The witch doctor is a character in New England folklore who possesses supernatural powers and is often associated with healing and performing rituals. Main idea: The witch doctor is a significant figure in New England folklore known for their supernatural abilities, particularly in healing and performing rituals. Although the term "witch doctor" originally referred to traditional healers in African tribes, it has been adapted in New England folklore to describe individuals who possess similar mystical powers. These witch doctors are believed to have the ability to communicate with spirits, cast spells, and provide remedies for various ailments. They are often portrayed as mysterious and powerful figures who play a crucial role in communities by offering healing and guidance to those in need. Despite their reputation for possessing magical abilities, witch doctors are also viewed with caution and suspicion.
Ultimately though this is a movie by a modern American aimed at a modern audience. Traditional New England witch stories are usually about societal issues. Accused witches were seldom family members but were usually shunned members of the community. The stories often follow this pattern: a poor person asks a wealthier person for food or money. The wealthier person refuses, and the poor person mutters threats. Shortly thereafter bad things happen to the wealthier person. Cattle don't give milk, children sicken, crops fail. The poor person is suspected of witchcraft.
While the movie is very enjoyable as a horror film, for those interested in religion and film, it also provides a somewhat sensationalized portrait of how some Puritans may have viewed the threat of witchcraft to their community. The Witch is a story of a family that moves from their village to an isolated farm, believing this is God s will for them, contrary to the will of their faith community.
Despite their reputation for possessing magical abilities, witch doctors are also viewed with caution and suspicion. They sometimes face persecution and are often associated with dark and malevolent forces. Nevertheless, their abilities to provide supernatural healing and solve problems make them central figures in New England folk tales.
The witch doctor a new england folktale
So last night Tony and I saw The Witch, director Robert Eggers highly praised horror film set in early Puritan New England. As we walked home along the Muddy River (where the estate of executed witch Anne Hibbens was located) and rabbits frolicked around us in the moonlight, I thought: how am I going to write about this movie?
I've been a horror movie fan for most of my life, and I've been writing about New England folklore for many years. I saw The Witch from this dual perspective, so I'm going to first write about it as a film, and then about its folkloric aspects.
I really, really enjoyed The Witch. It's been getting a lot of hype as being incredibly scary, which I think does it a disservice. It's more of an art film with horrific aspects than a straight up horror film. Don't go into it expecting screaming teenagers being chased through the woods by an axe-wielding maniac. Yes someone does wield an axe, and teens do indeed scream, but it's not Friday the 13th. Rather than terrifying, I found it spooky, unsettling, and morally icky, but also emotionally resonant and thought-provoking.
If you want to be surprised about this movie don't read any further. In other words, SPOILERS AHEAD.
The premise is relatively simple. In 1630s New England, a family is banished from a Puritan settlement for being too religiously strident. Exiled but unbowed, Mom, Dad and their five children carve out a small farm a day's journey away from the settlement. Things go well at first, but by the fall their crops are failing, and one day when oldest daughter Thomasin is playing peek-a-boo with her baby brother Samuel he suddenly disappears. The parents suspect a wolf took him, but the name of this movie isn't The Wolf.
That all happens within the first ten minutes. Things only get worse for the next eighty. The narrative is a twisty mix of family psycho-dynamics and mythic imagery. The tight-knit pious family is realistically dysfunctional. Did they really think settling on the edge of an unknown continent would be easy? Dad is successful only at splitting logs, the children tell vicious stories about each other, Mom is getting cold feet about the whole pioneer thing, and their oldest daughter is reaching the peak of puberty. At times the movie implies the supernatural shenanigans are just the imaginings of a stressed out family in a bad situation, but then shifts to show powerful, archetypal images that indicate the supernatural forces menacing the family are quite real. A woman in a red cape in a tangled forest. A rabbit that can't be killed. Baby Samuel's real fate.
My favorite scenes in the film involve the young twins Mercy and Jonas, who are simultaneously cute, bratty and creepy, like the Olsen Twins of Full House mixed with Rob Zombie's Lords of Salem. They spend a lot of time frolicking with the family goat Black Phillip. The twins say he talks to them, but maybe they're just playing a game. Or maybe not.
Robert Eggers is from New Hampshire, and says as a child he thought the New England woods were haunted. He's trying to capture an Olde Tyme New-Englande vibe in this movie, and I think he succeeds in capturing what we know or imagine the early Puritan era looked like. The colors are muted, the homes are dark, and the landscapes have a familiar Northeast gloom. The family's home is festooned with bunches of drying diseased corn, making it look like the grimmest Thanksgiving you've ever imagined. The brief scene of the family leaving the Puritan settlement was filmed at Plimoth Plantation here in Massachusetts, so I think that comparison is apt.
Now onto the folklore in the film. The movie's full title is The Witch: A New-England Folktale. Although is is not based on any actual witchcraft cases or particular folk stories, Eggers did a lot of research into 17th century life and folk beliefs. Much of the movie accurately reflects authentic New England folk stories.
