Ykhjuy

Before Christianization the Celts of England had a pagan religion. Was there any figure in that religion which was considered to be evil?

Keep in mind that we're reaching deep behind the shrouds of history. Little is known for certain of religious practices this far back; thus, a great deal of speculation and reconstruction is necessary on this topic.

One possibility is Annis. Also known as Anu or Danu, or Dana. She was a Celtic deity that some writers contend was a malevolent mother goddess who devoured children, or to whom children were once sacrificed. The only recorded instance of this goddess which survives is found in Ireland; however, some have identified the "Gentle Annie" (so named not because she is gentle, but rather to avoid offence) or Annis found in Britain to be the same deity.

["Gentle Annie"] may be the same old deity as Black Annis of Leicestershire and Anu of Ireland, whose name lingers in the place name, the Paps of Anu, a mountain group in County Kerry.

_{Mackenzie, Donald Alexander. Wonder Tales from Scottish Myth & Legend. Forgotten Books, 1924.}

Toponyms suggests support for this interpertation: the Dane Hills to the west of Leicestershire in England is argued to have been named after Danu. In fact, a figure known as Black Annis survives to this day in English folklore, as an old hag who eats children - she is said to live in a cave in Dane Hills.

On Easter Monday it was the custom from early times to hold a drag hunt from Annis' Bower to the Mayor of Leicester's house. The bait dragged was a dead cat drenched in aniseed. Black Annis and Gentle Annie are supposed to derive from Anu, or Dana, a Celtic mother goddess.

_{Briggs, Katharine Mary, and Katharine Briggs. An Encyclopedia of Fairies: Hobgoblins, Brownies, Bogies, and Other Supernatural Creatures. New York, NY: Pantheon Books, 1976.}

Thus, it has been suggested that Black Annis emerged from the popular memory of sacrifices to the ancient, prehistoric malevolent deity.

The Celtic mother-goddess - represented among others by Anu or Danu, the Morrighan, and the quasi-historical Medhbh - was goddess both of sexuality and of war. Her terrifying aspect seems to have led to her becoming in later lore a hag - for example the Blue Hag of the Highlands, the Cailleach Bheur, whom Black Annis with her livid face resembles. That such Celtic mother-goddesses were once worshipped in this area is attested by what seems to be a carving of a fertility y goddess standing just outside Braunston Church.

_{Westwood, Jennifer. Albion: a guide to legendary Britain. Paladin, 1985.}

Another possible example is Adder, which may received an evil reputation due to being the only poisonous snake in Britain. According to the The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore, the Adder:

. . . was given special mythological consideration as the island's only poisonous native snake. It was said to be a wise creature but very wily. In the Scottish Highlands the adder was associated with the weather-controlling hag, the Cailleach.

The Encyclopedia of Ancient Deities more bluntly states:

Adder (British Isles, Christians, Druids)

Evil serpent deity. The sly and crafty adder is thought by some to be an aspect of Eris, the goddess of strife . . . An adder is said to have caused the battle of Camlan (between Arthur and Mordred) and is also said to be the source of power of the ancient goddess Cailleach Bheur.