# The Top Witches **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 14, 2016, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-witches/743097 "2016-01-14T01:59:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-witches/743097/21 "2016-01-14T03:54:45Z")
When I was about eight, I watched a British show called _Into the Labyrinth_, featuring Pamela Salem as a witch named Belor. She scared the crap out of me when I was a kid, but when I rewatched the series in college, I appreciated her for entirely different reasons. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-witches/743097/22 "2016-01-14T03:56:26Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > But this was more a combination of overall witchy appeal and cultural entertainment relevance, not just a list of WILFs. WILFs certainly make me twitch! šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-witches/743097/23 "2016-01-14T03:57:30Z")
Iā€™m surprised that it took 20 posts before the Wicked Witch of the West was mentioned. Maleficent (the Disney one). ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-witches/743097/24 "2016-01-14T04:02:59Z")
Anybody mention Glinda (Billie Burke) yet? :dubious: šŸ˜• ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-witches/743097/25 "2016-01-14T04:05:25Z")
Granny Weatherwax is 100% indisputably the top witch. Sheā€™s never won any sort of competition for that title for the simple reason that nobody dares challenge her. I mean, weā€™re talking someone who can _successfully_ rig the deck playing poker against DEATH Himself, by dealing herself four queens and him only four ones. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-witches/743097/26 "2016-01-14T04:36:11Z")
Withciepoo ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-witches/743097/27 "2016-01-14T04:37:19Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Iā€™m surprised that it took 20 posts before the Wicked Witch of the West was mentioned. > > Maleficent (the Disney one). Me too! She was my first thought, my top witch. I was going to say she was probably the first witch I ever saw on the screen but I think maybe I saw _Snow White_ before _The Wizard of Oz_. I also saw [Lucy as a witch](http://www.animationartgallery.com/images/PNC/PNCJW73.jpg) in _Itā€™s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown_ before those šŸ™‚ I like the woman who is being tried as a witch in _Monty Python & The Holy Grail_. She turned that guy into a newt! ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-witches/743097/28 "2016-01-14T04:52:18Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > I checked the dictionary and it said _ā€œa woman who is believed to have magical powers and who uses them to harm or help other peopleā€_, so I shrugged. Yeah, fair enough. But there are some fantasy settings where ā€œwitchā€ is a specific kind of magic user. Iā€™m not sure if DC is one of them, though. Iā€™m only passingly familiar with the character, but it seems to me that if someone in one of her comics called Zatanna a witch, sheā€™d correct them. But then, I guess in-universe definitions donā€™t have to be controlling for the purposes of this thread. > [@](#): > > (Wait, is the Scarlet Witch a witch?) With the caveat that Scarlet Witch has one of the most ill-defined and inconsistent power sets in comics, no, I donā€™t think so. Sheā€™s a mutant. She has powers because she has the X-gene in her DNA, which is technically a science-based ( :rolleyes: ) power. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-witches/743097/29 "2016-01-14T04:54:23Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Granny Weatherwax is 100% indisputably the top witch. Sheā€™s never won any sort of competition for that title for the simple reason that nobody dares challenge her. I mean, weā€™re talking someone who can _successfully_ rig the deck playing poker against DEATH Himself, by dealing herself four queens and him only four ones. In fairness, the Death of Discworld is famously bad at table top games. ā€œREMIND ME AGAIN HOW THE HORSE-SHAPED ONE MOVES?ā€ (Which, if you get down to it, is a fantastic explanation for the general survival rate of heroes in genre fiction.) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-witches/743097/30 "2016-01-14T05:04:36Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I like the woman who is being tried as a witch in _Monty Python & The Holy Grail_. She turned that guy into a newt! Connie Booth, aka ā€œPolly Sherman,ā€ if Iā€™m not mistaken. :o ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-witches/743097/31 "2016-01-14T05:10:19Z")
And I suppose no one will nominate any of the three witches of Eastwick. They say the sexiest character in that movie was Jack Nicholsonā€™s devil. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-witches/743097/32 "2016-01-14T05:32:08Z")
I always loved Warner Bros. cartoonsā€™ [Witch Hazel](http://statici.behindthevoiceactors.com/behindthevoiceactors/_img/chars/char_42650.jpg) and her endless supply of bobby pins. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-witches/743097/33 "2016-01-14T05:52:20Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Samantha Stephens. Agreed. Elizabeth Montgomery was hot as hell, presented a comprehensive story and very sweet despite being married to that asshole Derwood or whatever his name was. Endora was right about him. 1. Samantha Stephens 2. The Wicked Witch of the West 3. Samathaā€™s fake brunette cousin Sabrina from Bewitched also played by Elizabeth Montgomery because, again, she was hot as the Devilā€™s cauldron. 4. That other Sabrina, The Teenage Witch played by Melissa Joan Hart 5. Someone from the Salem Witch Trials ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-witches/743097/34 "2016-01-14T06:52:05Z")
[Evil Edna](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlTZYaYazKA) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-witches/743097/35 "2016-01-14T07:07:20Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > I always loved Warner Bros. cartoonsā€™ [Witch Hazel](http://statici.behindthevoiceactors.com/behindthevoiceactors/_img/chars/char_42650.jpg) and her endless supply of bobby pins. Witch Hazel and Little Itch from _ **Little Lulu** _. The Sea Hag from _ **Popeye** _. Every witch voiced by June Foray on _ **Rocky and Bullwinkle** _. Elvira ā€œHow to \_uck,ā€ Mistress of the Dark! šŸ†’ ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-witches/743097/36 "2016-01-14T07:10:23Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > That other Sabrina, The Teenage Witch played by Melissa Joan Hart Thereā€™s another? šŸ˜• **EDIT:** Never mind! šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-witches/743097/37 "2016-01-14T07:14:58Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > Granny would be #1 for me, or better still the Granny Weatherwax/Nanny Ogg/Magrat coven. +10 (to make up a proper thirteen) > [@Miller](#): > > With the caveat that Scarlet Witch has one of the most ill-defined and inconsistent power sets in comics, no, I donā€™t think so. Sheā€™s a mutant. She has powers because she has the X-gene in her DNA, which is technically a science-based ( :rolleyes: ) power. Sheā€™s also supposed to have been trained as a witch, which is how she ended up having those twins which may or may not be the result of demonic posession and may or may not exist, depending on which writer you ask. Itā€™s a bit like Ororoā€™s own witchcraft-affinity-and-depending-on-universe-training; writers keep it in a corner of the bottom drawer to bring out when theyā€™re exceptionally drunk, more out of ideas than usual, or just wanting to get her up in a different dress. Theyā€™ve shuffled her family around so often I wouldnā€™t be surprised if someone tells me itā€™s lately been decided Quicksilver isnā€™t her brother. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Prize](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d2c977/32.png) [@Sir\_Prize](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Prize)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-witches/743097/38 "2016-01-14T11:01:35Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Iā€™m surprised that it took 20 posts before the Wicked Witch of the West was mentioned. My vote for #1. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-witches/743097/39 "2016-01-14T11:41:23Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Granny Weatherwax. As awesome as she is, I enjoy reading about Tiffany Aching more. (For those not familiar with the series, Tiffany is a shepherdā€™s daughter whose approach to magic is unflinchingly pragmatic; theyā€™re coming-of-age stories as only Pratchett could manage). ---
**Author:** ![bobkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-witches/743097/40 "2016-01-14T12:01:09Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Isaac Bonewits AHAH! Not a witch! šŸ˜› (Your answer was awesomeā€¦ I really kind of love you. šŸ˜ƒ ) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-witches/743097.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-witches/743097.md?page=3)