Halloween

7 Iconic Witches And How to Get the Look For Your Halloween Party

7 Iconic Witches And How to Get the Look For Your Halloween Party

Are you looking for the perfect Halloween costume? Look no further than these 7 iconic witches! From the Wicked Witch of the West to the Sanderson Sisters, this guide will help you recreate the look of your favorite sorceress. Read on to learn how to get the look and be the star of your Halloween party!

Forget ghouls, ghosts, swamp creatures, and things lurking under the bed—of all the otherworldly scaremongering fiends featured in folklore, books, film, and TV—witches are the most frightening by a country mile.

Throughout the decades, witches have played a pivotal role in the scary film or television genre and come in all sorts of spine-curdling shapes or sizes.

The ill-fated spiritual presence of the witch coupled with the kind of contorted stare that can have even the toughest among us cowering under the covers makes witches a formidable supernatural force.

With 31st October fast approaching, here we explore seven of the world's most iconic witches and consider how you can get the look for your Halloween party.


Witch - Into the Woods

Okay, this may be a Disney musical, but Meryl Streep's witch-ly portrayal deserves an honorable mention purely because of the deviously dark eeriness she injected into the role.

The film itself is more or less a satirical Disney remake of a Disney original—which gives it a real offbeat quality—and there's just something about Meryl's witch that will haunt you long after the credits roll.

Get the look: Use a healthy dose of product to give your hair texture and volume, wearing occult-like jewelry and a classic black dress.
 

Witches - The Witches

Noone could bridge the gap between entertaining children's tales and sweat-inducing adult imagery like Roald Dahl. And The Witches is no exception.

The film adaptation of the author's most chilling of stories, The Witches, features a host of ugly, chilling, and incredibly menacing, well, witches. While The High Witch is possibly the most frightening of the bunch, this collective of evil women still haunt me as an adult—a sure-fire Halloween party head turner.

Get the look: Go as 'alternative glam' as you possibly can from the neck downwards, going for gothic or vintage overtones, sourcing a bald cap or prosthetic nose for the face and head.
 

Asa Vajda – Black Sunday

Without a shadow of a doubt, Barbara Steele is one of the most ruthless, vengeful witches the world has ever seen.

A beautiful woman, gothic from head to toe, when Barbara's character, Asa Vajda, returns from the grave in search of blood, a transformation occurs. This ill metamorphosis will make your hair stand on end.

The fantastic thing about Asa Vajda is that she is calm and creepy in equal measures throughout the film—no easy feat in anyone's book.

Get the look: Wear a skeletal top, a flowing black cloak, and bring your best gothic glam to the party. Give yourself a pale complexion with your gothic makeup combination, and wear your hair down for a maximum witch-ly impact.
 

Meg Mucklebones – Legend

The slight but scary return of the swamp witch, Meg Muckelberry's presence in Ridley Scott's 1985 fantasy legend is nothing short of legendary. 

While Tom Cruise, who played the wily hero Jack in the movie, managed to appease Muckleberry with flattery, her grotesque features alone are enough to put fear into anyone who crosses her path.

Get the look: If you're looking to go all out Muckleberry, we recommend sourcing your Halloween costume now—you might need to go to a fancy dress store for this one!
 

The Blair Witch – The Blair Witch Project

Often it's what we can't see that gets under our skin the most. 

As you're probably aware, The Blair Witch never makes a physical appearance during 'the project.' Instead, we're left to rot in our imaginations, letting our fears get the better of us until we're rocking back and forth in a fit of frenzy.

Get the look: This is a conceptual Halloween party outfit. You can go as one of the Blair Witch victims (a woolly hat, some snot, and a camera will do), or you can go wild and wear something subtle yet spooky—creating an element of mystery about your costume until the very end of the party.
 

Haggis – Pumpkinhead

It's not often that the supporting character in a horror movie is more frightening than the main monster, but that's certainly the case in Pumpkinhead.

The classic witch in the woods, Florence Schauffler's Haggis, is genuinely terrifying. Not only is she demonic and bloodthirsty, but if you look at her face for too long, you'll probably cry or vomit—a real icon of the witching world.

Get the look: Use a bed head-style product to make your hair messy and unkempt, using makeup or face paint to make your face appear contorted and wrinkled. Source a weathered & worn vintage dress and accessories, sporting long fingernails to complete the aesthetic of wicked witch in the woods.
 

Bathsheba Sherman – The Conjuring

The Conjuring will make you lose sleep—mainly as it's based on a spine-chilling true story.

Essentially, Bathsheba Sherman is like Regan Macneil's demon on steroids, like a witch. Yes, if you haven't seen The Conjuring, prepare to hold onto your hat.

The Conjuring story is so incredibly dark, and the way she's depicted in the movie is so terrifying that Bathsheba Sherman is one of the scariest witches the world has ever seen and is likely to see.

Get the look: Wild hair, a Victorian nightgown, demonic contact lenses, a little fake blood, and the will to scare everyone in the party into submission—that should do it.


"I don't know that I have a fascination with witches per se - well, maybe I just have a fascination with everything that's weird." - Rob Zombie

Halloween is a time to embrace the strange and scary. Let your inner demons run wild, taking inspiration from our rundown of iconic witches. For extra guidance, check our spooky selection of dedicated witch garments.

Which witch will you pick?

Let us know in the comments, or hit us up on Facebook to get involved in the conversation.
 

Suggested Posts: 

Good Witch or Bad Witch: How To Get The Look

Inspired by Witches: 9 Stunning Makeup Looks You'll Want to Try This Halloween

DH

About the Author

Daniel Hughes