Witch A witch was a practioner 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 " ) 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 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 . A witch practised witchcraft . In folklore , witches were known for flying on broom sticks and cackling . ( TV : " The Shakespeare Code " ) They were also capable of casting spells . ( TV : " Invasion of the Dinosaurs " ) Witchcraft . Advanced science and technology , such as a DNA replication module , could be mistaken for witchcraft by those of less advanced cultures . ( TV : " The Shakespeare Code " ) Similarly , psychic power s could be mistaken for witchcraft , and individuals who possessed such abilities could be denounced as witches . ( AUDIO : " Winter for the Adept " ) On Earth , followers of pre - Christian religions , such as Neopaganism could be referred to as witches . Members of such religions , including the Witchkids , often rejected technology and gloried in superstition . ( PROSE : " " ) Witches on Earth . Alien entities , the Fendahl ( TV : " Image of the Fendahl " ) and the Dæmon s ( TV : " The Dæmons " ) undoubtably affected human ity , specifically human notions of witchcraft . A soldier from 1916 was sent to 1535 by a Weeping Angel . The soldier ' s 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 . 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 " ) In Britain , the last Witchcraft Act was not repealed until 1951 . ( TV : " 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 " ) 16th century . Ashildr , an immortal human , cured a whole village of scarlet fever . However , they 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 " ) 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 " ) 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 " ) 20th century . The Third Doctor once encountered a peasant who had been sent to 1970s London by a time eddy . The peasant claimed that a witch cast a spell on him , 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 the Fetch Priory ' s time fissure . Locals deferred to her and called her Mother Tyler , as an 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 . 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 " ) History of witches in the United States . 17th century . 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 . ( PROSE : " The Witch Hunters " ) 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 . Mathilda , also known as the Witch of Buena Vista , distributed Blue Moonbeams in San Francisco in 1967 . ( PROSE : " Wonderland " ) Elsewhere on Earth . 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 . 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 " ) " 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 " ) Elsewhere in the universe . 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 Lord s 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 . 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 soldier s by threatening to turn them all into frog s . ( 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 " )