Hildegarde Antoinette "Hilda" Spellman is a character featured in the
Archie comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
''
Sabrina the Teenage Witch
''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' is a comic book series published by Archie Comics about the adventures of a fictional American teenager named Sabrina Spellman. Sabrina was created by writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo, and first appear ...
''. Hilda is a full
witch
Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...
(as opposed to half or fully
mortal
Mortal means susceptible to death; the opposite of immortal.
Mortal may also refer to:
* Mortal (band), a Christian industrial band
* The Mortal, Sakurai Atsushi's project band
* ''Mortal'' (novel), a science fiction fantasy novel by Ted Dekker ...
) who lives in the fictional town of Greendale (in the
1990s live-action sitcom, Hilda lives in fictional Westbridge,
). Hilda lives with her niece
Sabrina Spellman
Sabrina Victoria Spellman is the eponymous character of the Archie Comics series ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch.'' Sabrina was created by writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo, and she first appeared in ''Archie's Mad House'' #22 in October 19 ...
, sister
Zelda Spellman
Zelda Phiona Spellman is a character featured in the Archie comic book ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch''. Zelda is a full witch (as opposed to half or fully mortal) who lives in the fictional town of Greendale (in the 1990s live-action sitcom, Zeld ...
, and the family cat
Salem, a former witch turned into a cat as punishment for his attempt at world domination.
History and character
Hilda debuted as "Hilda the Witch" in ''
Archie's Mad House
''Archie's Mad House'' (sometimes rendered as ''Archie's Madhouse'') was a comic book magazine published by Archie Comics from 1959 to 1982. The series went through a number of overhauls and name changes. Classic stories have occasionally appeared ...
'' #19 (June 1962) as an ugly witch with dark hair and green skin. She was featured throughout the series in solo stories, as well as the "host" of the comic book (in a role similar to the Crypt-Keeper from the ''
Tales from the Crypt
Tales from the Crypt may refer to:
* ''Tales from the Crypt'' (album), by American rapper C-Bo
* ''Tales from the Crypt'' (comics), published by EC Comics during the 1950s
** ''Tales from the Crypt'' (film), a 1972 Amicus film starring Ralph Ric ...
'' comic book series). During her early appearances in ''Archie's Mad House'', she was not connected to the Sabrina stories. However, a prototype of the "Aunt Hilda" character named "Greta the Fairy Witch Mother" (who debuted in ''Archie's Mad House'' #28 and was similar in physical appearance to Hilda the Witch) appeared in early Sabrina stories. Eventually, Hilda the Witch and Greta the Fairy Witch Mother evolved into the Aunt Hilda character in ''Archie's Mad House'' #37 (although the Greta character reappeared one last time in ''Archie's Mad House'' #45).
Upon becoming Aunt Hilda, the character was depicted as a tall and thin
Caucasian
Caucasian may refer to:
Anthropology
*Anything from the Caucasus region
**
**
** ''Caucasian Exarchate'' (1917–1920), an ecclesiastical exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Caucasus region
*
*
*
Languages
* Northwest Caucasian l ...
woman with red hair. She tended to be short-tempered and more prone to acting like an evil witch. She was the more prominent of Sabrina's two aunts, appearing in more stories than Zelda. In one story, she was stated to be seven hundred years old, although in one episode of the live action series she claims to be six hundred and twelve years old. Hilda's wardrobe was that of a traditional/stereotypical witch.
Starting in the late 1990s, Hilda's (and Zelda)'s appearances and personalities were revamped to make her more contemporary (as well as match the live-action sitcom's take on the character). In modern stories, Hilda has her trademark orange hair, but appears to physically be only a few years older than Sabrina and dresses in modern fashions.
In other media
''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' (sitcom)
![Lucy Davis, May 2004 (3) (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Lucy_Davis%2C_May_2004_%283%29_%28cropped%29.jpg)
Hilda (a blonde in the series, whose full name is revealed to be Hildegarde Antoinette Spellman) is portrayed as less pragmatic than her sister Zelda, often doing things on a whim (such as buying a clock shop or running for political office). Though these endeavors rarely come to fruition. She is far more lenient and fun-loving than Zelda, and is usually tolerant of Sabrina's schemes and mistakes, having gotten into many mishaps in her own youth.
