famous witch names

What names of famous witches can you think of? If you’re like me recently, not many! For such an instantly recognizable figure of legend and fiction, I found it surprising how few truly famous real witches are still known today. We can think of The Wicked Witch of the East from Wizard of Oz, Samantha from Bewitched and more recently Hermione Granger from Harry Potter, no problem. But outside of the imaginary witches, there are also tales of real witches, those who created interest and intrigue in their time. Too many of the true stories of their lives will now be lost, but let’s look at some of the names of famous witches in history and why they were famous/infamous!

Grandmother Boswell 1813 – 1906

A Romani gypsy, she was known as a Cornish witch, but was actually born in Ireland. She was a renowned troublemaker, at least in the eyes of the authorities, she was often seen drunk on the street! But her reputation lives on in a curious story, told by the son of a man who was the victim of her contempt. Since cars are such a novelty, Granny Boswell was fascinated to see one about to come towards her, while she was standing on the road! The driver, the narrator’s father, honked his horn and told her to get out of the way. She yelled insults and told him that the vehicle would not reach the end of the road. It was not like that, they collapsed before reaching the end of the street.

Tammy Blee 1798 – 1856

Another of the Cornish “cunning people”, Tammy Blee (Tamsin Blight) was known to go into a trance to communicate with the dead. She was also a local amulet maker, working with herbs and divination.

Witches of Pendle Hill – 1612

The Pendle Hill witches will go down in history as being at the center of one of Britain’s largest and most notorious witch trials. The most prominent characters were “Old Demdike” and “Old Chattox”, who were rivals who brought their entire family into the fight with them! Eleven participated in trials that were largely based on prejudice, gossip and superstition and there was little hope of being found innocent. Demdike died in prison while Chattox, along with most of the accused, went to the gallows.

Joan Wytte 1775 – 1813

Known as “The Fighting Fairy Woman of Bodmin”. While she started out as a clairvoyant and healer, she later became aggressive due to an abscessed tooth which unfortunately led the locals to believe that she was possessed by the devil. She was imprisoned in Bodmin prison, where she died of bronchial pneumonia. Her bones were kept in the Museum of Witchcraft until it was rumored that poltergeist activity forced them to bring in the aid of a witch. She said that she Joan wished to be buried and was finally buried in Boscastle in 1998.

Dolly Pentreath died in 1777

The Fisherwoman of Mousehole. She was a formidable character who clashed with the Press Gang when they came looking for men to “anneal” for the navy. She was also an astrologer and was believed to have magical powers, but she could always be found smoking her pipe and drinking from her pint glass.