In the spirit of Halloween, The Writer’s Bloc presents five wicked, and not-so-wicked, witches. Reader beware, you may find yourself “spellbound” by the end of this list.
Hermione Granger

Who wasn’t a fan of the beautiful and feisty Hermione? The muggle-born witch taught herself, and Harry, everything. Harry literally couldn’t survive without her! Aside from her magical hobbies, this badass witch was a feminist, an activist for elves and a girl, who embraced huge hair. Not to mention, she wasn’t afraid to throw a punch. Hermione is definitely at the top of my list.
Angéle De La Barthe
Haven’t heard of her? Well, according to many she was real and she lived during the 13th century. This beautiful French witch was famous for her French kissing–sexual affair with the devil that resulted in a demon son. Her half devil son gobbled up babies in town for his afternoon meals, which led to her execution during the Medieval Witch Hunt. That’s pretty bad in my book.
Yzma

The purple fashion icon and mad scientist of the Emperor’s new groove was not one to be messed with! While Yzma is technically not a witch (she’s more of a mad scientist), she is definitely an inspiration to women everywhere. She never doubted her beauty even when everyone else in the kingdom did, and she always came back strong, even after drinking her own poison! Too bad she never succeeded because of her dumb assistant, but she was definitely one badass Disney witch.
Nancy Downs
This witch from The Craft was nothing less than badass. From her anti-social attitude, to her crazy style, to her resolve to prevent anyone from touching her power, she was definitely not someone you’d want to cross. Not to mention, anyone in the path of her vengeful quest was done for. This witch hated her ex-lover so much that she disguised herself to push him out of a window. On top of that, she gave her step dad a heart attack for talking shit. This witch was so badass and feared, by other witches, that she was ultimately stripped of her power, but she was never forgotten.
Bellatrix Lestrange

This seductive and crazy “Death Eater” of Harry Potter series’ Slytherin house was simply sadistic. One of her famous sayings was, “You need to really want to cause pain to enjoy it.” No wonder Bellatrix means “female warrior.”
After expressing her loyal support to Voldemort and dark magic, she chilled in prison for 14 years, escaped and still fought for the dark arts. Played by the mysterious and eccentric, Helena Bonham Carter, how could you not be enthralled?
The Bloc’s staff hopes you have a happy Halloween, and remember, beware of witches!
Racquel Royer is a freshman journalism major. She can be reached at royer.racquel.edu@gmail.com.