the woods
welcome to watch mojo and today we're
counting down our picks for the top 10
witches from myths and legends
do you know what naughty boys get
[Music]
i gave old jack a big dose of that last
night which fixed him
for this list we're looking at magical
women from historical lore
did we miss any from your culture let us
know in the comments
number 10 medea come
lay your plan medea scheme with all your
skill
on to the deadly moment that shall test
your nerve in greek mythology
medea is best known for her role in
helping jason get the golden fleece in
the tail of jason and the argonauts
i'll go alone no
i have to go with you i have no country
now
and i love you she's often depicted as
an enchantress
and is the daughter of king iedes of
culkis and the granddaughter of helios
the sun god
interestingly she's also the niece of
another mythical greek sorceress
cersei more on her later perhaps most
famously
medea is the title character in
euripides tragedy
in which she and jason are living in
corinth but he ultimately leaves her
and not with happy results you had love
and betrayed it now of all men
you are utterly the most miserable
number nine bifana according to italian
folklore beifana is a figure
not unlike santa claus who flies around
italy on epiphany eve
and gives small presents to children who
are well-behaved
just like saint nick she comes down the
chimney and puts treats and toys in
children's stockings
and if they're bad she gives them coal
instead do you know what naughty boys
get
not only that but she's even said to
sweep the floor before leaving
although rather than cookies and milk
italian families often leave her a glass
of wine and snacks
everything's better in italy isn't it
this is still a tradition going on in
italy
and many children anticipate my arrival
on the morning of january 6th
number eight the witch of endor in the
old testament's first book of samuel
saul goes to the witch of endor to
conjure up the spirit of samuel in order
to give him advice concerning the battle
of the philistines
he had first asked god for help but
received none
the problem with this is that the bible
isn't exactly supposed to condone magic
or necromancy
so some theologians have taken issue
with this passage
nonetheless the witch of endor has
become an enduring figure whose
controversial inclusion in the
scriptures
will likely be debated for generations
to come number 7.
grimhild as we all know from hearing
countless stories since childhood
there are good witches and there are bad
witches grimheld or grimhilder
from norse mythology is decidedly a bad
witch
in one legend she breaks up the marriage
between segur and bryn hildur by giving
the husband a potion that makes him
forget his wife
grimheld's intention was to have both
members of the couple marry her children
instead
but her plot did not work out as planned
both sigour and brynjirdur ended up dead
and there was no happily ever after here
number 6 the bell witch while some of
the legends on our list are many
centuries old
this one hails from the 19th century in
the south of the united states
the bell family of tennessee reported
strange happenings around their farm
starting around 1817.
john bell senior reported that a
mysterious entity was wreaking havoc on
him and his family
on december 20 1820 john bell died when
the family found a mysterious black
liquid
in a vial near his body when the bell
witch spoke in a disembodied voice
i gave old jack a big dose of that last
night which fixed him
the specter could shape shift and speak
but was not
always visible the spirit was said to be
the ghost of kate batts
a neighbor of the bells who they'd had a
conflict with but of course we'll
probably never know her true origin
number 5. hecate unlike the christians
the greeks had no fear of magic
hecate is known as the goddess of ghosts
and witchcraft
and has long been associated with the
supernatural she is often depicted
holding several torches
and that's because she was known to have
helped persephone to find her way out of
the underworld along with hermes
in a poem by theocritus from the 3rd
century bc
it's even said that hecate holds the
keys that can open the gates between the
worlds of the dead and the living
years of service in the cause of
immortal evil and this
is all i get number four jenny green
teeth
throughout history parents have made up
tails in order to scare their children
into exhibiting safe behaviors
jenny greenteath is likely the result of
one of those tales
unless of course she's really
tender hailing from england
folklore tells of a river hag who would
pull children or old people into water
and kill them by drowning
she's supposed to have sickly green skin
sharp teeth
and long hair though her name varies
slightly based on what part of england
you're from
all good children know not to wade too
deep into the murky waters
[Laughter]
number three cersei who are you
i'm cersei the sorceress
we already mentioned cersei as being the
aunt of medea but she is of course
notorious in her own right
she's perhaps best known for her role in
homer's odyssey though she is also
simply a fixture in greek mythology as
the daughter of helios
what
dare you
no the odyssey relates that odysseus
meets cersei on her
island home of iia after the trojan war
and she turns his shipmates into pigs
forcing the men to stay with her for a
year he eventually decided to go home to
his wife
after giving cersei several sons and the
rest is the stuff of legend be careful
she's yeah i've read the odyssey
number two baba yaga most witches are
known for being either good or evil
but baba yaga seems to vacillate between
the two and you never know which side of
her you're gonna get
don't you look lovely a legend from
russian folklore she sometimes
eats children but other times helps the
lost along their way
she flies around in a mortar holding a
pestle instead of using the traditional
broomstick
and is said to live in a hut that stands
on chicken feet because of her
unpredictable nature
you definitely do not want to meet this
witch in the woods at night
the woods the woods
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number one morgan lafaye good evening
everyone
hello nice to see you like so many of
the witches and enchantresses from myth
and legend
morgan lafaye was known largely as a
seductress
hailing from arthurian legend she's
often seen as an antagonist to both
gwynevere and arthur in various
iterations of details about them
she uses her sexuality to get what she
wants and acts as an apprentice to
merlin
learning magic from him show me more
show me the dragon tell me the sacred
charm of making
[Music]
even though such knowledge would burn
and blind you
then burn me she was supposed to be in
love with lancelot
and in some versions of the story about
her she reveals gwynevere's dalliance
with him
as an act of revenge god she has left a
trail of 1 000 years long
go get her whatever the cost do you
agree with our picks
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