19 Spellbinding Classic Witch Movies To Conjure Up This Halloween: From ‘Hocus Pocus’ to ‘Suspiria’
Witches have been popular subjects of folklore since humans began storytelling, so it makes sense that they would also feature in motion pictures almost from the very beginning, in films across various genres.
From the 1939 family classic The Wizard of Oz, and the early portrayal of them in the 1922 Häxan, to the 1998 rom-com Practical Magic, witch movies have bewitched audiences for generations. Whether you love classic horror, fantasy adventures or cult favorites, these films prove that a little witchcraft can go a long way on the big screen.
Fun, funny witches
I Married a Witch (1942)
Everett Collection
This romantic comedy/fantasy is led by Veronica Lake as Jennifer, a witch who is burned at the stake in colonial Salem, Massachusetts, by Puritan leader Jonathan Wooley (Fredric March). Before she dies, she curses the male descendants of the Wooley clan to always marry the wrong woman, which they do … until the 1940s, when Jennifer returns in a new body to plague politician Wallace Wooley (also played by March) but ends up falling for him.
Bell, Book and Candle (1958)
Courtesy Everett Collection
Another delightful romantic comedy/fantasy finds modern-day witch Gillian Holroyd (Kim Novak) becoming attracted to her neighbor, Shep Henderson (James Stewart). She despises his fiancée (Janice Rule), so she enchants him to fall in love with her instead.
Witches’ Brew (1980)
Screenshot
In this comedy that has some horror elements, three women (played by Teri Garr, Lana Turner and Kathryn Leigh Scott) use witchcraft to further the careers of their professor husbands. But when a higher position becomes available at the university, they turn on each other.
The Worst Witch (1986)
Central Independent Television PLC/courtesy Everett Collection
This British adaptation of Jill Murphy’s 1974 children’s book is a musical fantasy centered around Mildred Hubble (Fairuza Balk), the titular “worst witch” at Miss Cackle’s Academy for Witches, who becomes an unlikely hero for the school when Miss Cackle’s evil twin sister, Agatha (both played by Charlotte Rae), schemes to take over. Diana Rigg and Tim Curry also star.
Teen Witch (1989)
TransWorld Entertainment. Courtesy: Everett Collection
A cult favorite after often being shown during Freeform’s annual Halloween event, this fantasy/comedy follows nerdy high schooler Louise (Robyn Lively), who discovers she has magical powers. Her efforts to use this witchcraft to become popular and win over the hottest guy in school, however, backfire.
Hocus Pocus (1993)
Everett Collection
Another film that has benefited from frequent airings on Freeform over the years after not being a big hit during its theatrical release is this Disney comedy about an amusing but villainous trio of witches (Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy) who are inadvertently resurrected in Salem on Halloween night. A sequel was released in 2022 and Hocus Pocus 3 is currently in the works.
Practical Magic (1998)
Warner Brothers/courtesy Everett Collection
Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman lead this fantasy romance as sisters Sally and Gillian Owens, witches who have conflicting opinions about their abilities and whether to use them, and who are both under a curse that may prevent them from finding lasting love. A sequel was recently released in September 2026, reuniting Sandra and Nicole.
Kinda scary witches
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Everett Collection
The Witches of Eastwick (1987)
Warner Brothers/courtesy Everett Collection
George Miller helmed this fun adaptation of John Updike‘s novel about three single women (played by Cher, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Susan Sarandon) living in a small Rhode Island town who begin to have their wishes granted, but at a cost, after a mysterious and flamboyant man (Jack Nicholson) shows up.
Wicked Stepmother (1989)
MGM / Courtesy: Everett Collection
Bette Davis‘ last feature film performance (although she is not seen in it a lot, having withdrawn from the project after filming began) came in this dark comedy in which she plays a chain-smoking witch who, along with her daughter (Barbara Carrera), also a witch, wreaks havoc on a suburban family. For a good part of the film, Davis’ absence is explained by having her character’s spirit inhabiting the body of a cat.
The Witches (1990)
Everett Collection
Jim Henson produced this terrific adaptation of Roald Dahl’s book about a boy who stumbles upon a witch convention headed by the Grand High Witch (Anjelica Huston) and works to thwart their plot to turn all the world’s children into mice, despite him already having been turned into a mouse. This fun feature is a perfect example of a PG-rated movie — there are enough of the scares that kids want, courtesy of Henson and company’s makeup and puppetry effects, but nothing too frightening.
