stayed, to record what would happen next, with their smartphones.  I wasn’t in the mood to disappoint. 

I flew just past the highest skyscrapers and did a magnificent three-sixty.  I then dive-bombed the square, and laughed as the remaining folks covered their heads with their hands and ducked, as if that would’ve saved them.  Just before impact, I turned into knight form and landed right next to the reporter.

     
The lady stood there completely dumbfounded, stuttering and stammering to get her question out.  I made my best superhero pose for the camera and stood there as more folks started pouring back into the square to take a once in a lifetime video. 

Finally, the reporter gathered herself enough to ask her question.  “Who are you?”

    
“I am the Fire Dragon, Gazzy Windstorm.”

     
“Are you here to destroy us?” she asked nervously, before she placed the mic at my mouth with her arm extended full length to stay as far away from me as possible.

     
“No.” I answered.  “Quite the contrary, actually I have come to save you.”

     
“It doesn’t seem that way, with all the destruction you’ve caused,” she tried to play the hardened reporter role.

     
“That is why I am talking to you now; I need to set the record straight.”

     
“The floor is yours,” she said, before giving me the mic and then running to hide behind her cameraman.

     
“People of New York, people of the Earth, I have not come to hurt you.  I am the Fire Dragon.  I destroyed all the nuclear weapons on Earth to set you free from the specter of death held over you by your governments.  A new age has begun.  The age of the Fire Dragon!  I shall not allow anymore wars to take place on this planet.  Governments of the world must stand down or face my consequences.  I am indestructible.  My will shall not be denied.  I will not harm innocent people nor will I allow governments or militaries to harm innocent people.  I have not come to lord over you or rule you.  I am simply your protector.”

     
Some of the people began catcalling me and throwing things, but a small group began applauding.  Their applause grew louder as more people joined in until they drowned out the haters, who then quieted.  I was humbled to say the least.  But that was not why I was there.  I handed the microphone back to the reporter and nodded that it was alright for her to ask me follow up questions.

     
“Are you an alien?  Do you have a UFO?”

     
“No and no,” I responded.  “I am a flesh and blood human being that was transformed into a dragon by a dying witch.  I can switch back and forth between human, undead knight and dragon forms, at will.  What I did with my powers was my own business.  I’ve chosen to protect humans.  I’ve been busy for years, stopping wars and ridding the world of aggressive warmongers.  Most people thought my actions were from the hand of god, but I am done hiding.  It is time the world knew the truth.  It is time for governments to be responsible and to stop fighting over stupid things like oil and energy and money and borders and religions and race.  Now is the time for peace or the time for wrath.  I pray the governments of the world choose wisely.”

     
Applause erupted once again and I nodded my approval.  The reporter looked at me and asked me if there was anything else I wanted to add and I said, “You should know that the presidents of Russia and the United States were planning on starting World War Three.  That is why I am making my presence known.  I’ve already taken care of the Russian president, but the American president is in hiding.  He planned on conquering Canada and Mexico while Russia attacked the countries of the former Soviet Union.  I have audio recordings to back that up that I will make available to you soon.  Everyone should know that the president is an evil traitor, willing to put innocent lives at risk to pursue his own political gains.”

     
“That is hard to believe, Mr. Fire Dragon,” the reporter asked incredulously.  “Can you elaborate?”

     
“That is all I have to say for now.  I will get the audio to you as soon as tomorrow and then everyone can make their own decisions as to whether or not I have done the right thing.  Thank you for your time.”

     
“Sir, sir,” the reporter called, but I ignored her. 

I was done with the interview and disappeared right in front of them.  The crowd buzzed with excitement, so I ran until I found a spot that was clear of people.  I didn’t want to burn anyone when I jumped into the air and transformed into fire dragon form. 

I’d just blown the collective minds of the people of the world.  If I was going to be a marked man, then so be it.  I was ready for whatever they threw my way.

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Gazzy & Katerina, excerpt Suffer the Witch 3

Coming Soon

She was most impressed by my tales of military conquests:  How I’d defeated legions of soldiers without killing them, how I’d toppled dictators, kings, and presidents with so called ‘acts of god’, and how I’d defeated the Queen of Hell, Lilith.  Who wouldn't be impressed by such grandiose tales?  To me, though, they were simply tasks to accomplish and not that big of a deal.  I just wanted to help the helpless. 

     We soon found ourselves swapping stories of our personal lives.  We talked about our families, our hometowns, our interests, everything really.  It became apparent that she and I were more similar than different. 

And the same could be said between all Russians and Americans.  We all wanted the same things:  Prosperity, health, family life, social life, and leisure time.  People are people, no matter where on Earth they hailed from.  It’s unfair to blame a nation’s people because their leaders are corrupt and evil, as was the case with both countries.

     One thing became clear as the night progressed; Katerina and I were keenly attracted to one another.  In my mind, I hoped that attraction would turn into animal magnetism.  I longed to be close to a woman, but not just any woman, that is why I had waited so long, so many lonely years.  I’d been burnt enough, betrayed too often. 

I needed someone I could relate to, someone that understood me, someone that wouldn't betray me at the first sign of adversity.  It seemed to me as if Katerina was that woman.

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DRAGONS OF LORE SERIES: Were Dragons mistaken by our ancestors for Dinosaurs, UFO’s or comets?

Humankind has been terribly afflicted with a collective amnesia of its history. We simply cannot remember or accept where we came from, even though clues to our past lay strewn all around us in bits and pieces of antiquated ruins. From prophecies I’ve read, it seems the ancients knew more about us than we do them. I also believe they expected this. This is why they left cave drawings, Nazca Lines, Pyramids, gods and goddesses from the sky and of course, myths.

Today we will conclude our dragon lore series by examining whether they could have really been mistaken for something else. The possibilities include dinosaurs, UFO’s and comets.

It speaks volumes that myths of dragons have survived from olden times until now. It simply cannot just be because of the romanticism of the myth, too many ancient cultures had dragon stories for that to be the case. In fact, all of them did.  

The fact that dragon stories are so widespread begs the next obvious question: Why have no dragon bones ever been discovered?

There are multitudes of dinosaur bones dug up, cataloged, analyzed and displayed across the globe. And there are multitudes more yet to have been dug up. Where on Earth could dragon bones be? Did they all die so deep in cracks and crevices deep inside Mother Earth that they will never be discovered? Were the bones destroyed by angry and fearful early humans? Or are scientists dead wrong about the timeline between the existence of dinosaurs and the evolution of humans?

‘Recent’ evidence has come to light that may prove scientist are wrong. There are many examples of dinosaur tracks and human footprints in rock formations in Texas. There are also ancient pottery from Central and South America that depict humans and dinosaurs co-existing. Now, I find that rather odd because they should not have known the details of what dinosaurs looked like, yet these unlearned ancient craftsman nailed it!

Further, why would they choose to use animals that were supposedly extinct for millions of years rather than creatures that really did walk among them? Did these people remember these events from their ancient ancestors’ past? This would seemingly make humans much older than scientist believe or dinosaurs much younger because humans and dinosaurs supposedly did not exist at the same time.

Don’t get me wrong, or mistake me for a creationist. I am not. I am a firm believer in Ancient Alien Theory.

The question of whether ancient civilizations could have mistaken dragons for UFO’s or comets is also compelling. There are so many crucial questions that need re-examining. If an asteroid or comet wiped out the dinosaurs completely, how did other species survive? Crocodiles, alligators, turtles and many other reptilian creatures have survived more than one mass extinction event. Puzzling right?

Consider the possibility that aliens did in fact come to Earth thousands, if not millions of years ago, genetically mixed their own ‘divine’ dna with that of the ancestors of humans, and then wiped out dinosaurs to give us room to grow? It’s a feasible an answer as any I’ve heard. Imagine, UFO’s zipping around the skies, shooting lasers at dinosaurs while fledging humans looked on, bewildered at the spectacle of it. Maybe other UFO’s even attacked some of the upstart human civilizations in an intergalactic battle against those that created us. Alas: Fire breathing DRAGONS!

Every ancient culture has stories about gods and goddesses that came from the sky in mechanical type flying vehicles. As we read in a past post about Chinese Dragons, these vehicles could in fact be UFO’s. The Chinese claimed that the dragons brought them wisdom and technology. Only an advanced civilization could do such a thing. When the aliens accomplished their goals of enlightening us, they simply boarded their dragon UFO’s and flew away into the sky.

Comets could also have been mistaken by the ancients. They had no knowledge of astronomy. How else could they describe a burning ball of fire, with long tails that spread out like wings that came flying through the sky? Comets have certainly hit the Earth before. Bam! Total destruction. Who gets the blame? Dragons, of course!

