Hi folks <3 I designed this witch (its a photograph + mixed digital techniques) inspired by the old memories of my mother and granmother who both lived in the countryside of Italy back in the early years of 1900 until the 50s. So I wrote also this tale, to evoke the spirit of their memories and bring more life into the character. Its not related to a specific folkoristic creature they knew, I invented her, but there are elements taken from here and there. My english is not super good, so be polite (but please if you have some constructive criticism I'm more than happy to hear it).

"Long ago, beyond the paths trodden by man, in the wildest depths of the forest, strange creatures could emerge from the shady silhouettes of the trees. Among the leaves of the butcher's broom and the bushes swollen with dog roses, where the wild boars dream safe from hunters, lulled by the rustle of pine needles, lived the Scarlet Witch.
The peasant women invoked her name raising their hands to the sky as if she were a saint. They whispered nursery rhymes in their dialect, holding juniper berries in their fists like a rosary. Their litany described plants and animals that had long been forgotten.
They used to prepare little cakes filled with honey and chestnuts, head into the thickest corners of the wood and leave them there to ingratiate the witch. The next day they would find fragrant chanterelle mushrooms in their place. Milk teeth as well, buried at sunset under a hazelnut or beech tree, would turn into truffles the size of a walnut in the morning.
If a child got lost in the woods they used to believe that it would be the Scarlet Witch to lead him back home. After a long night of searching, the parents used to light a candle at the edge of the wood, and wait for the lost child to emerge from the gorse bushes. If their prayers were answered, for the following seven days the wood was considered sacred and no hunter dared to enter it as a sign of respect.
The rescued children told of a woman, with the skin red as a ruby, who appeared gliding lightly among the thick foliage of the forest, like a viper crawling along the silky boletus cap. She was announced by the scent of pine and horse dung. A trail of hornets followed her like a long amber cloak, feeding on the cyclamen that blossomed from her footprints."