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A '''Witch''' was a (usually female) practioner of [[magic]]al arts, though not all magicians would have consider themselves witches. cultures used the term "wizard" to refer to a male witch ([[DW]]: [[The Dæmons]]) others used witch to refer to practioners of both sexes. Less advanced cultures had a certain fear of paranoia and would sometimes mistake [[psychic power]]s or [[Clarke's Law|advanced technology]] as witchcraft.
{{wikipediainfo}}
{{first pic|Carrionite on broom (TSC).jpeg|[[Martha Jones]] spots [[Lilith (The Shakespeare Code)|"a witch"]] from the window of [[the Elephant]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Shakespeare Code (TV story)|The Shakespeare Code]]'')}}
{{looks like|Carrionite|Water Hag|Morax (species)}}
A '''witch''' was a practitioner of [[magic]]al arts. The term was often primarily applied to female [[magician]]s, though not all female magicians considered themselves witches. Some cultures used the term "[[wizard]]" to refer to a male witch ([[TV]]: ''[[The Dæmons (TV story)|The Dæmons]]'') while others used "witch" to refer to practitioners of either gender. Less advanced cultures had a fear of witches and would sometimes mistake [[psychic power]]s or [[Clarke's Law|advanced technology]] as witchcraft.
 
A benevolent witch was known as a "white witch". ([[TV]]: ''[[The Dæmons (TV story)|The Dæmons]]'') In [[Orkney]], [[Scotland]], a witch could be referred to as a "spey-wife". ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Revenants (audio story)|The Revenants]]'') A group of witches was called a [[coven]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Image of the Fendahl (TV story)|Image of the Fendahl]]'')
 
== Common attributes ==
A witch practised [[witchcraft]]. In [[folklore]], witches were known for flying on [[broom]]sticks ([[TV]]: ''[[The Smugglers (TV story)|The Smugglers]]'') and cackling. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Shakespeare Code (TV story)|The Shakespeare Code]]'') They were also capable of casting spells, ([[TV]]: ''[[Invasion of the Dinosaurs (TV story)|Invasion of the Dinosaurs]]'') which they recorded in their [[grimoire]]s. ([[HOMEVID]]: ''[[Ghosts of Winterborne (home video)|Ghosts of Winterborne]]'', ''[[White Witch of Devil's End (home video)|White Witch of Devil's End]]'')
 
== Witches on Earth ==
Alien entities, the [[Fendahl]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Image of the Fendahl (TV story)|Image of the Fendahl]]'') and the [[Dæmon]]s ([[TV]]: ''[[The Dæmons (TV story)|The Dæmons]]'') undoubtedly affected [[human]]ity, specifically human notions of [[witchcraft]].
 
When a soldier from [[1916]] was sent to [[1535]] by a [[Weeping Angel]], his appearance was witnessed by a crowd and he was burned as a witch. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[The Weeping Angels of Mons (comic story)|The Weeping Angels of Mons]]'')
 
In [[1899]], [[Henry Gordon Jago]] and Professor [[George Litefoot]] had an encounter with witches. Jago was able to defeat them with his large vocabulary. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Carrionite Curse (audio story)|The Carrionite Curse]]'')
 
=== Persecution on Earth ===
[[File:Witch on trial (TW).jpg|thumb|[[Mother Twiston]] is chained to a [[ducking stool]] and [[witch trial|tried for witchcraft]] in [[17th century]] [[Lancashire]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Witchfinders (TV story)|The Witchfinders]]'')]]
During the [[17th century]] in [[Europe]], fear of [[witchcraft]] was the pretext for the [[witch trial|trial]] and state-approved murder of many innocents. ([[TV]]: ''[[Image of the Fendahl (TV story)|Image of the Fendahl]]'') This was the same in the [[United States]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Witch Hunters (novel)|The Witch Hunters]]'')
 
