Wicked Witch of the West Wicked Witch of the West The Wicked Witch of the West is a fictional character created by American author L. Frank Baum as the most significant antagonist in his classic children's novel "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" (1900). In Baum's subsequent "Oz" novels, it is the Nome King who is the principal villain; the Wicked Witch of the West is rarely even referred to again after her death in the first book. The witch's most popular depiction was in the classic 1939 film based on Baum's novel, where she was portrayed by Margaret Hamilton. Hamilton's characterization introduced green skin and
Land of Oz different direction with her Oz books, introducing European elements such as the title character of "The Yellow Knight of Oz", a knight straight out of Arthurian Legend. At the time of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", the lands in the North, South, East and West of Oz are each ruled by a Witch. The Witches of the North and South are good, while the Witches of the East and West are wicked. Glinda (the Good Witch of the South) is later revealed to be the most powerful of the four, although later Oz books reveal that the Wicked Witch of