Annis Hag
Annis hags lair in mountains or hills. These hunchbacked and hump-shouldered hags are the largest and most physically imposing of their kind, standing eight feet tall. They can easily tear a fully grown person apart, but they love hunting the young, preferring their flesh above all others.
Annis hags leave tokens of their cruelty at the edges of forests and other areas they claim to provoke fear and distrust in nearby villages and settlements. To an annis hag, nothing is sweeter than making a once-vibrant community paralyzed with terror, so folk never venture out at night, strangers are met with suspicion and anger, and parents warn their children: “Be good, or the annis will get you.”
When an annis feels especially cruel, the hag adopts the appearance of a kindly elder, approaches a child in a remote place, and gives them an iron token, through which the child can magically confide in the hag. Over time, “Granny” or “Grampy” convinces the child that it’s okay to do bad deeds—starting with breaking things or wandering without permission, then graduating to pushing someone down the stairs or setting a house on fire. Eventually, the child’s terrified family and community face painful decisions of what to do about the seemingly remorseless child.
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