35 witch movies that will cast a spell on you
You don't need to cast a spell to find the best witch movies of all time. There's a trove of witches — from benevolent to black-clad and up to mischief — to be found on Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+, Shudder and more, just a play away.
Witch movies are a staple in the horror category, but there is family-friendly Halloween fare about witches for kids out there, too.
Every decade has its own brand of witch movies. For a classic pick from the ‘80s, look no further than “The Witches of Eastwick,” which sees Cher, Michelle Pfeiffer and Susan Sarandon unite as accidental witches. For the ‘90s, “Eve’s Bayou” and “Practical Magic” are installments about family and powers. The 2000s have their fare share, from scary movies like “The Witch” to dreamier fantasy ones like “Stardust.” And of course, there are countless movies about teenage witches.
You don't have to wait until Halloween to watch a witchy flick, or to learn about modern witchcraft. Below, find a few of cinema's most famous witches, from Ursula in "The Little Mermaid" to all three witches of Eastwick.
'The Little Mermaid' (1989)
A drag queen inspired Ursula the Sea Witch, made famous in the 1989 animated film and revisited in the 2023 one. Famously, she makes a deal for Ariel that the little mermaid simply can't refuse. Is she a witch or is she jut a businesswoman?
‘The Love Witch’ (2016)
Elaine (Samantha Robinson) is a beautiful, young, single witch. With her skills she stirs up a potion in her classic Victorian apartment in hopes of finding The One. Though her brew brings about a bounty of potential love interests, it’s when she finds the perfect match that her skills turn sinister.
'Kiki’s Delivery Service' (1989)
From Hayao Miyazaki, this beloved anime feature follows newly turned 13-year-old Kiki, a witch who heads off on her broom with black cat in tow for a year of independence and witch training. Finding her landing spot, Kiki settles into a seaside town and sets up a flying courier service deliverying baked goods from a local shop, she develops friendships and learns how to muster up the power of confidence and magic.
‘Season of the Witch’ (2011)
A knight named Behman (Nicolas Cage) returns home after years of fighting in the Crusades. Upon his return, Behman is given the task by a dying cardinal to bring a witch to an abbey where monks will destroy her abilities. In his long journey, Behman comes to learn that his task is not as straightforward as it seems.
‘Blame’ (2017)
In this teen psychological drama, shy high schooler Abigail returns to school after spending time away in a psych ward and forms a friendship with her teacher. Their dynamic soon brings about accusations akin to the Crucible.
‘I Am Not a Witch’ (2017)
Eight-year-old Shula lives in an African village where she is accused of witchcraft. Sent away, she is taken to a traveling camp for older accused witches.
‘The Witches of Eastwick’ (1987)
With an all star cast of Jack Nicholson, Cher, Michelle Pfeiffer and Susan Sarandon, “The Witches of Eastwick” is a horror comedy with plenty of tricks up its sleeve. Three women, unknowingly witches, accidentally conjure a man while discussing their deepest desires. The man is exactly what they wished for, but has a dark side of his own.
‘Bewitched’ (2005)
Co-written and directed by Nora Ephron, this meta romantic comedy is about a remake of the real 1960s sitcom “Bewitched.” Only this time around, Nicole Kidman — cast as the show’s lead — is an actual witch.
‘Practical Magic’ (1998)
In this movie based on an Alice Hoffman novel of the same name, Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman play two sister witches who are unlucky in love. Every time they find a man they feel they are truly in love with, the suitor dies. Turns out it’s the result of a family curse. When a detective grows suspicious, the girls must find a way to protect themselves and their family with their powers.
‘The Craft’ (1996)
High school is a transformative time — especially if your teenage years include the awakening of powers. Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, Neve Campbell and Rachel True star as teenage witches in a movie that has gone on to become a cult classic.
