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Casting A Spell: Movies about Witches, Wizards, and Warlocks

The Wicked Witch of the West wanted revenge, until a pair of magic slippers caught her eye.
Publicity Image MGM film The Wizard of Oz
/
Wikimedia Commons
The Wicked Witch of the West wanted revenge, until a pair of magic slippers caught her eye.
The Wicked Witch of the West wanted revenge, until a pair of magic slippers caught her eye.
Wikimedia Commons
The Wicked Witch of the West wanted revenge, until a pair of magic slippers caught her eye.

They wander the halls of Hogwarts, tempt children into sugar-encrusted homes, and sometimes get crushed by a flying farmhouse.

The mystique of the witches, wizards and warlocks continues to capture the imagination of moviegoers. And their presence in earthly and magical realms reminds viewers that things are not always as they seem.

On the next Movies On The Radio, The State of Things wants to know what are your favorite movies about witches, wizards or warlocks? Did the ever-impressive skills of Hermione Granger have you wishing that you, too, could “swish and flick”? Does the swift death of the Wicked Witch of the East continue to make you cheer? Or does the alluring power of the teenage coven in The Craft still conjure up nightmares?

Film experts Marsha Gordon and LauraBoyesbreak down your favorite films about witches, wizards and warlocks. They also look at the long tradition of casting women as evil orother-wordly.

Send an email with your pick to sot@wunc.org or tweet at us with #sotmovieand you could be part of our next show! 

Copyright 2017 North Carolina Public Radio

Laura Pellicer is a producer with The State of Things (hyperlink), a show that explores North Carolina through conversation. Laura was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, a city she considers arrestingly beautiful, if not a little dysfunctional. She worked as a researcher for CBC Montreal and also contributed to their programming as an investigative journalist, social media reporter, and special projects planner. Her work has been nominated for two Canadian RTDNA Awards. Laura loves looking into how cities work, pursuing stories about indigenous rights, and finding fresh voices to share with listeners. Laura is enamored with her new home in North Carolina—notably the lush forests, and the waves where she plans on moonlighting as a mediocre surfer.
Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.