Mollie Medine

Elizabeth Kent
English 1020
8 March 2016

Outline
I.

Working Title: Wiccaphobia

a. Wiccaphobia is the term used for the fear of witches; therefore, I am thinking
about calling my paper Wiccaphobia because I believe that the reason society
acts the way they do towards witches is because they are scared of them.

II.

Working Introduction: Informational

a. In my introduction I plan to inform my readers on my topic of witchcraft and
Wicca. I can provide the difference between Black and White witches. I can also
include some background information that I have researched to enlighten them on
the subject so they can thoroughly understand my perspective.
b. The order of which I plan to organize my segments: expos, obituary, diary,
cartoon, recipe, movie review, and lastly the certificate. I believe putting the
expos first will help to get my readers intrigued and well as informed on my
topic. It will open the door for their thought process to begin and view my topic
through my perspective. I chose the certificate to be my final entry because I feel
like it will close my argument. When we think about getting an award, we usually
receive it after we have achieved a task; so, my certificate will be my closing
entry.

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III.

Working Thesis: What I want to prove in my paper is that the views society has on
witchcraft are wrong.
a. I want to present a thesis statement in my paper because it is required, and it will
illustrate to my readers the main point of my paper.
b. A great portion of society is uneducated or mislead on the subject of witches.
Many believe the practice of Wicca is the practice of the devil; it is not. I plan to
provide examples from my research to prove that Witchcraft is not what society
has made it out to be. I want to prove that it is just another religion.

IV.

Expos:
a. I want to do an expos because I can use it to provide a lot of good information.
It can also be another way to provide addition background information so my
readers get the full concept of what I am trying to display. This will be my first
entry, so it needs to grab my readers attention and leave them wanting more.
b. In my expos, I was to expose all the scandalous things society has encouraged
and supports about witches. I want to provide all the facts from my research about
the torture and misery that we have put most witches through.

V.

Obituary of a Salem witch

a. I want to do an obituary of a victim of the witch trails to illustrate the cruel fact
that witches were murdered long ago for what they believed in and harsh
accusations put upon them. I also believe it is just very appropriate since death
was a major part of witch history.

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b. An idea that I have for my obituary is to base it off of a real Salem witch. One of
my sources mentioned a few facts that I could include to make it realistic, and yet
still reflect the horrors that happened so long ago.
VI.

Diary of *insert little girls name*

a. I want to write a diary entry because I think it would develop a good insight of
how those surrounded by the situation were affected. It can also even suggest how
some were even persuaded into believe some of the accusations.
b. I want to write a diary entry in the perspective of one of the younger girls who
originally started the rumors of witchcraft. I think it would open the minds of my
readers and allow them to see how those beliefs have carried on for many years. I
can include factual information of the actual start up of the accusations in the
entry.

VII.

Cartoon
a. I want to do a cartoon because I think it will be a creative way to illustrate how
society views witches.
b. I am thinking maybe an ironic cartoon will be a little more effective in this
situation because society as a whole is hypocritical. I am thinking I could possible
make a cartoon on the rumor of witches eating children, cursing, or casting spells.
I am leaning more towards the cannibalism idea.

VIII.

Recipe: How to Make a Black Witch

a. I want to create a recipe because it is creative, simple, and easy to understand. It
can show how easy it is to actually effect the lives around you with some of the

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accusations that were pointed many years ago. These accusations are still used
today, but there is no punishment for witchcraft.
b. I want to include some accusations that are used in todays society and many years
ago to form the perfect formula of a black witch. I want to display how just a little
bit of wrong can go a long way.
IX.

Movie Review:
a. I want to do a movie review because there are plenty of modern movies that
portray witches as evil. They could support my argument of how society views
witchcraft without actually gathering the facts. They are just interested in the
entertainment value of the movie rather than the factuality of it.
b. A few movies I have in mind for my review are The Craft, Hocus Pocus, The
Witch, or The Witches. In my review, I will basically be working off my thesis
statement and working to accomplishment.

X.

Certificate
a. I want to do a certificate because it symbolizes an award or the accomplishment
of a task. I believe it could be a good way to show what, as a society, we have
achieved over the years. I also want this to be my concluding strategy. I think it
could be a good way to finalize my project.
b. My idea for the certificate is for it to maybe be an award to society for being the
most gullible. We are quick to believe rumors told to us about others or assume.