In Britain, [[English Parliament|Parliamentary]] [[Witch hunter|Witch-Prickers]] investigated potential witches. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Witch from the Well (audio story)|The Witch from the Well]]'') These hunters included [[Matthew Hopkins]], the self-styled Witchfinder General. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Witch Hunt (comic story)|Witch Hunt]]'') Those denounced as witches faced trial. One such ceremony was ''[[A Tryal of Witches at the Assizes]]'', held in [[London]] in the 17th century. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Woman Who Lived (TV story)|The Woman Who Lived]]'')
 
Suspected witches were tied up and had [[fruit]] thrown at them. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Witch from the Well (audio story)|The Witch from the Well]]'') The [[Bible]] instructed not to allow witches to live. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Winter for the Adept (audio story)|Winter for the Adept]]'') Several [[Witchcraft Act]]s were passed by governments prohibiting its practice. Suspects of witchcraft were bound and thrown into a [[pond]]. If the suspect sunk and [[Drowning|drowned]], they were considered innocent. If he or she floated, however, they were found guilty and were [[Death penalty|executed]]. One way or another, the suspect would die. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Plague of the Daleks (audio story)|Plague of the Daleks]]'') The [[ducking stool]] was a similar method of punishment. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Devil's Armada (audio story)|The Devil's Armada]]'') Witches could also be [[Fire|burned at the stake]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Invasion of the Dinosaurs (TV story)|Invasion of the Dinosaurs]]'') or [[hanged]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Witch Hunters (novel)|The Witch Hunters]]'') [[Jamie McCrimmon]], a [[Scottish]] [[Highlander]] from [[1746]], noted that witches were sprinkled with [[holy water]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Moonbase (TV story)|The Moonbase]]'') In Britain, the last Witchcraft Act was not repealed until [[1951]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Dæmons (TV story)|The Dæmons]]'')
 
=== History of witches in Britain ===
==== 13th century ====
In [[March]] [[1215]], [[Turlough]] found himself locked up as a witch for supposedly conjuring up [[demon]]s in the court of [[King]] [[John of England]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The King's Demons (TV story)|The King's Demons]]'')
 
==== 16th century ====
When [[Ashildr]], an [[immortality|immortal]] [[human]], cured a whole village of [[scarlet fever]], the villagers believed she was a witch and attempted to [[drown]] her. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Woman Who Lived (TV story)|The Woman Who Lived]]'')
 
In [[London]] during [[July]] [[1553]], when Mistress [[Ellen (Lost in Time)|Ellen]] and Queen [[Jane Grey]] witnessed [[Rani Chandra]] return to her [[2010|own time]] via a [[time window]], Ellen believed it [[witchcraft]], but Jane believed Rani to have been an [[angel]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Lost in Time (TV story)|Lost in Time]]'')
 
In [[1588]], [[Pincham|Mistress Pincham]], the [[midwife]] in [[Sissenden Village]], was thought to be a witch and punished. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Devil's Armada (audio story)|The Devil's Armada]]'')
 
[[File:Doomfinger.jpg|thumb|The [[Carrionite]]s resembled witches. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Shakespeare Code (TV story)|The Shakespeare Code]]'')]]
In London, [[1599]], three [[Carrionite]]s planned to use [[William Shakespeare]]'s play, ''[[Love's Labour's Won]]'', to free their race and establish a "Millennium of blood". The Carrionites were witch-like creatures who used [[voodoo]] and "spells" to kill their victims. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Shakespeare Code (TV story)|The Shakespeare Code]]'')
 
==== 17th century ====
In the [[17th century]], [[Agnes Leech]] was accused of being a witch. [[Matthew Hopkins]] came to find Agnes and framed her. [[Clara Oswald]] convinced a mob that Hopkins was the witch, not Agnes. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Witch Hunt (comic story)|Witch Hunt]]'')
 
[[Becka Savage]] falsely accused many women in [[Bilehurst Cragg]] of being witches, including the [[Thirteenth Doctor]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Witchfinders (TV story)|The Witchfinders]]'')
 
