I can’t believe it’s been a year already! I think I’ve covered most horror-related words at this stage, so let’s just take a quick look at a very Hallowe’eny word: witch.

The word’s origins aren’t exactly clear, but it seems to have come from the Old English wicce (female magician, sorceress), from the word wicca (sorcerer, wizard). And of course that word wicca might seem familiar.

Wicca is a Neo-Pagan movement which came to prominence during the 1950s, based on ancient Pagan beliefs. A lot of people refer to it as witchcraft, which of course has negative connotations, so a lot of Wiccan practicioners prefer Wicca as an older term, before the negative associations of the term witch came about.

Hope you have a nice Hallowe’en: I’ll be spending this evening at the cinema watching the classic The Evil Dead!

I’ll leave you now with some links to some other Hallowe’en-related posts:

Happy Hallowe’en!

Hallowe’en Reads: M.R. James

Hallowe’en Reads: The Haunting of Hill House

Hallowe’en Reads: “Gramma”

Hallowe’en Reads: House of Leaves

Bonfire

Don’t Be Afraid

IT