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Annotated Bibliography
Crum, Maddie. This Is What Its Really Like To Be A Witch Today. Huffington Post.
TheHuffingtonPost.com Inc. 2015. Web. 27 Mar. 2016
This source describes witches in todays society. She mentions how they love nature and believe
that men and women are both equal in the universe. No one gender is higher than another like in
our more popular American culture. We are used to men being the dominate figure. They also
believe that a God or Goddess can be found all around us, and it does not take much to
communicate with the dead. They also do not need priest intervention to do so. They also to
seem to have a very simple creed; An it harm none, do what thou wilt.
Goodheart, Adam. "How Satan came to Salem: the true story of the witch trials." The
Atlantic 2015: 46. Literature Resource Center. Web. 1 Mar. 2016.
In How Satan came to Salem: the true story of the witch trials, Goodheart descried the real story
behind the accusations and executions. It all started with two little girls named Betty Parris, age
9, and Abigail Williams, age 11. The two were close cousins and though of to be smart, well
behaving children. One day while the girls were playing, they crawled under the furniture, made
weird noises, and tried to fly. Many in the town believed they were bewitched, and the girls did
not tell them any different. Because of these accusations of witchcraft, 20 people died in Salem.
Though none were burned to death, which is a very popular belief, 19 were hung and 1 was
pressed to death in an attempt to achieve a confession. The trials spread to dozens of towns
around Salem and ultimately collected 1693 deaths, and then the executions just stopped. This
left many wondering what happened in those months of craze, and that the girls were making it
all up to manipulate the attention of their elders. The Crucible (1953) referred to it as a response
to the changes occurring in early America regarding the increase in support of individual
freedom. A psychologist suggests that it was caused by a hallucinogenic fungus that grew on
moldy rye bread, which causes those who consumed it to have a really bad trip.
Hocus Pocus. Dir. Kenny Ortega. Perf. Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Majimy.
Walt Disney Pictures, 1993. DVD.
In Salem, Massachusetts, Max, his younger sister, Dani, and Allison, their friend, are exploring
an old abandoned house on Halloween night. When max stumbles across an old book he recites a
few words and accidentally awakes a coven of three witches who have been resting for three
centuries, 300 years. They were executed in Salem long ago for practicing black magic. Now that
they have returned, they will have one night to secure the immortality. With the help from a
immortal cat, that happens to be out for revenge on the witches, the kids will be challenged to
face the coven of witches to retrieve their spell book and put them to rest once and for all. These
three powerful witches will not go down so easily though.

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Levack, Brian P. "The Horrors of Witchcraft And Demonic Possession." Social Research 81.4
(2014): 921-939. Business Source Premier. Web. 25 Feb. 2016.
In this article, the author, Levack, tells what has been reported in the past about Witchcraft and
the religion Wicca. He starts with describing an imaginary group called the Witches Sabbath.
They are said to be a nocturnal assembly of witches, demons, and the devil. During these
meetings, some believed they acted in a promiscuous manner with other witches and demons. It
was also said they danced around naked and mocked the Christian church service. These
meetings were thought to be held at night at a remote location to praise the devil and reverse the
norm of society. When they come in contact with the Evil One people die from sickness and
disease. Many believe that these people were victims of these groups that used magic to target
those around them. More rumors flew that they even sacrificed unbaptized babies to the devil,
dismembered, consumed, or used their hair and bones for magic.
Nadel, S. F.. Witchcraft and Anti-witchcraft in Nupe Society. Africa: Journal of the
International African Institute 8.4 (1935): 423447. Web.
When Nadel traveld to Nupe Emirate, he was searching for answers and thoughts on the early
witch executions. What he found was silence. No one would speak a word of witch craft because
of the fear of being executed. In Nupe Emirate, witchcraft is viewed as only evil that can possess
a man, and is used for anit-social purposes. It is not associated with its most common similars
like magic, religious beliefs, spirits, ghost, or medicine. All of these things are viewed separate
from witchcraft and are exceptional in society. In 1932, three women were accused of witch
craft. When they tried to clear their names, they were stoned by a large group of people until they
died. They reaped the repercussions of those accusations without even given the chance to speak
for themselves.
Obringer, Lee Ann. How Witchcraft Works. HOWSTUFFWORKS. HowStuffWorks. 2004.
Web. 27 Mar. 2016.
Witchcraft is a pagan religion, which means they worship more than one God or Goddess.
Paganism is so old that it includes every religion except for three: Christianity, Jewish, and
Muslim. Pagan religions are usually nature oriented, like witchcraft. Some different types of
witchcraft include: African, Appalachian folk magic, Green, Hedge, Hereditary,
Kitchen/Cottage, Pennsylvania Dutch hexcraft, Traditional, and Wicca. These pagan religions
were good until the 1450s when people started to develop a fear of witchcraft. This time period
is when witches started to get associated with the devil or devil worship. Though there are so
many different types of witchcraft, the majority of witches today are from the Wiccan religion.

