Witches

My favorite season of American Horror Story is the third one, Coven. The witches in the show are descendents of the survivors from the Salem Witch trials. After rewatching a few episodes recently, I decided to look more into the mythology surrounding women who were accused of being witches.

A still from "American Horror Story: Coven"

Throughout history, many stories about witches involve the Devil. A Romanian myth tells of how a woman waits for the Devil by a river and tells him that she wants to become a witch. The Devil promises that if she dances with him every night he would make her a witch. The Puritans of Massachusetts believed the myth that witches were possessed by the Devil and they would carry out his bidding. Accidents and bad luck could be caused by witches within the village. In Catalan mythology, a witch could be killed on All Saints Day if you were to mark a star on the gate to her house. 

While not all mythology surrounding witches is negative (Greek witches/sorceresses for example), many societies used this mythology to persecute women. Women who acted out of the ordinary, in other words not staying in her place, could be accused of witchcraft and be put to death. I think the reason that I like "Coven" so much is because the witches are strong women who make their own paths and defy the way they are supposed to act. Their powers give them agency and confidence to do whatever they want.