History’s Wickedest Witches

When it comes to historical villains, gender doesn’t have much of an impact. In fact, the pages of history are full of women who have used their influence, power, and sway to commit heinous crimes. With that in mind, here are 20 of the most terrifying women to have ever existed.

Hans Eworth on Wikimedia

1. Mary I

Mary I of England is known for the persecution of hundreds of Protestants. The sentencing of these individuals occurred as part of Mary's attempt to reinstate Catholicism and was carried out by enforcing the heresy law. She has been directly attributed to the passing of over 300 individuals who were accused of opposing her religious initiatives. Despite never being reprimanded during her reign, much of Mary's work was undone after her own passing.

Wenceslaus Hollar on Wikimedia

2. Elizabeth Bathory

Considered one of the most prolific female villains in history, the Hungarian Countess Elizabeth Bathory went after hundreds of women from 1585 until 1610. There was significant evidence against her, but due to her family's influence, she was never actually tried. Legends tell of her bathing in a certain red substance to keep herself young.

Unknown authorUnknown author on Wikimedia

3. Amelia Dyer

Amelia Dyer was a villain in Victorian England who went after the children placed in her care. Her sinister activities deceived many as she feigned the front of a small business. Her actions shocked the general public and helped to establish harsher child protection laws.

Unknown Police photographer on Wikimedia

4. Sada Abe

Sada Abe was a Japanese woman who, in 1936, became known for going after her lover. Sada is a famous figure in Japanese history who lived an extremely scandalous life. After her six years in prison, she was released to live a peaceful life as a Buddhist nun for the rest of her life.

Unknown authorUnknown author on Wikimedia

5. Catherine de’ Medici

Queen of France during the mid-1500s, Catherine de’ Medici was politically powerful over her sons. She is thought to have been behind the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre of Huguenot leadership following a failed targeting of Gaspard II de Coligny. Thousands of Protestants were harmed, and she became known as a vengeful and scheming politician.

François Clouet on Wikimedia

6. Myra Hindley

Myra Hindley is known as one of Britain's most infamous criminals. In the 1960s, Hindley, with a partner, abducted children in what became known as the Moors case. Hindley first denied but later confessed to her crimes and spent the remainder of her life in prison.

Emiliano Bar on Unsplash

7. Leonarda Cianciulli

Leonarda Cianciulli, the “Soap Maker of Correggio,” did some of the most shocking things of any woman on this list. She went after elderly women mainly and is one of the most well-known female criminals of all time. To fully understand the depravity of her acts, it is important to understand exactly how she made her soaps and candles.

Aurélia Dubois on Unsplash

8. Darya Saltykova

Darya Saltykova was a Russian noblewoman who notoriously hurt the serfs living on her land, primarily young women. She abused her authority without consequence, warning her victims that she would go after anyone who criticized her. Her trial is one of the most famous examples of the injustice and abuse peasants faced in Russia's serf system.

Augustin Ritt on Wikimedia

9. Queen Isabella I

Queen Isabella I of Spain, in the late fifteenth century, together with King Ferdinand II of Aragon, is best known for her role in creating the Spanish Inquisition. The inquisition was a savage organization that arrested, interrogated, and executed those who were thought to be heretics. During her reign, thousands of people were harmed, and many cultural and religious traditions were ended in Spain.

Sir Gawain on Wikimedia

10. Karla Homolka

Karla Homolka is one of Canada's most notorious villains. Alongside her husband, Paul Bernardo, she went after numerous women, including her sister. She only served 12 years of her sentence due to a plea bargain to testify against her husband. Many people are outraged by the fact that she gets to walk around free nowadays after changing her name.

Ye Jinghan on Unsplash

11. Aileen Wuornos

Aileen Wuornos was one of the first female villains in America and was convicted for the passing of several men in Florida during the late '80s and '90s. Wuornos maintained that she acted in self-defense, but was sentenced nonetheless. She became a nationally-known figure and subject of the film Monster.

Florida Department of Corrections on Wikimedia

12. Rose West

Rose West and her husband Fred targeted young women during the '70s and '80s in England. They did terrible things to these women, and their house was later dubbed the "House of Horrors." Their targets even included Rose’s stepdaughter, and the two were eventually convicted and imprisoned.

robin mikalsen on Unsplash

13. Gertrude Baniszewski

Gertrude Baniszewski went after teenagers in her watch. She specifically kept and harmed a girl named Sylvia Likens in her home for an extended period, leading to Sylvia’s eventual passing. For her heinous acts, Baniszewski was given life in prison but was eventually paroled.

Unknown authorUnknown author on Wikimedia

14. Ilse Koch

Ilse Koch was a concentration camp overseer during World War II. She is infamous for her cruelty towards prisoners of the camps she managed at Buchenwald and Majdanek. She was known to have committed various war crimes, for which she was tried and convicted, spending several different periods of her life in prison.

Dean L. Dennis on Wikimedia

15. Mary Ann Cotton

Mary Ann Cotton was a 19th-century Englishwoman suspected of tampering with the food and drink of 21 individuals, including her husbands and children. It was thought to be part of an insurance scam, where she would collect on their passings. She was eventually caught after going after her stepson.

\the ledgeand on Wikimedia

16. Wu Zetian

The Chinese leader Wu Zetian was the first and only official female emperor of China, and she wielded power ruthlessly from 690 to 705. She oversaw great violence, including the fatal sentencing of political enemies and the quashing of opposition. While she is known to have expanded Chinese power and influence, her actions have also earned her a reputation as a tyrant.

Unknown authorUnknown author on Wikimedia

17. Enriqueta Martí

The "Vampire of Barcelona," Enriqueta Martí, was accused of abducting children and forcing them to work in questionable establishments. She would also use remains to create medicinal elixirs that she sold to rich clientele. Twelve victims have been identified, but many historians suspect there were more.

Unknown authorUnknown author on Wikimedia

18. Griselda Blanco

Griselda Blanco was part of the Medellín Cartel that helped distribute substances in Miami in the late 1970s. In addition to this, her work contributed to a wave of violence related to trafficking. As such, Blanco ordered hits on people and was eventually imprisoned and sentenced for her actions.

Metro Dade Police Department on Wikimedia

19. Belle Gunness

Belle Gunness was a prolific villain in Indiana who preyed on wealthy men seeking love. She attracted them to her farm where she would then rob and dispose of them. The children in her care also died suspiciously, leading many to think it was part of an insurance scam. She faked her passing and unfortunately got away with her crimes and her fortune.

Unknown authorUnknown author on Wikimedia

20. Minnie Dean

Minnie Dean was a convicted baby farmer from New Zealand who wasn’t exactly gracious to the children under her care. She was one of the first women to be given a fatal sentence in the country of New Zealand for her actions. Dean's case caused a national outcry, and her reign of terror was permanently ended in 1895.

Unknown authorUnknown author on Wikimedia