As a witch, Hilda's magical abilities often manifested as a puff of smoke, and was accompanied by a "bong" sound (as opposed to
Zelda Spellman
Zelda Phiona Spellman is a character featured in the Archie comic book ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch''. Zelda is a full witch (as opposed to half or fully mortal) who lives in the fictional town of Greendale (in the 1990s live-action sitcom, Zeld ...
's stream of violet sparkles or
Sabrina Spellman
Sabrina Victoria Spellman is the eponymous character of the Archie Comics series ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch.'' Sabrina was created by writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo, and she first appeared in ''Archie's Mad House'' #22 in October 19 ...
's orange sparkles.) Hilda was portrayed by actress
Caroline Rhea
Caroline Gilchrist Rhea (; born April 13, 1964) is a Canadian actress and stand-up comedian, who is best known for her role as Hilda Spellman on the ABC series ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch''.
She has performed numerous comedy specials, including t ...
.
Childhood
Hilda grew up with at least five siblings: Vesta being the oldest; Edward, Della, Sophia, the youngest, and her sister Zelda whom she lives with.
Vesta was terribly jealous of all the attention that Hilda and Zelda got when they were little. So, she turned their parents into pigs. The Witches Council decided that people with pigs feet could not raise children and so when Vesta refused to turn them back Hilda and Zelda were adopted out to a family in the country.
While the children were living in the farm house the parents stayed in the barn. Their father was "getting very good at working an
Instamatic
: ''For the film formats associated with the ''Instamatic'' and ''Pocket Instamatic'' camera ranges, see 126 film and 110 film respectively.''
The Instamatic is a series of inexpensive, easy-to-load 126 and 110 cameras made by Kodak beginning ...
with his snout". When their mother headbutted Vesta about a month later, they were turned back into humans. In order to legally get Hilda and Zelda back, they had to adopt them.
Their overbearing mother, Grandma Lydia, spent 200 years of violin lessons on Hilda. The first thing little Hilda ever zapped was a little clay horse.
Adulthood
As Hilda reached adulthood she went off to college. Hilda went to Clown College and her roommate was Bobo, a monkey. Hilda graduated magna cum seltzer.
When Hilda was
forty-eight she had her first kiss, and was later engaged to Drell- the wedding took place at the
Acropolis. Drell stood Hilda up at the altar, causing an infuriated Hilda to destroy the Acropolis, although history later blamed the Turks.
Hilda bounced from one job to another over the centuries while trying to find what she wanted to do. Her jobs included being a blacksmith and donkey walker, in addition to deep sea fishing, which she rated as being her worst job. During the early 19th century, Hilda and Zelda worked together at a saloon before eventually being run out of town, but they fortunately found a way to maintain some financial security:
junk. During the early 1970s, Hilda went to work for
Salem Saberhagen
Salem Saberhagen is a fictional character from the American Archie Comics comic series ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch''. Salem is an American Shorthair cat who lives with Sabrina Spellman, Hilda Spellman and Zelda Spellman in the fictional town of G ...
as his
secretary
A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...
. Salem was found out by the Witch's Council, and as punishment was turned into a witch-familiar as a cat; Hilda was forced to keep him worm-free for a century, but she was pardoned at the end of Season Five. But she still keeps Salem. In the early 1990s, before Sabrina came to live with Hilda and Zelda, they had manservants, spent late nights on the town, weekends in
Tuscany
Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze'').
Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...
, took part in
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
racing, and originally had a disco on the second floor of their house. They decided to turn it into a normal household.
In the season 6 finale Hilda meets her true love; Will, the train conductor from the episode ''
Murder on the Halloween Express''. They decide to get married in the finale when Hilda meets him at an Other Realm mall.
Zelda and
Sabrina
Sabrina may refer to:
* Sabrina (given name), a feminine given name, including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name
People
* Sabrina (actress), stage name of Norma Ann Sykes (1936–2016), a British glamour model and actres ...
, thinking the relationship is just a rebound and a huge mistake, break Hilda and Will up. When Will leaves, Hilda turns to stone, meaning Will was indeed her true love. Realizing this, Sabrina barters her love life for Hilda, causing Josh and Harvey to walk out on her. Zelda, however, trades her years of experience for Sabrina, and it is assumed she travels to the other Realm with Will and Hilda.