The simple fact of the matter is comets are visible quite often. If our ancients saw them and had no idea what they really were, who is to say that this didn’t serve as the genesis of dragon lore?

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Dragons of Lore Series: Chinese Dragons

Chinese Dragons are perhaps the most fascinating mythical creature ever dreamed up by mankind. In most ancient cultures, monstrous beasts where created to warn future generations about a certain danger. Whether the danger came from volcanoes, thunderstorms, asteroids or comets, dragons were usually a creature whose very presence spelled certain impending doom upon those unlucky to cross paths with them. Not true for Chinese dragons. These dragons are considered lucky, perhaps even givers of life. That is not to say that they don’t have a little bite!

China is often referred to as the Dragon. In ancient times they were associated by Emperor’s, or at least so the emperor hoped to be associated with them. The Chinese saw divine personality characteristics that they themselves wished to attain, or see in themselves. Chinese dragons epitomized strength, power, independence, courage, wisdom and above all else, luck!

Chinese dragons are quite different in appearance than western dragons. Chinese dragons lack wings and their bodies are more snake-like or crocodile-like than the lizard looking western fire-breathers. The ancient Chinese believed that certain animals possessed the power to overcome nature, especially when nature was being furiously angry. The dragons they worshipped were created from the parts of these different animals, such as serpents, reptiles and fish, to create a super-supernatural being to protect them.

The emperors who stylized their reigns after these creatures used dragons with five claws as their symbols. The next highest ranking military or political figure would have four and the next lowest three. The dragons were considered to be divine. Thus the dragon dance was born, to appease the gods to dispel droughts and bring life giving rains on which the harvest depended.

 The color of particular dragons is also very symbolic. Green is representative of the gods giving great future harvests, yellow embodied the emperor or his kingdom, gold and silver represent prosperity, red stands for excitement.

 

There are many beautiful dragon temples in China, many of them supported by outlandishly creative dragon pillars. With stunning craftsmanship, the ancients set out to make the dragons’ temples suitable for any god, anywhere in the world. The belief among these people was that the spirits of the dragons who dwelt within the temple would make wishes come true. In return, the wish makers would be compelled to do something to return the favor for the gods. It could be a simple fruit or bread sacrifice for the poor to a magnificent new dragon pillar in the temple for the rich lords.

Chinese dragons come in four types: Celestial, Spiritual, Earth and Underworld. The Celestial Dragon is ruler of all other dragons and protects the heavens. It has five claws. Spiritual Dragons control the wind and rain. Floating in the clouds, it reigned in nature, providing life giving rain when appeased and droughts and natural disasters when angered. Earth dragons controlled the flow of rivers and the path and maintenance of their banks. Every river in China had its own dragon. The Underworld Dragons guard hordes of treasures and precious metals buried deep underground. The guardian of wisdom, each Underworld Dragons possessed a black pearl, representing wisdom, which could multiply whatever it touched. I could use one of those magick black pearls! How about you?

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Dragon of Lore series: Beowulf and the Dragon

“O flower of warriors, beware of that trap. Choose, dear Beowulf, the better part, eternal rewards. Do not give way to pride. For a brief while your strength is in bloom but it fades quickly; and soon there will follow illness or the sword to lay you low, or a sudden fire or surge of water or jabbing blade or javelin from the air or repellent age. Your piercing eye will dim and darken; and death will arrive, dear warrior, to sweep you away.” Beowulf 

The myth of Beowulf fascinates me more than any other. Here is a man who defeated, and when I say defeated I mean killed, a leviathan, a troll, a witch-snake and a dragon! No other hero I can think off has as many skins on the wall as the great Geat. And he wasn’t even a demigod, like say, Hercules!

The story begins with Beowulf sailing away from his homeland, Geatland, to travel to the land of the Danes, to help a friendly neighboring peoples, and to make a name for himself. The King of the Danes, Hroogar, has developed a small problem. To celebrate his countries prowess against its enemies, the king built a great hall for his warriors to drink mead, tell tall tales, sing songs, ravage beautiful dames and all the other things victorious drunken warriors tend to do. The one mistake he made, however, was building his party hall within earshot of a terrible troll named Grendle, who was born deformed: his eardrum grew outside of his ear, not inside. Grendle couldn’t tolerate noise!

