witches

Most of these superstitions are from the 18-19th century.

Bats

In the Isle of Man and along the Welsh Border, witches were said to transform themselves occasionally into bats, and to enter houses in that
form. Mrs. Leather relates the story of a man at Weobley Marsh who saw 'something like a bat' fly into his room. He struck it with his
handkerchief, but when he went to look for the corpse, there was nothing there. He said afterwards that he knew this was a disguised witch one of
those who then lived upon the Marsh, because a real bat would certainly have been killed by his blow.

Besom (brooms) and Flying

The early household besom, or broom, was made from the broom-plant, or from birch-twigs or heather, and shared some of the traditional lore
attaching to these plants. It was also regarded as an essentially feminine tool, and was sometimes used as an image or symbol of the woman of
the house. If she wished to indicate that she was away from home, she set a besom outside the house-door, or thrust it up the chimney with its
twigs showing above the roof.

That witches rode to the Sabbats upon broomsticks was a very common belief at one time. They were supposed to anoint their bodies with a
salve given to them by the Devil, and thereafter to be able to fly through the air upon a variety of sticks or stems, including broomsticks. The
choice of the latter as a likely means of transport is probably due to the fertility associations of the broom-plant, and also perhaps to the female
connection of the besom, though male witches were thought to ride in this way as well as women. