Bell, Book and Candle

Costume Design by Kelsey Hunt

John Van Druten (1901-1957)

John Van Druten (Courtesy Douglas Ebersole)

 

Influential in ways most know, but have not discovered, Van Druten was a prince of Broadway in the 1940s and 50s when the comedies he wrote and staged were in demand and very successful. Not only did he pen Bell, Book and Candle (a precursor to Bewitched), but he also wrote I am a Camera, based on The Berlin Stories by Christopher Isherwood, which was eventually adapted into the famous musical, Cabaret (1966).

An imaginative writer from an early age in England, Van Druten immigrated to the States after success in the West End of London. He would go to write in California, and that is where he passed away after never fully recovering from heart complications. The film version of Bell, Book and Candle came out a year later.

 

 

 

Dates of Interest In American Witchcraft

Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha in Bewitched (Screen Gems)

• 1692 – Salem Witch Trials
• 1938 – The Wizard of Oz debuts in movie theaters (book published in 1900)
• 1942 – I Married a Witch (film)
• 1950 – Bell, Book and Candle first performed on Broadway
• 1953 – The Crucible first performed on Broadway
• 1964 – Bewitched TV series lasts until 1972
• 1975 – The Wiz opens on Broadway
• 1987 – The Witches of Eastwick film (book published in 1984)
• 1998 – Charmed TV series
• 1999 – The Blair Witch Project (film)
• 2001 – Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone film released (book published in 1997)
• 2003 – Wicked opens on Broadway (book published in 1995)

Witchery

Familiar Fact: Gillian’s cat is named Pyewacket. This name became a popular one for cats because of the film, but few know its origin: Pyewacket was one of the familiar spirits of a witch detected by the “witchfinder general” Matthew Hopkins in March 1644 in the town of Maningtree, Essex, UK.

Archetypes of Witches: The following have changed through the years reflecting (for better or for worse) societal mores along with modern thought and imagination.

British occultist Aleister Crowley as a Hierophant in the Order of the Golden Dawn when he was about 25 (Corbis/Bettmann-UPI)

1. The exemplary feminist guru, who learns how to be unselfish while still maintaining a strong sense of identity. (think Samantha & Gillian)
2. The powerful, if inexplicable, animal magnetist. (think She-Ra & Catwoman)
3. The cold and calculating aggressor. (think the Wicked Witch of the West & the White Witch of Narnia)
4. The original 17th century image: the satanic conspirator. (think Tituba & the witches from Macbeth)
5. (adapted from Marion Gibson’s Witchcraft: Myths in American Culture. Routledge, 2007.)

Titular Significance:
The title Bell, Book and Candle is a reference to excommunication, which is performed by bell, book and candle. It is opened with “Ring the bell, open the book, light the candle,” and closed with “Ring the bell, close the book, quench the candle.”

What is this manual she speaks of?

Most likely it is based on The Book of Shadows. Considered the “bible” of the modern witch coven, it contains basic beliefs, rituals, charms, spells, and incantations. There is no authentic definitive edition, since the form and scope of the book differs from coven to coven. Normal procedure is for a witch to copy the work in her own handwriting and destroy the original, but not always. No copy, however, is intended to be kept by a witch who leaves the coven, and this rule is enforced by various threats and curses. Authors and influences on this book include, but are not limited to, English and Celtic folklore, the Golden Dawn, Charles Godfrey Leland, Gerald B. Gardner, and Aleister Crowley.