==== 20th century ====
The [[Third Doctor]] once encountered a [[Peasant (Invasion of the Dinosaurs)|peasant]] who had been sent to [[1970s]] London by a [[time eddy]]. The peasant claimed that a witch had cast a spell on him and that he was going to tell the [[priest]] so he could have her burned. ([[TV]]: ''[[Invasion of the Dinosaurs (TV story)|Invasion of the Dinosaurs]]'')
 
[[Martha Tyler]] lived in [[Fetchborough]], [[1977]]. She was locally painted as a white witch, knew the ancient traditions and possessed [[clairvoyance|second sight]] because of [[Fetch Priory]]'s [[time fissure]]. Locals deferred to her and called her "Mother Tyler" as a symbolic sign of respect. A genuine [[coven]] of malign witches, led by occultist [[Maximillian Stael]], also lived in the area and plotted to resurrect the [[Fendahl]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Image of the Fendahl (TV story)|Image of the Fendahl]]'')
 
[[Olive Hawthorne]] was a white witch who lived in [[Devil's End]] in the [[UNIT dating controversy|1970s or 1980s]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Dæmons (TV story)|The Dæmons]]'')
 
In [[Moreton Harwood]] in [[1981]], [[Sarah Jane Smith]] and [[K9 Mark III|K9]] encountered witches who worshipped [[Hecate]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[A Girl's Best Friend (TV story)|A Girl's Best Friend]]'')
 
[[Aggie (The Sow in Rut)|Aggie]] was a white witch who gave Sarah Jane Smith some [[heather]] to use as protection against a [[demonic pig spirit]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Sow in Rut (short story)|The Sow in Rut]]'')
 
==== 21st century ====
Around the early 21st century, the leader of the [[Ravens (gang)|Ravens]] kidnapped [[Christine Jenkins|Christine]] and [[Demi Jenkins]] and attempted to summon a daemon from the past. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Ravens (comic story)|Ravens]]'')
 
Above [[London]] in [[2006]], the [[Sycorax leader]] regarded the Doctor as a practitioner of [[witchcraft]] when he saw him [[regeneration|regrow]] his hand after his cut it off. The Doctor told the Sycorax that he was a [[Time Lord]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Christmas Invasion (TV story)|The Christmas Invasion]]'')
 
By [[2011]], [[George Thompson]] believed his neighbour, elderly [[Elsie Rossiter|Mrs Rossiter]], to be a witch, despite [[Alex Thompson|his father]] trying to tell him otherwise. ([[TV]]: ''[[Night Terrors (TV story)|Night Terrors]]'', [[PROSE]]: ''[[My Special Book (short story)|My Special Book]]'')


==History==
=== History of witches in the United States ===
===Significance in Human history===
==== 17th century ====
Alien entities, the [[Fendahl]] ([[DW]]: ''[[Image of the Fendahl]]'') and the [[Dæmon]]s ([[DW]]: ''[[The Dæmons]]'') undoubtably affected [[Human]]ity, specifically Human notions of witchcraft.
The [[Salem witch trials]] were the [[witch trial|trials of supposed witches]] in [[Salem Village]] between [[1692]] and [[1693]]. In [[June]] 1692, [[Susan Foreman]] found herself accused of [[witchcraft]] in [[Salem Village]]. [[Tituba]], [[Rebecca Nurse]], [[John Proctor]] and [[Elizabeth Proctor]] were all falsely accused of witchcraft by [[Reverend]] [[Samuel Parris]] and [[hanged]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Witch Hunters (novel)|The Witch Hunters]]'')


During the [[17th century]] in [[Europe]] and in [[Salem Village]] fear of witchcraft rationalized the trial and the state-approved murder of many innocents. ([[DW]]: ''[[Image of the Fendahl]]'', [[PDA]]: ''[[The Witch Hunters]]'')
==== 20th century ====
[[Mathilda (Wonderland)|Mathilda]], also known as the Witch of Buena Vista, distributed [[Blue Moonbeams]] in [[San Francisco]] in [[1967]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Wonderland (novel)|Wonderland]]'')


