The Virago Book Of Witches

Beware the women who are called witches, or those who claim the name for themselves...

Banshees - a howling night-witch and harbinger of death; She-devils - Lilith and her daughters; or Bitches - Hecate, whose chariot is drawn by dogs.

Alluring women, enchantresses, seekers of revenge, wise old women and badly-behaved girls. As Shahrukh Husain says, witches are ''womanhood in all its complexity''.

Over fifty stories of crones and nixies, shape shifters and beauties are here, including the loving fox witch of Japan; Italy''s Witch-Bea-Witch; Scotland''s Goodwife of Laggan; Biddy Earl and the terrifying Kali and Baba Yaga who comes in many forms to haunt, entice, possess, transform and challenge.

From every corner of the globe, with tom-foolery, fun, strife and victory, these folklore and legends celebrate women who step out of line.