So, every time the Danes had a celebration, Grendle would come and play the role of party pooper, by destroying everything in his path, killing a warrior or two and taking their corpses back to his cave to dine on. A terrible pall fell across the land and no one dared stand up to the terrible Grendle. Then Beowulf showed up, full of confidence after slaying a leviathan along the way, bragging to be the greatest warrior in the world and vowing to rid the Danish lands of the cursed troll. To get matters started, Beowulf insisted on throwing a great celebration at the king’s hall, and when Grendle showed up, Beowulf battled him, ripped his arm off at the shoulder, causing the troll to flee back to his cave, fatally wounded.

When the troll dies, its angry mother, an evil witch who can shape shift into a snake, came calling for Beowulf. When she encounters the Geatmen, she attack and kills Beowulf’s best warrior before slinking back home. Outraged, Beowulf follows her to her lair and confronts her. Unable to hurt the sorceress with his weapons, Beowulf grabs an ancient magickal sword forged by a giant, lying amongst her horde and slays her with it. He then decapitates Grendle, gives the head to the king, is handsomely rewarded and then returns home to Geatland, where his new found reputation eventually makes him a great king of his own people.

Fifty years later, a young man in Beowulf’s kingdom comes upon a cave filled with treasure. He takes a golden cup with him for proof, and in the process, wakes a sleeping dragon. The dragon is furious to find one piece of its horde missing and flies from its lair, burning everything in its sight. With his kingdom under threat, old Beowulf summons his youthful courage and gathers his warriors to confront the dragon.

Sensing his own inevitable demise, Beowulf bravely orders his men to stand down and attacks the dragon alone. A great battle ensues and Beowulf finally slays the airborne beast by ripping its heart out with his bare hands. Unfortunately, Beowulf is mortally wounded by the dragon and dies soon after, surrounded by his closest friends and warriors. His people build a massive funeral pyre for their fallen hero and then bury his ashes and the dragon’s great lair together in a huge burial mound.

Two burial mounds that might fit the description have been found in Geatland, in what we today call Scandinavia. One was excavated in the late 19^th century and grand burial setting fit for a great king was found. It is debatable whether or not it was Beowulf. The other one has not been excavated.

I highly recommend reading a translated version of the epic poem Beowulf. There are a couple of really good movies made in the 2000’s that do a great job of telling this great myth as well. Of the two, I prefer the animated version. Odin and Thor would be proud.

“Wise sir, do not grieve. It is always better to avenge dear ones than to indulge in mourning. For every one of us, living in this world means waiting for our end. Let whoever can win glory before death. When a warrior is gone, that will be his best and only bulwark.” Beowulf

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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.

Top Ten Witches of All Time: Honorable Mention Witches

The Witches that didn’t make it.

When I started writing this blog series, I knew I would face a dilemma. There were a lot of great witches to choose from! Not a bad dilemma. What followed was my personal top ten witches, which is certainly not official by any stretch. Here are the witches that didn’t make my list. Maybe some of them should have. Maybe there are others I didn’t even think of.

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Aislin from The Devil’s Prophet

Ok, I know I’m tooting my horn here, but I couldn’t resist. I loved writing this character. Named after a Norse goddess, Aislin is raised by a family of ages old witches whose heirloom is Dr. John Dee’s famous crystal ball. Oh, and by the way, her first cousin is the Anti-Christ. As he takes over Europe and Asia, she flees with her crystal ball to America, where she has foreseen the rise of unknowing Col. Robert Franklin, the one man who can stop the Anti-Christ. Problem is he just wants to find his missing children and he knows she knows the secret to their whereabouts.

Bette Midler in Hocus Pocus

With perhaps the worst makeup job in movie history, Bette played the part perfectly and pulled a horrid storyline out of the…

Blair Witch

Freaky story if there ever was one! This movie crept me out the first time I watched it. Not because I believed it was real, but because of the way it was filmed. A lot of movies are made this way now.

Jeanne Dixon

She was so famous she was called to a meeting with President Franklin D. Roosevelt to do a private reading. She revealed to him he was going to die, and die he did a short time later. She also is credited with predicting JFK’s assassination. She is remembered as America’s Prophet.

Joan of Arc

Ok, I know, she was technically a saint, not a witch. That being said, she is the only women on this list, or the top ten for that matter, who was actually burned at the stake for being a witch. The damning evidence: She claimed direct communication with God. Sadly, that claim has gotten more than a few people martyred. Her real sin: Challenging the male authority. That has also gotten more than few people killed.

Melissa Joan Heart in Sabrina the Teenage Witch.

