‘That Very Witch: Fear, Feminism, and the American Witch Film’ Examines the Evolution of Witches in Horror
Publishing later this month, with a book launch event at Fantasia to follow shortly after, That Very Witch: Fear, Feminism, and the American Witch Film, a new nonfiction book exploring the evolution of witches in horror.
That Very Witch will be published on July 22, 2025, from Luna Press.
About the book: “Researched over the course of seven years, That Very Witch: Fear, Feminism, and the American Witch Movie explores the cyclical rise and fall of the cinematic witch in American
culture and her relationship to feminist movements over time. Through historical analysis and dozens of case studies, Payton McCarty-Simas analyzes how the witch came to be understood as the ultimate cultural bogeywoman on the one hand and a classic feminist symbol of empowerment on the other.
It traces the representation of ‘demonic women’ in the past decade back to older horror cycles and through the ‘New Age’ section of your local bookstore, investigating the (counter)cultural shifts along the way. The book is a deep dive that demonstrates how changes in cinematic portrayals of the witch over time reflect major shifts in how feminism is perceived politically and interpreted culturally in America. From the birth of the Second Wave to the Moral Majority, from the Satanic Panic to “post-feminism“, from #MeToo to the 2024 election, the witch can be found at the heart of the zeitgeist. What can we learn from her presence?”
Author Payton McCarty-Simas’s writing has been featured in Rue Morgue, Dread Central, Little White Lies, and The Brooklyn Rail. One Step Short of Crazy: National Treasure and the Landscape of American Conspiracy Culture is the author’s debut nonfiction book.
That Very Witch was also featured in this morning’s Fantasia announcement; McCarty-Simas will be in attendance for a special book launch event at the fest:
FEAR, FEMINISM, AND THE AMERICAN WITCH FILM: AUTHOR TALK WITH PAYTON MCCARTY-SIMAS
Saturday July 26, 3:00PM, York Amphitheatre
It might sound obvious to suggest that the witch is a feminist symbol in 2025–– but that hasn’t always been the case. In this talk, marking the release of author and film critic Payton McCarty-Simas’ second book, That Very Witch: Fear, Feminism, and the American Witch Film, Payton will delve into the evolution of the witch as a figure in horror cinema. Touching on everything from Second Wave feminism to the Satanic Panic, from the #MeToo Movement to QAnon and beyond, they will examine the political interplay between feminist activism and American genre film culture, unpacking films big and small along the way.
Copies available for purchase from the author.
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