As late as the [[20th century]], in [[England]], witches both "white" (benevolent) like [[Olive Hawthorne]] ([[DW]]: ''[[The Dæmons]]'') and evil, still formed [[coven]]s. ([[DW]]: ''[[Image of the Fendahl]]'', ''[[A Girl's Best Friend]]'')  
=== Elsewhere on Earth ===
In [[785]], the [[Council of Paderborn]] outlawed the belief in witches, which began a period of time lasting until the [[12th century]] where witch trials didn't occur. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Book of Kells (audio story)|The Book of Kells]]'')


In the early [[21st century]], [[neo-pagan]]ism gained in popularity. ([[NA]]: ''[[Cat's Cradle: Warhead]]'')
[[Peril Bellamy (Winter for the Adept)|Peril Bellamy]], a student at the [[Tremayne Academy]], [[Switzerland]], in [[1963]], was [[telekinetic]]. She and her ancestors were often accused of being witches. Miss [[Tremayne]] overheard this fact and threatened her with a butcher's knife. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Winter for the Adept (audio story)|Winter for the Adept]]'')


:''The [[Traveller]]s of the [[26th century]] respected a similar ethos and honured ancient gods.''
=== Cultural depictions ===
[[William Shakespeare]] wrote about witches, ([[TV]]: ''[[The Shakespeare Code (TV story)|The Shakespeare Code]]'') featuring them in his play, ''[[Macbeth]]''. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The True Tragedie of Macbeth (short story)|The True Tragedie of Macbeth]]'')


Self-named [[Witch Kid]]s, rejecting technology and knowledge and glorying in violence, spread across the [[United States]]. ([[NA]]: ''[[Cat's Cradle: Warhead]]''. [[DWM]]: ''[[Ravens]]'')
[[Arthur Miller]] wrote a play entitled ''[[The Crucible]]'' based on the Salem [[witch trial]]s. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Witch Hunters (novel)|The Witch Hunters]]'')


==Other references==
The [[Time Lord]] [[Marnal]] wrote ''[[The Witch Lords]]'' during his time on Earth. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Gallifrey Chronicles (novel)|The Gallifrey Chronicles]]'')
===Humans===
*[[Martha Tyler]] knew the ancient traditions and posessed [[second sight]] because of the [[Fetch Priory]]'s [[time fissure]], therefore local reputation painted her as a witch. Locals deferred to her and called Granma, as an symbolic sign of respect. A genuine [[coven]] of malign witches, led by occultist [[Max Stael]], also lived in the area and plotted to resurrect the [[Fendahl]] ([[DW]]: ''[[Image of the Fendahl]]'')


:''Martha Tyler actually worked as an agent for [[Faction Paradox]], sent to keep an eye on matters. (source?)''
''[[The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe]]'' was a book ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Question Mark Pyjamas (short story)|Question Mark Pyjamas]]'') written by [[C. S. Lewis]]. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[The Professor, the Queen and the Bookshop (comic story)|The Professor, the Queen and the Bookshop]]'')


*[[Sarah Jane Smith]] and [[K-9]] encountered witches, worshippers of [[Hecate]] in [[1981]]. (''[[A Girl's Best Friend]]'')
''[[Sabrina the Teenage Witch]]'', featuring the eponymous [[Sabrina Spellman|Sabrina]], was an [[American]] TV series aimed at teenagers which aired in the early [[2000s]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[I Was a Monster!!! (short story)|I Was a Monster!!!]]'')


