WHEN Candace Savage dressed up as a Hallowe'en witch at the age of 10, "I had no idea that I was shouldering centuries of oppression, judicial murder and high-minded mockery.

"Instead, I was attracted by the power of angry cursing and ill-tempered laughter, of forbidden knowledge, of fear. Bad-girl power."

Witchcraft as an idea has long been a compelling one. To the people of Lancashire in 1633 it was a ghoulish, titillating obsession to the extent that 17 women were sent to London for trial, merely on the basis of a child's accusation, and eventually left to rot in jail at Lancaster castle. To "Generation Hex" teenagers who buy Wiccan love potions to add a little magical oomph to their budding Girl Power, or to little girls in pointy hats and black costumes at Hallowe'en it is an exciting but harmless form of play. But, to their forbears, impoverished elderly women whose charity uniform came to stand for witches , it was pernicious. It is they who gave an image of "wicked old witch", seized upon so eagerly in folk stories and literature. It was usually they -- as well as frighteningly sexy young women -- who were maligned, accused, branded, whipped, ducked, executed or burned. No wonder witchcraft quickly got a reputation for danger.

Along with danger comes glamour, of course. For fashionable Frenchwomen, dabbling in the occult brought thrills and intrigue to society life. The Romantics loved the witch for her power and passion, and turned her into a muse with the wave of a magic pen. And Hollywood has celebrated her, in its own way, through forms as diverse as the gentle Bewitched or gothic blockbusters such as Carrie or Rosemary's Baby. Latterly, Wicca, or feminist witchcraft has embraced the powers ascribed to witches in a united female celebration of life and fight against repression.

The intelligent and richly layered Witch explores the territory occupied by history, literature and art, revealing how our fear and fascination of witches has changed over time. Filtered through feminist scholarship, it is a text full of wit, understanding and compassion.

Witch -- The Wild Ride from Wicked to Wicca is published by the British Museum Press at £12.99.