A teen sitcom, my kids loved to watch it. It had some cool elements like a talking cat named Salem and awkward romance drama that teenagers easily relate to. Sabrina is kind of like their Samantha from Bewitched.

Olympias, mother of Alexander the Great

What a great story here, right? She weaved her wicked web on the king of Phillip, King of Macedonia and produced an heir that would conquer the world and leave his mark throughout history, even  to this day. A devout member of the snake-worshiping cult of Dionysus, she dreamt of a lightning bolt striking her stomach and exploding the night Alexander was conceived. She later told Alexander that his father was really Zeus and had him schooled by Aristotle. He became an unstoppable military leader the likes of which the world had never seen...and has not seen since.

Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman as the Owens sisters in Practical Magic.

A great story of two sisters fighting of a curse that haunts their witchy family. All the women in family who use witchcraft lose their husbands to untimely deaths. So, as the story goes, they try not to be witches! Hilarious!

Selena Gomez in The Wizards of Waverly Place.

Get the same kind of feeling from Selena’s character of Alex as I do with Sabrina, but my kids like it so I have to throw it in here. J I have to give Selena credit though; she is very talented and will have a long, enchanted career. Now, if she could just make Justin Bieber disappear...

Sybil Leek

Another of my favorites that just missed the cut, Sybil was as famous in her day as any woman alive. She came to prominence in her native Britain after ages old anti-witchcraft laws were repealed.  Coming from a long pedigree of witchcraft, she sort of inspired my character, Aislin. She became a media darling when she moved to the USA, appearing in newspapers, magazines and television. She was admittedly related to the evil Aleister Crowley.

The Witch from Hansel and Gretel

What is not to like about a witch that lives in a house made of cake and candy? The fact that she likes the flesh of children more than cake and candy for one! Unfortunately for this witch of lore, she was easily outsmarted by young Hansel and Gretal, who promptly made witch roast of her.

The Witch from Sleeping Beauty

Maleficent is this witch’s name and she is outraged the king didn’t invite her to bless his daughter, the princess Aurora. Out of spite, she curses the baby to die on her sixteenth birthday. Rival good witches hide her with a peasant couple. They also soften the curse so that instead of dying she is doomed to fall into a deep sleep until her true love kisses her. Problem is her true love thinks she is a peasant girl. True love wins in this one though and the evil witch gets turned to ash. Look for Maleficent to get her own live action movie this summer, played by the lovely, Angelina Jolie, who ironically, also played Alexander the Great's mother on the silver screen.

The Witch from Snow White

It was difficult keeping this witch, simply known as the Queen, out of the top ten. She has everything you would want in a witch. Beautiful, smart, spiteful, jealous, rich, powerful, owns a talking magick mirror and uses poisonous apples. The only reason I kept her out was because she was so similar to the witch from Sleeping Beauty.

The Witch from Rosemary’s Baby

Minnie Castevet, played by actress Ruth Gordon, was the witch that tricked Rosemary into wearing a dreadful tanis root charm that makes her unable to stand food and eating poison chocolate mousse so Satan can rape her in a black mass ritual. She conceives a son, Adrian. Poor Rosemary, played by Mia Farrow, finally discovers the witches ruse and tries to escape, only to fall right back into their trap. Great movie, creepy as Hell, with one of the dizziest witches ever, but boy was she clever!

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Number 6 Witch of All-Time: Marie Laveau, the New Orleans Voodoo Queen

Number 5 Witch of All-Time: Marie Laveau, the New Orleans Voodoo Queen

Was Marie Laveau a witch or a saint? No one will ever know. The clouded history of the infamous New Orleans Voodoo Queen has been clouded by time, leaving us with an ambiguous legend that is part truth, part myth and mysteriously compelling. Because of that, Marie Laveau clocks into the Top Ten Witches of All-Time at number Five.

A Creole woman of color, Marie was freeborn in New Orleans sometime between 1794 and 1801 to free mulatto parents. Married at a young age to Jacques Paris, a Haitian immigrant, she bore two children, neither of which survived childhood. Her husband died of mysterious circumstances and the Voodoo Queen’s legacy was born.

She later bore several children with her long time lover, Louis Christophe Dumesnil de Glapio, one of which grew up to follow her mother’s footsteps and became known as Marie Laveau II.  Whether she was a witch, voodoo priestess or just an adventurous Catholic, does nothing to take away from this woman’s true legacy. Heck, being born free in a land of slavery was astounding enough for a woman of color. The fact that she owned her own land, her own business as a liquor importer, was a slave owner herself and served as a faith healer only serves to make her more hyped accomplishments, real or imagined, even more impressive.

