The nasty green-skinned witch on her magical broomstick is a Halloween staple—and a tired stereotype. However, the history of how witches became connected with such a common domestic item is far from boring.
The oldest known depiction of witches riding brooms is from 1451, when two drawings appeared in the book Le Champion des Dames by French poet Martin Le Franc (The Defender of Ladies).
The connection between witches and brooms may stem from a pagan fertility rite in which farmers would leap and dance astride poles, pitchforks, or brooms in the light of the full moon to increase crop development. This "broomstick dance" was misinterpreted as witches soaring through the night on their way to orgies and other forbidden assemblies.