Mythic Monday: Black Annis Will Get You

In days not so long ago, English parents frightened their children into good behavior by the threat of “Black Annis will get you.” The custom is equivalent to the threat in America that “the bogeyman will get you.” In older, darker times, Black Annis instilled terror into the hearts of country folk, particularly around her home base in Leicestershire, England. A powerful night hag in English folklore, her appearance was that of a wizened crone with long claws, sharp teeth, and a hideous blue face. She was sometimes described as having red glowing eyes, and at other times said to be one-eyed. Her dietary habits were quite gruesome. Partial to human flesh, she delighted in devouring children, first sucking out their blood, then gnawing on their flesh and hanging the flayed skin on oak branches to dry so that she could sew her skirts out of it. People tied witch herbs such as mistletoe above their doors and windows to ward off evil and, in particular, to prevent Black Annis from reaching inside with her long arms and grabbing their babies. Legend has it that even thinking about Black Annis could bring the onslaught of madness, and from the horror of her circumstances, I can certainly see why. She gives witches a bad name.

18th century Leicestershire lawyer and poet, John Heyrick Jr., descended from the famous poet Robert Herrick, described her this way: “Vast talons, foul with human flesh, there grew In place of hands, and features livid blue Glar’d in her visage; while the obscene waist Warm skins of human victims close embraced.”

During the expansion of her legend, she was affiliated with a hermit named Agnes who garnered fame upon foretelling the manner of death of King Richard III.

Black Annis haunted the countryside in Leicestershire, and her abode was that of a cave near the Dane Hills that she gouged out of rock using only her long, sharp claws. The cave was called Black Annis’ Bower, and people shuddered at the groans and wails emitted from within. Outside the cave grew an ancient oak upon whose branches she crouched in order to swoop down on unwary travelers. A 19th century witness described the cave as 5 feet wide by 8 feet long. A tunnel was rumored to connect it to Leicester Castle, providing the witch with cover and the freedom to roam its length. By the late 19th century, Black Annis’ cave had begun to fill up with dirt, and after WWI, a housing development was built over it.

Nearby are the remains of a standing stone called the Humber Stone, Holy Stone, or Hell Stone where fairies were purported to live and which was noted for its groans and wails. It’s interesting that holy and hell are derived from the same root word. Folklore tells of a nunnery on the same spot and an underground tunnel from it to Leicester Abbey. The tunnel and the groaning wails resemble to the story of Black Annis and her cave.

Other names for Black Annis include Black Agnes, Black Anna, Black Anny, and Cat Anna. The latter moniker came about because of the witch’s ability to transform into a huge and fearsome black cat, also known as a Sidhe Cat or Fairy Cat. Documents from the 18th century describe the folk custom of dragging the body of a dead cat soaked in aniseed from Black Annis’ Bower around the countryside and into the town of Leicester. This ritual occurred on Easter Monday, known as Black Monday.

Black Annis is considered to be derived from a pagan goddess, her reputation demonized with the emergence of Christianity. The name of Black Annis is often mentioned in relation to the great Celtic goddess Anu or Danu, and her counterpart is Gentle Annis or the wise crone Cailleach Beare. It is typical for the attributes of a powerful pagan goddess to be split into separate entities, one evil and demonic and the other nurturing and gentle. Another way to look at it is from the view of the Wheel of the Year, where sparse, bitter winter gives way to the soft breezes of spring and summer.

Black Annis’ name comes from from Agnes, which means sacred, and scholars show a correlation with St. Agnes, the patron saint of chastity, virgins, girls, engaged couples, and rape victims, as well as the Danish goddess Yngona. Remember Black Annis’ cave stood in the Dane Hills. Yngona’s feast day was January 21st. As a crone goddess, her role was to destroy old, outworn forms. The scholar Robert Graves also associates Yngona with the Sumerian underworld goddess Inanna– note the similarity of names. Yngona later morphed into St. Agnes, with the Church replacing her sacred day with St. Agnes Day. Black Annis has the distinction of fulfilling the malevolent, chthonic aspect of this triad of powerful females.