There are bewitched children pinched and tortured by unseen attackers. There are ghosts. There is Protestant prayer, both fearful and ecstatic. There are bewitched farm animals, and familiar spirits suckling on human blood. The Devil appears as a man in black with a book awaiting signatures. There is the overwhelming sense of being a sinner in the hands of an angry God and the accompanying fear of damnation.
Ultimately though this is a movie by a modern American aimed at a modern audience. Traditional New England witch stories are usually about societal issues. Accused witches were seldom family members but were usually shunned members of the community. The stories often follow this pattern: a poor person asks a wealthier person for food or money. The wealthier person refuses, and the poor person mutters threats. Shortly thereafter bad things happen to the wealthier person. Cattle don't give milk, children sicken, crops fail. The poor person is suspected of witchcraft.
Eggers' film does not follow this classic pattern, but instead focuses heavily on psycho-sexual issues. To support this focus, many of the film's later images are drawn not from New England witch narratives but instead from continental European myths and narratives, which had more sexual content. Continental witch stories were quite lurid, full of orgies, infanticide and cannibalism. The New England witches, malevolent though they were, were demure Puritans at heart. Their nocturnal gatherings didn't involve naked gyrating hags, but rather fully clad people standing around listening to the Devil lecture them. They were an inverted version of the Puritan Sunday meetings, not a crazed bacchanalia. At their wildest they sometimes had fiddle music and square dancing. Square-dancing witches wouldn't make for a very scary movie.
And though I love the goat in this movie, the Devil seldom appears as a goat in New England witch stories. Most often he appears as a man richly dressed in black, but when he does take animal shape he appears in a variety of forms, including a cat and a hog. Modern people tend to think of Satan as goatish, though, so I understand why this makes sense for the film.
Finally, many traditional New England witch stories are actually about how to defeat a witch. They describe the witch's predations only to relate how they can be stopped. They are instructional tales told to help younger generations manage malevolent forces. They are not grim or pessimistic.
Witches were bad, but their magic could easily be foiled by simple measures. Keeping urine in a jar full of nails. Hammering a horseshoe above the door. Placing bay leaves around the window. Burning the hair of a bewitched child. All of these could effectively stop a witch's attack. The world was full of evil forces, but the early settlers were optimistic that ultimately they could be defeated.
I think the ending of The Witch is morally ambivalent, but is it optimistic? Probably not, but then again, much like square-dancing witches, it's probably not what a modern audience is looking for.
William and Caleb take actions (chopping too many logs, heading off for help on the family’s only horse) which have disastrous consequences, but throughout Thomasin is allowed to take the blame for all ills that befall the family – even the loss of a prized silver cup, Katherine’s heirloom, which William has sold. Puritan oppressiveness and enforced obedience just make everyone unhappy, as the petty, useless patriarch fails to listen to or protect the family he has dragged into the woods probably to die … until the only course a girl has is to embrace the label stuck on her and become a witch,ambiguously seeking out others of her kind as if this story has been replayed on wretched homesteads all over the colony. It’s a beautiful film, which makes its wilds as magical as they are threatening, and risks alienating the straight-up horror audience by a deliberately slow pace and plot-lurches, with sudden changes and abandonments of story threads and dialogue (often taken from historical record) which sounds as odd and funny as it is horrific.
The stories and legends of witch doctors are passed down from generation to generation, contributing to the rich folklore of New England. In conclusion, the witch doctor is a prominent figure in New England folklore known for their supernatural powers, particularly in healing and performing rituals. They are revered for their ability to communicate with spirits, cast spells, and provide remedies for various ailments. Despite facing skepticism and caution, they play a significant role in communities by offering healing and guidance, ultimately making them important characters in New England folktales..
Reviews for "The Witch Doctor's Rituals and Ceremonies in New England Folklore"
1. John - 2/5
I found "The Witch Doctor: A New England Folktale" to be quite underwhelming. The storyline seemed promising at first, but the execution fell flat. The pacing was too slow, and there were several unnecessary scenes that added nothing to the overall plot. The characters lacked depth, and I couldn't connect with any of them. The performances were also mediocre, and the dialogue felt forced. Overall, it was a disappointing experience, and I wouldn't recommend it.
2. Emily - 1/5
I really disliked "The Witch Doctor: A New England Folktale." The whole movie seemed disjointed, and I struggled to understand the purpose behind certain scenes. The acting was wooden and unconvincing, making it difficult to invest in the story. The visuals were also lackluster, and the special effects were subpar. I expected more from a film of this genre, but unfortunately, it fell short on multiple levels. I would advise others to skip this one.
3. Michael - 2/5
"The Witch Doctor: A New England Folktale" had potential, but it failed to deliver. The plot was muddled and confusing, making it hard to follow along. Additionally, the characters were poorly developed, and their motivations were unclear. The performances felt uninspired and lacked emotional depth. The scares were few and far between, and when they did occur, they felt predictable and ineffective. Overall, it was a forgettable horror movie that didn't live up to the hype.