The name comes from a local legend (recorded, among others, in the story *Het Kind met den Helm* by Renier Snieders from 1852).
Around 1596, the gang of robbers of Black Kaat (a notorious female gang leader with black hair and a hawk nose), together with her husband Rosse Bruno, raids the Ten Vorsel Farm and kidnaps a newborn baby.
The child (Thomas) is raised by the gang.
Years later, the gang returns, new crimes follow, and Black Kaat is captured and beheaded.
Because she is not allowed to lie in consecrated ground, she is buried on the heath without a cross; A shrub planted on it grows into the irregularly shaped tree known as the Witch Tree.
In reality, the tree was planted centuries later, but the legend is still told.
In 2019, the Witch Tree was voted Dutch Tree of the Year.
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