9 Terrifying Witches from Legends Around the World
The wind howled against the shutters, rattling them like bones. Inside the cottage, the fire burned low, casting long shadows across the floor. Then came the sound—three slow scratches on the window. The old woman crossed herself and whispered a name she was too afraid to say aloud. They all knew who it was. The stories had been told for generations: witches who stalked the night, who could slip through cracks, ride their victims in their sleep, or call out in a familiar voice only to drag them into the dark.
Witches have haunted human imagination for centuries, from Europe’s frozen mountains to the swamps of the American South. These aren’t the playful Halloween caricatures but some of the most terrifying witches from legends around the world—deadly figures who steal children, ride their victims in their sleep, or curse entire families. Here are nine of the deadliest witches ever told of in folklore, each leaving fear and warnings in their wake.
1. Black Annis (England)
In the hills of Leicestershire lurked Black Annis, one of the most terrifying hags of English folklore. With a face stained blue, teeth yellowed with age, and iron claws long enough to shred oak, she was said to emerge from her cave at night to hunt. Her prey: children and lambs.
According to tradition, she dragged her victims back to her sandstone cave, devoured them, and hung their skins from an oak tree to dry. Parents told children to hurry home before dusk, and farmers penned their livestock early, fearful of her claws scraping at shutters. Her lair, known as Black Annis’ Bower, was a real cave, though it has long since collapsed.
Black Annis is often interpreted as the memory of an older crone goddess, twisted into a monstrous hag. Whether spirit or story, she was the bogeywoman of the English Midlands—one of the most frightening witches in European legend.
2. Baba Yaga (Slavic Folklore)
One of the most iconic witches in the world is Baba Yaga, the terrifying crone of Russian and Slavic folklore. She lives in a hut that walks on chicken legs, its windows glowing with firelight. Her fence is made of human bones, topped with skulls whose empty eyes shine in the night.
Baba Yaga flies through the air in a mortar, steering with a pestle and sweeping away her tracks with a broom. She is often portrayed as a cannibal, devouring those foolish enough to stumble into her forest unprepared. Yet Baba Yaga is not always evil—she is unpredictable, sometimes offering guidance or magical help to those who prove worthy.
This duality makes her one of the most complex witches in folklore: part monster, part mentor, always dangerous. For centuries, parents warned their children not to wander too far into the woods, for Baba Yaga might be waiting.
3. Frau Perchta (Alpine Folklore)
In the snowy Alps of Austria and Germany, the Christmas season is haunted not just by Krampus, but by Frau Perchta. This winter witch appears during the Twelve Days of Christmas, often as a tall woman with a beaked nose, dressed in rags.
Frau Perchta was said to reward the diligent but punish the lazy with horrifying cruelty. According to legend, she would slit open the stomachs of those who displeased her, remove their organs, and stuff the cavity with straw or stones before sewing them back up. Children who failed to keep their rooms tidy or who disobeyed their parents risked Perchta’s knife.
Her legend may descend from older goddesses of fate and winter, transformed into a bogeywoman of the season. Like Black Annis, she is a boundary-keeper: do your work, respect tradition, or face the witch’s wrath.
4. La Voisin (France)
Not all witches are confined to folklore—some walked in history. Catherine Monvoisin, better known as La Voisin, was a French fortune-teller and poisoner who became infamous during the 17th-century Affair of the Poisons.
La Voisin catered to Paris’s elite, selling love potions, poisons, and black magic services. She was accused of organizing black masses, complete with infant sacrifices, and of supplying poisons used in aristocratic murders. Her clients reportedly included nobles and even mistresses of King Louis XIV.
Eventually arrested, La Voisin was tried for witchcraft, murder, and sorcery. She was burned at the stake in 1680, but her legend lived on as one of Europe’s most feared historical witches. Unlike the hags of folklore, La Voisin was real—and her crimes made her as deadly as any monster from myth.
5. The Bell Witch (Tennessee, USA)
In early 19th-century Tennessee, the Bell family was tormented by a witch so infamous she became known simply as the Bell Witch. The haunting began with knocking and scratching sounds, but soon escalated to violent attacks. The entity reportedly beat the children, pulled their hair, and taunted them with a disembodied voice.
Neighbors witnessed the phenomena, and even Andrew Jackson, then a general, is said to have experienced it. The witch focused much of her fury on John Bell, the family patriarch. According to legend, she cursed him relentlessly until his death, with some claiming she poisoned him herself.
