Witches

Witches are figures in the narrator’s nocturnal vision of the forest, where they seem to watch him and draw him away from safety. Their appearance contributes to a scene in which darkness turns the surrounding trees into an active, threatening presence, though the narrative does not establish whether the beings are objectively supernatural or part of the narrator’s terrified perception.

Appearance and Encounter

After stealing a herder’s Comet, the narrator retreats deeper into the forest and dims its bright fire with fresh leaves. Once he is far enough away, he blows on it; its light draws scores of insects from the darkness. In that rusty glow, he sees witches hanging from the trees. They stare at him and seem to be trying to lead him astray and confuse him. The encounter is embedded in a succession of uncanny sights and sounds: wandering souls, ghosts, and ghouls appear amid the bending trees, making the forest seem crowded with hostile presences.

Folkloric Context and Narrative Role

The narrator’s fear has an established folkloric context. He remembers that Olga the village witch had explained how peasants made ax cuts in tree trunks while naming and picturing a hated person, believing the wounds would bring that enemy disease and death. The narrator notices many such scars nearby and concludes that the people there have many enemies. These marks do not explain the witches’ appearance, but they place the vision within a landscape already associated with attempts to wield hidden forces against others.

The witches’ apparent effort to misdirect the narrator gives the darkness a particular danger: he is not only frightened by what he sees but also threatened with losing his way. As the trees seem to bow and invite him farther into their closing ranks, the scene leaves perception unsettled. The witches belong to the narrator’s reported experience, but the passage offers no independent confirmation of their presence.