Barbas, the Demon of Fear

Status: Deceased (vanquished in 1999, again in 1999, 2003, & 2004)

Known Powers: Fear Sensing/Projection, Smoking, Voice Manipulation, Astral Projection, & Flaming

Appearances: S1: From Fear to Eternity; S2: Ms. Hellfire; S5: Sympathy for the Demon; S6: Crime and Witch-Demeanors, It's a Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad World Part 1, & It's a Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad World Part 2; S7: A Call to Arms

Bio: Barbas was an upper-level demon known as the Demon of Fear, owing to the fact that he would read a person's greatest fear and then use that fear against them, literally scaring the person to death. Initially, he could only come to Earth on Friday the 13th every 1,300 years, forcing him to kill thirteen unmarried witches before midnight or else he would be banished for another 1,300 years. In 1999, he'd returned to Earth on just such a Friday the 13th, only to be vanquished by the Charmed Ones before he could complete his task of killing thirteen unmarried witches. However, months later, he'd found a way to return, making a deal with mortal criminal Bane Jessup, who had in turn hired an assassin named Ms. Hellfire to help Barbas kill thirteen unmarried witches by midnight. While going after the Charmed Ones, however, Ms. Hellfire had been killed, and Prue Halliwell had assumed her identity in order to uncover who was behind the attempt on her and her sisters' lives. Barbas had then used Prue's own fears to get her to attack her sisters, but in the end, she'd snapped out of it and she, Piper, and Phoebe had managed to run out the clock, forcing Barbas to miss his deadline and sending him back to Purgatory once more. In 2003, Barbas had managed to return yet again, having picked up astral projection from another demon while in Purgatory. Using this newfound power, he'd astrally projected himself from Purgatory and tricked the Charmed Ones into stripping Cole Turner of his powers, allowing Barbas to claim them and return to Earth to become the new Source. The Charmed Ones, however, had then stripped him of those powers he'd taken and returned them to Cole, who'd proceeded to vanquish Barbas with an energy ball. About a year later, in 2004, the Charmed Ones had been put on trial by a magical Tribunal, and Barbas had gone and made a deal with the Tribunal, arguing against the Charmed Ones in exchange for his permanent return. In the end, it had been revealed that Barbas had been behind the events that had led to the trial in the first place, though since he'd managed to prove that the Charmed Ones had been irresponsible with their magic, he'd still earned the right to come back permanently while Phoebe Halliwell had been stripped of her powers. Shortly after the trial, Barbas had teamed up with Gideon, an Elder who'd feared Wyatt Halliwell would someday grow too powerful and become corrupt with his power. To that end, Gideon had sent Barbas to distract Wyatt's parents, Leo and Piper, with their fears, while Gideon himself had worked on trying to penetrate young Wyatt's forcefield so he could kill him. Ultimately, Leo had figured out Gideon and Barbas were working together, and had tracked Gideon down to the Underworld and killed him. For his part in the attempt on Wyatt's life, Leo had then hunted Barbas throughout the Underworld, and in order to throw Leo off of his tail, Barbas had used Leo's own fear and paranoia against him, tricking him into attacking another Elder, Zola. Barbas was then himself tricked by the Avatars into going after baby Chris, earning the ire of the Charmed Ones. Phoebe and Paige Matthews had then vanquished Barbas for good, having overcome their fears in order to protect their nephew.

Played By: Billy Drago

Per the Halliwells' Book of Shadows:

The Demon of Fear, also known as Barbas, appears on earth once every 1300 years on a Friday the 13th for twenty four hours. His appearance is attributed to the universal convergence of negative energies as derived from astrological charts. He derives his life force by feeding off the fears of witches. If he can kill 13 unmarried female witches before the stroke of midnight on the 13th he will be able to break free from his eternal bonds and walk the earth for eternity. A witch's only defense is to identify and then release her greatest fears. Do not rely on your wicca powers for defence, for in the face of your greatest fear, those powers are paralyzed.
To let go of your fear, trust in the greatest of all powers.

Barbas, Demon of Hope S6: It's a Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad World, Part 1