The Bell Witch is unique because she wasn’t just a ghostly presence—she was intelligent, articulate, and brutally violent. Her legend has become one of America’s most enduring witch tales, still tied to the hills of Tennessee today.
6. The Boo Hag (Gullah Folklore, American South)
From the coastal Carolinas comes the terrifying witch of Gullah folklore: the Boo Hag. Unlike typical witches, the Boo Hag doesn’t need broomsticks or cauldrons—she needs your skin.
By day, the Boo Hag appears as a skinless, red-bodied creature. At night, she slips into homes and “rides” her victims as they sleep, draining them of breath and energy. To avoid detection, she wears stolen human skin like clothing, passing among the living unnoticed.
The Boo Hag is feared for her intimate, suffocating attacks. Victims often wake exhausted, as if the life has been pressed out of them—parallels to modern accounts of sleep paralysis. The Gullah people taught that if you feel the Boo Hag on your chest, you must resist the urge to struggle, or she might steal your skin for good.
7. The Tlahuelpuchi (Mexico, Tlaxcala Region)
In the mountains of central Mexico, whispers still circulate about the Tlahuelpuchi, one of the deadliest witches in Latin American folklore. Unlike ordinary witches, the Tlahuelpuchi is said to be born, not made. The curse runs in families, passed through bloodlines, and often hidden until a child comes of age. By day, a Tlahuelpuchi appears to be an ordinary woman. By night, she transforms into an owl, bat, or other creature of the dark, slipping silently into homes to feed.
Her victims are most often infants and small children. Stories claim she drinks their blood, leaving behind only faint marks and a sudden, unexplained death. Families once took elaborate precautions to protect newborns—hanging garlic, knives, or scissors near the cradle, or keeping a fire burning through the night to ward her off.
The Tlahuelpuchi was feared not just for her powers, but because she could be anyone—a neighbor, a relative, even a beloved family member hiding a terrible secret. Like the Boo Hag or the Skinwalkers, she is a witch who lives among her community in plain sight, waiting for nightfall to reveal her true nature.
8. La Lechuza (Mexico)
In Mexican and South Texas folklore, witches don’t always look human. La Lechuza is said to be a woman who transforms into a massive owl, her wingspan stretching wider than a man is tall. With piercing black eyes and feathers as dark as night, she swoops down on travelers who dare to walk the roads after dark.
According to legend, La Lechuza preys on those who cross her or disrespect her magic. Some stories claim she can whistle like a baby or cry like a woman to lure victims closer before striking. Car accidents, disappearances, and sudden deaths have all been blamed on the witch-owl’s attack.
La Lechuza represents the fear of the wilderness at night—an omen of death with feathers and talons. To this day, people in rural Mexico and Texas whisper warnings: if you hear an owl’s cry at midnight, it may not be a bird at all.
9. Skinwalkers (Navajo, Native American)
Among the Navajo, the most feared witches are the Skinwalkers. Unlike benevolent medicine men, skinwalkers are malevolent witches who use dark magic to shapeshift into animals—or even take the forms of people they know.
Skinwalkers are said to wear the skins of animals like wolves, coyotes, or owls, moving unnaturally fast and attacking without mercy. Some stories describe them mimicking familiar voices to lure victims from safety. Once cursed by a skinwalker, escape is nearly impossible.
Feared not just as monsters but as traitors to their own people, skinwalkers embody the darkest form of witchcraft: power gained by breaking taboos and harming others. Among the Navajo, even speaking of them is considered dangerous, for to draw attention is to invite their notice.
Why Witches Like These Endure
From Europe to the Americas, these witches embody universal fears:
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The betrayal of trust: Skinwalkers and the Boo Hag turn the familiar into the deadly.
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The hunger that preys on children: Black Annis and the Tlahuelpuchi strike at the most vulnerable.
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The punishment for breaking rules: Frau Perchta embodies the dangers of laziness and disobedience.
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The danger of real-world witchcraft: La Voisin reminds us that sometimes the deadliest witches walked among us.
They serve as boundaries in story form—reminders to stay close to home, keep to tradition, and beware of the dark.
Conclusion
Witches have haunted our imaginations for centuries. They aren’t just spellcasters stirring cauldrons—they are child-snatchers, corpse-feeders, shapeshifters, and skin-stealers. From the blue face of Black Annis to the skinless body of the Boo Hag, their images are as grotesque as they are unforgettable.
The nine witches in this list come from different cultures and centuries, but they share one trait: they are deadly. They remind us that the scariest monsters are often the ones who look human—until the mask, or the skin, slips away.
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