It’s Halloween month! The season of slashers, haunted houses, ghosts, monsters, and every nightmare imaginable. But there’s simply something about a good witch movie that gets me every time.

Maybe it’s because long before witches became fixtures of horror cinema, being called a witch could be a death sentence. Or maybe there’s something so satisfying about watching a woman be wicked in a world that can be so wicked to women.

After all, for centuries, women who challenged expectations, fell outside social norms, or simply became targets of suspicion could find themselves accused of witchcraft. And while cinema has turned the witch into everything from a terrifying villain to a misunderstood heroine, that history makes her a particularly fascinating character.

Sometimes she’s evil. Sometimes she’s innocent. Sometimes she’s just had enough of everybody. And sometimes she’s so outrageous you can’t help but love her.

So this October, Vixen Cinema is celebrating Witchy Throwbacks, featuring four films on TikTok and YouTube that remind us just how strange, wicked, and wonderfully unpredictable witches can be.

Let the witching season begin.