A Coven of Our 13 Favorite Witches in Literature

Circe

You might only remember her as the witch in Greek mythology who seduced and then turned Odysseus and his men into swine on their journey back to Ithica from the Trojan War. But Madeline Miller's Circe takes her story and gives her so much more depth and understanding of the world around her. In this feminine-adventure novel, Circe uses her powers to protect those she cares for while maintaining her individuality and being exactly as she wishes to be.

Three Witches, Weird Sisters, or Wayward Sisters

In Shakespeare's Macbeth, the Weird Sisters were fashioned on the Fates of classic mythology. The Weird Sisters tell Macbeth of his ascension to the Scottish throne and his subsequent demise. What's not to love about witches who tell prophecies while boiling toads in a cauldron?

Round about the cauldron go;

In the poison'd entrails throw.

Toad, that under cold stone

Days and nights has thirty-one

Swelter'd venom sleeping got,

Boil thou first i' the charmed pot.

Double, double toil and trouble;

Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.

Baba Yaga

Baba Yaga comes from Slavic folklore and is represented quite differently in several children's books and stories. Sometimes she is portrayed as an ogre who likes to hunt and eat children; sometimes she's a lonely old lady who would like a grandchild to love as in Babushka Baba Yaga. Baba Yaga's house is also known to have chicken legs so it can run through the forest in case anyone tries to come looking for her. Like so many witches in literature, her characteristics change depending on who's telling.

The Wicked Witch of the West

L. Frank Baum created one of the most iconic witches in literature in his classic 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz who was then immortalized with her green skin in the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz. While the evil witch isn't named in the original novel or the movie, the 1974 musical The Wiz gives her the name Evilene and in Gregory Macguire's 1995 novel Wicked, she is given the name Elphaba which is an homage to Baum using his initials LFB. For other classic literature, check out our LitJoy Classics Collection Shop .

Glinda,
The Good Witch

And you can't have The Wicked Witch of the West without her rival Glinda, The Good Witch (of the South in Baum's version; of the North in the infamous movie). Interestingly, Baum advocated for the equal rights of women and gave readers one of the first glimpses of a witch who was beautiful and good and who happened to be the most powerful witch in the land of Oz.

Jadis,
The White Witch

Jadis, The White Witch in The Chronicles of Narnia written by C.S. Lewis, is the personification of pure evil. She is manipulative and wicked with only thoughts of power over all others. Jadis appears in the first of the series The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe. Lewis brings her back again when he penned The Magician's Nephew which tells the story of Narnia's creation.

Mildred Hubble

Before Hogwarts and Harry Potter, there was Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches and Mildred Hubble created by Jill Murphy, author of the children's book series The Worst Witch. Murphy introduced readers to Mildred Hubble, the clumsy first-year witch-in-training in 1974. The beloved series has inspired many television adaptations, a movie, and even a stage play. Though disastrous things inevitably happen to the bumbling Mildred Hubble, she endears herself to readers with her good heart and try-hard attitude even if she still gets everything wrong.

Owens Family Witches

In Alice Hoffman's 1995 Practical Magic novel readers get familiar with the Owens family witches who have lived in a small Massachusetts town for more than 2000 years. Hoffman comes back to the Owens family in her 2017, 2020, and 2021 novels presenting backstories and a sequel to the original. The lovable Owens women happen to be cursed in love, but they are the types of witches that make us want to get cozy, gather herbs, and help women in need.

Serafina Pekkala

Author Philip Pullman in the first book of his trilogy His Dark Materials The Northern Lights brings readers Serafina Pekkala and her clan of witches of Lake Enara. Throughout the trilogy, Serafina helps to guard and guide the headstrong heroine Lyra. We wish we could be like the warrior women who own the skies flying with their branches and their bird dæmons and we love them for it!

Diana Bishop

Deborah Harkness' Diana Bishop is the witch we didn't know we needed until we met her in A Discovery of Witches, the first book in Harkness' All Souls trilogy.

Diana is a fully realized and relatable female character who happens to be a witch. She is strong-willed, yet open to vulnerability. She tries to deny her witchy roots because of her tragic past but realizes she's needed to break a curse and help others. She also has control over all of the elements and that's a power we all wish we had, too! Check out our Witch Discovery Book Lamp to help you see as you read this exciting witchy series.

Bonnie McCullough
(aka Bonnie Bennett)

In The Vampire Diaries book series, author L. J. Smith introduces readers to Bonnie McCullough, a psychic, who becomes Bonnie Bennett, a witch, in the popular television series of the same name. In the beloved TV series, Bonnie is a fierce witch among vampires and we love her because she's powerful, bold, and selfless and uses her magic for good.

Manon Blackbeak

We are big fans of Sarah J. Maas over here, and as such, we couldn't leave Manon Blackbeak from Throne of Glass off our list!

Without giving too many spoilers, we'll say that we love her because she shows us how we all have many sides to our personalities, and it is necessary to embrace both our darkness and our light to be who we truly are. Manon may have been raised as a cruel, heartless killer and a true villain, but as the series unfolds, we get to see another side while she remains one of the most badass witches.

Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood, and Professor Minerva McGonagall

Wouldn't you love to get a Hogwarts acceptance letter and meet our favorite witches and wizards? Even though Harry Potter is the title character, he'd probably have been killed the first week at Hogwarts if it weren't for the clever and brave Hermione Granger. She's always loyal to her friends even when they only show the emotional range of a teaspoon! It helps that she's also a fellow bookish nerd like all of us, too.

Then there's the unique, quirky, yet lovable, Luna Lovegood who never hesitates to be anything but herself. She's fearless, kind, loyal, and has some pretty great style to boot! We all want her signature lion hat to show our support for Gryffindor, don't you?

And, of course, we (not-so) secretly love Professor Minerva McGonagall who may be a rigid rule follower, but she always has the students of Hogwarts' best interests at heart. She will commend students for bending the rules when it just makes sense...or if it helps the Gryffindor quidditch team!