Witch is old English, meaning to bend.

A dog howls. I shiver. Leering pumpkins appear under porch lights. The night of witches looms on the calendar. The community thinks up horror corners to frighten wee little ones out of their skins with all sorts of unlikely encounters in deep dark chambers.
Hecate, the Greek goddess of ghosts, cackles with glee. She is the special patron of wizards and witches. She hovers in graveyards and at crossroads, moving about with souls of the dead. Dogs howl and announce her coming. Local coyotes around here are bound to set them off.
No matter. The day, and night, will come and go. But beware! The costumes for sale in specialty stores indicate there will be many more full grown ghosts, and such, out this year. Other than Hecate on her broom, some might even wear snakes as did Diana and Proserpina.
Naomi Sherer