Britain's Forgotten Horror: The Cannibalistic Witch of Leicester

Deep beneath the polite surface of English history lurks Britain’s forgotten horror: the cannibalistic witch of Leicester. This chilling tale of Black Annis – the so‑called cannibal witch of Leicester – is far darker, and far more human, than the legend you think you know.

In this episode, we trace how a solitary medieval woman, possibly the anchoress Agnes Scott, was transformed over centuries into a monstrous child‑eater haunting the Dane Hills. You’ll learn how Leicester’s sandstone caves, a real place called Black Annis’s Bower, became the stage for stories of flayed skin, iron claws, and children dragged screaming from their homes. We’ll explore why early Christian piety, pagan goddess fragments, and post‑Reformation propaganda fused into one of Britain’s most disturbing pieces of folklore – and what that says about the fears of the people who invented her.

Contact: DeamonHunter7@gmail.com
© Nightfall History Tales 2026
Production Credits:
Visuals: Envato Elements
Voiceover: Eleven Labs (AI)
Editing Software: Sony Vegas Pro 17
Historical Research: This video is based on historical research including the 1764 title deed recording "Black Anny's Bower Close," documented accounts of Leicester's Easter Monday Drag Hunt ritual, Thomas Cook's 1842 observations of the cave site, archaeological records of the Dane Hills cave measurements, historical research into medieval anchoresses and leper colonies in Leicestershire including theories about Agnes Scott, and local folklore archives documenting the Black Annis legend from the medieval period through the cave's destruction in the 1920s.

#britishfolklore #witches #darkhistory #leicester