 |
|
| Donna Gilchrist | |
|---|---|
| Biographical information | |
| Born |
1614 |
| Died |
1692 (as a human) |
| Physical description | |
| Species | |
| Gender |
Female |
| Hair colour |
Black |
| Television Portrayal | |
| First appearance | It's a Shame About Ray |
| Last appearance | Gallows Humor |
| Actor | Amy Aquino |
| . | |
Donna Gilchrist is a witch who runs a soup kitchen. Her supernatural expertise is sought out by Josh and Nora to help rescue Sally Malik from Limbo.
History[]
Early Life[]
Donna has been alive since the late 17th century, and specifies that she lived in Andover at the time, rather than the more well-known Salem. Though she was falsely accused of being a witch at the time of her execution, she was later revived by true witches and made into one of them. Because of this, she explains to Sally that she was forever indebted to them. Donna has extended her lifespan by several centuries by consuming the souls of ghosts as payment for binding supernatural contracts.
Donna's true form
Season 3[]
After charging Josh and Nora $2,000 and the heart of a person one of them has killed, she has them bring her Sally's body, as she is not simply bringing Sally back from Limbo but bringing her back to life. The incantation is successful, but she uses the spell to also locate the body whose heart she used: Ray. Donna appears once more when Trent walks through what appears to be his door, only to slice through Trent's spirit with a cleaver, reducing him to a pile of sawdust. She then eats some of the dust from the pile, and her face becomes younger. After Sally accidentally bumps into Robbie, she goes to Donna to beg for her to spare her brother's life. After declining the pleas, and after holding Josh and Sally away with her witchcraft, Donna reveals there is a way to save Robbie, and anyone else Sally might see, and that is for Sally to hand her soul over to Donna once she dies her natural death. Sally reluctantly agrees, while Josh realizes that Donna anticipated this exact chain of events. When Sally asks her what will become of her soul, Donna dismisses the question by saying it belongs to her now and she has no right to ask. After Nick and Stevie die as a result of their falling too deep into the hunger for human flesh, they both enter the same spiritual Door with a gilded clam on the outside. With Ilana's help, Sally realizes that the door leads to Donna rather than the afterlife, and when she finally dies her spirit will also pass through the door and straight to Donna. Sally, Josh, and Aidan pass through the door, discovering Donna has brought Ray back to life to be her guard dog, and Aidan and Sally confront Donna. Aidan realizes that Donna must have already eaten Nick's and Stevie's souls for sustenance, and when she goes to attack Sally to do the same, the incantation Ilana taught her begins to cause Donna to age rapidly. Although they believe it is weakening her, Donna reveals that it is only a "true face" spell, showing what she truly looks like after having been alive since at least the 17th centuries, admitting that the Salem witch trials were "depressing". Donna says that she had originally planned to have some other use for Sally's soul, but Sally's insistence to know that plan and her resistance to death has made her change her mind, and she only plans on devouring her soul to regain her youth. Everything would have gone according to plan for her, as she knew that all who are brought back from the dead eventually feel the need to see their loved ones, and their souls would have gone her way, but once Sally demanded that her brother be saved, the deal changed and that would cause herself, Stevie, and Nick, to begin decomposing and becoming flesh-eating zombies. Just as Donna prepares to devour Sally's soul, Aidan reveals he has brought Sally's heart with him and throws it into a fire, intending to reverse the spell binding Sally to Donna. As flames begin to engulf Donna, she performs another incantation to send the flames to Sally, who realizes the futility of the situation and allows Donna to devour her soul. She is turned into sawdust and Donna breathes it in, regaining her youthful complexion, but she soon begins to radiate light and in a scream of pain explodes, sending Josh, Aidan, and Sally's spirit back to the house, seemingly defeating Donna for good. However, Sally later sees a set of candles Emily has blown out burn brightly again, and violently, before dying down, suggesting Donna is not yet out of their lives.
Donna reappears as a ghost at the end of the season 3 finale where she tells Sally about "death spots", the exact area where a ghost died as a human. Donna uses the cracks on the tiles as a portal to pull Sally through.
Season 4[]
Having dragged both her and Sally through the latter's death spot, Donna continuely asks Sally where she put the magazine, later revealing they were in a day spa. While Sally ignores her initially, she later warms up to her, saying that she enjoyed being at the spa with Donna and that they were having fun. Donna then says that she was fine with "here" before but the spa wasn't too bad and that Sally did a good job making it, though she didn't make it very good.
Once Sally remembered what happened and how Donna brought them there, Donna explains that she did so because destroying her death spot makes sure that Sally stays gone permanently, and that she did it to save the world as Sally being revived so many times opens too many holes in the universe, Donna revealing that they are in a temporary "holding cell" and it is a form of Purgatory. However, Sally is able to learn that, since she was brought down through her own death spot, she can then use Donna's to get out.
While Donna tries to stop Sally from leaving, Sally traps her in her chair and escapes from Purgatory. However, Donna knew that Sally would go to her spell book that was hidden in the soup kitchen and tricks Sally into casting a spell to call her from Purgatory, Sally thinking that she was actually summoning her door. Donna then tells Sally that by using their magic over and over, Donna gets stronger each time. Sally then burns Donna's spell book, igniting both of them on fire and sending Donna to her own form of Purgatory.
After Robbie Malik, Sally's brother, died, Sally brought Donna back from her Purgatory, hers taking the form of being hung constantly in a manner similar to how she died. Once time slipped and the duo went back in time, Donna reveals that Sally needs to be careful as eventually that tether that pulls Sally back each time will snap at some point.
While in the past, Donna and Sally witness how Donna died the first time and how she was brought back, Sally learning how she might be able to revive Robbie. In Sally's old room, the two women bond and Donna says that, since she has lived too long, Sally may use her soul to strengthen Robbie's and revive him. However, after Donna comforts Robbie about being dead, Robbie leaves,
Back at Donna's death spot, Donna asks that after Sally releases her soul and sends her back to her Purgatory, Sally has to stop using magic. Sally somewhat agrees by saying that she will only on special occasions. Sally then releases Donna's soul, sending her to her Purgatory again.
When time slips and Sally goes back in time and changes the future, Donna can feel the tugging and pulling in her magic. She then casts a spell and summons Sally's soul. After Sally explains what happened, saying that Donna does redeem herself by becoming a good woman, the two go to the house where Aiden and Josh are waiting.
Donna tells them that once time shifts again by sending Sally back to her own time, they will not remember who they were or how their lives were in this time. Donna then tells Sally that sending her through time won't send her straight back to her own time immediately, but that she is going to sling forward into the future at first but will then settle into her own time.
After casting the spell, Sally goes forward in time, meaning that Donna is now trapped in her Purgatory yet again.