THE Halloween — celebrated on October 31 — is coming and remembers the women who supposedly have knowledge about hidden powers of nature, enchantments and magic .
The world of fiction incorporated the concept of these supernatural people and created several good and evil characters that are so successful that they even won productions in which they are the protagonists.
Among them are Hermione Granger, Morgana, Elvira and Alex Russo — remember 10 famous witches .
Maleficent
The antagonist first appeared in Disney’s 1959 film “Sleeping Beauty”. The “Lady of All Evil”, in the first version of the story, curses baby Aurora for not being invited to the christening.
The torment said that, when she turned 16, she would die after touching the spindle of a distaff — a sharp instrument used for weaving.
She made appearances in Disney animations such as “Mickey’s House” and “Disney Villains”. Maleficent is also one of the characters in the series “Once Upon a Time”, where she is a rival of the Evil Queen from “Snow White”.
In 2009, she got her own film, “Maleficent”, with Angelina Jolie playing the protagonist. The story tells the story of a beautiful young woman whose peace is tormented by an army of humans and is forced to defend her kingdom.
Winifred, Mary and Sarah Sanderson, the witches of Salem
The trio from the 1993 film “Abracadabra” is responsible for causing chaos in the city of Salem — set in 1693 — by trying to cast a spell on the town to regain its youth.
The story of the witches continued in “Abracadabra 2”, released in 2022. This time, they are summoned back from beyond the grave by a group of teenagers who perform a ritual on the eve of Halloween.
Hermione Granger
Played by actress Emma Watson, the brilliant mind of the trio of wizards formed by her, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, participated in all the films in the sequence and was responsible for getting Hogwarts students out of several troubles.
Hermione is also the godmother of Harry and Ginny Potter’s eldest son, and in the 2019 film, she became Minister for Magic.
Alex Russo
The little witch was responsible for launching Selena Gomez to worldwide fame and featured in more than 100 episodes and two films: “Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie” (2009) and “Wizards Return: Alex vs. Alex” (2013).
She is a Russian, a seemingly ordinary family who lives in New York, but hides a big secret: they all have magical powers.
Alex, the middle child and only girl, is cunning, outgoing, sneaky and sometimes rude to her family and friends. She is generally unsuccessful when it comes to wizard school and training, getting into some trouble involving magic.
Bellatrix Lestrange
The antagonist of “Harry Potter” became a Death Eater – the first woman –, fanatically loyal to Lord Voldemort, after graduating from the Hogwarts wizarding school in Slytherin house, famous for housing the franchise’s villains.
She makes appearances from the fourth film in the sequence, becoming one of the most relevant characters in JK Rowling’s wizarding world, played by Helena Bonham Carter.
Wicked Witch of the West
Theodora, the human name of the character in “The Wizard of Oz”, was a beautiful and naive witch and only wanted peace to come to the Land of Oz. A deception made by her sister and protector, Evanora, makes her become the villain of the story.
The character was created by author L. Frank Baum in his “Oz Books” series, and was in a feature film for the first time in the 1939 film — where, in the story, she is angry with Dorothy for her sister having died in the fall from the girl’s house.
She also appears in the book “The Wizard of the Emerald City” (1939), in the Broadway musical “The Wiz”, in the series “Once Upon a Time” among other productions.
Samantha Stephens
The protagonist of the series “Bewitched”, originally shown between 1964 and 1972, played by Elizabeth Montgomery, is an American housewife who is also a witch and was immortalized for her habit of turning up her nose to perform magic.
When she married a mortal, she made an agreement to only use her spells in emergencies — which disappointed the young woman’s parents, who saw the decision as a rejection of their inheritance.
Elvira
The host of a low-budget horror film show sees her life change when she inherits a mansion in a small American town from her great-aunt. His problems begin when, upon arriving in the city, he shocks the local population with the way he behaves and dresses.
In “The Queen of Darkness”, a 1988 film, the character is played by Cassandra Peterson, who immortalized the character on the big screen.
She made appearances in the animated film “Scooby-Doo! Back to Zombie Island”, from 2019, and in “Scooby-Doo! Halloween”, 2020.
Morgana
Rosi Campos’ character in “Castelo Ra-Tim-Bum”, a children’s series originally shown between 1994 and 1997, is the great-aunt and guardian of the main character, the 300-year-old boy Nino.
The witch’s success was so great that it gave her a book derived from the franchise that tells her story, “As Memories of Morgana”, released in 1996. Furthermore, the character won a series together with the snake Celeste, “Morgana and Celeste ”, which began broadcasting on TV Cultura in 2023.
In the spin-off, the sorceress recalls the events she witnessed based on objects she finds around the castle.
White Witch
Jadis, a character from “The Chronicles of Narnia”, is a witch from the royal lineage of Charn who traveled to Narnia and proclaimed herself queen of the country, ruling the fantastic world harshly — characterizing the so-called Winter of 100 years.
After fighting with her brother for training in her homeland and losing, she used the Execrable Word, a magical term that has the power to end the life of a being or even an entire planet — making her kingdom uninhabitable.
This content was originally published in 10 unforgettable witches from cinema, TV and children’s cartoons on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m Robert Neff, a professional writer and editor. I specialize in the entertainment section, providing up-to-date coverage on the latest developments in film, television and music. My work has been featured on World Stock Market and other prominent publications.
