The Witch
When 12-year-old Naomi first helped create a fictional story about a witch in a housing estate, she could never have imagined the way it would connect to her real life years later. Now 23, Naomi and co host Phil reflect on how books and stories, like lives, are always connecting with each other. “The Witch” is a trip into childhood myths, cul-de-sac adventures, and how books and stories help us survive what hurts the most.To join us at Coequal's Patreon Page: Click hereFor Jessica Spencer's book Little Words on Miscarriage click hereTo check out the website for Beyond Empathy: Click hereClick here to listen to One of the Team on our sister podcast A Good Mind ToThumbnail Image by Emma KorhonenDetailed Music Credits"Fooling Around" by Tristan Noon, "Hurt theme" by Damian Mason and Phil Okerstrom, "Lockdown Rockdown", "Innocent Flute", "Cheeky", "Cheekee", "Sneaky", "Sustain Strings", and "Blue" by Philip Okerstrom, "Nostalgic Cinematic Piano" by Erick McNerney, "Kovd" by Blue Dot Sessions, "Harmonic Mist Strings Artistic" by Eric Sutherland, "Atmospheric Film Music cello" by Gestonwreen, "Ghost Dance", "Hall of the Mountain King Grieg", "Le Grand Chase", "The Path of the Goblin King", "Movement Proposition", "Plain Loafer", "Hamster March", "Sneaky", "Batty McFadden", "Welcome to Horrorland", "Too Cool", "Pensiv", "Ghost Story", and "Ghost Processional" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/To read about what research is saying about Trigger Warnings, you can click here and click hereEpisode Detailed DescriptionChapter 1. IntroductionThe episode opens with Naomi (now 23) and Phil discussing how stories connect—books to books, lives to lives. They reference Wicked and The Wizard of Oz to illustrate how a one-dimensional character (the Wicked Witch) can be reimagined with depth and backstory. This sets up the theme of how books and stories, even playful childhood ones, can evolve and carry hidden truths. Chapter 2. The Witch (Real Made Up Story) ((What starts as a spooky adventure in a cul-de-sac becomes a moving reflection on loss, empathy, and the ways children make sense of the world))Naomi and Phil (with a little help) then tell the Real Made Up Story of The Witch. Victoria and her older sister Naomi live in a tight-knit, chaotic-but-safe public housing estate known as “Legoland.”The story introduces the “Witch”—a figure of fun, fear, myth, and intrigue. Victoria loses the ball over the Witch’s fence. This innocent mistake raises the stakes. Victoria refuses to go in after the ball, playfully terrified. Naomi, older and grounded in logic (but possibly "brainwashed"), does go in. The girls watch with horror and awe… until Naomi emerges with the ball. Doubt is introduced: maybe the Witch isn’t a witch. But the mystery only deepens... Victoria and friends dare each other to knock on the Witch’s door. Victoria knocks and runs—the classic suburban rite of passage. The girls try to lure the Witch out with a mouldy sandwich that happens to be in Victoria’s school bag, and which they throw over the Witch’s fence. But then they hear her voice for the first time: “Who’s there?” they scream in delighted terror all the way home to find Naomi. When they get home, Victoria finds her school bag on the front step. It has been returned—with a teddy bear inside, with her name embroidered on its foot. The teddy bear is beautiful, clearly loved, and maybe some sort of voodoo thing. Naomi reveals that the Witch had a daughter… but that her daughter had died.Victoria starts to realise why the Witch stays inside. It’s not because she’s a monster—she’s someone who is sad. Victoria doesn’t know much about death, other than that she doesn’t want to think about it. But now she wants to meet the Witch more than ever. On the way home from school, gets chased by some other kids. Fearing she will be caught, Victoria runs into the Witch’s yard. Suddenly, the Witch appears for the first time—fierce, strange, real. She scares the bullies off. And Victoria sees her for the first time. Victoria bravely knocks on the door and asks why the teddy was given to her. The Witch confirms: it belonged to her daughter, also named Victoria. But when Victoria asks to come inside, the Witch says no. Victoria offers sincerity: “If I was polite, would you let me in?” The Witch finally relents: “Tell Naomi to bring you tomorrow for afternoon tea.” Victoria is thrilled. The mysterious old woman is no longer a scary game, but a person—and maybe even a friend. The “Witch” has transformed in Victoria’s eyes, and so has Victoria. Chapter 3. How audiences responded to the story when it was first released as a filmThe story The Witch was originally made up to be featured in a film called Protection, and in it, Naomi played Naomi and her little sister Victoria played Victoria. Naomi talks about what it was like to travel around cities in Australia screening it for people and running Q&A sessions, where she was totally surprised by how moved people were by their stories—and also by all the questions they asked. Chapter 4. Naomi had a child who was stillborn. Naomi shares openly that she had a son: Makai who was stillborn. After his death, she has struggled with the grief. Through a recommendation from her mother, Naomi discovered Little Words on Miscarriage, a collection of poems by Jessica Spencer. The poems resonated deeply and gave Naomi language for feelings and questions she had no words or answers for. Chapter 5. Naomi reads some poems about the loss of a childNaomi reads several poems aloud: Empty, Tears, Believe, Lifetime, Parts in Pieces, Bearable, Not Everyone, Your Name. Each piece explores grief, love, loss and memory—delivered in simple, raw language. ConclusionAt the close, Naomi explains how the poems helped her. Phil and Naomi talk about some research where listeners’ brains synchronized while hearing a story in an experiment—a visual way to see how stories connect us and may help us feel less alone.For Red Nose Grief and Loss click here or call 1300 308 307Real Made up stories has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body."
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