Witches On Broomsticks

     A book I was reading over the summer called, Your Brain On Food, written by, Gary L. Wenk, had a very interesting section on witches and it made me wonder, what are witches doing in a nonfiction book about drugs and how the brain works?  However, that isn't the point, the point is how a horrific piece of history is being rewritten into a different light for little innocent kids. 

    The cool Halloween character little kids adored, their quirks that kids would remember till old, are actually too inappropriate for the kids. Have you ever wondered why witches would only fly on broomsticks? I mean since they're so magical, can't they just fly without any objects or, at least pick a cooler object to ride on than a cleaning supply? Well heres why, Wenk wrote, "...anoint a staff and ride on it... the sensation produced by sufficient doses of these plant extracts would include both visual hallucinations and a floating, light headed feeling. It is not difficult to appreciate why these women might have reported an experience similar to flying through the sky while straddling their broomsticks" (Wenk 109).

    Although the underlie of witches is inappropriate for children, the versions they see are appropriate.  In a way, you could think of them as different things entirely. The witches of the adult world and the witches of the children's world. 

    Now I don't know how I feel about seeing little kids role-play as witches and ride around on broomsticks.  

Should these R rated histories and tales be morphed into something kids read? Would you consider this as a sugar coating that would eventually rot and leave you feeling icky?