Grand High Witch

The Grand High Witch of All The World or just the Grand High Witch is a title given to the leader of all witches on Planet Earth, according to Roald Dahl's 1983 book The Witches. The Grand High Witch is also the main antagonist of the book and the film. Described as being "without mercy," she travels around the world summoning all the witches of whatever country she is in, giving congratulations or punishments according to the witches' success in their ultimate mission: destroying children. She teaches them such schemes as trapping children inside paintings, turning them into slugs so they can be "squished" or (it is rumoured) turning American children into hot dogs so that they will be eaten by their own parents. She is said to own a counterfeit machine that leaves her no problem in traveling wherever she likes, or helping her lesser witches financially if she feels they need some assistance in their quest to eliminate all things juvenile.

Role in the story

The Grand High Witch within this story is noted for being particularly intolerant and demanding. At a yearly meeting of her English minions in a hotel, she demands that all of England's children be exterminated by the next annual meeting. When one brave or foolish witch claims this is impossible, the Grand High Witch tauntingly versifies her minion's impertinence and uselessness and burns her to oblivion by directing lasers from her eyes; a punishment all witches fear, and one known in their community as "getting fried", which happens to one witch everytime a meeting happens.

Witch (disambiguation)

A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft.

Witch or variations thereof may also refer to:

Animals

Books and fairy tales

Film and television

Anjelica Huston

Anjelica Huston (/ˈhjuːstən/; born July 8, 1951) is an American actress, director and former fashion model. Huston became the third generation of her family to win an Academy Award, when she won Best Supporting Actress for her performance in 1985's Prizzi's Honor, joining her father, director John Huston, and grandfather, actor Walter Huston. She also received Academy Award nominations for Enemies, a Love Story (1989) and The Grifters (1990).

Huston received British Academy Award nominations for her work in the Woody Allen films Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) and Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993). Among her other roles, she starred as Morticia Addams in The Addams Family (1991) and Addams Family Values (1993), receiving Golden Globe nominations for both, and played the Grand High Witch in the children's movie The Witches (1990). She has frequently collaborated with director Wes Anderson, including The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004). She is also the author of two memoirs; A Story Lately Told and Watch Me.

Jim Henson

James Maury "Jim" Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, artist, cartoonist, inventor, screenwriter, songwriter, musician, actor, film director, and producer. Best known as the creator of the Muppets, Henson was a regular in television series and films from the mid 1950s until his death at age 53. Born in Greenville, Mississippi, and raised in Leland, Mississippi, and Hyattsville, Maryland, Henson began developing puppets while attending high school. While he was a freshman at the University of Maryland, College Park, he created Sam and Friends, a five-minute sketch-comedy puppet show that appeared on television. After graduating from the University of Maryland with a degree in home economics, he produced coffee advertisements and developed some experimental films. Feeling the need for more creative output, Henson founded Muppets Inc. in 1958 (which would later become the Jim Henson Company).

Henson garnered fame in the 1970s when he joined the children's educational television program Sesame Street, and there helped develop characters for the series. He also appeared in the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live. In 1976, after scrapping plans for a Broadway show, he produced The Muppet Show. He won fame for his creations, particularly Kermit the Frog, Rowlf the Dog, and Ernie, and he was involved with Sesame Street for over 20 years. He also had frequent roles in Muppets films such as The Muppet Movie, The Great Muppet Caper and The Muppets Take Manhattan, and created advanced puppets for projects like Fraggle Rock, The Dark Crystal, and Labyrinth. During the later years of his life, he also founded the Jim Henson Foundation, and Jim Henson's Creature Shop. His involvement in two television programs - The Storyteller and The Jim Henson Hour - led to Emmy Awards wins.

Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl (/ˈroʊ.ɑːl ˈdɑːl/;Norwegian: [ˈɾuːɑl dɑl]; 13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short story writer, poet, screenwriter, and fighter pilot. His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide.

Born in Wales to Norwegian parents, Dahl served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence officer, rising to the rank of acting wing commander. He rose to prominence in the 1940s with works for both children and adults and he became one of the world's best-selling authors. He has been referred to as "one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century". His awards for contribution to literature include the 1983 World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement, and the British Book Awards' Children's Author of the Year in 1990. In 2008, The Times placed Dahl 16th on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945".

Dahl's short stories are known for their unexpected endings and his children's books for their unsentimental, macabre, often darkly comic content, featuring villainous adult enemies of the child characters. His books champion the kind-hearted, and feature an underlying warm sentiment. Dahl's works for children include James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The Witches, Fantastic Mr Fox, The BFG, The Twits and George's Marvellous Medicine. Adult works include Tales of the Unexpected.