Black Annis is a fearsome hag and bogeyman figure in English folklore, primarily associated with the Dane Hills of Leicestershire. She is a nocturnal, cannibalistic witch used for centuries to frighten children into good behaviour.
Description and Legend
Black Annis (also known as Black Anna or Cat Anna) is typically depicted as a hideous, blue-faced crone with a single eye, long yellow fangs, and iron claws she used to dig her cave, known as Black Annis's Bower, out of the sandstone cliffs.
According to the legend:
- She would wait in a large, pollarded oak tree at the entrance of her cave to pounce on unsuspecting children and lambs.
- Victims were taken back to her bower, where she would drink their blood, eat their flesh, and tan their skins.
- She wore a gruesome skirt or cloak made from the skins of her human prey.
- Her howling could be heard for miles, giving local villagers time to bolt their doors. Cottages in the area were said to have purposely small windows to prevent her long, spindly arms from reaching inside.
- Daylight was believed to turn her to stone, so she only hunted at night.
- A tunnel was rumored to connect her cave to Leicester Castle, where she would also lurk.
Origins and Interpretations
The origins of the Black Annis legend are unclear, with several theories proposed:
- Historical Figure: A common theory suggests the legend derived from a real person, an anchoress (religious recluse) or Dominican nun named Agnes Scott, who lived in a cave in the Dane Hills during the 15th century and cared for the sick or a leper colony. Her memory may have been deliberately distorted into a monstrous figure during the Protestant Reformation due to anti-anchorite sentiment.
- Pagan Goddess: Others suggest Black Annis is a folk memory or a local version of an ancient Celtic or Gaelic mother goddess, such as Anu or Danu, whose benevolent or protective aspects were later twisted into a sinister "hag" figure with the rise of Christianity. She might represent the "crone" aspect of a triple goddess or a winter spirit.
- Bogeyman: The tale served a practical purpose as a bogeyman story, a cautionary tale used by parents to scare children into behaving and staying away from dangerous woods and wild areas after dark.
Cultural Traditions
A local custom, which persisted until the late 18th century, involved an annual "mock cat hunt" on Easter Monday (sometimes called Black Monday). A dead cat, rubbed with aniseed (potentially the source of "Cat Annis"), was dragged from the site of her bower to the mayor's door. The cave itself was filled in by locals in the 19th century in an attempt to rid the area of the haunting legend.