Bibliophilia & Film Favorites

 My ever-growing list of recommendations based on my fondness for spiritual and occult books in particular and watching eerie films on rainy afternoons...The list consists of books read and films viewed over the years, New refers to additions over the past three months.

  

The Cunning Arte

The Black Toad West Country Witchcraft and Magic- Gemma Gary

A Grimoire for Modern Cunning Folk: A Practical Guide to Witchcraft on the Crooked Path - Peter Paddon

A History of Witchcraft: Sorcerers, Heretics, and Pagans - Jeffrey Burton Russell

A Witch Alone: Thirteen Moons to Master Natural Magic - Marian Green

Balkan Traditional Witchcraft  -Radomir Ristic, Michael C. Carter

The Book of English Magic - Richard Heygate and Philip Carr-Gomm

The Call of the Horned Piper - Nigel Aldcroft Jackson

Children of Cane: A Study of Modern Traditional Witchcraft. - Michael. Howard

The Horn of Evenwood - Robin Artisson

Craft of the Wise: A Practical Guide to Paganism and Witchcraft - Vikki Bramshaw

Defenses Against the Witches' Craft - Anti-cursing Charms from English Folk Magick, Traditional Witchcraft and... - John Canard

Grimoire of the Thorn-Blooded Witch - Raven Grimassi

Hedge-Rider: Witches and the Underworld - Eric De Vries

Light from the Shadows: A Mythos of Modern Traditional Witchcraft - "Gwyn" Huson

Magick, Traditional Witchcraft and the Grimoire Traditions - John Canard

Old World Witchcraft: Ancient Ways for Modern Days - Raven Grimassi

NEW The Devil’s Dozen – Thirteen Craft Rites of the Old One – Gemma Gary

The Resurrection of the Meadow - Robin Artisson and Lee Morgan

The Roebuck in the Thicket: An Anthology of the Robert Cochrane Tradition - Evan John Jones, Robert Cochrane and Michael Howard

Traditional Witchcraft for Fields and Hedgerows -  Melusine Draco -

Traditional Witchcraft for the Woods and Forests: A Witch's Guide

- Melusine Draco

Traditional Witchcraft for Hedge Witch: Guide to Solitary Witchcraft -

Rae Beth

Traditional Witchcraft for the Seashore - Melusine Draco

Traditional Witchcraft: A Cornish Book of Ways - Gemma Gary and Jane Cox

Treading the Mill: Practical Craft Working in Modern Traditional Witchcraft -  Nigel G. Pearson and Mark Ayling

Walking the Tides: Seasonal Rhythms and Traditional Lore in Natural Craft -  Nigel Pearson and Anthony Moorhouse

Witchcraft, the Sixth Sense – Justine Glass

Witchcraft: A Tradition Renewed - Evan John Jones

Witching Way of the Hollow Hill - Robin Artisson

Wisht Waters – Aqueous Magica and the Cult of Holy Wells – Gemma Gary

Witchcraft, Myth and the Paranormal

A History of Witchcraft: Sorcerers, Heretics, & Pagans - Jeffrey B. Russell

Ameth: The Life and Times of Doreen Valiente - Jonathan Tapsell

Ancestors of the Craft - Christopher Penczak

An ABC of Witchcraft - Doreen Valiente

Aradia: Gospel of the Witches - Charles Leland

Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft - Raymond Buckland

Charge of the Goddess - Doreen Valiente

Drawing Down the Moon - Margot Adler

Earth Light - R.J. Stewart

Encyclopedia of Fairies: Hobgoblins, Brownies, Bogies, & Other Supernatural Creatures

- Katharine Mary Briggs

Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft - Raven Grimassi

Faeries - Brian Froud

The Flame in the Cauldron - Orion Foxwood

Foundations of the Temple: A Witchcraft Tradition of Love, Will and Wisdom – Christopher Penczak

Gods & Goddesses of Old Europe - Marija Gimbutas

Hedge Witch - Rae Beth

Hereditary Witchcraft: Secrets of the old Relgion - Raven Grimassi

Inner Temple of Witchcraft - Christopher Penczak

Lid off the Cauldron - Patricia Crowther

NEW Lifting the Veil: A Witches' Guide to Trance-Prophesy, Drawing Down the Moon, and Ecstatic Ritual – Janet Farrar

 

Mastering Witchcraft: A Practical Guide for Witches, Warlocks & Covens - Paul Huson