Filmation animated series
Hilda's first non-comics appearance was on the 1969-70
Filmation
Filmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live-action programming for television from 1963 until 1989. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1962. Filmation's founders and ...
animated series ''
The Archie Comedy Hour''. Hilda was similar to her then-current comics portrayal, with a typical "witch" appearance and attire, as well as disapproval of Sabrina doing good deeds, and thus (as ordered by Della the Head Witch) was always trying to get her to do bad deeds (like all the other witches). Hilda also had a typical "witch" cackle. Hilda was voiced by
Jane Webb
Jane Webb Karyl, (August 13, 1925 – March 30, 2010) best known as Jane Webb, was an American film, radio, and voice actress, best known for her work on Filmation's cartoons.
Early years
Webb's mother was Estelle Sigrid Webb, a Swedish immigran ...
.
DIC animated series
Hilda appears as a character in both ''
Sabrina: The Animated Series'' and ''
Sabrina's Secret Life
''Sabrina's Secret Life'' (French: ''Le Secret de Sabrina'') is a 2003 animated television series based on the Archie Comics character Sabrina, the Teenage Witch co-produced by DIC Entertainment Corporation and Les Studios Tex SARL. It originally ...
''.
Melissa Joan Hart provided her voice in the first series while in the second series she is voiced by
Moneca Stori
Moneca Stori (born January 17, 1970) is a Canadian former voice actress known mostly for her role as the original voice of Kagome Higurashi in the English version of ''Inuyasha'', as well as her lead role of Laura Haruna from the long running ...
. Hilda appeared radically different from her comic book appearances; here, she's depicted as a brunette with an
olive complexion. Hilda had the same basic personality as in the live-action sitcom. She is depicted as a teenager (instead of the usual middle-aged adult), despite being the same age as in other media (hundreds of years old). It is mentioned in passing that she and Zelda have temporally been changed into teenagers by head witch Enchantra as punishment for minor crimes, but the situation is never fully explained. In ''Sabrina: The Animated Series'' both attend high school and are not considered legal adults in the mortal world, which is why Sabrina's maternal great-uncle Quigley (an original character created for the series) lives with them. In ''Sabrina's Secret Life'' (set two years later), Hilda and Zelda are out of school and able to run the household (and Uncle Quigley is no longer in the cast). It is unknown what happened to him.
''Secrets of a Teenage Witch''
Hilda appeared in the animated series ''
Sabrina: Secrets of a Teenage Witch'', voiced by
Tabitha St. Germain
Tabitha St. Germain, formerly known as Paulina Gillis Germain and also known as Tabitha or Kitanou St. Germain, is a Canadian actress and comedian. She is known for a variety of roles across many different shows. She has been actively doing voi ...
. Here, she and Zelda run a bakery and again look after Sabrina. In this series, Hilda looks more like her sister did in the early comics, but with blonde hair similar to Sabrina's.
''Chilling Adventures of Sabrina''
Hilda appears in the
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
series ''
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
''Chilling Adventures of Sabrina'' is an American comic book series published by Archie Horror, an imprint of Archie Comics, beginning in 2014. The series is a darker take on the characters and setting of ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch''. It is writ ...
'', based on the eponymous
comic. She is played by
Lucy Davis
Lucy Clare Davis (born 17 February 1973) is an English actress best known for playing Dawn Tinsley in the BBC comedy ''The Office'' (2001–2003).
She is also known for her roles as Hilda Spellman in the Netflix series '' The Chilling Adven ...
.
Retaining her full name from ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'', Hildegarde Antoinette Spellman.
Hilda has an English accent and is referred to in several episodes as British or coming from England. The details of how she arrived in America are unclear. Hilda is a member of the Church of Night, a powerful coven of Satanic witches. In keeping with earlier appearances, Hilda is the easier-going of the sisters, although she is portrayed as something of a mother hen rather than a prankster. She is also less devoted to the witches’ religion than Zelda. She is nonetheless a very knowledgable and powerful witch, easily holding her own against rival witches and demons alike.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spellman, Hilda
American female characters in television
Archie Comics superheroes
Comics characters introduced in 1962
Comics characters who use magic
Fictional alchemists
Fictional witches
Extraterrestrial superheroes
Sabrina the Teenage Witch characters
Female characters in animation
Female characters in comics