*In [[Early human history#13th Century|1215]], [[Turlough]] found himself locked up as a witch for supposedly conjuring up demons in the court of [[King]] [[John of England]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The King's Demons]]'')
''[[Harry Potter]]'' was a series of books by [[J. K. Rowling]], ([[TV]]: ''[[The Shakespeare Code (TV story)|The Shakespeare Code]]'') which included ''[[Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone]]''. ([[TV]]: ''[[The End of the World (TV story)|The End of the World]]'') [[PQ Rowling]], a descendant of J. K., later wrote ''[[Harry Potter and the Half-Moon Dentist]]''. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Doctor Who and the Adaptation of Death (short story)|Doctor Who and the Adaptation of Death]]'')


*[[Susan Foreman]] found herself accused of witchcraft in [[Salem Village]]. ([[PDA]]: ''[[The Witch Hunters]]'')
For [[Halloween]], [[SIGNET]] member [[Aoife Fitzgerald]]'s young daughter [[Norah Fitzgerald|Norah]] once dressed up as a witch, complete with a plastic [[broomstick]] and a toy [[wand]]. ([[PROSE]]: {{cite source|Hervoken Halloween (short story)}})


===Other species===
== Elsewhere in the universe ==
Though not precisely a witch, [[The Seeker (The Ribos Operation)|the Seeker]] on [[Ribos]] appeared to serve a similar cultural function. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Ribos Operation (TV story)|The Ribos Operation]]'')


*Though not precisely a witch, the [[Seer]] seemd to serve a similar cultural function. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Ribos Operation]]''
On [[Talderun]], a cult of witches led by [[Jal Dor Kal]] worshipped [[Shara]]'s relic. These witches were all killed when the relic was removed and the temple collapsed. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Nekromanteia (audio story)|Nekromanteia]]'')


:''The Seer, too, worked as an agent for Faction Paradox. (source?)''
Evil witches from throughout the [[universe]] held a gathering on the planet [[Vargo]] that was led by the [[Grand Witch]]. The [[Second Doctor]] posed as a wizard to scare off most of the witches, then dealt with the remaining Grand Witch. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[The Witches (comic story)|The Witches]]'')


*The [[Nefrin]], [[Brimo]] adopted a witch-like persona. ([[DWM]]: ''[[The Time Witch]]'')
Across space, the [[Traveller (Love and War)|Travellers]] of the [[26th century]], who had originated on Earth, honoured ancient gods and conducted rituals. The Travellers used [[puterspace]] as a way to experience mystic realities without drugs. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Love and War (novel)|Love and War]]'')


*The [[Sycorax leader]] regarded the Doctor as a practitioner of witchcraft. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Christmas Invasion]]'')
[[Brimo]], a woman from the planet [[Nefrin]] long before the formation of the [[Earth]], adopted a witch-like persona. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Doctor Who and the Time Witch (comic story)|Doctor Who and the Time Witch]]'')


:''The [[Sycorax]], not understanding their own stolen technology, such as [[blood control]], might have regarded it as a form of witchcraft, though they used it themselves.''
The [[Carpalian Witch]] was a spider-like witch whom the Doctor and Donna once met. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Doctor Trap (novel)|The Doctor Trap]]'')


*The [[Carrionite|Carrionites]] were witch like creatures, as they used voodoo and "spells" to kill their victims. They attempted to overthrow the [[Earth]], but they were stopped by [[William Shakespeare]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Shakespeare Code]]'')
In the [[28th century]], the [[Catholic Church]] branded [[Time Lord]]s witches after a malfunctioning [[TARDIS]] materialised on [[Haven (planet)|Haven]] and exploded. The [[Seventh Doctor]] was accused of [[witchcraft]] after his TARDIS materialised in a Haven marketplace. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Companion Piece (novel)|Companion Piece]]'')


{{wikipediainfo}}
== References ==
The [[Witch and Whirlwind]] was a [[pub]] on [[Dellah]] frequented by [[Bernice Summerfield]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Dragons' Wrath (novel)|Dragons' Wrath]]'') [[Straggly Witch]] was the name of a [[loch]] in [[Scotland]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Enemy Aliens (audio story)|Enemy Aliens]]'')
 
The [[Witch of the Well]] was a name given to the Caliburn Ghast - a [[ghost]] haunting [[Caliburn House]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Hide (TV story)|Hide]]'') The [[Eleventh Doctor]] later called through a [[time fissure]] to [[Clara Oswald]] using this name, who scared [[Elizabethan]] [[soldier]]s by threatening to turn them all into [[frog]]s. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Day of the Doctor (TV story)|The Day of the Doctor]]'')
 