The Craft (1996)
Columbia Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection
This teen horror film follows a prep school newcomer (Robin Tunney) who falls in with three outcast girls (Fairuza Balk, Neve Campbell and Rachel True) practicing witchcraft. Soon, they are all conjuring spells and curses against those who anger them, but end up dealing with negative repercussions of their own.
Really scary witches
Häxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages (1922)
Everett Collection
This may be a 101-year-old silent film from Sweden, but don’t let that lull you into thinking it is not scary. A wonderfully weird, fictionalized documentary purporting to show the evolution of witchcraft and the superstitions surrounding it in Europe from the Middle Ages to the early 20th century, Häxan features some visually stunning and truly horrific special effects sequences and costumes/makeup (including the ones director Benjamin Christensen himself donned for his portrayal of Satan).
Black Sunday (1960)
Everett Collection
Italian horror maestro Mario Bava directed this influential classic starring British scream queen Barbara Steele as evil witch Asa Vajda, who is sentenced to death by her brother in the 17th century only to be accidentally resurrected 200 years later. Once animated, she plans to seek vengeance on her brother’s descendants and to take over the body of a woman named Katia Vajda (Steele), who is Asa’s physical reincarnation. Among the many hats he wore in creating this film, Bava developed its still-gruesome special effects, and Black Sunday presaged the era when horror films would be more visually graphic.
The Witches (a.k.a. The Devil’s Own) (1966)
Everett Collection
This underrated horror production from Britain’s famed Hammer Films stars Joan Fontaine as a schoolteacher who, after having a horrifying experience with the occult while working in Africa, moves to a small English village to hopefully recover normalcy. Unfortunately, she discovers that black magic resides there as well, in the form of a witches’ coven led by a journalist (Kay Walsh).
Horror Hotel (a.k.a. The City of the Dead) (1960)
Everett Collection
Another great 1960 horror film featuring a reincarnated witch is this British production led by Christopher Lee as a history professor who is secretly a member of a coven in the perpetually mist-shrouded Massachusetts village of Whitewood. Whitewood has been cursed since 1692, when witch Elizabeth Selwyn (Patricia Jessel) was burned at the stake, but not before selling her soul to Satan for eternal life. Selwyn now lives as the eccentric “Mrs. Newless” (Jessel), owner of a local inn, and she must maintain her life by providing the devil two yearly virgin sacrifices.
Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
Everett Collection
All of Them Witches reads the title of a book that Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow) comes upon in this classic thriller, and she should have heeded what ended up being a warning. Rosemary finds herself in a nightmare where practically all the people around her, including the kindly older couple in the apartment next door (played by Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner Ruth Gordon and Sidney Blackmer), are members of or helping a coven that is plotting to make her conceive and bear Satan’s child. Even her husband (John Cassavetes), desperate for a big acting break, becomes part of the conspiracy. It’s not paranoia if everyone really is out to get you!
Suspiria (1977)
20th Century Fox Film Corp./Courtesy: Everett Collection.
Cowriter/director Dario Argento‘s horror classic stars Jessica Harper as an American dancer who arrives at a prestigious German ballet academy, only to realize, following a series of brutal murders, that the school is merely a front for something more sinister — a witches’ coven headed by its founder, Helena Markos (Lela Svasta), one of the most nightmarishly evil witches in film history. The 2018 remake of Suspiria is intriguing in its own way, but Argento’s masterful use of color and creation of suspense and terror, enhanced by a demonic-sounding musical score by prog rock group Goblin, makes this original tough to top.
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Artisan Entertainment/courtesy Everett Collection
Is the “Blair Witch” real or just the stuff of horrific local legend? That’s the mystery in this smash-hit cult film that plays like a documentary left behind by three missing young filmmakers, which jump-started the genre of “found footage” horror films. Suffice to say there is enough creepiness in the sights and sounds that the trio uncovers as they search the woods — leading up to a quick but shocking final image.
What ones are your favorites? Let us know in the comments!
This article originally appeared in the October 2023 Witches issue of ReMIND Magazine. You can purchase the full issue at the link below.
Remind 
Witches
October 2023
Take a fond look back at our favorite small-screen spellbinders
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