There are many legends about Marie. Supposedly she served as a nurse during the yellow fever epidemic of the 1830’s, using her spiritual healing powers to heal many of the afflicted. She was also claimed to be a hair dresser for the affluent, a blackmailer, a snake handler, the leader of blood drenched voodoo rituals, and a brothel owner. But above all she will be remembered as a voodoo queen, though what she practiced was most likely a clever mix of Catholicism and Voodoo. Her mystical powers were said to include fixing court cases, and being a witch so powerful she killed a sitting governor and lieutenant governor with nothing more than a magick spell and voodoo ritual.

It is also claimed that Marie Laveau is immortal. Whether that is true or not cannot be proven, however, her legend has truly become immortalized. Even today, at the place of her reputed tomb, curiosity brings tourists who draw ‘X’s’ on her mausoleum, in hopes of being blessed, while also praying not to be cursed.

In popular culture, Marie Laveau’s legend has been kept alive by many sources. There are novels about her, her likeness has appeared in Marvel Comics, there are pop songs about her, including one by Dr. Hook and another by Jazz pianist Joe Sample. There are also biographies based on her life and times. She even has a part in one of my favorite shows, American Horror Story, whose portrayal of her by Angela Bassett is spot on!

No other witch on this list, or any other for that matter, can claim the staying power achieved by Marie Laveau. I hope I haven’t insulted her greatness by listing her at only number 6. That being said, the next five witches on the list are very strong. Be sure to check back Thursday, April 4, for the number 5Witch of All-Time: Hermione Granger from Harry Potter.

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 Dark Fiction Thriller, THE DEVIL'S PROPHET is available at http://thedevilsprophet.com

Number 8 Witch of All-time: Glinda, the Good Witch

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

Number 7: Glinda, the Good Witch of the East

To my recollection, Glinda, the Good Witch of the East, was the first witch shown in a positive light in mainstream culture. I have to give kudos to author of the Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum, for being creative and forward thinking enough to go against the norm, in a time where religion would be very apt to not accept such a character. Glinda broke all the stereotypes previously associated with witches: she was beautiful, kind, delightful; everything her nemesis, the Wicked Witch of the West was not. For that reason, Glinda, the Good Witch of the East comes onto my list of the top ten female witches of all-time, real or imagined, at number seven!

Glinda is now a huge part of Americana. Who could ever think of the classic movie, The Wizard of Oz, without thinking of the glittery, blonde haired, golden voiced good witch, played by actress Billie Burke in the famous 1939 version and by Michelle Williams in 2013’s Oz, the Great and Powerful. Sure, characters such as Dorothy, Toto, the Straw Man, The Tin Man, the Heartless Lion, the Great Oz and the aforementioned Wicked Witch of the West get more credit, but Glinda was a trailblazer, at least as far as practitioners of white magick go.

            

The acceptance of witchcraft has came a long way since the burning times of the Catholic Church in Medieval Europe and beyond, even to the shores of America, with the shameful witch hunts of Salem, Massachusetts. And even though things have changed for the better, there is still a stigma associated with practicing this oldest and perhaps wisest of religions. There is still much room for improvement in this area. Sure, today’s witches don’t carry shimmering magick wands with stars on top, except perhaps wee little girls on Halloween, but most people that practice the craft today do so to seek enlightenment and personal growth, not to eat babies or kill a neighboring farmer’s crops or prize milk cow.

It seems to me that all religions are intolerant of other religions to some degree, but this is especially true with Wicca. The famous line in the Bible, “Though shalt not suffer a witch to live”, still resonates throughout the world to this very day. Even though choosing to take to heart certain directives in the Bible and other religious texts, while ignoring others, could certainly be construed as cherry picking, I think it is much more important to believe that whatever god or goddess we worship would want us to finally live in peace and shared respect and love. Hopefully, someday the practice of Wicca will become more accepted, especially considering that most witches today are more in line with the practices of Glinda, the Good Witch, rather than any wicked witch!

            

And besides, who else could possibly take an innocent girl like Dorothy, tell her a magick spell many decades ago, and expect to have it still repeated to this day? Click your heels three times and say, “There’s no place like home”. Can you remember a better line?

Check back Thursday for the Number 8 Witch of All-time!

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 Dark Fiction Thriller THE DEVIL'S PROPHET is available @ http://thedevilsprophet.com