During [[World War II]], the all-female 588th Night Bomber Regiment of the [[Soviet Air Force]] was nicknamed the [[Night Witches]] by the [[Germany|Germans]]. The Regiment adopted the name, understanding it could inspire [[fear]] within their enemies. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Night Witches (audio story)|The Night Witches]]'')
 
Posing as [[Heidi Stafford]], [[Bloorm Vungah Bart Slitheen]] called [[Sarah Jane Smith]] a "witch" to appear distraught in response to when [[Luke Smith]] had obviously no memory of the imposters. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Lost Boy (TV story)|The Lost Boy]]'')


[[Category:Occult]]
[[Category:Religion from the real world]]
[[Category:Religion]]
[[Category:Myths and legends from the real world]]
[[Category:Cultural References]]
[[Category:Witches| *]]

Latest revision as of 17:38, 21 October 2024

Witch

A witch was a practitioner of magical arts. The term was often primarily applied to female magicians, though not all female magicians considered themselves witches. Some cultures used the term "wizard" to refer to a male witch (TV: The Dæmons) while others used "witch" to refer to practitioners of either gender. Less advanced cultures had a fear of witches and would sometimes mistake psychic powers or advanced technology as witchcraft.

A benevolent witch was known as a "white witch". (TV: The Dæmons) In Orkney, Scotland, a witch could be referred to as a "spey-wife". (AUDIO: The Revenants) A group of witches was called a coven. (TV: Image of the Fendahl)

Common attributes[[edit] | [edit source]]

A witch practised witchcraft. In folklore, witches were known for flying on broomsticks (TV: The Smugglers) and cackling. (TV: The Shakespeare Code) They were also capable of casting spells, (TV: Invasion of the Dinosaurs) which they recorded in their grimoires. (HOMEVID: Ghosts of Winterborne, White Witch of Devil's End)

Witches on Earth[[edit] | [edit source]]

Alien entities, the Fendahl (TV: Image of the Fendahl) and the Dæmons (TV: The Dæmons) undoubtedly affected humanity, specifically human notions of witchcraft.

When a soldier from 1916 was sent to 1535 by a Weeping Angel, his appearance was witnessed by a crowd and he was burned as a witch. (COMIC: The Weeping Angels of Mons)

In 1899, Henry Gordon Jago and Professor George Litefoot had an encounter with witches. Jago was able to defeat them with his large vocabulary. (AUDIO: The Carrionite Curse)

Persecution on Earth[[edit] | [edit source]]

During the 17th century in Europe, fear of witchcraft was the pretext for the trial and state-approved murder of many innocents. (TV: Image of the Fendahl) This was the same in the United States. (PROSE: The Witch Hunters)

In Britain, Parliamentary Witch-Prickers investigated potential witches. (AUDIO: The Witch from the Well) These hunters included Matthew Hopkins, the self-styled Witchfinder General. (COMIC: Witch Hunt) Those denounced as witches faced trial. One such ceremony was A Tryal of Witches at the Assizes, held in London in the 17th century. (TV: The Woman Who Lived)

Suspected witches were tied up and had fruit thrown at them. (AUDIO: The Witch from the Well) The Bible instructed not to allow witches to live. (AUDIO: Winter for the Adept) Several Witchcraft Acts were passed by governments prohibiting its practice. Suspects of witchcraft were bound and thrown into a pond. If the suspect sunk and drowned, they were considered innocent. If he or she floated, however, they were found guilty and were executed. One way or another, the suspect would die. (AUDIO: Plague of the Daleks) The ducking stool was a similar method of punishment. (AUDIO: The Devil's Armada) Witches could also be burned at the stake (TV: Invasion of the Dinosaurs) or hanged. (PROSE: The Witch Hunters) Jamie McCrimmon, a Scottish Highlander from 1746, noted that witches were sprinkled with holy water. (TV: The Moonbase) In Britain, the last Witchcraft Act was not repealed until 1951. (TV: The Dæmons)

