The Book of Forgotten Witches
Balázs Tátrai
Ilustrated by Lilla Bölecz
Watkins Publishing
Perhaps one of the greatest bookshops in the UK, if not world, Watkins also has its own publishing house, those that I have purchased previous tended to be the anthology types, English Folk Tales, Ghost Monsters and Demons of India et al, likewise this books is a collection of short introductions to various witches past, both in legend/ folklore or history.
The witches, are allocated into categories such as cussing witches, healing, shapeshifting etc. Each chapter is preceded by a short story, I’m not sure what this adds to the book, nor why they’re included, if it were a vinyl record it would be those annoying album filler songs, unnecessary padding to fill up the time. The short stories, are o.k. in a ahem-twee sort of way but does more to reinforce the stereotype of the witch from childhood than a psychological essay and the methodology of the unyielding, strong and self-willed personae, who embraces equanimity with the flora and familiar with the fauna and leads an altogether peculiar dance.
The entries themselves are potted histories, little snippets, which tease rather than informs. The entry, for instance on Baba Yaga runs at a few hundred words whereas the Wikipedia entry comes in near c.2000 words complete and additionally with external references and links. What Wikipedia wont do however is list all the witches that are catalogued in this book. I say catalogued, though that’s not exhaustive, many ‘forgotten’ witches are ‘forgotten’, not because they’re worthy of being forgotten but there are thousands of them and to catalogue them all would run into volumes rather than a handy little book. It’s not a bad idea.
My local area for instance had a ‘witch of the lake’ – Agnes De Valance aka The Grey Lady, perhaps not a witch per se but one who rises from the nearby lake with the dagger in hand that killed her, though some say by her hand in grief or the evil lothario of a desperate affair who sought to silence her.
There are numerous illustrations, all lovely and perhaps cloyingly charming, I would rather perhaps actual pictures of paintings that represented the persons wrote about, viz, Elizabeth Bathory (pic. Left :-reproduced painting of alleged lost original.) I’m sure these are copyright free unless they are contemporary of course. Perhaps, however the illustrations provided by Lilla Bölecz add a unique charm to what would be an otherwise bog-standard – here’s a list of forgotten witches.
It’s a book that gets leafed through rather than studied, there are bound to be some names of yore that hitherto were unknown to the reader, each name is worthy of further research, I have listed below all the personages talked of in the book and included, where there is, the relevant Wikipedia entry. There are about 19 that Wikipedia actually forgot. Though of course reciprocally there are many more that are unwritten and unlisted, therein is the story true.
Abu Bakr Al RAzi
Adze
Agnes Waterhouse
Aicha Kandicha
Alison Gross
Alp
Ana Queen of the Keshali (Mentioned in equivalent)
Angeline Tubbs
Baba Yaga
Bagolyasszonyka
Bakeneko
Benandanti
Boksi
Cailleach
Catherine Monvoison
Ceridwen
Cleopatra (The Alchemist)
Count Alessandro di Cagliostro
Crown princess Hwi and Ho-Cho
Deer Woman
Dirona(Sirona)
Drabardi (mentioned in text)
Elder Mother
Elizabeth Bathory
Eve
Fang
Finfolk
Fisherwife of Palermo
Garaboncias (mentioned in text)
Ginny Greenteeth
Goncol
Gryla
Haliurunas
Hannah Henley
Hazel witch
Hecate
Heka
Huli Jing
Isaac newton
Itako
Jakotsu Baba
Jiangshi
John Dee
Kapo
Kate Blood
Kitsune
Kokenyne
Koluskap
Koschei the Deathless
Kudiani (mentioned in text)
Kumiho
Kurangaituku
Kurdaitcha
Lady of the Lake,Nimue
Lamashtu
Lamia
La Tunda
Lilith
Louhi
Machi
Mahr
Maria Prophetissa
Maria Pujol
Marie Laveau
Mary Bateman
Master geng
Matinta Perera
Melusine
Menyetasszony
Merlin
Moll Stancombe
Moirai
Morgan le Fey
Mother Ludlam
Mother Shipton
Nagual
Nelly Longarms
Norns
Parcae
Paula De Eguiluz
Peg Powler
Penanggalan
PukJinskwes
Queen GrimHild
Raven Mocker
Roggenmuhme
Salem Witches
Samca
Sheela Na Gig
Sirona
Soucouyant
Storm Hag of the Eyrie
Strzyga
Sun Bu’er
Szerpasszony
Theiss of Kaltenbrun
Thirona
Toad Witches
Trud
Uringye
U’tlun’ta
Vadleany
Vampire Gourds
Vasorra Baba
Volvas
Yukinba
Yuki-onna
Zhalmauyz Kempir
And Some not listed in the book worthy of mention;-
Pendle Witches (A right ‘Nutter’ here)
Saptamatrikas (The great Hindu Goddesses)
La Llorona (The Weeping woman)
Pele ( Fire Goddess)
Medea (Sorceress of Colchis)
Amina ( African warrior Queen and Mystic)
Annie Palmer (Witch of Rose Hall)
Isobel Gowdie (Scottish Witch who described all sorts of devilish shenanigans- probably under durress)
Biddy Early (Irish herbalist)
Janet Horne ( The last person to be executed in the British Isles for Witchcraft)
Helen Duncan ( medium witch, last person to be imprisooned under the Witchcraft Act)
Dame Alice Kyteler ( first person to be convicted of witchcraft in Ireland)
Granny Boswell– (Cornish Herbalist/Witch)
Anne Bodenham- ( Accused of Black Magic and executed)
Florence Newton -(The witch of Youghal)
The Witch of Wookey Hole ( Witch-alledgedly- from the caves here described-)
Meg Shelton ( The Fylde Hag)
Ursula Kemp (Essex Witch)
And some others not in the book, nor in Wikipedia, thus “forgotten”
Alice Chaundeler (d. 1582) – Accused alongside Ursula Kemp in the St. Osyth witch trials.
Anne Leech (d. 1589) – A widow from Manningtree accused of witchcraft.
Rebecca West (fl. 1645) – Accused during the infamous Essex witch trials linked to Matthew Hopkins, but turned informant and was spared.
Rose Hallybread (fl. 1645) – Another woman accused during Hopkins’ trials.
Margaret Moone (fl. 17th century) – Said to have cursed villagers in Wix, Essex, leading to deaths and misfortunes.
None are forgotten by those begotten
—
Additional resource;- Essex Witches as listed.
The Western Gate 
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