Each October, the Unsung Horrors podcast does a month of themed movies. This year, they will once again be setting up a fundraiser to benefit Best Friends, which works to save the lives of cats and dogs across America, giving pets second chances and providing them with happy homes.

Today’s theme: Witches or Warlocks

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Adam Hursey is a pharmacist specializing in health informatics by day, but his true passion is cinema. His current favorite films are Back to the Future, Stop Making Sense, and In the Mood for Love. He has written articles for Film East and The Physical Media Advocate, primarily examining older films through the lens of contemporary perspectives. He is usually found on Letterboxd, where he mainly writes about horror and exploitation films. You can follow him on Letterboxd or Instagram at ashursey.

For some reason, people keep talking to me lately about Little House on the Prairie. I’m not sure why exactly. I am familiar with the show. It was not must see TV for me growing up. Thanks to my mother, I was much more into prime time soap operas like Dallas and Dynasty. The trials and tribulations of the Ingalls family surely could not compare to comings and goings of the Ewings or the Carringtons. 

But I have watched more LHOTP in the last year or so. And boy howdy does that show get unhinged in those later years! Albert Ingalls gets addicted to morphine. He also starts a fire that results in the death of a baby. In the infamous Sylvia episode, a teenager gets raped by a guy in a clown mask. The citizens even blow up Walnut Grove rather than let the land fall into some venture capitalist’s hands. Whenever anyone talks about LHOTP and how “they don’t make shows like they used to”, I cannot disagree. But they are talking about wholesomeness, an aspect that did not exactly run through that show.

In contrast, I’ve never seen an episode of The Waltons. I would be willing to watch it though. It seems like maybe this show is the one people should reference when talking about a show you could watch with the entire family. I’ll have to check it out and report back.

Now if there was a competition between the two shows, perhaps it reached full throat in 1981 when the made for television movie Midnight Offerings debuted on ABC (neutral ground I guess). In this movie, we are treated to Melissa Sue Anderson (Mary Ingalls) versus Mary Beth McDonough (Erin Walton) in a supernatural battle over…the high school quarterback? This film is not going to pass the Bechdel test, that’s for sure.

Anderson plays Vivian Sotherland, the most popular girl in school. She also happens to be a witch (the old seventh daughter of a seventh daughter trope) who is not afraid to kill in order for those around her to succeed. Nobody knows her secret, although the aforementioned quarterback/boyfriend David (Patrick Cassidy) is beginning to have his suspicions. When new girl in town Robin Prentiss (McDonough) shows up, Vivian is ready to quickly dispose of her. But Robin is also the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter, and she has powers she could not explain. Can Mrs. Cunningham, I mean, Emily Moore (Marion Ross) help Robin harness the magic inside of her before Vivian reaches the height of her witchcraft?

There is definitely a lot to like about Midnight Offerings. Melissa Sue Anderson is having a ball playing against type. And I love a magic battle. This one has an unexpected ending that would make any Hammer film proud (if you know you know). Made for TV movies has been a bit of a running theme through my picks this year. I just cannot get enough. Talk about they don’t make things like they used to.