| The Grand High Witch | |
|---|---|
 Anjelica Huston as the Grand High Witch in the 1990 film | |
| First appearance | The Witches (1983) |
| Created by | Roald Dahl |
| Portrayed by | Anjelica Huston (1990 film) Anne Hathaway (2020 film) Tora Augestad (opera) Amanda Laurence (radio drama) |
| Alias | Eva Ernst (1990 film) Lilith (2020 film) |
| Species | Demon |
| Gender | Female |
| Occupation | Witch |
The Grand High Witch of All the World or just The Grand High Witch, known as Eva Ernst and Lilith, is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1983 children's dark fantasy novel The Witches by Roald Dahl, as well as the graphic novel and the two film adaptations, in which she was played by Anjelica Huston (in 1990) and Anne Hathaway (in 2020). In the narrative, it is a title given to the all-powerful leader of all the witches on Earth.
The Witches presents The Grand High Witch as a particularly powerful, evil and feared witch who hides her ancient age and hideous appearance behind an attractive disguise, in order to blend in with society, and plots to wipe out all the children in England after summoning the country's witches for the task. The boy protagonist and his grandmother (herself a retired witch-hunter who once searched the world for The Grand High Witch, but could never find her) encounter her by accident in a hotel in England, setting in motion the main plot of the novel.