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The Wicked Witch of the East was killed when Dorothy Gale's house landed on top of her, when she was blown by cyclone all they way from Kansas to L. Frank Baum's fictional Land of Oz.
Dorothy, on the advice of the Good Witch of the North, took the Wicked Witch of the East's magical shoes. These shoes (made of silver in the book, but which became ruby slippers in the film version) had the power to transport anyone anywhere, simply by clicking the heels three times. Not knowing this, Dorothy went to see the famous ruler of the Emerald City, the Wizard, to ask for his help. Dorothy was pursued by the Wicked Witch of the West, sister of her eastern counterpart, bent on revenge. Meanwhile, the Wizard sent Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion to destroy her, a task which they succeeded in doing. Eventually, Dorothy used the silver shoes (or ruby slippers) to return home, but lost them while crossing the Deadly Desert.
The Wicked Witch of the East is usually drawn as having a pair of stockinged legs sticking out from under the house. In the film, these stockings are red and white. The Witch's slaves, the Munchkins, hailed Dorothy as a Sorceress from having freed them from bondage, and Dorothy was welcomed to a party hosted by Boq, a wealthy Munchkin, on her way to the Emerald City, in her honour for having killed the Witch.
In the more recent novel, Wicked - The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire, the Wicked Witch of the East is known as Nessarose and is born without arms, a condition later treated by the well known silver shoes.
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