Sarah Ravencroft

"I care not for thy whims. Cross my path and I shall destroy thee along with thy world!"

- Sarah Ravencroft.

Sarah Ravencroft is the eponymous main antagonist of Scooby Doo and the Witch's Ghost. She is a powerful evil witch imprisoned inside a spellbook, who plots to destroy the world due to being imprisoned centuries prior to the main plot. She is also the ancestress of Ben Ravencroft.

She was voiced by Tress MacNeille.

Appearance
Originally human, Sarah Ravencroft appeared as a young and beautiful woman who wore Wiccan clothing with a necklace around her neck.

But in reality, as a ghost, Sarah Ravencroft appeared as a ghostly pale, middle-aged woman, probably as the way she died. She wore a lavender gown and a red pendant.

History
Sarah's descendant Ben lied about her completely because it hid his true evil intentions well. He portrayed her as a beautiful, pleasant-looking young Wiccan, whose kind and gentle nature led her to help many people who could not afford medical treatment back in the 1600's.

In reality, within the year of 1657, Sarah Ravencroft had used her magic to terrorize and kill innocent people. Fortunately, the Wiccans (people who worked in tune with the forces of nature for healing and other benevolent purposes) were able to defeat Sarah by using her own magic against her - and imprisoned her in her own spell-book.

Centuries later, however, her descendant from the modern world, Ben Ravencroft, tricked the Mystery Inc. into helping him find her spell-book. After using it to acquire new magical powers, an insane Ben proceeded to free Sarah from her imprisonment, and believed that their combined magic would make them an unstoppable force, which would enable them to reign supreme over the world. However, ancestor and descendant quickly got into an argument, since Sarah rejected the idea of ruling the world together, and instead, wanted to destroy it: "Thou hast freed me, so now I can punish the world for my long imprisonment. I shall create an era of darkness over this land.".

She also showed how ruthless and cruel she could be, and warned Ben, her descendant, the very one who had freed her, not to cross her: "I care not for thy whims. Cross my path and I shall destroy thee along with thy world!" Horrified of what he has done, Ben angrily attempts to imprison Sarah back into the book with the appropriate spell, but she simply laughed in his face and revealed that only a true pure-hearted Wiccan can cast the spell to make it happen. She then proceeded to trap Ben in a magical sphere, and laughed as he screamed to be released.

Velma then got an idea. She freed the Hex Girls, and while Dusk and Luna tried to release Mayor Corey and Mr. McKnight, she tried to convince Thorn to read the banishing spell. Initially, Thorn refused, but then understood that she was the only one who could stop Sarah: "You still have Wiccan blood. Which means only you can read the spell that will send Sarah Ravencroft back to where she came from." Velma then sent Scooby and Shaggy to get the book. Sarah grabs Scooby's tail and Shaggy throws water at Sarah, thinking that it would make her melt like the Wicked Witch from The Wizard of Oz, but it didn't work. The gang tried to get the book many times, but Sarah kept transforming pumpkins, trees, and even a turkey into monsters to stop them.

Eventually, the gang obtained the book, each throwing it to another person when they got captured, until it reached Thorn. Ignorant of what was really going on, Sarah laughed, and stating that: "The book is useless to a mere mortal", only to be outraged when Thorn's Wiccan blood allowed her to channel the book's magic to avoid being captured by a monster tree. Sarah then flew toward Thorn: "I'll stop thee myself!" With Velma's urging, Thorn hurriedly chanted the spell, and finished it just as Sarah's fingers grabbed the book. The spell worked: it weakened Sarah, knocked her backwards with its incredible force, and even reversed all of the spells she had cast (her monsters turned back to normal, except for the turkey, which later became Oakhaven's new "big" attraction).

However, just before the book sucks Sarah back in, she grabs Ben shouting out: "I won't go back alone!" Both Sarah and Ben are then sucked into the book, screaming in terror. A burning branch fell on the book, and disintegrated it, destroying the Ravencrofts once and for all.

Personality
To better convince Mystery Inc. to help him, Ben gave the false impression that Sarah was a kindhearted woman who helped many sick people who could not afford medical treatment.

But in reality, Sarah was an evil, sadistic and destructive woman with an utter lack of compassion or humane feelings. An arrogant and sarcastic individual, she was condescending and egotistical towards others while reacting in an extremely violent and prejudicial way to being mocked. She could also be a very ruthless and cruel to those who stood in her way, even to her own family, as shown by her interaction with her own descendant Ben, who was actually the person who had freed her from her imprisonment.

She was also extremely dangerous and manipulative that she wanted to destroy the world as revenge for her imprisonment and had no interest in ruling it.

Powers and Abilities
Sarah Ravencroft was arguably the most powerful, dangerous, and terrifying witch that Mystery Inc. had ever faced, all the more so since her supernatural powers were both potent and real. Her witchcraft enabled her to perform numerous, yet terrible, and nonetheless spectacular feats:

As a ghost, she could fly, expand her body, and phase through solid matter.
 * Animating objects in any way she pleased and placing them under her control.
 * Projecting blasts of fire.
 * Encasing a victim in an unbreakable green shell of mystic energy.
 * Enlarging any animal (turkey)'s size.
 * Projecting a green fog-like darkness that devoured any physical matter in it.

Quotes
"Thank thee. Thou canst not imagine what my bondage hath been like. Who art thou?"

- Sarah to Ben after he frees her.

"Thou hast freed me, so now I can punish the world for my long imprisonment. I shall create an era of darkness over this land!"

- Sarah Ravencroft

"Thinkest thou art a Wiccan? Only a virtuous soul can imprison me."

- Sarah to Ben, after he tries to imprison her.

"Thine mockery shalt be thy last!"

- Sarah, after Shaggy and Scooby mock her.

"I believe thou hath something that is mine."

- Sarah, trying to reclaim her Spell-book.

"What. Was. That?"

- Sarah, after Shaggy throws a bucket of water on her.

"Nay, I'll stop thee myself!"

- Sarah, after her spells failed to reach Thorn and Velma.

"I WON'T GO BACK, ALONE!!"

- Sarah's last words as she drags Ben into the Spell-Book with her.

Trivia

 * In the film, Wicca is used as a synonym for "Good Witchcraft". In reality, Wicca is a neopagan religion created by a man called Gerald Gardner in the 1950s. Unlike in the film, They do not believe in the concept of black and white magic and reject the stereotypes associated with witches (e.g. riding broomsticks).
 * Given that her descendant Ben Ravencroft shares her last name, it is presumed that Sarah was the mother of a child before her death.