Dressing up as a witch is such a common costume because it’s so easy to pull off. All you need is a black dress and a witch’s hat, and voila, you are good to go. Of course, in today’s age, nobody would be foolish enough to think of you as a real witch, right?
Wrong! This original poster (OP) was shocked to find that her costume made her mother-in-law think that she was a real witch and, hence, “dangerous” for her son. The woman even spread rumors to the extended family and asked them to pray for her son!
More info: Reddit
You would never expect your Halloween costume to fool someone so that they actually believe it to be your true self
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
However, the poster's mother-in-law thinks that she's a witch all because she dressed up as one for a Halloween-themed party
Image credits: Laughing_cry
Image credits: Laughing_cry
Her religious mother-in-law also spread rumors to the extended family that she is "dangerous" for her son and to pray for him
Image credits: Laughing_cry
Image credits: RDNE Stock project / Pexels (not the actual photo)
When the poster confronted her, she accused her of using witchcraft and even her father-in-law supports his wife
Image credits: Laughing_cry
The poster and her husband are so annoyed by this behavior that they went no-contact with the old couple
Today, we jump into a bizarre tale involving “witches”, and no, we are not kidding, because a woman really thinks that her daughter-in-law is a witch because she dressed like one for a party. The poster tells us that her parents-in-law displayed a few red flags, but she brushed them off at that time. However, after marriage, they just increased, so her husband started going low-contact with them.
She realized the extent of their extremity when she dressed up as a witch for a Halloween-themed party and her husband wore an “I’m with the witch” t-shirt. Her mother-in-law saw that picture on social media and sent them a message that she was concerned about the couple. OP was confused but her husband explained that it was all her extremely religious Christian take on the situation.
However, the woman didn’t stop there; she also sent the picture to his extended family, told everyone that the poster is “bad and dangerous” for her son, and asked them to pray for the couple. The family started texting OP’s husband, concerned that she was really “dragging him down” due to what her mother-in-law said.
The poster felt that her reputation has been tarnished with his extended family and told her mother-in-law that she will be going no-contact with her. Instead of apologizing, the woman further accused her of using witchcraft and again said that she is praying for the couple. When OP’s husband tried to confront his father about this, he also backed up his wife and badmouthed OP.
Now, the couple has stopped contact with the parents, but OP fears that it’s not permanent as they might start talking again. This is really bothering her, so she vented online and sought advice. Redditors were equally baffled as her, but they were also quick to point out that the woman disliked her and this was just an excuse to antagonize her.
Image credits: RDNE Stock project / Pexels (not the actual photo)
“Mother-in-law mailed a passive-aggressive non-apology apology letter during the holidays. It wasn’t a 'I’m sorry for being out of line,' but a 'I’m sorry you are offended by our concern for you.' We continue to be no-contact,” OP informed Bored Panda when we reached out to her to ask for an update on the story.
She said that out of both respect for her in-laws and not wanting to further escalate the situation, she didn’t talk to friends and family about this. But she still needed a therapeutic outlet and Reddit seemed like the perfect place due to anonymity, so she vented online. She also expressed the most challenging part of the situation:
“I felt conflicted. On the one hand, I did not want to associate with anyone so narrow-minded and intellectually challenged as this person, on the other hand, this very person was my husband’s mother, and I did not want to come between their relationship. Thankfully my husband is nothing like his parents, and he assured me that the only thing that has come between him and his parents has been his parents themselves.”
There were a few commentators who said that she shouldn’t have tried to get close to her parents-in-law knowing that her husband was not really close to them. When we asked her about that, she said, “I was surprised by the amount of commentators that said I deserved to be treated that way because I didn’t 'listen' to my husband.”
“To clarify, my husband was never no-contact with his parents, he just had more of a distant relationship that came in ebbs and flows. While I encouraged him to improve his relationship, I never forced him to go against his own judgment. But I guess people tend to project their own experiences and feelings onto things they read and see,” she added.
However, apart from these, she said that on the whole, the comments were positive and validated her feelings and actions. Many advised her to cut ties with these toxic people as they clearly dislike her and showed the extent they can go just to badmouth her.
Lastly, she concluded with some advice for people who have such toxic in-laws: “As with anything else, make sure you and your partner are on the same page, and that you have each other’s backs.” On that note, we would like to conclude here and hear your thoughts on the matter. Just leave them in the comments below!
Folks online said that her mother-in-law hated her and the costume was just a reason to lash out against the poster
