Many of the characters – from Charlie Bucket to Matilda – created by Roald Dahl will forever be imprinted in our imaginations. But, truth be told, there are a set of female characters that we’re still having nightmares about: The Witches.

After we’d made it through the book during bedtime storytelling, along came the film adaptation staring Anjelica Huston and Rowan Atkinson. As many a Nineties kid will remember the film followed Luke Eveshim and his grandma, Helga on holiday. Having previously been warned by his grandma from a young age about ‘real witches’ Luke then comes face-to-face with them while staying in a seaside resort.

And there are three scenes in particular, which I for one, will never recover from. Firstly, the lonely Norwegian girl trapped in the painting who’d been kidnapped. I’m still scared of Nordic-style artwork. Secondly, the moment when all of the witches, one after the other, removed their masks to reveal their true, terrifyingly ugly selves in a conference hall like some cult convention. I’ve yet to see the inside of a conference hall. Thirdly, when the ordinary-looking woman approached young, innocent Luke with a snake while he was playing in his treehouse (without the protection of his grandma). It was a lesson for us all that strangers really do mean danger. 

Now, it’s about to terrify (and thrill) us all over again as a movie remake is officially in the works. Sticking closely to the original book (something we’re glad to hear) the film will be scripted and directed by Robert Zemeckis – who’s other works include Back To The Future and Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

And, according to Variety, the first official casting has been announced: Anne Hathaway as the Grand High Witch. That’s right, she’s taking on the role originally portrayed by Anjelica Huston in the 1990 classic.

Decades on, we’re thinking we’ll be better equipped to deal with the nightmares this time around…

Images: Warner Bros