We’ve all seen it. You’re scrolling through a Pinterest board or a vintage photography archive and there it is: a grainy, sepia-toned photo of witch on broom hovering just a few feet off the ground. Maybe she’s wearing a pointed hat. Maybe the broom looks suspiciously like a kitchen prop from 1920. It looks eerie. It looks impossible. Honestly, it’s usually a fake, but that doesn't stop it from being one of the most enduring images in the history of the occult.
The obsession with capturing the supernatural on film isn't new. People have been trying to "prove" the existence of magic since the first daguerreotypes were developed in the mid-19th century. But why do we still care? Why does a blurry image of a woman on a stick still get thousands of shares every October?
The Mechanics of the Early Photo of Witch on Broom
Back in the day, creating a convincing photo of witch on broom wasn't as easy as slapping a filter on TikTok. It required genuine craft. Early photographers like William H. Mumler made a career out of "spirit photography," and while he mostly focused on ghosts, the "flying witch" became a staple of the postcard industry.
They used double exposure. Basically, the photographer would expose the plate once with the background and a second time with the "witch" jumping off a stool or suspended by thin wires. Because the shutter speeds were so slow, any movement created a ghostly blur. This blur was perfect. It hid the wires. It made the flight look fluid rather than staged. If you look at the famous 19th-century "flying" photos, you’ll notice the lighting is often inconsistent between the person and the sky. That’s the giveaway.
Still, for a Victorian audience, this was mind-blowing. They didn't have the visual literacy we have now. They wanted to believe.
The Folklore Behind the Flight
Where did the broom even come from? It's kind of a weird choice for a vehicle. Historically, the association between witches and brooms—specifically the "flying" part—likely stems from "flying ointments."
Scholars like Jordanes de Bergamo wrote in the 15th century about how "the vulgar believe" witches used special salves. These ointments often contained hallucinogenic plants like belladonna, mandrake, or henbane. According to some historical theories, the broom was used as an applicator for these psychoactive substances. When the user hallucinated, they felt the sensation of flight. So, every photo of witch on broom we see today is actually a visual shorthand for a very ancient, very herbalist tradition that got twisted through the lens of the Inquisition.
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Why Fake Witch Photos Go Viral Today
Discovery and Google algorithms love a good mystery. A "real" vintage photo of witch on broom usually triggers our collective nostalgia and our love for the "unexplained."
Take the "Witch of Kingsbury" photo that circulated a few years back. It looked like a genuine 1920s snapshot. It had the right grain. The woman’s expression was appropriately vacant. But researchers eventually tracked it back to a modern film set. We want these things to be real because they represent a break from the mundane world. In an era of high-definition satellite imagery, the idea that a grainy 4x6 print could hide a secret about gravity is deeply appealing.
It’s about the "uncanny valley." We know humans can't fly. We know brooms aren't aerodynamic. Yet, when we see that specific silhouette against a moonlit sky, our brains short-circuit.
Identifying a Hoax vs. Historical Art
If you’re looking at an old photo of witch on broom and trying to figure out if it's "period-accurate" or a modern digital creation, look at the edges. Digital "noise" is uniform. Real film grain is organic and clumpy.
Most "authentic" vintage photos of this nature were actually greeting cards. From about 1900 to 1920, the "Halloween Postcard" craze was massive. Companies like Gilbert & Bacon or the Bamforth Co. produced millions of them. These weren't meant to deceive; they were the 1920s equivalent of a meme. They were funny. They were stylized. Over the last century, many of these cards have been stripped of their text, scanned, and re-uploaded as "evidence" of the supernatural.
- Check the lighting: Does the light on the broom match the light on the clouds?
- Look at the shadow: If she's flying low, is there a shadow on the ground? (Usually, fakers forget this).
- Examine the clothing: Is it a "costume" witch or 17th-century peasant garb? Real historical "witches" didn't wear the 1939 Wizard of Oz hat.
The Cultural Weight of the Image
We can't talk about a photo of witch on broom without talking about power. For a long time, the image of the flying witch was used to demonize independent women. It was a visual mark of "otherness."
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But in the 20th century, that changed. The image was reclaimed. Now, when someone posts a photo of witch on broom, it’s often about empowerment or "witchcore" aesthetics. It's about a connection to nature and a refusal to be grounded by societal rules.
The aesthetic has shifted from "scary monster" to "dark academia."
Technical Evolution of the Silhouette
Modern photographers are still obsessed with this. They use drones now. I’ve seen some incredible long-exposure shots where a person on a "broom" (actually a specialized rig) is captured against a star-trail background. It looks amazing.
The irony is that as our technology gets better, the photos become less "believable" in a supernatural sense, but more beautiful as art. We’ve moved from trying to trick people into believing in magic to using magic-making tools to create art.
Practical Steps for Sourcing or Creating Witch Photography
If you're a collector or a digital artist, you need to know how to navigate this niche. It's full of low-quality AI renders right now that are clogging up the search results.
1. Sourcing Authentic Vintage Imagery
Don't just Google "witch photo." Go to the Library of Congress digital archives or the Wellcome Collection. Search for "Halloween masquerade" or "spirit photography 19th century." You’ll find high-resolution, public-domain images that haven't been compressed into oblivion by Facebook.
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2. Creating Your Own "Leaping" Shots
To get a realistic photo of witch on broom without heavy CGI, use a fast shutter speed (at least 1/1000). Have your subject jump from a small height while holding the broom. The trick is the "tuck." If the "witch" tucks their knees up, it looks like they are hovering. It’s an old theatrical trick used in dance photography.
3. Spotting AI "Hallucinations"
Lately, Google Discover has been flooded with AI-generated "historical" photos. Check the hands. AI still struggles with how a hand should grip a wooden handle. If the fingers are melting into the broom, it’s a 2026 bot special, not a 1920s artifact.
4. Metadata and Provenance
If you find a photo you love, use a reverse image search like TinEye. Trace it back to the earliest possible upload. If the earliest mention is a stock photo site or a 2024 blog, it’s not a "lost historical find."
The photo of witch on broom is more than just a spooky image. It’s a collision of technology, folklore, and our deep-seated desire to believe that the world is a little bit weirder than it looks. Whether it’s a Victorian double exposure or a modern digital masterpiece, these images hold a mirror to our imaginations.
To dig deeper into the actual history of these visuals, start by researching the "Spirit Photography" movement of the 1860s. It provides the technical foundation for every "supernatural" photo that followed. You can also look into the history of the "Witching Hour" in early American photography, which shows how photographers used the lack of light to their advantage.
Next time you see a photo of witch on broom popping up in your feed, look past the silhouette. Look at the grain, the light, and the history hiding in the shadows.