Witch of the Waste

The Witch of the Waste is the former secondary antagonist of Howl's Moving Castle.

Early Life
Decades before the beginning of the novel, the Witch caught a falling star which became her fire demon. Because of this, the Witch became evil. The relationship between her and her fire demon was parasitic, as the demon was draining her and her magic. Fifty years before the events of Howl's Moving Castle, the current King's father banished the Witch to the Waste, and the Witch bore the current King a grudge for that.

A year before the events in the novel, Wizard Howl pursued her, and later jilted her. Out of fury and the need of his head for her human puppet, the Witch cursed him so that he would be forced to return to the Waste.

Howl's Moving Castle (Movie)
She is a talented witch who was so beautiful that Howl pursued her, but after finding out that she used magic to keep herself looking young and beautiful, he left her. She is still in love with Howl however, and uses her magical powers and henchmen to try and capture him after seeing him with Sophie. That is why she arrives at night to Sophie's hat shop, and insults her before turning her into a 90 year-old woman. As Sophie leaves her hometown in order to break the curse on her, she reaches Howl's castle. Through Sophie's pocket, the Witch uses ancient sorcery to put a powerful spell on Howl in the form of a note. The scorch marks read:

'You who swallowed a falling star, oh heartless man, your heart shall soon belong to me.'

Initially the antagonist, the Witch becomes somewhat of a protagonist after Madame Suliman lures her to the castle to drain her of her magical powers, restoring the Witch to her actual appearance and age, and replacing her as the antagonist in the movie. She is voiced by Lauren Bacall in the English dubbed version.

Howl's Moving Castle (Novel)
The Witch of the Waste is far more terrifying in the novel as she serves as the antagonist. In her first appearance in the novel, she curses Sophie by turning her into an old woman (she mistakes her for Lettie). Howl has spent the past year hiding from the Witch while trying to find Prince Justin and Wizard Suliman. Near the end of the novel, Howl kills the Witch when arriving at the Waste to rescue Sophie.

Abilities
The Witch of the Waste was a very powerful and feared witch with a vast arsenal of magical abilities. She was formerly a good witch, just until she made a pact with a fire demon. The relationship between her and the demon became parasitic, eventually draining her and her magic. Even though the demon had been doing so for many years she was still capable of casting curses. The catch was that she just couldn't reverse any curses placed.

She cursed Sophie out of jealousy towards Howl's interest in her. She turned Sophie into a 90 year old woman and is capable of some form of telekinesis, as seen when she opened the locked door to Sophie's hat store. Due to the progression backwards in her moral compass, Madame Suliman lured the Witch of the Waste to drain her magical powers. Doing so returned the witch to her true appearance and rendered her powerless.