witch hat with veil

Halloween Costume Idea | Classic Witch

witch costume

When I was a little girl I was a big fan of The Worst Witch books by Jill Murphy. Anyone else read those? They were about a young girl called Mildred Hubble, who went to a school for witches (which was totally a thing, even before Hogwarts) where she was, well, the worst. All of Mildred’s spells went wrong. She couldn’t fly her broomstick without falling off or crashing into something. Her bootlaces were always undone, and her hair was always messy. When the time came for the young witches to be given animal companions, all of the other witches got sleek black cats, while Mildred was left with a scruffy little tabby which couldn’t stay on her broom.

I totally identified with these books. My spells never really worked either, you see. And while I was good at my lessons, I was bad at EVERYTHING else. I was always wearing the wrong clothes, listening to the wrong music, saying the wrong thing. None of the other witches girls in my class liked me, either. Mildred and I would have been BFFs, for sure.

witch hat and wand

None of this has anything to do with my costume for Saturday night’s party, though. I wasn’t The Worst Witch as a tribute to Mildred Hubble: I was just the worst witch in that I bought a hat, slapped on some eye makeup, and called it a “costume”. Happy Half-Assed Halloween, everyone!

witch hat with veil
In my defence, I had actually planned a completely different costume for this party. I just needed to buy one thing, which I found on eBay… and then got totally outbid on. And I couldn’t find a replacement in time, so this was my “oh, crap, I don’t have a costume now: I’ll just go as a witch!” effort. Still, at least I have great idea for next year!

In preparation for my transformation into a witch, I went to the supermarket last weekend to buy a broomstick. And, you know, at this time of year, the supermarkets ALWAYS have lots of witch-related fancy-dress stuff, so I thought there was no chance of me not being able to find one. Of course, I was wrong: not a broom was to be found, so instead I bought this crappy black rose:

Forever Amber(Er, I don’t actually have a blue leg, by the way: it’s a Photoshop filter that went wrong!)

It really has nothing to do with anything: it just looked a bit creepy. I already had the wand, though. Doesn’t everyone have a wand tucked away for these occasions?

“I put a spell on shoe…”

Even witches like to pose. Shut up, they totally do.

I’m, like, SOSCARY, no?

OMGSCARY

What do you mean, “no”?  Here’s what happened to the last person who crossed me:

zombie yokelYes, Terry’s slack-jawed yokel of last week met with an unfortunate accident. That’s the last time he’ll try to stop ME buying shoes.

It’s OK, though, he still loves me:

zombified

See?

I’ll get you, my pretties.

Yes, and your little dog, too.

Thanks to Steven and Lindsay for another great party: can’t wait for next year!

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COMMENTS
  • Oh, I LOVE The Worst Witch. JK Rowling lifted so many ideas from those books. I mean, obviously Snape is Miss Hardbroom, but a man. And Hermione is a lot like Enid… anyway. I love your costume and it reminds me of my favourite line from my favourite Belle and Sebastian song, My Wandering Days Are Over… “It’s got to be fate that’s doing it. A spooky witch in a sexy dress has been bugging me with the story of the way it should be, with the story of Sebastian and Belle the singer…”

    November 7, 2011
  • Mousy

    REPLY

    Goodness, I had forgotten ALL ABOUT those books – thank you so much for reminding me – now for a good while of happy reminiscing. I wonder if I can find my old books again? I remember the illustrations particularly… 😀
    Love the costumes 😀

    November 7, 2011
  • Terry

    REPLY

    You look great x

    November 7, 2011
  • Stacey

    REPLY

    Did you ever see the movie of The Worst Witch with Tim Curry? Matt over at x-entertainment.com did a review of it years ago and it’s still something I read all the time and pass on to others. Warning: There’s some language if that’s offensive to you. I made the mistake of not warning somebody about the language once and was told how horrible I am.

    http://www.x-entertainment.com/worst.html

    November 7, 2011
    • Stacey

      REPLY

      Meant to say, love the makeup! And the shoes!

      November 7, 2011
  • My daughter has just started reading these books age 7. I was determined she’d read them before Harry Potter!
    Cute costume 🙂

    November 7, 2011
  • Aww I’ve never heard of these books, but they sound really interesting. I’m a huge fan of Harry Potter, so I think I would like them, if they have so many similarities.
    Loved your costume. You’re really beautiful, even as a witch! 🙂
    Oh, and thank you so much for commenting on my blog. It means sooo much to me! 🙂

    November 8, 2011
  • I love your costume! Very cool, and a great pair of shoes to boot. Pun intended. 😉 I have not read those books, but they sound fun. I may have to look into that.

    November 8, 2011
  • I loved the Worst Witch! I read them all as a youngster, then rediscovered them in my teens while working as a book shelver at the local library. I would sneak one away and crouch behind a tall book shelf to read it while the librarians weren’t looking, then stash it somewhere to finish next time.

    Yea I was a bit of a nerd.

    In other news, your Half Assed Halloween looks a zillion times better than a lot of peoples’ proper Halloweens! The make up and little cape are great, but I am smitten with that little witch hat! Especially how it has a little bend in it – just like Mildred Hubble.

    November 8, 2011
  • you look adorable, and a tad, just a tad scary 🙂 Terry is the one who absolutely freaked me out, I even jumped a little just scrolling down the post and suddenly finding him there hehehee

    November 8, 2011
  • Those shoooooeees! Uhhh! I love to have a collection of shoes. Makes me very envious of it. I’m drooling!

    November 14, 2011
  • The entire ensemble head to toe is magnificent. I loved the Worst Witch books when I was a kid, the film is crap. I grew up with the TV series and it’s really good, it’s almost to the letter on the book, even the characters look almost exactly like the book illustrations which is weird. I always say that Miss Hardbroom is Snape and McGonagall’s daughter in a parallel universe, she’s a direct blend of them both

    June 15, 2014
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