Strega Nona’s name roughly translates to “Grandma Witch” in Italian (though author Tomie dePaola says Nona is her given name), and this modern folk tale witch has the comforting solidity of your own granny. These witches aren’t admirable or endearing, but Dahl knows how to make an old horror trope viscerally frightening once again.

With more than five million copies sold worldwide, the novel ranks #5 among the 33 All Time Best Fantasy Novels according to Locus. June 16, 2012 Rather appropriate, actually, given her many powers and rather eerie presence. Featured in more than half a dozen novels, numerous games and just a few magazine articles, the wizened old man has powers learned through the various tutelage and opportunities presented by Mystra, the goddess of magic. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Dr. Thomas Hugo Strange, better known as Dr. After years of wandering and trying to find a way to fix his hands, he finally agrees to learn the sorcerous arts becoming one of the most powerful humans.

David and Leigh Edding’s Polgara would be an excellent example, as would Morgan le Fey. Let them put a spell on you: You don’t really have to take it from me. This begins his journey across worlds and magical disciplines – eventually becoming one of the most powerful wizards in Midkemia and beyond.

He appears as the dark force setting in motion the novels Insomnia and Black House, before he is properly revealed to behind the destruction of the Beams in The Dark Tower universe which holds reality together, plotting to rule the chaos that will follow. Ged’s birth name was Duny, and he was born to a bronze smith on Gont Island. While the trick-or-treating masses still play up the nastiest of stereotypes—green skin, black robes, obsession with people’s pretties—literature offers up any number of wonderful (and wonderfully bad) witches, many of whom don’t always fit the mystical mold. He is the ultimate evil and although his powers are not explicit, it is known that he uses mind control to keep his men in line, as well as probably being a shapeshifter. As Salvatore’s Drow elf Drizzt Do’Urden is the quintessential fighter of the Forgotten Realms, Elminster is the quintessential wizard of the realms. Allanon was killed by Jachrya.


Strega Nona uses her witchcraft to cure the ailments of the townspeople and to feed herself from an endless pasta pot. Say what you will about the witches of. When he was 12, Kargs attacked his island.

There’s no place like home, but Aunt Em’s got nothing on these witches. For this list, we're taking a look at the most powerful magical beings every to grace cinema. I’m out of here. The native Americans used to tell stories of wizards that helped out animals and men. This activated many anti-witchcraft segments of society and caused the tragic hanging of 19 men and women by the stoning to death of 1 man, the death of 7 prisoners, and the disabling of many others. ), but Roald Dahl goes in rather the opposite direction with his subversion of the witch trope in, . “By the pricking of my thumbs, / Something wicked this way comes,” says one of the Weird Sisters as Macbeth approaches their coven. We made it easy for you to exercise your right to vote! They’re just as evil and far more insidious than the cartoonishly green and warty variety; though they not really human, they’re able to disguise their telling traits relatively easily.

Dr. Gandalf is in truth (secretly) more akin to an angel than a wizard, he is a Maiar, servants of the universe’s counterpart to God, sent to Middle-earth in human form to aid the mortal races. The Lord of the Rings set the standard for fantasy literature in … 'What a world! Something wicked this way comes: Halloween’s almost here, and the witching season is at hand! Many throughout literature have been downright evil, with the classic image of an evil sorcerer becoming a well known fixture of various novels. Some of the most powerful wizards I’ve ever read are in these books. Ged is a protagonist of A Wizard of Earthsea written by Ursula K.Le. It says right there in the Harry Potter texts that Hermione’s the “brightest witch of her age.” There exists no problem too big or small for Hermione to tackle, except maybe her worst fear—expulsion. What a world! Although Vajda is classified as a witch, she could just as easily be a vampire with her bewitching looks and deadly gaze. And not only has he been written about, often, but he has been portrayed many times on the big and little screens on both sides of the pond. Naturally gifted, Sarah has the power of invoking certain events to happen. How can Harry be in the top one over the wizards of classical stories? White. To strengthen himself, Dr. She gets a bad rap for that, as well as her penchant for taking that which isn’t hers when she gets you into bed. The Harry Potter universe has some of the most powerful witches and wizards ever seen on the silver screen, but the most powerful of them all was Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. ': This green-faced harridan was no match for a gingham-clad Judy Garland. Though witch trials represented an unpredictable and mortal threat to women of the time, this very fact is indicative of the close link between the concept of witchcraft and feminine power in a patriarchal and narrow-minded world. This truly is a witch that children's nightmares are made of.