The Mabinogion - Jeffrey Gantz

Meaning of Witchcraft - Gerald Gardner

Outer Temple of Witchcraft - Christopher Penczak

Phoenix from the Flame: Living as a Pagan in the 21st Century - Vivianne Crowley

Positive Magic - Marion Weinstein

The Power of Myth - Joseph Campbell

Progressive Witchcraft - Janet Farrar & Gavin Bone

The Golden Bough - Sir James George Frazier

The Mist-Filled Path: Celtic Wisdom for Exiles, Wanderers, and Seekers

- Frank MacEowen

The Old Religion in a New Age - Vivienne Crowley

The Pagan Book of Living & Dying - Starhawk

The Rebirth of Witchcraft - Doreen Valiente

The Spiral Dance - Starhawk

The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft - Ronald Hutton

The Waters and Fires of Avalon: Magical Rites from a Glastonbury Pilgrimage - Christopher Penczak & Temple of Witchcraft Community

What Witches Do - Janet and Stewart Farrar

Where Witchcraft Lives - Doreen Valiente

The White Goddess - Robert Graves

The Witch Cult In Western Europe: Book I. Heritage Witchcraft Academy - Margaret Murray

The Witch's Shield - Christopher Penczak

The Witches' Way - Janet & Stewart Farrar

The Witches' Bible: A Complete Witches' Handbook - Janet & Stewart Farrar

Wiccan Magic: Inner Teachings of the Craft - Raven Grimassi

Wiccan Mysteries: Ancient Origins and Teachings - Raven Grimassi

Witchcraft: A Mystery Tradition - Raven Grimassi

Witchcraft for Tomorrow - Doreen Valiente

Witchcraft Today - Gerald Gardner

  

 All Things Hekate

 Bearing Torches: A Devotional Anthology for Hekate - Bibliotheca Alexandrina

Hecate: Death, Transition and Spiritual Mastery (Second Edition) - Jade Sol Luna

Hecate II: The Awakening of Hydra - Jade Sol Luna

Hekate Her Sacred Fires - Sorita d'Este

Hekate: Keys to the Crossroads - A collection of personal essays, invocations, rituals, recipes and artwork - Sorita d'Este

Hekate: Liminal Rites - Sorita d'Este

Hekate Soteira: A Study of Hekate's Roles in the Chaldean Oracles and Related Literature - Sarah Iles Johnston

NEW Pagan Portals - Hekate: A Devotional – Vivienne Moss

Queen of Hell - Mark Alan Smith

The Temple of Hekate - Exploring the Goddess Hekate through Ritual, Meditation and

Divination - Tara Sanchez

   

Folk and Conjure Magic

The Art of Hoodoo Candle Magic in Rootwork, Conjure, and Spiritual Church Services Paperback  – Catherine Yronwode, Mikhail Strabo 

The Candle and the Crossroads: A Book of Appalachian Conjure and Southern Root-Work - Orion Foxwood

Charms, Spells, and Formulas: For the Making and Use of Gris Gris Bags, Herb Candles, Doll - Ray T Marbrough, Bill Fugate (illustrator)

The Conjure Workbook Volume 1: Working the Root - Starr Casas

Curses, Hexes & Crossing: A Magician's Guide to Execration Magick - S. Connolly

Defenses Against the Witches' Craft: Anti-cursing Charms from English Folk - John Canard

Folklore and Witchcraft of the Cornish Village - Kelvin I. Jones

Hoodoo Herb and Root Magic: A Materia Magica of African-American Conjure

- Catherine Yronwode

Hoodoo Honey and Sugar Spells: Sweet Love Magic in the Conjure Tradition - Deacon Millett, Tony Link and Charlie Wylie

Kitchen Witchery: A Compendium of Oils, Unguents, Incense, Tinctures, and Comestibles - Marilyn F. Daniel

 Magic, Incenses, Oils, and Powders  - Ray T. Malbrough

Sticks, Stones, Roots & Bones: Hoodoo, Mojo & Conjuring with Herbs - Stephanie Rose Bird

Throwing the Bones: How to Foretell the Future with Bones, Shells, and Nuts - Catherine Yronwode 

Voodoo Doll Spellbook: A Compendium of Ancient and Contemporary Spells and Rituals - Denise Alvarado and Dorothy Morrison

