The character, originally simply called "Halfwitch", first appeared in the animated short Poor Little Witch Girl. The short, directed by Howard Post, was released in April 1965 as part of Paramount Pictures' Modern Madcap series. The action of Poor Little Witch Girl appears to take place in a fantasy world at some indeterminate point in the past. In the short, Halfwitch lives in a small cottage in the forest that she shares with her Cousin Maggie (a much older witch) and a bat named Fraidy Bat (whose accent suggests that he comes from Transylvania). Halfwitch is unhappy because her Cousin Maggie will not take her along on a flight on her magic broomstick. Cousin Maggie says that Halfwitch cannot fly on the broomstick until she grows up. Halfwitch knows that will not be for a long time beca