Q: What time period is The Witch set in?

The Witch takes place in the 1630s in New England.

Question 1

What time period is The Witch set in?

Accepted Answer

The Witch takes place in the 1630s in New England.

Question 2

How did the witch take the baby?

Accepted Answer

The baby, Samuel, disappears while Thomasin is playing peek-a-boo with him. Thomasin only has her eyes covered for a few seconds, but the next time we see Samuel he is bein carried through the woods by the witch. The movie doesn't really explain how Samuel got from Thomasin's possession to the woods which were well away from her location, but there is an obvious solution: magic. The witch likely created some sort of illusion to hide herself as she plucked the child from Thomasin.

Question 3

What does the witch do to the baby?

Accepted Answer

Although the death of the baby, Samuel, isn't explicitly shown on screen, it's very clear what happens to him. We see the witch bring a knife towards Samuel, then the film cuts to the witch grinding up a chunky red substance. She rubs the reddish paste over her body and a broomstick, then we see her mount the broomstick and float into the night sky.

So, the witch kills the baby, grinds his body to paste, and uses the paste as a magical ointment that gives her the ability of flight.

Question 4

What happened to the witch in the end?

Accepted Answer

The witch who abducts Samuel is part of the coven of witches that Thomasin joins at the end of the film.

Question 5

What does Black Phillip say at the end of The Witch?

Accepted Answer

Here is all of the dialogue between Black Phillip and Thomasin at the end of The Witch, starting from just after Thomasin conjures Black Phillip to speak.

Black Phillip: What dost thou want?
Thomasin: What canst thou give?
BP: Wouldst thou like the taste of butter? A pretty dress? Wouldst thou like to live deliciously?
T: Yes.
BP: Wouldst thou like to see the world?
T: What will you from me?
BP: Dost thou see the book before thee? Remove thy shift.
T: I cannot write my name.
BP: I will guide thy hand.

Though Black Phillip's temptations (butter, a dress, etc.) have confused some viewers, Robert Eggers explains that his research showed that these were things people who confessed to being a witch actually wished for. Also, within the context of Thomasin's state of mind at the end of The Witch, she didn't really need much in the way of temptation. Thomasin was ready to sign Black Phillips book before he ever said anything.

Question 6

Who voiced Black Phillip?

Accepted Answer

Daniel Malik is the actor who voiced Black Phillip. Malik is credited in The Witch as Wahab Chaudhry (which is the name he used as a model prior to getting into acting). The Witch was Malik's first feature film, and he has gone on to appear in multiple projects including a 2018 episode of The Handmaid's Tale and three episodes of The Expanse (2017-2019).

Question 7

How old is Caleb in The Witch?

Accepted Answer

In Robert Eggers' script, Caleb is noted as being 11 years old. The script also notes that the twins are 5 years old, and Thomasin is 13 (though she appears to be 18 in the final film).

M.J. Pack

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