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Tales Of Witches, Ghosts and Goblins by Vincent Price
(0 Ratings)
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"Here, Vincent Price is reciting all the witches' spells from a place I can't quite remember in England. It was meant to be around a Halloween vibe, which in the Catskills is everything. That's our Christmas, that's our New Year, May Day, Wicker Man… that's our pagan holiday supreme. Holiday ornaments are already out right now - you can go into any store and buy Halloween stuff. Growing up here, it wasn't a stretch that these kinds of records would be played by my mother or at elementary school almost ad nauseam. I became so inoculated to spooky, scary stories that they just became like urban legends. Another case of a children's story narration that was entrancing. These weren't just songs, these were whole inner emotional moments for young kids like me. When you're six and hearing about witches, ghosts and goblins, it's permeating your whole being and likely to shape the rest of your life, certainly in terms of the possibility of a supernatural world. Or probable, in my case."

Source
  
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David McK (3372 KP) rated Maskerade (Discworld, #18; Witches #5) in Books

Mar 28, 2021 (Updated Aug 19, 2023)  
Maskerade (Discworld, #18; Witches #5)
Maskerade (Discworld, #18; Witches #5)
Terry Pratchett | 1995 | Fiction & Poetry
9
7.8 (6 Ratings)
Book Rating
!!!!!
If I was forced to pick, I would have to say that - speaking personally - I think Terry Pratchett was at the height of his powers in the mid-to-late 90s, before the Discworld books started becoming overly serious.


So, around the time of the likes of 'Lords and Ladies, 'Small Gods', and this one, in other words.

(and I've just realised that 2/3rds of those books quoted concern The Witches Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax)

In this one, and following Magrat marriage to King Verence, the Witches find themselves down to a duo instead of a trio, and - since you can't have a coven of two ("When shall we ... two ... meet again ....") - are in need of a replacement (well, so Nanny Ogg thinks).

Said replacement is the first appearance of Agnes Nitt who, unfortunately (from their perspective) has moved to the city of Ankh-Morpork and joined the Opera.

Cue Pratchett's take on 'The Phantom of the Opera' (which, when I first read this, I'd never actually seen) ...
  
The Once and Future Witches
The Once and Future Witches
Alix E. Harrow | 2020 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
10
10.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Thank you to Netgalley for luring me in with this recommendation and the gorgeous cover art. Thank you to Alix E Harrow for providing such an amazing story for this ARC review. All the opinions expressed below are my own.


"Witches and women's rights. Suffrage and spells. They're both...a kind of power...the kind we're not allowed to have."

I'm not often drawn to books involving witches to be honest. I love an annual viewing of Hocus Pocus (who doesn't?!) but that is usually where the affinity ends.
If anything can change my nonchalance, I suspect it may be Alix E. Harrow. This is the first piece of work I have read by the Hugo award winning writer and I don’t need any tarot cards to predict it will not be the last. From the outset of The Once and Future Witches I was hooked: the worldbuilding alone is amazing; you can immediately picture the mills, avenues, squares and slums of New Salem as well as the mysterious tower that pulls our three main characters together.

The three Eastwood sisters themselves are another work of art. Juniper, Agnes and Bella are fierce, formidable women in wildly different ways. They are also flawed, stubborn and quite frankly, inspirational: by linking women’s rights and witchcraft this fantasy novel suddenly becomes more real and relatable to the modern female reader, despite being set in 1893. We empathise, sympathise and rage right alongside the Eastwood sisters on their quest for equality in a male-controlled world.
However, not even witches can act alone and the Eastwood sisters have an amazing cast of supporting characters surrounding them. Impressively, not a single one of these characters can be accused of being two-dimensional: the character development that Harrow has invested into this novel is incredible and must have taken so much work! From the Suffragette’s secretary to the skin-crawling villain to the women and men fighting (and witching) side by side; every single character is substantial and memorable. The sarcasm within Juniper for example is hilarious and even the traditional figures of the Maiden, the Mother and the Crone refuse to conform to stereotypes: I LOVED it!

The format of this novel is very clever and practically forbids you from becoming too comfortable by peppering the main story with “witch-tales”. These complement rather than distract from the storyline and also provide small changes that make you smile – such as the tales of the Sisters Grimm.
Do not be fooled though: the use of witch-tales does not prevent The Once and Future Witches from being an incredibly modern piece of writing. Topics covered include sexuality, gender identity, feminism, race as well as smashing the patriarchy: all interspersed with magic, betrayal and a hell of a lot of emotion.
I would however argue that some topics are slightly too mature for the novel to be considered YA, the description of torture and suggestions of sexual abuse probably push this book firmly into general/adult fantasy fiction novels.

The Once and Future Witches is a future bestseller in my opinion. This unique, powerful novel provides characters that you can’t help but empathise with; slow-burning, intense relationships; the trials and tribulations that come with sisterhood and plot twists at every turn.
This book will swallow you heart and soul, make you laugh, make you cry and leave you bereft at the end.

It is a must read!
  
Hocus Pocus (1993)
Hocus Pocus (1993)
1993 | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
90's nostalgia, good, but cheesy special effects (0 more)
cringey, but cute. (0 more)
Classic Halloween Disney Movie
This movie is so good. If you like movies that give you 90's nostalgia with all little bit of tame creepiness, This movie is for you. The three witches are so hilarious, and the child acting isn't half-bad. Yes, it is sometimes cringy, but if you like those old cringy Disney Channel kind of movies, I definitely recommend you give this a watch.
  
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Dianne Robbins (1738 KP) created a poll

Sep 22, 2018 (Updated Sep 22, 2018)  
Poll
 Anonymous
It's that time of the year. It's time for all the scary movies of vampires, werewolves, monsters, ghosts, witches, zombies, aliens, and the scariest of all, other HUMANS, to invade our screens.

So tell me, do you like scary to watch movies?


Comment with your favorite scary movie or genre.


I love them!

8 votes

They're ok

4 votes

I only like the real stuff, like documentaries.

1 votes

They're not really my thing.

1 votes

I hate them!

1 votes

Ha! Nothing scares me!

0 votes

I can only watch them between my fingers.

0 votes

Vote