As Homer renders it in The Odyssey, Circe’s got a pretty sweet setup. The runner-up spot on our list goes to the one and only Wicked Witch of the West from 1939’s The Wizard of Oz, who is the absolute archetype for witches with an attitude. Jadis, also known as the White Witch, might have been evil down to the bone, but she got shit done. On top of all that, Ravenna also has the ability to conjure a vile black substance called dark fay, which can take the form of a soldier or a liquid, which is both deadly and kind of disgusting. Still, all that magic and she still was tricked in the end by Willow to be destroyed by her own potion, which goes to show that however powerful you are, you shouldn't underestimate your opponent. Formerly known as Tom Riddle, this power-hungry wizard dedicated his entire life to learn everything that he could about the dark arts, and in doing so became one of the strongest and most feared wizards in the Harry Potter universe. But, come on, who hasn’t been there? Merlin is the most powerfull wizzard. Rediculous Richard Rahl Didn’t make the list or Sauron? Instead, they hide in plain sight, looking just like us (so be sure to check everyone you meet for a wig or lack of toes) and holding down respectable jobs.

We're focusing on the strongest rather than the weak however, and are ranking the order by how powerful each magical being stacks up with the rest. Famous Wizards in Literature 1. BOOKSTR’S EMAIL NEWSLETTER. L. Frank Baum: teaching directions, one witch at a time. She refuses to wear a pointed hat, or to hunch over, and she prefers to keep her house neat and tidy with normal apples growing in the garden -- not the behaviors of a textbook fairytale witch. Really terry goodkinds wizards first rule would crush most all these wizards. The term ‘wizard’ is often used in a positive sense. charts the arrival on earth of the Antichrist, in the person of a rather ordinary young boy, and the ensuing chaos -- all of which was predicted centuries before by Agnes in a book called. Strange has also been seen on TV in a number of Marvel animated series as well as one eponymous direct-to-DVD release. He wants to destroy whoever gets in his way. It’s a shame most of the Elminster books by Ed Greenwood are badly written…, so happy to see pug on this list ^.^ even if he wasn’t #1. Also other cultures like the Greeks also include witches like Cerise. This status as a fan favorite earned him the starring role of Dragonlance Legends, following him from his own twisted point of view.

Harry Potter? With Doctor Strange and Fantastic Beasts hitting theaters, we take a look back at the baddest witches and wizards in movie history. He is a neglected orphan of anonymous parentage who had been left at a monastery near the coastal town of Crydee. If your favorite fictional wizard is missing, don't be salty- just add it to the list so that other people can vote for for it too!
A wizard is never late, nor is he early; he arrives precisely when he means to, and in the confines of our list, we can't see Gandalf arriving at anywhere else but our number slot. Although physically extremely weak owing to a traumatic upbringing and his magical usage, Rastilin is extremely intelligent and adept with his extensive knowledge of sorcery. I won’t quarrel with you a lot about those two. The go-to source for comic book and superhero movie fans. Something about this young wizard is so intriguing. Strange, is an American scientist best known for his great discovery of distilling the invigorating atomic extract from the sun. pfff 500 million copies? I’m sorry, but how is Harry Potter even on this list? Of all the spooky beings spotlighted on Halloween, none is more truly badass than the witch.

At a young age, Bavmorda married the crown prince of Tir Asleen, only to murder her new husband and in-laws to start building her own empire above the ruble she left in her wake. Written by J.K. Rowling, the Harry Potter novels include: Harry Potter Wizard, Ronald Weasley, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and Hermione Granger. Like other entries on this list, Bavmorda from the movie Willow is a sorceress Queen who is made even deadlier thanks to her egotistical power trip.

Among all the black and white horror movies, Mario Bava’s Black Sunday remains as one of the most effective pieces of gothic horror today. The less powerful ones are under “Members of The Black Company” named Goblin and One Eye. And most importantly, we believe that the best recommendations come from people you know and trust. From classic Merlin to the modern Potter, you cant go wrong with this list. As the legendary sorcerer in the Arthurian legend, Williamson’s Merlin is emotionally complex as the leader and interpreter of all things otherworldly in John Boorman’s 1981 fantasy, Excalibur.

The Lord of the Rings set the standard for fantasy literature in many ways and it provided the classic image of a wizard whom many draw inspiration from: Gandalf. not sure if this was said yet or not but Gandalf is not actually a wizard.

A wizard is considered a universal problem solver.

He is extended an opportunity to ride alongside the princess who is saved by his spell when attacked. With an unlimited knowledge of spells and potions, as well as one of the greatest beards in movie history, this headmaster of Hogwarts has more than cemented his place in the halls of wizardry legends. Terry Brooks first introduced readers to his brooding Druid in The Sword of Shannara, which spawned a trilogy and many other subsequent novels in the World of Shannara. were predominantly women, especially women who didn’t adhere to societal convention.