I suppose I was a strange child because I was always interested in the supernatural- whether it be witches, ghosts, mystical creatures, fairies, etc. I will just attribute it to an active imagination and a love of being frightened. Whatever the case, I was totally in love with the TV show "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" when I was about 16. It had all the supernatural elements mixed in with soap-opera situations, witty dialogue, and hot guys. So I watched the show loyally for all its 7 seasons, even when it went downhill. Besides vampires, there were demons and witches as major characters on the show. Buffy's read-headed best friend Willow was a witch and a very important part of the show. In the first season, she was just a bookish math-nerd with more brains then she knew what to do with. As the show progressed, Willow developed an interest in the occult and started to learn spells out of dust-covered spell books in the school library (yeah, like most schools have that kind of literature). Willows spells and charms were usually harmless in nature and seemed to conjure up traditional images of witchcraft: strange but natural ingredients, incantations, talismans, and potions. Her spells always helped the other characters out of tough jams and gave the viewers the overall impression that witchcraft could be lighthearted and earthy.

But the show went on and Willow's old magic tricks weren't as interesting to the viewers as they used to be. So the writers ditched Willow's werewolf boyfriend for a female witch. Yes, Willow magically became a lesbian a few seasons in. Not only that, Willow's magic began to get darker and more sinister as the episodes rolled on. She started to look in "dark magic" books and become obsessed with learning more powerful forms of magic. She could now erase people's memories, transport herself from place to place, and other large-scale tricks. In one season Buffy died defeating a fallen "god" (yes, ridiculous) and Willow's spells raised her from the dead in the next season's premiere episode. Convenient, I know. But all these powerful spells had an effect: magic became like crack for Willow. Whenever she was "using" magic, her eyes would turn all black and creepy and she would go on spell binges. And when she didn't use she craved the magic. People who got in her way got their skin turned inside out and other dark magic spells performed on them. At the end of that season Willow went so spell crazy that she turned evil and tried to destroy the world. She stood in the middle of a giant pentegram and recited evil incantations until Buffy went to her and told her she loved her and not to do that. Yes, the show had definitely "jumped the shark."

The point of all this is that Willow's role on Buffy the Vampire Slayer was symbolic to me of the way that I feel American society feels about witches and witchcraft. On one hand, we feel that there is an allure to the potions and the naturalism that witchcraft praises. But on the other, our society fears that an interest in witchcraft is addicting and can lead to dark and dangerous beliefs. Not only that, but our culture shows that people must be cautioned against witches. This is shown through Willow's turning evil in Buffy and through the roles of witches in fairy tales. There is definitely a double standard with witches in America: a pull between fascination and unwariness.

The presence of shows like Buffy, and their popularity, shows that there is still a fascination with the idea of “evil” in the modern world. In the show, the fight against evil was an enduring theme, and evil could be embodied in a variety of different ways: through vampires, demons, ghosts, devils, and corrupt humans. Each time evil came into the world, Buffy, the essence of good, would fight and conquer it. The show is symbolic of humanities fears that evil truly exists in the world. Mather believed that evil was an active agent that sought to corrupt the world. This view is still widely held- oftentimes in the Christian religion. I have several friends and a mother who believe that demons are present in this world and corrupt those who are not careful. I believe that our contemporary society is still uncertain as to the nature of evil. We heartily believe it exists, but cannot always identify it. In fact, evil is a concept that is socially created. We see it represented in the archetypal figures of Satan, demons, ghosts and other supernatural beings, yet we are also painfully aware that evil is a force that may lurk within the human heart.