DAY 188

PHOTOGRAPHIC CURIOSITIES

“Witch” Photography

WHAT SORCERESSES WORE

A mainstay of Halloween decorations and costumes is the archetypical “witch,” complete with broomstick, black cloak, and pointed hat.

But where did this cultural paradigm originate?

High, pointed black hats were fashionable during the medieval period when witch hunts were carried out on a massive scale in Europe; woodcuts depicting these trials often show the accused wearing the typical clothing of the period.¹ The hats may have been more closely associated with witches later, when they were worn only by country folk, who were more likely to be associated with pre-Christian folk-healing traditions.²

The advent of photography, however, would serve to reinforce this stereotype in a unique way. The mid-1800s saw a cultural renaissance in Wales, in which traditional culture was romanticized and encouraged. One iconic element of the Welsh costume was the high, black hat; reportedly, some photographs of the traditional clothing were spread around Europe as “photos of real witches,” drawing fascination and terror.³

To be sure, the typical witch costume had already been established in popular culture by the 19^th century; pointed hats even appear on sorceresses painted by Francisco de Goya. Rather than creating the image from scratch, “witch photographs” from Wales merely reinforced the existing typification. —DJS