Herbalism

A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs: Of Eastern and Central North America (Peterson Field Guides) - James A. Duke

A Modern Herbal (two volumes) - Mrs. Grieve

Culpepper's Complete Herbal - Nicholas Culpepper

Folklore and Symbolism of Flowers, Plants and Trees - Ernest and Johanna Lehner

From Earth to Herbalist: An Earth-Conscious Guide - Gregory Tilford

The Green Lovers: A Compilation of Plant Magic  – edited by Christopher Penczak

Herbal Handbook - David Hoffman

The Herbal Medicine-Maker's Handbook: A Home Manual - James Green

Herbal Medicine Maker's Handbook - James Greene

The New Menopausal Years the Wise Woman Way - Susun Weed

The North American Guide to Common Poisonous Plants and Mushrooms - Turner, Nancy J.

Plant Spirit Familiar - Christopher Penczak

Rosemary Gladstar's Family Herbal: A Guide to Living Life with Energy, Health, and Vitality

Augury

Bones, Shells, and Curios: A Contemporary Method of Casting the Bones - Michele Jackson

Druid Animal Oracle - Philip Carr-Gomm

Learning the Tarot: A Tarot Book for Beginners - Joan Bunning

Love and Destiny: Discover the Secret Language of Relationships - Sharon Jeffers

Runelore: A Handbook of Esoteric Runology - Edred Thorsson

Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom: A Book of Tarot - Rachel Pollack

Tarot for Your Self: A Workbook for Personal Transformation - Mary K. Greer

Tarot Plain and Simple - Anthony Louis

The Art of the Pendulum - Cassandra Eason

The Power of Playing Cards: An Ancient System for Understanding Yourself, Your Destiny, & Your Relationships - Saffi Crawford

The Tarot Handbook: Practical Applications of Ancient Visual Symbols by Angeles Arrien

Throwing the Bones: How to Foretell he Future with Bones, Shells and Nuts 

 - Catherine Yronwode

Understanding Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot: An Authoritative Examination of the World's Most Fascinating and Magical Tarot Cards - Lon Milo DuQuette

Death & Dying and the Paranormal

Attending the Dying: A Handbook of Practical Guidelines - Megory Anderson

Heaven and Earth: Making the Psychic Connection - James Van Praagh

Midwife for Souls: Spiritual Care for the Dying - Kathy Kalina

Paranormal Investigations: The Proper Procedures and Protocol of Investigation for the Beginner to the Pro - Chad Stambaugh

Sacred Dying: Creating Rituals for the End of Life - Megory Anderson

The Art of Death Midwifery: An Introduction and Beginner's Guide - Joellyn Pierre DDiv

The Witches Book of the Dead - Christian Day

Walking the Twilight Path: The Gothic Book of the Dead - Michelle Belanger

Ghostly Cinematic Favorites

Here is a list of my favorite 'ghost' stories on film.  In order to weed out the originals from the remakes the year is included. 

The Uninvited (1944) American supernatural mystery/romance film directed by Lewis Allen. It is based on the Dorothy Macardle novel Uneasy Freehold. The film stars Ray Milland and Ruth Hussey. Charles Lang was nominated for a 1945 Academy Award for Best Black and White Cinematography.  In 1937, London music critic and composer Roderick "Rick" Fitzgerald (Ray Milland) and his sister Pamela (Ruth Hussey) fall in love with Windward House, an abandoned seaside house, during a holiday on England's rocky coast. They purchase it for an unusually low price.

 

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947) is a romantic fantasy film starring Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison. It is based on a 1945 novel written by Josephine Leslie under the pseudonym of R. A. Dick. In 1945, 20th Century Fox bought the film rights to the novel.  In early 1900s England, a young widow, Lucy Muir (Gene Tierney), moves to the seaside village of Whitecliff and into Gull Cottage with her daughter Anna (Natalie Wood) and her maid Martha (Edna Best), despite the fierce disapproval of her mother- and sister-in-law. She rents the house despite discovering that the house is haunted. published only in the United Kingdom at that time. It was shot entirely in California. 

 

A Christmas Carol (1951) film adaptation of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol also called Scrooge is a 1951 film adaptation of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. It starred Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge and was directed by Brian Desmond Hurst, with a screenplay by Noel Langley. It was released as A Christmas Carol in the United States.