‘The Blair Witch Project’ (1999)
Scaredy cats, beware: This scary movie isn’t for the faint of heart. “The Blair Witch Project” is the supernatural horror story of three student filmmakers who hike into the Black Hills in Maryland in 1994 to try and document the infamous Blair Witch. Their plan goes too well.
'Spirited Away' (2001)
Ten-year-old Chihiro Ogino moves to a new town with her parents but finds herself in trouble when they're both turned into pigs by the witch Yubaba. Soon enough, Chihiro learns that to turn her parents back and return to their normal world, she must work in Yubaba's magical bathhouse.
‘The Autopsy of Jane Doe’ (2016)
Emile Hirsch and Brian Cox play a father and son who are both coroners in a small town. The body of a woman comes in — and something is off. This is other body they’ve seen (and she might not be dead). This seriously scary horror flick is wrapped up in the history of the Salem Witch Trials and its legacy.
‘Suspiria’ (2018)
"Suspiria" is a movie that’s a bit like a witch’s magic: All-encompassing and engrossing and it might just make you uncomfortable. Dakota Johnson plays an American dancer who joins a Berlin ballet company only to learn it’s a front for a witch coven.
‘The Crucible’ (1996)
For centuries, “witch” was a very, very dangerous label. Arthur Miller’s famous play, adapted into a movie starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder, looks into what happens when a community begins suspecting others of witchcraft, and neighbors become strangers in an atmosphere of persecution and suspicion.
‘Eve’s Bayou’ (1997)
This 1997 Southern Gothic drama follows 10-year-old Eve (Jurnee Smollett), whose family quickly unravels at the revelation of her father’s infidelity. Eve finds an unlikely ally in her aunt (Debbi Morgan), who has the gift of sight and is known as “The Black Widow” in her neighborhood. After feeling betrayed by her father (Samuel L. Jackson), Eve turns to magic to drastically alter her family’s course.
‘Teen Witch’ (1989)
One of the most classic witch movies is the 1989 film “Teen Witch.” Nerdy teen Louise (Robyn Miller) hates high school, but things take an upswing when she realizes she is a witch and has magical powers. Armed with a dream and new potential, Louise sets out to become the most popular girl in school and make her powers work for her.
'Sabrina: The Teenage Witch' (1996)
You watched the '90s comedy about Sabrina (Melissa Joan Hart) and her witchy aunts. Now see the movie that started it all, in which Sabrina learns, on her 16th birthday, that she's part of a magical family. Look out for an appearance from a young Ryan Reynolds.
‘Hocus Pocus’ (1993)
Halloween classic “Hocus Pocus” follows Max, a young boy who accidentally resurrects three evil witches in Salem, Massachusetts in 1993. The witches in question — played by Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy — return after being executed by the townsfolk in the 17th century. With the help of his sister and his crush, Max must stop the witches on their quest to become immortal. A sequel of the nostalgic favorite came out in 2022.
'Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore' (2022)
Harry Potter fans can return to the world of Hogwarts and all of its magic in this sequel to "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald" and a prequel to the original stories about the boy who lived. Albus Dumbledore, the professor who knows all about dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald and his plans to take over the wizarding world. Top stop him, he enlists the help of old friend (Newt Scamander) Eddie Redmayne.
'Gretel & Hansel' (2020)
The fairytale "Hansel and Gretel" has dark undertones to begin with: A witch in the woods luring people into her cottage to, well, do nothing good. Alice Krige's imagining of Holda, the witch, is unforgettably grim.
'Mary and The Witch’s Flower' (2017)
This 2017 Japanese animated fantasy film from Hiromasa Yonebayashi is about a girl named Mary who is led into a forest by a mysterious cat. Soon enough, she’s whisked away on a broom to a magical school called Endor College, where mystery and dark things are afoot.
'The Witch' (2015)
This 2015 horror period film follows a New England Puritan family who encounter supernatural forces, including an evil witch, in the woods near their farm. “The Witch,” directed by Robert Eggers and starring Anya Taylor Joy, is reminiscent of “The Crucible,” only with actual witchcraft.
