The Onion Witch of Delhi: Folklore, Fear, and Mass Hysteria in 'An Urban Metropolis'

Abstract: Indian society has no dearth of incidents that cannot be explained, yet have had aprofound impact on its people, whose beliefs often shape into phantom menaces that defyverification and cannot be easily confronted or brought to justice. One such case was the OnionWitch panic of 2005 in Delhi. Folklore and fear gave rise to a clear situation of mass hysteria,echoing the Monkey Man panic a few years earlier that gained national attention. It was allegedthat a woman (supposedly a witch, or in some versions a group of three witches) was going doorto door and asking for an onion; if provided, she would cut the onion at the doorstep, causingblood to allegedly spurt out, after which it was believed that the household would experiencedeaths within days. This present research paper examines this occult panic as an early outbreakof mass hysteria and its severe consequences for the alleged ‘witches’, which instilled lastingfear among community members. By critically examining media sources and historicalclassifications of mass hysteria, the Onion Witch incident provides an opportunity to understandhow urban folklore and fear intersect to create social menace, even within a metropolis oftenassociated with modernity and rationality.