“We are the Weirdos, mister”: on The Craft

The Craft (1996) directed by Andrew Fleming and written by Peter Filardi, was pivotal in the representation and perhaps the construction of a new kind of witch; of a young, teenage girl with dark makeup, dark clothes and black nail polish, surrounded by red candles, pentagrams and tarot decks. It really was the season of the witch in the late 90s, with Sabrina the Teenage Witch hitting global television screens later in 1996, followed by Buffy the Vampire Slayer in 1997 and Charmed in 1998.

Fleming hired Wicca consultant Pat Devin, high priestess of Covenant of the Goddess in developing the film, and the attention to detail in the rituals and ceremonies are a feature of the film.

In this episode we do our best to cover the plot and themes of the film but as usual, we go on a few tangents; considering, for example, feminism, Satan & Christianity, power, community, and the relationship between witchcraft and psychedelics.

References

• The Craft (1996)
• Part of Five (1994 — 2000)
• The Beatles — Revolver (1966) — Tomorrow Never Knows
• Scott J. Hill (2019) — Confrontation with the Unconscious
• Altered Mates — Episode 12 — On Scott Hill’s “Confrontation with the Unconscious”—Part One
• Altered Mates — Episode 13 — On Scott Hill’s “Confrontation with the Unconscious”—Part Two
• Witch (BBC Podcast)

Links

Altered Mates Website

Altered Mates Instagram

Music for the show by Si Mulumby

Altered Mates Substack

Altered Mates Patreon

A Glimpse of Eternity by Alejandro Tuama

• Purchase the novel here (hard copy, ebook and audiobook).
• Listen to the free serialised audiobook here.