Lights, Camera, Witchcraft

What People Are Saying

Peg Aloi, film and television critic:

“Greene’s deeply thoughtful history of the witch in American film and television is also on some level a powerful and loving examination of American history itself. This book shows us all the wondrous things the witch, whose presence has imbued American culture for centuries with magic and knowledge, power and wisdom, fear and fantasy, can ultimately teach us about ourselves.”

Mitch Horowitz, PEN Award-winning author of Occult America:

"In this gloriously wide-ranging book, Heather Greene does what ought to be impossible: she provides a full-landscape survey of our modern conceptions of the witch through the medium of film. Lights, Camera, Witchcraft is enthralling, comprehensive, and clarifying on so many levels, whether for cinephile, student, seeker, or practitioner." -

Lilith Dorsey, author Water Magic and Orishas, Goddesses and Voodoo Queens.

"Heather Greene talks of revenge and redemption in an artful socio-cultural exploration of the cinematic texts we have known all our lives. Light, Camera, Witchcraft is a comprehensive look at some of the rarer and more revealing Witch tropes on film. The book discusses racism, female agency, and more, while artfully depicting film's obsession with the Witch in all its wild and wonderful glory. I loved it. " -

Dr Ethan Doyle White, author of Wicca: History, Belief, & Community in Modern Pagan Witchcraft

“Witches and witchcraft have long been enduring themes in the film and television of the United States. Here, Heather Greene offers a thorough and well-written historical overview of the subject. Greene contextualises these depictions amid broader social developments, including the Satanic Panic and the emergence of new religions like Wicca and LaVeyan Satanism whose practitioners called themselves “witches.” Lights, Camera, Witchcraft is required reading for anyone fascinated by the role of the witch in American popular culture.” -

Dr. Candace C, Kant, Ph.D. Academic Dean, Cherry Hill Seminary

“This book is a must read for anyone interested in U.S. history, film studies, anthropology, psychology, literature, folklore, practicing witches, and for people who like movies. It is a meticulously researched and scholarly, yet highly readable, humorous, and entertaining analysis of the role of the figure of the witch in American culture through the medium of film and television.”

Dr. Amy Hale, Anthropologist and Folklorist

“Scholarly yet accessible, Greene provides a masterful visual and symbolic taxonomy of the witch, framed expertly within the context of American film and media history. Greene holds up the magic mirror to American culture, showing us how the cinematic witch is a thinly veiled metaphor for the reinforcement of women’s social roles. She reveals that stories about witches are stories about women’s power and agency and how we manage “women on the edge”. -

Pam Grossman, author of Waking the Witch and host of The Witch Wave podcast

"If you've been hunting for a thorough—and thoroughly enjoyable—tome about witches in pop occulture, look no further! Heather Greene has written the definitive book on the subject."—

Dr. K.A. Laity, author and tenured professor of medieval literature, film, gender studies, digital humanities and popular culture

“Heather Greene has conjured a comprehensive compendium of witch films from the very earliest silent reels right up to the present.
I teach a course on witch films yet I found new treasures to dig up. This is an invaluable handbook which follows themes threading through the whole history of movies.” -

John W. Morehead, TheoFantastique.com and Co-Editor, The Journal of Gods and Monsters

“Witches are the curious stuff of dual dimensions: real-world religious practitioners, and horror and fantasy characters of the entertainment industry. These expressions often overlap, and then inform each other, at least in the assumptions of many genre consumers. In this volume Heather Greene provides a helpful discussion of this phenomenon that is both entertaining and informative. A helpful addition to any library on the intersection of religion and esotericism in popular culture.”

H. Byron Ballard, author of Roots, Branches & Spirits

"Greene's beautiful compendium of TV and movie witches is a rich source of information on the times in the US and the witch figures that embody the zeitgeist of each."—

Mat Auryn, bestselling author of Psychic Witch

"A definitive guide to the subject of witchcraft in American television and film...Greene expertly maps out the archetype of the witch and the witch's evolution as portrayed by the media, both positive and negative lights...The book is informative, intelligent, and entertaining."—

Dr. Sabina Magliocco, professor of anthropology and chair, program in the Study of Religion at University of British Columbia, Vancouver

"A perceptive, nuanced, and comprehensive overview of the witch figure in American film and television, from the late 1800s to the present day...This book will appeal to anyone interested in film and media history."

Dr. Jonathan Lupo, Associate Professor of Communication, English Department, Saint Anselm College

"Greene's comprehensive and lively survey of witches in US film and television deftly digs into the inherent tension within this fascinating recurring figure."

Jason Mankey, author Transformative Witchcraft

"American cinema has greatly impacted how both the public sees Witchcraft and how Witches see themselves. That fascinating history has never been told before now. This book is a "must read" for anyone interested in the history of Modern Witchcraft."

Reviews

Ryan Jay Reviews (Radio) October 29, 2021.

Ryan Jay Reviews (Television) October 29, 2021.

Wiccan Rede (Magazine) January 30, 2022.

FiveFoldLaw with Thumper Forge, “Bring in the Clown Witches” (Blog) May 9, 2022