The film also features Kathleen Harrison in an acclaimed turn as Mrs. Dilber, Scrooge's charwoman. George Cole stars as the younger version of Scrooge, Hermione Baddeley as Mrs. Cratchit, Mervyn Johns as Bob Cratchit, Clifford Mollison as Samuel Wilkins, a debtor, Jack Warner as Mr. Jorkin, a role created for the film, Ernest Thesiger as Marley's undertaker and Patrick Macnee as a young Jacob Marley. Michael Hordern plays Marley's ghost, as well as old Marley. Peter Bull serves as narrator, by reading portions of Dickens' words at the beginning and end of the film; he also appears on-screen as one of the businessmen cynically discussing Scrooge's funeral. It starred Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge and was directed by Brian Desmond Hurst, with a screenplay by Noel Langley. It was released as A Christmas Carol in the United States.

Curse of the Demon (1957) ("Night of the Demon" is the original title)  Dr. John Holden ventures to London to attend a paranormal psychology symposium with the intention to expose devil cult leader, Julian Karswell. Being a skeptic he believes Karswell is a fraud. However, Holder accepts an invitation to stay at Karswell's estate, accompanied by Joanna Harrington, the niece of Holden's associate who was electrocuted in a bizarre automobile accident.

Karswell then slips a parchment into Holden's papers that are imbued with a death curse. Odd events occur which cause Holden to believe his misconceptions are wrong surrounding Karswell; fearing for his life Holden realizes that the parchment must be returned to the sender if he is to avoid the demonic curse it carries.  Director: Jacques Tourneur; Writers: M.R. James (story), Charles Bennett (screenplay); Stars: Dana Andrews, Peggy Cummins, Niall MacGinnis.

The Seventh Seal (1957)  (Swedish: Det sjunde inseglet) dark drama-fantasy film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Set in Sweden and time of the Black Death.  

This is the story of a medieval knight played by Max von Sydow, who plays a game of chess with the personification of Death, played by Bengt Ekerot.  If von Sydow loses the game, he loses his life.  Moreover, while playing he seeks answers surrounding life, death and the very existence of God.  The film was taken from Bergmen's play 'Wood Painting'. The  title the Seventh Seal refers to a passage from Revelation, used both in the beginning of the film and again near the end.  "The Silence" referenced, refers to the "silence of God", a major theme of the film.  Considered a major classic of world cinema, the film established Bergman as a world-renowned director.

House on Haunted Hill (1959) American horror film. It was directed by William Castle, written by Robb White and stars Vincent Price as eccentric millionaire Frederick Loren. He and his fourth wife, Annabelle, have invited five people to the house for a "haunted house" party. Whoever stays in the house for one night will earn $10,000 each. As the night progresses, all the guests are trapped inside the house with ghosts, murderers, and other terrors. Campy but fun.

 

The Innocents (1961) British supernatural Gothic horror film based on the novella The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. The title of the film was taken from William Archibald's stage adaptation of James' novella. Directed and produced by Jack Clayton, it stars Deborah Kerr, Michael Redgrave and Megs Jenkins. Falling within the sub-genre of psychological horror, the film achieves its effects through lighting, music and direction rather than conventional shocks. Its atmosphere was created by cinematographer Freddie Francis, who employed deep focus in many scenes, as well as bold, minimal lighting. It was partly shot on location at the Gothic mansion of Sheffield Park in Sussex.

 

The Haunting (1963) British psychological horror film directed and produced by Robert Wise and adapted by Nelson Gidding from the novel The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. It stars Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, and Russ Tamblyn. The film, about a team of paranormal investigators at a haunted house in which they spend several nights, is often cited as one of the most frightening films ever made.

 

The Sentinel (1977) American horror film directed by Michael Winner and starring Cristina Raines, Chris Sarandon, Ava Gardner, Burgess Meredith, Sylvia Miles, and Eli Wallach.[1] Christopher Walken, Jeff Goldblum, John Carradine, Jerry Orbach, Tom Berenger, and Beverly D'Angelo also appear in the film. It is based on the 1974 novel of the same name by Jeffrey Konvitz who also co-wrote the screenplay with director Michael Winner. The plot focuses on a young model who moves into a historic Brooklyn brownstone that has been sectioned into apartments, only to find that its proprietors are excommunicated Catholic priests, and the building is a gateway to hell.

