Tracey Braun

When you’re a witch, the phone seems to ring a little more around Halloween, Calgarian Tracey Braun says.“It’s just that Halloween has become the thing that people associate witches with, so it’s usually around this time people start to call around and say, ‘Hey, do you know any?’”The stereotypical association of witches with Halloween can be frustrating because most people don’t understand the underlying religious beliefs, Braun says.

“When I was Christian, it’s not like everyone called me at Christmas and said, ‘So tell me about Christmas.’”

Sally Patton says that when she and fellow Calgary witches get together they don’t fly around on brooms.

“We would if we could,” she adds with a chuckle. “We would love to be able to do all the things they do on Bewitched. Unfortunately, they only work in Hollywood.”

Fun aside, Patton says her beliefs fall more into line with the pagan religion Wicca. She believes in equality and in a God that is both male and female in essence. And she has been known to conjure up and share herbal recipes.

“It’s not that witches just pop out of the woodwork at Halloween,” Braun adds. “We have holidays throughout the year.”

With files from katie turner