Agatha All Along: What Is the Darkhold (& Why Does It Matter)?

Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Agatha All Along Episodes 1-4.

The Darkhold is mentioned in hushed tones throughout Agatha All Along‘s first four installments. But what exactly is the Darkhold, and why does it matter so much to the Disney+ limited series’ narrative?

What Is Agatha All Along’s Darkhold?

The Darkhold is an ancient book of spells. Written by the MCU’s first demon, Chthon, it turbocharges the magical abilities of anyone who uses it. Unfortunately, the Darkhold also exerts a corrupting influence, whether you’re a complete novice or the Sorcerer Supreme! That’s why it’s also known by another name: The Book of the Damned. This corruption typically manifests itself physically as a dark discoloration on the spellcaster’s fingers, which both Agatha Harkness and Wanda Maximoff/The Scarlet Witch sport while packing the Darkhold. So, the Darkhold’s clearly bad news – or it was bad news. Every copy of the dark magic tome vanished from existence across the MCU multiverse at the end of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, thanks to Wanda.

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This presumably includes the off-brand version of the Darkhold that appears in MCU outings that predate WandaVision. Both Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Runaways feature a somewhat different Book of the Damned, with a separate, Dark Dimension-centric origin story and ambigram-embossed cover. Why all the disconnect? Because Marvel Studios’ pre-Disney+ shows are generally less well-aligned to overarching MCU canon. That said, the alternate Darkhold’s portrayal still broadly tracks with what’s mentioned above. It’s a sinister supernatural tome that drives folks evil – just like the Darkhold featured in WandaVision, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Agatha All Along.

Why Does the Darkhold Matter in Agatha All Along?

Okay, so that’s what the Darkhold is and what it does – but why does it matter in Agatha All Along? The obvious reason is that it’s a crazy-powerful magical relic that could cause untold damage in the wrong hands. So, if Agatha Harkness reaches the end of the Witches’ Road in Agatha All Along and conjures up a new Darkhold, that’s naturally going to have consequences for the MCU’s status quo going forward.

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Yet the Darkhold also plays another, more character-driven role in Agatha All Along. Across the Disney+ show’s first four episodes, we learn that Agatha supposedly traded her son for the Darkhold years earlier. A creepy vision of the Book of the Damned lying in a crib in place of a baby in Episode 3 seemingly confirms this, but we don’t know for sure yet. So, the Darkhold matters because it’s at the heart of Agatha’s as-yet-unrevealed backstory!

Agatha All Along is currently streaming on Disney+, with new episodes dropping Wednesdays.