The Witch Hysteria Essay

Galen Baker

History of Witchcraft

Professor Amanda Frantz-Mamani

April 24, 2023

The Witch [film]: Hysteria Hysteria played a vital role in the tragedies seen during the events of the Salem Witch Trials, and such acts were a sure thing that led to the events in the movie The Witch [film]. Especially coupled with the extreme ostracization and isolation the family endured, the movie shows the ease with which events like the one seen in the movie may have played out. What began as an innocent rouse with the eldest daughter, Thomason, and the youngest daughter, Mercy, ended with accusations and murder. The Witch [film] exemplifies how explainable events, isolation, and ignorance may persist and manifest into hysteria, which was often seen during

This means that it is no surprise that the children and parents alike would have been aware of the imagined existence of witchcraft, and although it didn’t always pose any immediate threat, such knowledge most definitely lurked in the back of their minds. Similar to how we understood witches to be in class, we are introduced to the witch as an older woman, later a younger woman, which may exemplify what would have been the ability of a witch to transfigure. We see this witch murder and use the baby as a way to conjure the ability to fly on a stick, another common trait witches would have been thought to have at this

I was under the impression that the film would subtly state that the actions were not done by a witch but were actually all explainable. This doesn’t seem to be the case, though, as we end the film with Thomason asking Black Phillip to speak to her, and not only does he, but she actually signs the Devil’s book. I was so surprised, but I think what the film is doing is showing what can happen when such a series of events occur. She is left with nothing. Her father, mother, and siblings are either dead or have disappeared, and all she has is herself. She walks into the woods to find a dozen or so women laughing, dancing, and chanting naked around a fire. My initial impression is that we are not seeing witches born with evil intent, but women who have been pushed and cornered into a position where all they have left is to become what those around them have persisted they are. Whether they physically flew into the air or metaphorically did so is up for debate, but the idea remains that, along with Thomason, all of these women have fallen into the hysteria of witchcraft and are convinced that they themselves are truly witches. Similar to Thomason’s claim that she isn’t a witch and that people "will not hear [her] (Eggers)," others seen in the last scene fell victim to a similar ending where their truths were simply not heard. What began as Thomason's claim that she "is no witch" manifests in her not being able to believe anything else