In the countdown to our 2026 Melbourne conference (Witches in Fairy Tales: Wise Women or Evil Enchanters?), we’ve asked some of the magical presenters who their favourite fairy tale witches are. (Note: Ticket sales close August 2.)

Kate Forsyth, author and storyteller

My favourite fairy-tale witch is Baba Yaga, the old hag with teeth of iron from Russian folklore. She is terrifying and unpredictable, but also wild and untameable, and acts as a catalyst for growth and change in others. I loved working with her in my retelling of Vasilisa the Wise [from the book Kate Forsyth’s Long-Lost Fairy Tales, illustrated by Lorena Carrington.]

My favourite witch from my own books is Meghan of the Beasts, the wood witch, from my first published novel series, The Witches of Eileanan. She was the first of my old wise women, a healer and master of herb lore who understands the languages of birds and beasts. She first appeared to me in a dream when I was sixteen years old, and ended up being one of my most beloved characters. And I love the faery queen in my new novel The Changeling. She is cruel, mysterious, and powerful – able to change shape into a hare or summon snow storms – but also capable of immense love and sacrifice. She was fascinating to write! 

Arianne James, author

My favourite is the Sea Witch from The Little Mermaid. As a child I thought she was frightening and manipulative and cruel, but as an adult, I can’t help wondering about who she was before the Little Mermaid came to seek her aid. What were her dreams? What led her to that cave in the ocean’s depths? Now, the sea witch appears to me like a woman sick of pretending. A woman living on her own terms, unapologetically. A woman who has fully stepped into her power.

In my novel Daughters of the Tide, my witchiest character is Agatha. She’s the Findlay family’s housekeeper, but there’s much more to her than meets the eye. Agatha is fiercely protective of those she loves, and skilled in herblore and healing. She’s a keeper of ancient stories and has an uncanny knack for understanding people’s deepest truths.

Jo Henwood, storyteller and writer

My favourite fairy-tale witch is the Wise Old Woman who advises the wife in Nixie of the Millpond, and the one who advises Tatterhood’s mother, and Princess Fiorimonde’s private tutor who gives her choices in Mary de Morgan’s story. Maybe they’re the same person – they’re basically all reference librarians! I also really like the witches in The Witches Tale/Gothy Duff. Clever enough to become strong enough, and fundamentally story lovers.

My favourite witch character to perform comes from an Italo Calvino story called The Little Girl Sold with the Pears. Margaretina steals back a box of musical instruments that play themselves from a sleeping witch/ogress, and the pursuit is on!

Emma Woods, mythologist, academic, performer and author

My favourite fairy tale witch is definitely the Sea Witch from The Little Mermaid. She oozes a dark sensuality that is quite hypnotic.My favourite fairy tale witch is definitely the Sea Witch from The Little Mermaid. She oozes a dark sensuality that is quite hypnotic.

Lauren Keegan, author and psychologist

My childhood favourite fairy-tale witch is the White Witch of the Narnia Chronicles, a sorceress and a wicked queen who ruled over Narnia for one hundred years, keeping it in eternal winter. Unlike many other witch depictions, The White Witch is regal and beautiful – not a wart in sight! But her darkness lies under the beauty.

From my own books, I love sea witch Bessie from The Woman in the Seal Skin. It seems I have a fondness for crone archetypes. As an outcast in a cloistered fishing community, Bessie is intuitive and a healer. The first person to be sought in a crisis, but also the first to be blamed if something goes wrong. She lives outside the societal norms of the island, and represents the untamed nature of womanhood.

And Senele, from All the Bees in the Hollows, is the keeper of their traditional knowledge and the “Old Ways” at a time when Christianity has taken root. She worships many gods, but must do so in secret – not without some resistance! I love that Senele shared her knowledge of deities and nature with her granddaughter Austeja. 

Serene Conneeley, author

My favourite fairy-tale witch is Baba Yaga – I love her for her complexity. While she’s portrayed as the stereotypical evil witch in some tales, in others she’s an agent of change and initiation, even protection, for the young woman she encounters, and is only vengeful if you deserve her wrath.

From my own books, I love Rose from my Into the Mists series. She’s a real-life priestess who leads seasonal rituals, does healings, casts spells and works magic. And in my new book The Sun Queen’s Apprentice (launching at the conference), the summer witch seems to be a villain of the story – she keeps Greta with her using a forgetting spell, preventing her quest to rescue her beloved – yet she’s also a healer and midwife, and teaches her craft to Greta, so, like Baba Yaga and other fairy tale witches, she’s more nuanced than either good or bad, “white witch” or “black witch”. Will she have a redemption arc? No spoilers!

Camille Booker, author

My favourite fairy-tale witch is Bony Legs – I remember this spine-tingling book from my childhood. I always loved her spooky house that walked around on chicken feet. 

Lisa Ritchie, counselling psychologist

My favourite fairy-tale witch is the Sea Witch from The Little Mermaid. She tells the Little Mermaid exactly what the consequences of the bargain will be, and never hides the cost. She feels like a broker or a businesswoman – she’s making the impossible possible, but she’s certainly not interested in being a guide or a mentor. 

Alys McLennan, storyteller and trauma counsellor

I love Ceridwen, and also NicNevin, who I will be speaking about at the conference. She’s a witch or fairy queen from Scottish folklore, and I’m so drawn to how her story has been so disfigured – through fear and jealousy – to twist an amazing healer into a darkly inclined leader. But in doing so the chroniclers manifested a powerful legend who is so badass and eerie!

Laura Fulton, storyteller, writer and West of the Moon anthology team member

My favourite fairy-tale witch has to be the Baba Yaga – I love her complexity, the ways she’s been portrayed as both the villain and the fairy godmother figure, and the house on chicken legs? Amazing. I’m also still in love with the Baba Yaga bag I got that was designed by AFTS member Lorena Carrington at one of the first AFTS conferences I went to. Truly divine!