Roald Dahl’s 1983 children’s book, The Witches, was inspired by folk tales from Norway, the homeland of his parents. The Witches tells the story of a young boy who learns all about witches from his grandmother. “You can never be sure,” the grandmother says, “if you are gazing at a witch or just a kind lady.” Her warnings come in handy when he comes face to face with the Grand High Witch and must try to thwart her plans to kill all the children of England.
Soon after Dahl’s book was published, puppeteer Jim Henson bought the film rights. Henson thought the hideous witches and magical transformations were suited to the types of work he did in his Creature Shop. He hired Nicolas Roeg, a former cinematographer to helm the film.
In his 2013 memoir titled The World is Ever Changing, Roeg writes about THE WITCHES as an example of the power of film versus literature. “Roald Dahl’s book was rather creepy but it had very simple, sweet, charming drawings in it — so that the children wouldn’t get too frightened. If a parent were reading the story to a child and saw the child getting nervous about it or upset, they could shut the book, but once you take someone to the cinema and put them in a seat, you frighten the bejesus out them.”
