Coming out of the broom closet: Real life witches

Are you a fan of "Harry Potter"? Or maybe Sabrina the Teenage Witch? Ever wonder if witchcraft actually involves a wand and broom?

Witch culture is everywhere, from 1990s sitcoms to Halloween costumes. Often, what’s left out of the equation is input from real witches.

We headed down to our local occult store, Edge of the Circle Books, to learn about actual witchcraft practices, cultural differences and witches' takes on media representation.

This podcast was created with production support from Mary Heisey and edited by Jenny Asarnow. 

Music: "Five Minutes in the Rainforest Cafe" by Celedon, "Homage" by Paniks, "Glockenspiel" by Regis Turner, and "Rain and Glockenspiel" by Adrian Beentjes. The RadioActive theme song is by Patrick Liu and Abay Estifanos.

This is the latest of KUOW's RadioActive Youth Media stories created in our advanced producers program. You can stay in touch on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and subscribe to the RadioActive podcast to hear all of our stories.