 

The Changeling (1980) Canadian horror film directed by Peter Medak and starring George C. Scott and Trish Van Devere (Scott's real-life wife). The story is based upon events that writer Russell Hunter said he experienced while he was living in the Henry Treat Rogers Mansion of Denver, Colorado. Story focuses on a composer living in New York City, moves cross-country to Washington State following the deaths of his wife and daughter in a traffic accident while on a winter vacation in upstate New York. In suburban Seattle, John rents a large, old and eerie Victorian-era mansion and begins piecing his life back together.

The Fog (1980) horror film directed by John Carpenter, who also co-wrote the screenplay and composed the music for the film. It stars Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Atkins, and Janet Leigh. It tells the story of a strange, glowing fog that sweeps in over a small coastal town in California, bringing with it the vengeful ghosts of mariners who were killed in a shipwreck there exactly 100 years earlier.

The Fog was Carpenter's first feature film after the success of his 1978 horror Halloween, which also starred Jamie Lee Curtis.

 

The Shining (1980) British-American psychological horror film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, co-written with novelist Diane Johnson, and starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, and Scatman Crothers. The film is based on Stephen King's novel of the same name. A writer, Jack Torrance, takes a job as an off-season caretaker at an isolated hotel. His young son possesses psychic abilities and is able to see things from the past and future, such as the ghosts who inhabit the hotel. Soon after settling in, the family is trapped in the hotel by a snowstorm, and Jack gradually becomes influenced by a supernatural presence; he descends into madness and attempts to murder his wife and son.

 

Stir of Echoes (1999) supernatural horror-thriller released in the US in 1999, starring Kevin Bacon and directed by David Koepp. The film is loosely based on the novel A Stir of Echoes by Richard Matheson.  Tom Witzky (Kevin Bacon) is a phone lineman living in a working-class neighborhood in Chicago with his pregnant wife Maggie (Kathryn Erbe) and his son Jake (Zachary David Cope), who possesses the ability to commune with the dead.

 

The Sixth Sense (1999) American psychological horror drama film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. The film tells the story of Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment), a troubled, isolated boy who is able to see and talk to the dead, and an equally troubled child psychologist (Bruce Willis) who tries to help him. The film established Shyamalan as a writer and director, and introduced the cinema public to his traits, most notably his affinity for surprise endings. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

 

What Lies Beneath (2000) American supernatural horror film directed by Robert Zemeckis. It is the first film by ImageMovers. It stars Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer as a well-to-do couple who experience a strange haunting that uncovers secrets about their past.

This section's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (March 2011) 

Claire Spencer (Michelle Pfeiffer) is living in Vermont with her husband, renowned scientist Dr. Norman Spencer (Harrison Ford). A year previously, Claire had been involved in a serious car accident that leaves gaps in her memory. Combined with her daughter Caitlin's (Katharine Towne) departure for college, this leaves Claire profoundly affected.

 

The Others (2001) The Others is a 2001 psychological/supernatural horror film written, directed and scored by Spanish director Alejandro Amenábar, starring Nicole Kidman and Fionnula Flanagan. William Skidelsky of The Observer has suggested that it is inspired by the 1898 novella The Turn of the Screw.[It won eight Goya Awards, including awards for Best Film and Best Director. This was the first English-language film ever to receive the Best Film Award at the Goyas (Spain's national film awards), without a single word of Spanish spoken in it. The Others was nominated for six Saturn Awards including Best Director and Best Writing for Amenábar and Best Performance by a Younger Actor for Alakina Mann, and won three: Best Horror Film, Best Actress for Kidman and Best Supporting Actress for Fionnula Flanagan. Kidman was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in Drama and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress, with Amenábar being nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay, a rare occurrence for a horror film.

Season of the Witch (2011) American fantasy adventure horror film starring Nicolas Cage and directed by Dominic Sena with reshoots by Brett Ratner. Cage stars with Ron Perlman as Teutonic Knights returning from the Crusades at the time of the Black Death. A girl played by Claire Foy has been accused of being a witch and responsible for the plague.  The knights are asked to transport the girl to a monastery in order to kill the witch and lift the curse from the land. Filmed in Austria, Hungary and Croatia it was released in the U.S. and Canada primarily.  Although not a critic favorite, it did well at the box office even though it is a bit campy.

