Dust Witch

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"She was blind. Yet she could see. She could hear with her skin. She could hear a tick of saliva in a throat, an eye blink, a breath raveling the air like a thread on which her balloon might hitch and pendulum forth." - Book description of the Dust Witch

The Dust Witch is the secondary antagonist in the Ray Bradbury horror/fantasy novel, Something Wicked This Way Comes, and the 1983 film of the same name. She is Mr. Dark’s second-in-command henchmen and the most dangerous and terrifying freak member of the Autumn People.

She is portrayed by Pam Grier who had played Amanda Waller in Smallville.

Biography

The Dust Witch is one of the most terrifying and mysterious characters in Something Wicked This Way Comes. She is a powerful, blind sorceress who serves Mr. Dark, the leader of the evil carnival. Her supernatural abilities allow her to sense emotions, control minds, and even stop a person’s heart with her magic.

In the book

The Dust Witch is described as an ancient, almost mummified woman with a terrifying presence. She travels in a balloon, using her heightened senses to track down those who oppose the carnival, particularly Will Halloway, Jim Nightshade, and Charles Halloway. One of her most chilling powers is the ability to sew a person's mouth shut without touching them, preventing them from speaking or resisting.

Despite her formidable powers, she is ultimately vulnerable to laughter and joy, which weaken and eventually destroy her. In a climactic moment, Charles Halloway defeats her by using laughter and positive energy, proving that fear and darkness can be overcome with light and happiness.

The Dust Witch represents the fear that preys on people's weaknesses, but she also serves as an example of how evil can be defeated through inner strength and resilience.

In the film

In the 1983 film, The Dust Witch's role changed dramtically, rather than being a blind, mummified witch, she is shown to being a beautiful sorceress who also is a tempress of men throughout the film.

When Dark’s Pandemonium Carnival arrived in the town of Greenhill, Illinois, Will Halloway and Jim Nightshade sneaked into the carnival at night to investigate, they entered a circus wagon, only for the two boys to be spooked by a spider sent by the Dust Witch. She is later seen at the carnival, first as a fortune teller giving the woman-obsessed town barber his fortune and later on the ferris wheel where she was accopanied by the cigar store owner, who later disappeared by the time the ride was over leaving his cigar behind.

The possible real face of the Dust Witch

The Dust Witch trying to tempt Mr. Halloway in the House of Mirrors

Later, that night, Will and Jim once again sneaked into Dark’s Pandemonium Carnival and peeked inside, and witness Tom Fury being tortured by Mr. Dark, who wants the secret of the upcoming storm and the Dust Witch dressed as a bride tries to seduce him, but no avail. Durring Fury's torture, the boys yell to stop, the Dust Witch glares at the boys with her (possibly real) glowing mummified face, and Will and Jim ran away from the creepy carnival and rushed back home. The Dust Witch uses her magic to track the location of the two boys’ whereabouts, summoning an army of spiders to attack Will and Jim, but thanks to the Lightning Rod, they were saved.

After Will warns his father, Charles that Mr. Dark is trying to trick him into offering his youth back in exchange to kidnap him and Jim, Mr. Dark orders the Dust Witch to seduce the boys and be off with them with Charles knocked out unconscious.

After Charles regains his consciousness, he sets off to rescue his son and Jim from Mr. Dark, and arrives at the Mirror Maze, only for the Dust Witch waiting for him. She tries to seduce him, but he immediately punches a mirror, breaking it and rescuing the two boys. Fury manages to free himself from his chair prison, and uses the Lightning Rod to impale the Dust Witch, destroying her.

Trivia

In the 1983 film, she is a beauiful temptress, however in one scene her face glows into a glowing, mummified-like face that frightens the boys. Since the book describes her as an ancient, nearly mummified figure, this moment might be an attempt to visually represent her real, decayed self, hidden beneath an illusion of beauty. It could also be a response to the boys’ interruption—her shifting face might be an instinctive reaction, revealing her true, horrifying form to intimidate them.