Leitch Ritchie (1800–1865) was a Scottish novelist and journalist. He was born at Greenock and worked as a clerk in Glasgow, but about 1820 adopted literature as his profession. Ritchie wrote four novels, of which the most successful was . The others were Schinderhannes, The Robber of the Rhine and The Magician. In his later years he edited Chambers' Journal. He also wrote short stories, including one of the first British werewolf short stories The Man-Wolf (1831). Ritchie also wrote non-fiction works, such as travel books.