Free Online Talk · That Very Witch: Fear, Feminism, and the American Witch Film with Author Payton McCarty-Simas
Monday, July 21, 2025
7pm ET (NYC time)
Free! RSVP with email at checkout
PLEASE NOTE: Video playback of free events is only available to Patreon members. Become a Member HERE.
Ticketholders: A Zoom invite is sent out two hours before the event to the email used at checkout. Please check your spam folder and if not received, email hello@morbidanatomy.org.
Most horror fans would likely agree that the witch is a feminist symbol—and there’s a reason for that.
That Very Witch—the second book by Payton McCarty-Simas—examines the evolution of the witch as a symbol of feminism in America, taking a historiographic approach to how that figure has evolved; why do witches appear when they do? What can we learn about the state of feminism when they do (or don't!) take center stage in the culture? How has that representation changed alongside the culture over time? In this lecture, Payton will delve into parts of their research into this subject, touching on everything from the '60s counterculture to the Satanic Panic to Riot Grrrl to WitchTok and beyond.
Payton McCarty-Simas is a writer and author based in New York City. They hold a Masters in film and media studies from Columbia University, with research on horror film, psychedelia, and the occult. Payton’s writing has been featured in The Brooklyn Rail, Horror Studies, Bright Lights Film Journal and others, and she is the author of two books, One Step Short of Crazy: National Treasure and the Landscape of American Conspiracy Culture, and All of Them Witches: Fear, Feminism, and the American Witch Film.
Monday, July 21, 2025
7pm ET (NYC time)
Free! RSVP with email at checkout
PLEASE NOTE: Video playback of free events is only available to Patreon members. Become a Member HERE.
Ticketholders: A Zoom invite is sent out two hours before the event to the email used at checkout. Please check your spam folder and if not received, email hello@morbidanatomy.org.
Most horror fans would likely agree that the witch is a feminist symbol—and there’s a reason for that.
That Very Witch—the second book by Payton McCarty-Simas—examines the evolution of the witch as a symbol of feminism in America, taking a historiographic approach to how that figure has evolved; why do witches appear when they do? What can we learn about the state of feminism when they do (or don't!) take center stage in the culture? How has that representation changed alongside the culture over time? In this lecture, Payton will delve into parts of their research into this subject, touching on everything from the '60s counterculture to the Satanic Panic to Riot Grrrl to WitchTok and beyond.
Payton McCarty-Simas is a writer and author based in New York City. They hold a Masters in film and media studies from Columbia University, with research on horror film, psychedelia, and the occult. Payton’s writing has been featured in The Brooklyn Rail, Horror Studies, Bright Lights Film Journal and others, and she is the author of two books, One Step Short of Crazy: National Treasure and the Landscape of American Conspiracy Culture, and All of Them Witches: Fear, Feminism, and the American Witch Film.
Monday, July 21, 2025
7pm ET (NYC time)
Free! RSVP with email at checkout
PLEASE NOTE: Video playback of free events is only available to Patreon members. Become a Member HERE.
Ticketholders: A Zoom invite is sent out two hours before the event to the email used at checkout. Please check your spam folder and if not received, email hello@morbidanatomy.org.
Most horror fans would likely agree that the witch is a feminist symbol—and there’s a reason for that.
That Very Witch—the second book by Payton McCarty-Simas—examines the evolution of the witch as a symbol of feminism in America, taking a historiographic approach to how that figure has evolved; why do witches appear when they do? What can we learn about the state of feminism when they do (or don't!) take center stage in the culture? How has that representation changed alongside the culture over time? In this lecture, Payton will delve into parts of their research into this subject, touching on everything from the '60s counterculture to the Satanic Panic to Riot Grrrl to WitchTok and beyond.
Payton McCarty-Simas is a writer and author based in New York City. They hold a Masters in film and media studies from Columbia University, with research on horror film, psychedelia, and the occult. Payton’s writing has been featured in The Brooklyn Rail, Horror Studies, Bright Lights Film Journal and others, and she is the author of two books, One Step Short of Crazy: National Treasure and the Landscape of American Conspiracy Culture, and All of Them Witches: Fear, Feminism, and the American Witch Film.