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Stewart, Pamela J., and Andrew Strathern. Witchcraft, Sorcery, Rumors, And Gossip. Cambridge,
UK: Cambridge University Press, 2004. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 27 Mar.
2016.
This source, Witchcraft. Sorcery, Rumors, and Gossip, tries to evaluate witchcraft and other
religions like it and sort out the differences. It states that many people associate Wicca with
sorcery, but they are two completely different things. This could be some confusion with the
translation between languages. Like in Africa, the word la sorcellerie translates to the English
word witchcraft. This source also states that originally England was against all witchcraft. They
prohibited all practices of ritual experts, even the act of seeking help from these ritual experts.
This source is lead to believe that anything outside of the control of the church or government is
viewed as wrong and should be banned.
The Witches. Dir. Nicolas Roeg. Perf. Anjelica Huston, Mia Zetterling, and Jasen Fisher. Warner
Bros. 1990. DVD.
The Witches is a children movie released in 1990 and directed by Nicolas Roeg. It depicts the
story of a young boy names Luke Eveshim. The movie begins with Luke talking with his
grandmother about the reality of witches and the harm they can do. When his parents die in a car
crash, he is orphaned and goes to live with his grandmother. They go to England for family
business and stay at a hotel. As Luke and a friend are wondering around the hotel, the stumble
upon a meeting. The suddenly realize that this is a meeting a witches who are meeting to spread
a plan to eliminate all children in England. They plan to use a potion to turn them all to mice.
During the meeting, the witches discover the children and test out their new plan on them. The
boys both turn into mice, but before the witches can kill them they get away. Luke faces many
obstacles throughout the fil to return to his grandmother and get her help.
Wiccaphobia Do you have a fear of witches or witchcraft? Bozman, Edward L. Web. 27 Mar.
2016.
Wiccaphobia is the fear of witches. It comes from two separate words. Wicca means male witch,
and phobia means fear. This fear can also be associate with fear of hell, Satan, demons, ghost,
and even the bogeyman. Wiccaphobia can develop in a number of ways. It can come from a
traumatic experience or a series of unfortunate events. It is also found to develop from the inside
of our bodies, such as in our genes. Wiccaphobia can also be hereditary, which means it is passed
down from family member to family member, often skipping a generation here and there. Many
believe that heredity, genetics, brain chemistry, and life experiences combined all together is
what triggers this fear.

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Witches of East End. Dir. Maggie Friedman. Perf. Julia Ormond, Jenna Dewan Tatum, and
Rachel Boston. Fox 21. 2 Jan. 2016. Netflix.
Witches of East End is a television show that aired on Fox and is also on Netflix. It is a story of a
mother, Joanna, and her two daughters, Freya and Ingrid. They lead a normal and low on the
radar life until the discover their past and destiny that their mother has so successfully hidden
from them. They are witches. Joanna, the mother, has the power to heal people and bring back
those who are deceased. Ingrid, the first daughter, can tell the future and weave magical
knotwork. Lastly, Freya, the second daughter, has the abilities to craft potions and make charms.
They struggle to control their newly found powers, but when their aunt Wendy shows up she
offers some guidance with their mothers approval. In their journey, the strive to break the curse
that has been cast on their family, decided between the trickster and the king, and keep innocent
citizens from getting caught in the crossfire and heal the ones who do.