10 Top TV Witches

Zombies and vampires may be in vogue, but never forget the fairer sex. Witches have a long and glorious (or inglorious as the case may be) history on our TV sets. Here are some of the top witches to ever grace the small screen.

Adalind is a hexenbiest, a mystical creature from the world of Grimm. She is a deliciously nasty piece of work who uses her skills with potions and alchemy to cause the shows protagonists – particularly Nick Burkhardt – a lot of grief. One of Adalind's potions even causes Nick's finacee, Juliette, to fall in love with another man.

During the series, Adalind temporarily loses her powers and stops being a hexenbiest. The exceptionally determined – and pregnant – Adalind goes through a Herculean amount of labors to get her powers back.

Angelique was both the love interest and antagonist of Barnaus Collins, the vampire whom which the dark shadows surrounded. In the 18^th century, after using witchcraft to ruin Barnabus' engagement, the pair married. When Barnabus discovered what Angelique had done he attempted to murder her and she cast a curse that turned him into a vampire.

Angelique Collins again used her powers to enter Barnabus Collins' life when she appeared through the aegis of a magical painting she had created. More than just a paint-by-numbers, this painting allowed Angelique to enter the world again and wreak havoc in Barnabus' life.

Angelique had many powers. She could control the elements, speak with the dead, control people, and otherwise cause mental mayhem. But otherwise she was a lovely lady.

A deft hand with a spell, Bonnie comes from a long line of witches. She learns how to be a witch from her grandmother. The best friend of the series' protagonist, Elena, Bonnie uses her powers repeatedly to protect Elena and other residents of Mystic Falls.

Much of Bonnie's powers are based in nature. She can draw on natural forces to cast spells. Using these powers can be debilitating, causing Bonnie great pain and physical damage at times. Bonnie has also used spirit-based powers, moving souls and even resurrecting her boyfriend.

Bonnie Bennett is a no-nonsense girl. She has proven over and over that she's willing to do whatever it takes – even sacrifice herself – to protect others. She is one good witch to have in your back pocket if things start looking dicey.

There are a plethora of witches on Bewitched, but these two are the most prominent. Endora is the constantly meddling mother to determined mortal-marrying Samantha. The witches on the show had an immense amount of power. Many of them – like Endora and Samantha – could make themselves or just about anything else appear with just a wave of their hands or a wiggle of their ears.

Although Samantha used her powers with the cutest nose twitch in TV history, she continually tried to keep her life more human. Endora was not on board with this plan, though, constantly bringing magic back into her daughter's life. But, of course, there's nothing so magical as a mother's love.

Fiona is Supreme Witch of the Salem Descendents and she chews enough scenery to deserve such a high falutin' title. Fiona obsesses over the youth and beauty which she is losing and is on the hunt for immortality.

As a witch, Fiona has murdered more than one person who got in her way or simply proved useless. Fiona also has the power to erase people's memories. She displays some pretty impressive telekenetic powers and has a way with a spell. Fiona asks who the baddest witch in town is – and you don't need a crystal ball to know the answer to that.

In the dark and deadly world of Game of Thrones, Melisandre holds the strength of the Lord of Light. She is the power behind one of the show's kings, Stannis Baratheon. Without her, Stannis would have little chance against the other would be kings. Melisandre is ruthless in her religious zeal, purifying her enemies by having them strung up and burned alive.

Melisandre gains many powers from the Lord of Light. She can manipulate flames and has the gift of prophecy. We also see her magically give birth to a shadowy creature that murders her enemies for her. Melisandre may be a Red Priestess of the Lord of Light, but hers is a light that burns.

Alright, so the Halliwell sisters brings our list of witches officially up to 13, but I couldn't leave any of the girls out. The CW series Charmed focused on the the three witchy sisters. As part of their heritage the ladies pledged to protect the innocent.

Each sister could cast spells, but they each had a specialty as well. Prue used telekinesis, Phoebe had mystic visions of the past and future, and Phoebe could freeze time. Prue died and a fourth sister, Paige, was found, but over nine seasons these witches cast a spell on us straight out of the Book of Shadows.

Regina Mills is actually the Evil Queen of fairy tale infamy. Although we learn to love parts of her, Regina has done some very bad things. She is the reason why the fairy tale people, from Red Riding Hood to Rumpleslitlskin, find themselves bewitched in the town of Storybrooke and not snug in their own little tales.

As the Evil Queen, Regina casts many a spell on the denizens of the fairy tale world, even sacrificing her father along the way. And don't forget about the apple! The Evil Queen loves her apples. And as the mayor of Storybrooke, Regina uses her way with curses to deadly effect.

This character originally made her debuted in the Archie comic books. Sabrina really hit her stride, though when she was played by Melissa Joan Hart in the 1996 TV series. In the show Sabrina discovers she is a witch when she turns 16 and her two aunts, Hilda and Zelda, reveal the secret. Hilda and Zelda are pretty rocking witches in their own right! Sabrina also receives help from her cat, Salem. The furry black critter is actually another witch, punished for committing acts of evil and forced to embody a feline.

Sabrina dives right into her powers once she learns that she's a witch. As she discovers her powers Sabrina sometimes has to travel to the Other Realm, a different dimension than ours. But Sabrina holds a place in my heart for her struggles to maintain a normal teenage existence while simultaneously going through her witchly growing pains.

Willow Rosenberg is Buffy, the titular vampire slayer's best friend and confidente. She is a very earnest and guiless young lady. Willow learns about her powers early in the series. In order to use and increase her powers, Willow has to study hard – which is something she excels at.

Willow grows in her power and her confidence as she helps Buffy and the rest of the Scooby Gang defeat vampires and demons alike. Willow actually becomes so powerful that when she is grief-stricken by the death of her love, Tara, she temporarily becomes a tremendously dangerous and destructive creature her friends have to defeat. She goes back to being a good witch, but Willow holds onto her more prodigious powers.

Whether they live in fairy tales, a far off land, or suburbia the 13 witches in our coven fascinate with their powers and personality.