CHARMED - The Book of Shadows - Season One

The Demon of Fear

fear itself 

Type:                     Demon

Powers:                i. Fear Amplification - able to bring one's worst fears to life

                                 ii. Soul Reading - to decipher one's worst fear 

                                 iii. Voice Modification - mimic the sound of anyone's voice 

Details:                Barbas the Demon of Fear comes to Earth every 1300 years at midnight on Friday the 13th, with 24hrs to kill 13 good witches. Should he succeed he will be free to roam the Earth as before. If not he will be incarcerated deep in the Underworld once more. 

Barbas had the unique ability to pass his hand over another and in doing so would read their soul, their hopes, their dreams and most importantly, their deepest fears. He could detect the true fear that often mortals wouldn't even realise was there, buried beneath the surface. 

Barbas could bring one's fear to life by casting intricate illusions so powerful and substantial that it convinced the mind that this was actually happening, and his victims regularly died from fright, their hair stark white and eyes still wide from fear. 

Worse still, a witch's powers were useless against Barbas while she was still fearful, and the only way to defeat him would be to overcome one's fear. A feat easier said than done. 

Barbas came to San Francisco and killed two witches, one by earthquake and the other by fire before he set his sights on the Halliwell witches. Piper was at Quake all day and so she safe, her greatest fear being flying (airplane). 

Prue and Phoebe weren't that lucky however. Phoebe was certain that she was safe as her fear was riding in elevators so she took the stairs when needed and pretty much remained on the ground floor all day. 

Prue however had a crippling fear of the water, of drowning just as her mother Patty had when they were children. Prue's unresolved issues with their mother's death also meant that she never said the words "I Love You" to anyone in her life, not even her sisters. This was a direct result of losing Patty, as it was the last thing she said to her mother before she died. Prue had tried to strengthen herself by never saying it again but came to learn that by not expressing her love to those who mattered most in her life she was cheating herself out of being emotionally strong and free. 

Barbas had first attacked Prue while she was in the shower, making her believe that she was trapped in the rapidly rising water within the cubicle. Luckily Prue was rescued by Andy and Darryl who had heard her screams.  When they found her she was nearly scared to death and she had a white streak in her hair, a testament to how close Barbas has come to killing her. 

From there Barbas moved on to Phoebe, tricking her into showing up at an isolated location where he bound her in ropes and placed her before the swimming pool. As it turned out her deeper, true fear was losing a sister and so he would have her watch as he drowned Prue, getting two witches for the price of one. 

Barbas then lured Prue to the location before knocking her into the pool. As Prue struggled Barbas fed off her delicious fear, intoxicated by Phoebe's as well. Prue thrashed about wildly in a panic, exhausting herself. She began to sink to the bottom of the pool and had almost given up when a shimmering white light caught her attention, right above her. 

The light grew brighter until the spirit of Patty Halliwell appeared, bathed in the bountiful radiance like an angel. She told Prue to face her fear, to fight it and to let love into her heart. Then she reached down to offer Prue a hand. Prue reached up and took it, and somehow she found the strength to swim to the surface. 

Barbas tried to kill Phoebe when Prue miraculously emerged from the pool with renewed resolve -- her fear no longer held any power over her and, therefore, neither did Barbas. Prue glared at the demon, her power free to affect him and sent him sailing across the lawn.

She assured him it was over, and he knew she was right. Defeated, Barbas cried out in frustration before disappearing in a flash of fiery light, banished back to the Underworld. 

Status:                 Defeated

Episode:             S1E13  "From Fear To Eternity"