'Halloweentown' (1998)
Another Disney Channel original streaming on Disney+, “Halloweentown” centers on 13-year-old Marnie, who learned she is a witch from her grandmother who is also a witch. Marnie discovers a secret portal to Halloweentown, a place where vampires, witches and monsters can live in peace. Despite the wishes of her mother, who is also a witch but chooses to live a normal mortal life, Marnie finds herself more and more involved in this magical community and its lore.
'The Wizard of Oz' (1939)
Some of the most well-known witches of film are found in this 1939 classic, which follows Dorothy (Judy Garland); her dog, Toto and some unlikely friends on a quest to meet the Wizard of Oz. Dorothy runs from the Wicked Witch of the West using the help of the good witch Glinda.
'I Married a Witch' (1942)
If classic movies are your thing, check out “I Married a Witch," a screwball comedy with a supernatural streak. The film stars Veronica Lake as a witch who is resurrected in 1942 after being burned at the stake. The witch's plan to torment and curse the descendants of the man who sentenced her to death doesn't go as planned.
‘Arsenic and Old Lace ’ (1944)
Mortimer Brewster (Cary Grant) has skirted away from marriage for years. After falling in love with Elaine Harper (Priscilla Lane) and marrying her on Halloween, he returns home to intorudce her to his quirky aunts (Josephine Hull, Jean Adair) only to realize that they might be old, but they are serial killers.
'The Conjuring' (2013)
The Perron family’s move into an old Rhode Island farmhouse starts off serene but quickly turns sinister after the family begins experimenting paranormal activity. The house is haunted by an evil witch named Bathsheba, and only with the famed (and real-life) demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) can save the family and the house from peril.
'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' (2005)
This 2005 fantasy film based on the classic C.S. Lewis novel of the same name contains plenty of magic and sorcery. When four British children are evacuated to the countryside during WWII, they find a wardrobe in their new home that acts as a portal to the magical world of Narnia. As they grow more attached to this new world, it becomes up to the siblings to save Narnia against the evil White Witch.
'Into the Woods' (2014)
Meryl Streep plays a powerfully convincing witch in the 2014 movie adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's fairy tale redux “Into the Woods," who has a complicated relationship with her daughter Rapunzel. With a stacked cast including players like Anna Kendrick, James Corden, Emily Blunt and Chris Pine, you’ll get your fill of magic and music and deep thoughts with this pick.
'Maleficent' (2014)
Angelina Jolie gives a backstory to a character who is looming, but a bit one-dimensional, in "Sleeping Beauty." Maleficent was often deemed a witch in Disney mythology — but as this prequel to "Sleeping Beauty" states, she's technically a fairy. Find out how she came to hold such a grudge against Princess Aurora. You might find yourself siding with the self-professed Mistress of Evil.
'The Witches' (1990)
Dahl's novel also became a movie with Anjelica Huston in the same role. Decide which is scarier, and more stylish.
'Howl's Moving Castle' (2004)
Beware the Witch of the Waste. Voiced by Lauren Bacall, the witch casts a spell on young Sophie (Emily Mortimer), cursing her to become a nonagenarian. "Howl's Moving Castle" is another imaginative installment by visionary director Hayao Miyazaki.
'Stardust' (2007)
Michelle Pfeiffer plays a witch in "The Witches of Eastwick" and in "Stardust," a dreamy adaptation from a Neil Gaiman novel. Pfeiffer's character, Lamia, is over 400 years old, but will do anything to keep her young appearance — including eat the heart of the movie's protagonist.
'Earwig and the Witch' (2020)
Looking for a witch movie for kids? Look no further. In this Studio Ghibli film (the famed productions studio’s first feature in 3D animation), Earwig moves into the home of an actual witch — and learns that her own family was magical too. Potions and spells abound.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