The Awakening (2012) Set in London in 1921, Florence Cathcart (Rebecca Hall), author of the popular book "Seeing Through Ghosts," has devoted her career to exposing claims of the supernatural as nothing but hoaxes. Haunted by the recent death of her fiance, she is approached by Robert Mallory (Dominic West) to investigate the recent death of a student at the all-boys boarding school where he teaches. When students at the school report sightings of the young boy's ghost, she decides to take on the case. Initially,  the mystery surrounding the ghost appears nothing more than a schoolboy prank, but as Florence continues to investigate events at the school, she begins to believe that her reliance on science may not be enough to explain the strange phenomenon going on around her. -- (C) Cohen Media Group

The Woman in Black (2012) The Woman in Black is a 1983 horror novella by Susan Hill, written in the style of a traditional Gothic novel. The plot concerns a mysterious spectre that haunts a small English town, heralding the death of children. A television film based on the story, also called The Woman in Black, was produced in 1989, with a screenplay by Nigel Kneale. 

In 2012, a film adaptation of the same name was Produced by Talisman Films in association with Hammer Films.  

The story follows a young lawyer, Arthur Kipps (Radcliffe), who is ordered to travel to a remote village and sort out a recently deceased client’s papers. As he works alone in the client’s isolated house, Kipps begins to uncover tragic secrets, his unease growing when he glimpses a mysterious woman dressed only in black. Receiving only silence from the locals, Kipps is forced to uncover the true identity of the Woman in Black on his own, leading to a desperate race against time when he discovers her true intent.

The book has also been adapted into a stage play by Stephen Mallatratt. It is the second longest-running play in the history of the West End, after The Mousetrap.

The story centers on a young solicitor named Arthur Kipps. Kipps is summoned to Crythin Gifford, a small market town on the north east coast of the United Kingdom, to attend the funeral of Mrs. Alice Drablow. Drablow was an elderly and reclusive widow who lived alone in the desolate and secluded Eel Marsh House.

The book was adapted into a play by Stephen Mallatratt. In this version, an older Kipps persuades a young actor to help him tell the story of the 'Woman in Black', hoping that this will help him to move on from those events and exorcise the ghost. The actor plays the part of the young Arthur Kipps while Kipps plays the roles of the people he met. The play adds the twist that the actress playing the Woman in Black in the recreation of the events is the real Woman in Black.

The play is staged at the Fortune Theatre in Covent Garden and has been running since its opening in 1989. The play has had an enormous success on the London stage, as well as many other countries around the world.

Information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

Mama (2013):  The day their father killed their mother, sisters Victoria and Lilly vanished near their suburban neighborhood. For five long years, their Uncle Lucas and his girlfriend, Annabel, have been madly searching for them. But when, incredibly, the kids are found alive in a decrepit cabin, the couple wonders if the girls are the only guests they have welcomed into their home. As Annabel tries to introduce the children to a normal life, she grows convinced of an evil presence in their house. Are the sisters experiencing traumatic stress, or is a ghost coming to visit them? How did the broken girls survive those years all by themselves? As she answers these disturbing questions, the new mother will find that the whispers she hears at bedtime are coming from the lips of a deadly presence.

Cast: Jessica Chastain, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Megan Charpentier, Isabelle Nélisse, Daniel Kash, Jane Moffat, Julia Chantrey, Javier Bote.  Director: Andres Muschietti; PG - 13, 100 minutes.

 NEW The Witch - (2016)  In this exquisitely made and terrifying new horror film, the age-old concepts of witchcraft, black magic and possession are innovatively brought together to tell the intimate and riveting story of one family's frightful unraveling in the New England wilderness circa 1630. New England, 1630.

Upon threat of banishment by the church, an English farmer leaves his colonial plantation, relocating his wife and five children to a remote plot of land on the edge of an ominous forest - within which lurks an unknown evil.

Strange and unsettling things begin to happen almost immediately - animals turn malevolent, crops fail, and one child disappears as another becomes seemingly possessed by an evil spirit. With suspicion and paranoia mounting, family members accuse teenage daughter Thomasin of witchcraft, charges she adamantly denies.

As circumstances grow more treacherous, each family member's faith, loyalty and love become tested in shocking and unforgettable ways. Writer/director Robert Eggers' debut feature, which premiered to great acclaim at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival - winning the Best Director Prize in the U.S. Narrative Competition - painstakingly recreates a God-fearing New England decades before the 1692 Salem witch trials, in which religious convictions tragically turned to mass hysteria.