Witch (The Witch)

* Old
* Young
* Hare

*"Does this look not like witchcraft!?"
"What witch? Who is it that does this then? Who? Thy thoughts are as a child."*
―Katherine and William[src]
The **Witch** of the Wood is a sorceress who torments a family of English Puritans in New England.

## Biography

### Stealing Samuel

The witch dwells within the Wood as her master lives among the family of English Puritans on their farm. One day, the eldest daughter Thomasin takes her baby brother Samuel to the edge of the wood and plays peek-a-boo with him. As Thomasin's face is covered, the witch rushes over and snatches Samuel before retreating back into the wood.

Later that night, the witch takes Samuel to her hovel deep within the wood. She kills him with a knife and grinds his body up into flying ointment, which she smears all over her body. She takes a long branch and floats high into the air among the treetops.

### Disrupting the Hunt

Several days later, the witch discovers that William and his son Caleb are hunting in the wood early in the morning. Taking the form of a hare, she catches the attention of their dog, Fowler. William attempts to shoot her, but she causes the musket to backfire, at which point she escapes.

Later that night, she enters the farm's goat pen, still in the form of a hare. She is seen by Thomasin, who is disturbed by her presence.

### Luring Caleb

*"A toad. A cat. A crow. A raven. A great black dog. A wolf. She desires of my blood. She sends 'em upon me. They feed upon her teats, her nether parts. She sends 'em upon me. They desire of my blood. They bite me, they bite me! My Lord, My Jesus! Save me! She sends her Devils..."*
―Caleb[src]

The next morning, the witch discovers that Thomasin and Caleb are in the wood. Once again becoming a hare, she approaches them and spooks their horse, Burt. She runs off and Fowler chases after her, prompting Caleb to pursue them. She later disembowels the dog and Caleb comes running as he hears him cry out in pain.

Caleb finds her again and she leads him through an undergrowth. She leads him back to her hovel, where she emerges in the form of a beautiful, voluptuous young woman. She approaches him with a predatory grin as he stands frozen with fear. She kisses him on the mouth and grabs the back of his head with a clawed, withered hand. She subjects him to torment before returning him to the farm that night, leaving him naked and delirious in the rain.

### Attack on the Farm

*"Where are they?"
"I know not what I saw–"
"WHERE ARE THEY?"
"I did nothing! She came from the sky – she –"
"Devil! You have their blood upon thy hands!"*
―Katherine and Thomasin[src]
The next day, Caleb dies from the aftermath of the witch's torment. Jonas and Mercy accuse Thomasin of being a witch and she accuses them of making covenant with the Devil in the shape of Black Phillip. Unsure of who to believe, William locks all of them in the goat pen.

Later that night, the witch flies to the farm and lands atop the goat shed. She makes her way inside and begins to sup from the teat of Flora, one of the nanny goats. As the children approach her, she cackles at them and they scream in terror. She slaughters the nanny goats and tears the shed apart, taking the twins with her as she leaves Thomasin behind covered in blood.

The next morning, Black Phillip kills William. Upon discovering his body and seeing Thomasin covered in blood, Katherine concludes that she is a witch and attempts to kill her. Thomasin kills her mother in self-defence and later that night she approaches Black Phillip, who offers her a chance to live deliciously and see the world. She signs her name in his book and he leads her into the forest, where an entire coven of witches are writhing around a bonfire and chanting in Enochian. Once they finish their chant, they cackle and float into the air. Thomasin discovers that she too is floating and laughs hysterically, now a witch herself.

## Personality

The witch is a deceptive and sadistic individual, taking joy in tormenting William's family. She steals Samuel and murders him to create a flying ointment. She takes the form of a hare to trick the family and lure them into traps. She takes the appearance of a beautiful and voluptuous young woman to seduce and attack Caleb, using his awakening sexuality to prey upon him. She cackles when she attacks the children in the goat shed, thrilled at the fear she instills in them. She is animalistic, beginning to feed upon Flora while she is still alive.

## Trivia

* Folktales often feature witches transforming into hares and performing malevolent acts. Tales such as these date back to the ancient Greek gid Pan, who was wrapped in a hare's hide as a child.

## Behind the Scenes

* Bathsheba Garnett searches for redeeming qualities in every character that she plays, but could find none in a witch who eats a child. For this reason, she portrayed the witch from the perspective of a member of PETA who eats an animal to save themself from dying of starvation.
* Vivien Moore was a stunt double for Bathsheba Garnett in the role of the Witch.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Eggers, Robert, *The Witch*, A24, USA, February 19, 2016
2. ↑ How Robert Eggers Wove the Nightmares of The Witch Out of Historical Documents (vulture.com)
3. ↑ How a 91-year-old actress prepared to eat a baby (nypost.com)