History of witches in Britain[[edit] | [edit source]]

13th century[[edit] | [edit source]]

In March 1215, Turlough found himself locked up as a witch for supposedly conjuring up demons in the court of King John of England. (TV: The King's Demons)

16th century[[edit] | [edit source]]

When Ashildr, an immortal human, cured a whole village of scarlet fever, the villagers believed she was a witch and attempted to drown her. (TV: The Woman Who Lived)

In London during July 1553, when Mistress Ellen and Queen Jane Grey witnessed Rani Chandra return to her own time via a time window, Ellen believed it witchcraft, but Jane believed Rani to have been an angel. (TV: Lost in Time)

In 1588, Mistress Pincham, the midwife in Sissenden Village, was thought to be a witch and punished. (AUDIO: The Devil's Armada)

The Carrionites resembled witches. (TV: The Shakespeare Code)

In London, 1599, three Carrionites planned to use William Shakespeare's play, Love's Labour's Won, to free their race and establish a "Millennium of blood". The Carrionites were witch-like creatures who used voodoo and "spells" to kill their victims. (TV: The Shakespeare Code)

17th century[[edit] | [edit source]]

In the 17th century, Agnes Leech was accused of being a witch. Matthew Hopkins came to find Agnes and framed her. Clara Oswald convinced a mob that Hopkins was the witch, not Agnes. (COMIC: Witch Hunt)

Becka Savage falsely accused many women in Bilehurst Cragg of being witches, including the Thirteenth Doctor. (TV: The Witchfinders)

20th century[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Third Doctor once encountered a peasant who had been sent to 1970s London by a time eddy. The peasant claimed that a witch had cast a spell on him and that he was going to tell the priest so he could have her burned. (TV: Invasion of the Dinosaurs)

Martha Tyler lived in Fetchborough, 1977. She was locally painted as a white witch, knew the ancient traditions and possessed second sight because of Fetch Priory's time fissure. Locals deferred to her and called her "Mother Tyler" as a symbolic sign of respect. A genuine coven of malign witches, led by occultist Maximillian Stael, also lived in the area and plotted to resurrect the Fendahl. (TV: Image of the Fendahl)

Olive Hawthorne was a white witch who lived in Devil's End in the 1970s or 1980s. (TV: The Dæmons)

In Moreton Harwood in 1981, Sarah Jane Smith and K9 encountered witches who worshipped Hecate. (TV: A Girl's Best Friend)

Aggie was a white witch who gave Sarah Jane Smith some heather to use as protection against a demonic pig spirit. (PROSE: The Sow in Rut)

21st century[[edit] | [edit source]]

Around the early 21st century, the leader of the Ravens kidnapped Christine and Demi Jenkins and attempted to summon a daemon from the past. (COMIC: Ravens)

Above London in 2006, the Sycorax leader regarded the Doctor as a practitioner of witchcraft when he saw him regrow his hand after his cut it off. The Doctor told the Sycorax that he was a Time Lord. (TV: The Christmas Invasion)

By 2011, George Thompson believed his neighbour, elderly Mrs Rossiter, to be a witch, despite his father trying to tell him otherwise. (TV: Night Terrors, PROSE: My Special Book)

History of witches in the United States[[edit] | [edit source]]

17th century[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Salem witch trials were the trials of supposed witches in Salem Village between 1692 and 1693. In June 1692, Susan Foreman found herself accused of witchcraft in Salem Village. Tituba, Rebecca Nurse, John Proctor and Elizabeth Proctor were all falsely accused of witchcraft by Reverend Samuel Parris and hanged. (PROSE: The Witch Hunters)

20th century[[edit] | [edit source]]

Mathilda, also known as the Witch of Buena Vista, distributed Blue Moonbeams in San Francisco in 1967. (PROSE: Wonderland)

Elsewhere on Earth[[edit] | [edit source]]

