The History Behind the Witch Costume

 The Reason and History Behind Elements of a Witch Costume 

    We talk a lot about the depiction of witches in class. When I first think of a witch, I think of warts, a pointy hat, a broom stick, a weird nose, and maybe a green face. I think it is safe to say nobody in the witch trials we have discussed in class have had any of these defining features. Last week I discussed the connection between witches and cats, but this week my brain was jogged by the witch costume I saw in Target today. The costume contained a pointy hat with stars and a long shiny cape also with stars. I also think it is safe to say nobody in the trials was wearing a shiny long cape with stars. 

    The first element of a witch costume and probably the most defining in my opinion is the hat. There are a few opinions as to where the hat comes from. The first and the one that makes the most sense to me is the theory relating it back to Quakers. At the time of the witch trials, tall, pointy, cone like hats were a common item worn by Quaker women. Quaker's were on the outside during this time period because they believed that men and women were on the same level spritually, which was a belief that was not widly accepted. A decent amount of Quaker women were accused of witchcraft, so therefore they could have worn said tall hats. There was also a book written by a Quaker and she said that the people accused wore tall hats and aprons. 

    The aspect of the dark dress comes from the notion that witches/people that were 'healers' would wear what everyone else in a villege was wearing, and people back then wore lots of dark colors and cloaks. It also is because the color black is associated with evil/darkness/mystery. The long nose is probably what intrigues me the most. It is an odd feature to associate with a group of people. At this time, Jewish people and witches were seen as bad in the eyes of the church. Because both groups were frowned upon, sometimes the stereotypes of the individual groups get lumped together. Jewish people have often been stereotyped for having larger noses, and it seems that that stereotyped was lumped with witches. 


https://www.history.com/news/witch-hat-costume-origins

Comments

  1. williams.dan76October 9, 2024 at 10:17 AM

    Thanks, interesting discussion. Along with Quaker hats, I also think the tradition of alewives wearing high pointy hats in markets to attract potential customers has some merit. But like black cats, there are multiple stories and interpretations. Certainly the Oz's Wicked Witch of the West has a lot to do with our common witch images. She's the one that popularized the green face.

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