The Witches Audiobook By Roald Dahl cover art

The Witches

Preview

Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Witches

By: Roald Dahl
Narrated by: Miranda Richardson
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $12.60

Buy for $12.60

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

Soon to be a major motion picture starring Anne Hathaway, Octavia Spencer, Stanley Tucci, and Chris Rock!

This is not a fairy tale. This is about real witches.

Grandmamma loves to tell about witches. Real witches are the most dangerous of all living creatures on Earth. There's nothing they hate so much as children, and they work all kinds of terrifying spells to get rid of them. Her grandson listens closely to Grandmamma's stories - but nothing can prepare him for the day he comes face-to-face with The Grand High Witch herself!

©2007 Roald Dahl (P)2007 Penguin Audio
Action & Adventure Classics Family Life Fantasy Fiction Growing Up Growing Up & Facts of Life Humorous Fiction Multigenerational Family Comedy Magic Users Funny Witchcraft
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

"Dahl's stories work better in audio than in print.... The best of the lot, I think, is Miranda Richardson's The Witches. In her voice, the main witch, a kind of demented Lady Hitler with a hoarse Teutonic caw, rolls her rrr's like a machine gun. She gives a musical delivery that can turn the word 'cheese' into a five-syllable delicacy spilled in a descending glissando of notes. My middle-school children could hardly understand this character, partly because whenever she started speaking they screamed with laughter.... Richardson's élan and glee at The Witches, well, bewitched me." (Gregory Maguire, The New York Times Book Review)

“Roald Dahl sometimes shared a tonal kinship with Ogden Nash, and he could demonstrate a verbal inventiveness nearly Seussian...[His] stories work better in audio than in print.” (The New York Times)

What listeners say about The Witches

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,146
  • 4 Stars
    237
  • 3 Stars
    70
  • 2 Stars
    29
  • 1 Stars
    37
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    937
  • 4 Stars
    159
  • 3 Stars
    79
  • 2 Stars
    35
  • 1 Stars
    46
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,010
  • 4 Stars
    174
  • 3 Stars
    37
  • 2 Stars
    12
  • 1 Stars
    9

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

poor character voice

How could the performance have been better?

The voice performed for the Grand High Witch is almost impossible to understand. It's too much. My kids and I were all confused as we listened on our commutes to school. Other than that, it was great.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

THE WITCHES

LOVE THIS BOOK!!! I already read some of the other roald dahl books like Matilda, The Witches, And The BFG (the big friendly giant) and loved them all.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

my kid loves it

I'm not as big a fan of this one as Matilda, but my kid loves it. Thumbs up.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Pretty good

Miranda Richardson's narration of this classic tale is mostly very good. Unfortunately, the sound effects mainly detract, and her representation of The Grand High Witch is painful; she yells and shrieks, and it is often difficult to even understand what she's saying.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Wow

Very imaginative, though a little frightening for some younger listeners (good for 7 and above).

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good but the voice

Great story but the voice of the Grand High Witch was so pitchy and loud it made me want to smash my iPad in spite of the screechy voice I loved this book and highly recommended it to people five and up

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The Grand High Witch's Voice Ruined It

UPDATE 10/22 Before getting the book, I checked out other reviews and saw some negative ones about the Grand High Witch's voice. After hearing the really nice sample that included sound effects, voice-changes, etc, I thought such a reviewer could just be overally sensitive. Boy, was I wrong... or was I??????

The book was rather pleasing and well done up until Chapter 7 where we hear the Grand High Witch. Then the chapterk took a tumble and it's a large one for me. I almost didn't want to listen to the rest of the audibook. That particular chapter was so bad that I could only grasp 30-40 percent of what the Grand High Witch was saying, My daughter, who this audiobook was for, could probably only pick out 5-10 percent....maybe.

After that terrible chapter, I was worried about how the rest of the book would be and I am happy to report that... IT GETS GOOD AGAIN! We could finish the rest of the book without a whiny witch and I have to say, I did like the job of the reader other than that hard-to-listen to chapter.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The Witches Road Trip Listen

This is a new story to me and I enjoyed it quite a bit. The narration was very enthusiastic and I enjoyed it for the most part with the exception of one part in the middle when she voiced the head witch. It became very loud, harsh and difficult to understand. I actually had to turn it off and listen to it in bits. After that section passed I once again enjoyed the book very much.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing!

The narration of this book was stunning. My 9yr old son LOVED it. If you are looking for a great audio book, this it it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great but too scary for most young kids

Ghastly, toe-curling, suspenseful fun; Ronald Dahl at his devilish finest. But - I won’t let my sensitive children listen to this one until they are at least 10 (we’ll stick with James and the Giant Peach, The BFG, etc). Such fun though, great for getting into a Halloween mood!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!