In 785, the Council of Paderborn outlawed the belief in witches, which began a period of time lasting until the 12th century where witch trials didn't occur. (AUDIO: The Book of Kells)

Peril Bellamy, a student at the Tremayne Academy, Switzerland, in 1963, was telekinetic. She and her ancestors were often accused of being witches. Miss Tremayne overheard this fact and threatened her with a butcher's knife. (AUDIO: Winter for the Adept)

Cultural depictions[[edit] | [edit source]]

William Shakespeare wrote about witches, (TV: The Shakespeare Code) featuring them in his play, Macbeth. (PROSE: The True Tragedie of Macbeth)

Arthur Miller wrote a play entitled The Crucible based on the Salem witch trials. (PROSE: The Witch Hunters)

The Time Lord Marnal wrote The Witch Lords during his time on Earth. (PROSE: The Gallifrey Chronicles)

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was a book (PROSE: Question Mark Pyjamas) written by C. S. Lewis. (COMIC: The Professor, the Queen and the Bookshop)

Sabrina the Teenage Witch, featuring the eponymous Sabrina, was an American TV series aimed at teenagers which aired in the early 2000s. (PROSE: I Was a Monster!!!)

Harry Potter was a series of books by J. K. Rowling, (TV: The Shakespeare Code) which included Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. (TV: The End of the World) PQ Rowling, a descendant of J. K., later wrote Harry Potter and the Half-Moon Dentist. (PROSE: Doctor Who and the Adaptation of Death)

For Halloween, SIGNET member Aoife Fitzgerald's young daughter Norah once dressed up as a witch, complete with a plastic broomstick and a toy wand. (PROSE: Hervoken Halloween [+]Loading...["Hervoken Halloween (short story)"])

Elsewhere in the universe[[edit] | [edit source]]

Though not precisely a witch, the Seeker on Ribos appeared to serve a similar cultural function. (TV: The Ribos Operation)

On Talderun, a cult of witches led by Jal Dor Kal worshipped Shara's relic. These witches were all killed when the relic was removed and the temple collapsed. (AUDIO: Nekromanteia)

Evil witches from throughout the universe held a gathering on the planet Vargo that was led by the Grand Witch. The Second Doctor posed as a wizard to scare off most of the witches, then dealt with the remaining Grand Witch. (COMIC: The Witches)

Across space, the Travellers of the 26th century, who had originated on Earth, honoured ancient gods and conducted rituals. The Travellers used puterspace as a way to experience mystic realities without drugs. (PROSE: Love and War)

Brimo, a woman from the planet Nefrin long before the formation of the Earth, adopted a witch-like persona. (COMIC: Doctor Who and the Time Witch)

The Carpalian Witch was a spider-like witch whom the Doctor and Donna once met. (PROSE: The Doctor Trap)

In the 28th century, the Catholic Church branded Time Lords witches after a malfunctioning TARDIS materialised on Haven and exploded. The Seventh Doctor was accused of witchcraft after his TARDIS materialised in a Haven marketplace. (PROSE: Companion Piece)

References[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Witch and Whirlwind was a pub on Dellah frequented by Bernice Summerfield. (PROSE: Dragons' Wrath) Straggly Witch was the name of a loch in Scotland. (AUDIO: Enemy Aliens)

The Witch of the Well was a name given to the Caliburn Ghast - a ghost haunting Caliburn House. (TV: Hide) The Eleventh Doctor later called through a time fissure to Clara Oswald using this name, who scared Elizabethan soldiers by threatening to turn them all into frogs. (TV: The Day of the Doctor)

During World War II, the all-female 588th Night Bomber Regiment of the Soviet Air Force was nicknamed the Night Witches by the Germans. The Regiment adopted the name, understanding it could inspire fear within their enemies. (AUDIO: The Night Witches)

Posing as Heidi Stafford, Bloorm Vungah Bart Slitheen called Sarah Jane Smith a "witch" to appear distraught in response to when Luke Smith had obviously no memory of the imposters. (TV: The Lost Boy)