Subject: Witches
From: swsh@ellis.uchicago.edu (Janet M. Swisher)
Date: 1991-01-25, 15:12
Newsgroups: alt.tv.twin-peaks

In article <1991Jan24.185214.26686@watserv1.waterloo.edu>
alternat@watserv1.waterloo.edu (Ann Hodgins) writes:

> >     There are two ways to define "witch".
> >One way is to accept the self-definitions of people who have claimed
> >the word for themselves and who identify as 'witches".   
> >The other way is the common language way, a loose term used casually to
> >refer to many things. For instance, I called the widow a witch
> >because I think she is a person with powers that are out of the ordinary.

And there's the Twin Peaks way.  I think that you have to look at how
"witch" is defined by how it is used in the show.  TP seems to have
its own definitions of "demonic possession" and "coma" (and probably
several other things) that don't necessarily apply in "reality".  The
other Milford brother (which one's Dwayne and which is Dougie?)  said
she was a witch.  She seems to have the ability (or "power" if you
prefer) to "entrance" men.  Beyond that, we don't really know what
"witch" means in TP.  What else it involves--pentacles on her living
room rug, or reciting the Lord's prayer backward, or riding flying
broomsticks, or just conveniently coincidental things
happening--remains to be seen.

> >      Well, maybe the people you call witches don't have such abilities
> >but I have some reason to believe that people exist who can effect the
> >material world with their conscious or unconscious thoughts.
> >Just as a for instance, the poltergeist phenomenon is quite well documented.

If you want to get into all this, there's other groups for it.  Let's
not do it here.


--
Janet SwisherInternet: swsh@midway.uchicago.edu
University of ChicagoPhone: (312) 702-7608
Academic and Public ComputingP-mail: 1155 E. 60th St. Chicago IL 60637, USA