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I do love that witches haven't really been explored that much. Usually, witches are the little side character... a bad female character that comes in and leaves.

What interests me is why men think of women as witches. It's because they're so fascinating and exasperating, so other.

Witches are the kind of more traditional, home and family, craft people - so they're the ones who are making things; crocheting shawls and things like that. But then they also have that slightly confident, dangerous, edge. I always see them as having very extreme hair, either amazingly beautiful straight hair or kind of wild.

I think that there is incredible prejudice about witches while there is no prejudice about wizards. Words are very important, and I'm really into destroying myths.

I love the fact that little kids think I'm a witch. A mum might come over and say 'I'm sorry to disturb you, but my daughter thinks you're in 'Harry Potter.' I'll say 'That's cool' and take the kid aside and say, 'I'm a witch. If you don't listen to your mum, I'm going to haunt you!' It's brilliant. I can scare kids into doing their homework.

The plain truth is that the period I study is the 16th century, and they were absolutely obsessed with witches and spiritual beings.

Even though I don't necessarily believe in everything that's supernatural, I like being scared and I like things that are suspenseful.

I'm not over-reacting, but I do think people have to be a bit cautious when they say all kind of activities associated with witchcraft are harmless.