Witch of the Waste

The Witch of the Waste (Old Granny Witch in the picture book) was the secondary antagonist in the Studio Ghibli film Howl's Moving Castle. But her antagonistic role was replaced by Suliman later on as the supporting character.

Early life
Decades before the beginning of the novel, the Witch caught a falling star which became her fire demon. Because of this, the Witch became evil. The relationship between her and her fire demon was parasitic, as the demon was draining her magic. Fifty years before the events of Howl's Moving Castle, the current King's father banished the Witch to the Waste, and the Witch bore the current King a grudge for that.

A year before the events in the novel, the wizard Howl pursued her, and later jilted her. Out of fury and the need of his head for her human puppet, the Witch cursed him so that he would be forced to return to the Waste.

Howl's Moving Castle (film)
She is a talented witch who was so beautiful that Howl pursued her, but after finding out that she used magic to keep herself looking young and beautiful, he left her. She is still in love with Howl, however, and uses her magical powers and henchmen to try and capture him after seeing him with Sophie. That is why she arrives at night to Sophie's hat shop, and insults her before turning her into a 90-year-old woman. As Sophie leaves her hometown in order to break the curse on her, she reaches Howl's castle. Through Sophie's pocket, the Witch uses ancient sorcery to put a powerful spell on Howl in the form of a note. The scorch marks read:

'You who swallowed a falling star, oh heartless man, your heart shall soon belong to me.'

She travels aboard a palanquin, carried by her magical henchmen. She does this not just for her incredible girth, but for her aversion to sunlight, as even within her palanquin are dark curtains. Initially the antagonist, the Witch becomes somewhat of a protagonist after Madame Suliman lures her to the castle to drain her of her magical powers. When forced to climbed the stairway to Suliman's palace, the sunlight slowly exposes her actual appearance and age. She further regresses when she is taken into a room with several large incandescent light bulbs.

She starts living in the castle alongside Heen, and when Sophie;s mother brings a parcel with a peeping bug she quickly discards it. When she realizes Calcifer has Howl’s heart, she tries to take it for herself only to be burned by Calcifer’s flame, prompting Sophie to attempt to douse her.

Howl's Moving Castle (Novel)
The Witch of the Waste is far more terrifying in the novel as she serves as the antagonist. In her first appearance in the novel, she curses Sophie by turning her into an old woman (she mistakes her for Lettie). Howl has spent the past year hiding from the Witch while trying to find Prince Justin and Wizard Suliman. Near the end of the novel, Howl kills the Witch when arriving at the Waste to rescue Sophie.

Abilities
The Witch of the Waste was a very powerful and feared witch with a vast arsenal of magical abilities. She used to be a good witch until she made a pact with a fire demon. The relationship between her and the demon became parasitic and began to drain her and her magic. Even though the demon had drained her magic for many years, she was still capable of casting curses, but was not able to reverse them. She cursed Sophie because of her jealousy towards Howl's interest in Sophie to a 90-year-old hag, she is capable of some form of telekinesis, as seen when she opened the locked door to Sophie's hat store. Due to that, Madame Suliman lured her in order to drain her magical powers and restoring the witch into her actual appearance. She is currently powerless.

Voice Actor
The Witch of the Waste is voiced by Akihiro Miwa in the Japanese version and by Lauren Bacall in the English-dubbed version.

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Hexe aus dem Niemandsland ハウルの動く城 荒野女巫