Barbas is the Demon of Fear in the television series of Charmed. He is played by Billy Drago .

The demon of fear, also known as Barbas, appears on earth once every thirteen hundred years on 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 females 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 fear. She cannot rely on her wiccan powers for defense, for in the face of her greatest fear those powers are paralyzed.

Barbas battled the Charmed Ones in their first year of being witches, and with guidance from her dead mother, Prue Halliwell was able to conquer her fears and finally banish Barbas back to Purgatory.

Barbas had returned and used the help of the mortal mobster, Bane Jessup and Ms. Hellfire. Barbas was, again, banished back into Purgatory by Prue, with assistance from her sisters, of course.

In the fifth season, while in Purgatory, Barbas gained the ability to astral project and used his new ability to plant thoughts in Cole Turner's mind, making him fear his new powers. Eventually he managed to fuel Cole's fear enough that Cole stripped his own powers and Barbas absorbed them. This allowed Barbas to emerge from Purgatory permanently. The Charmed Ones were able to return Cole's powers and Cole vanquished the Demon of Fear.

Barbas was ressurrected by the demonic half of the Tribunal to prosecute the Charmed Ones. They were charged with being irresponsible of covering their tracks during their magical adventures. Though Barbas lost the case, he did manage to be reinstated when he had Phoebe's powers stripped away (temporarily) for using them for personal gain.

Barbas helped Gideon the Elder in finding Wyatt Matthew Halliwell in the Underworld. For this, after Gideon's death, Barbas was being chased by Wyatt's father, Leo Wyatt. Leo was angered over the fact that Gideon betrayed his trust. Barbas used the help of the Creature Head Demons (actually the Avatars in disguise) to cloak his lair from being discovered by the Elders. Barbas had manipulated Leo into killing the Elder, Zola. He was later vanquished by Paige and Phoebe, but told them that he would be back.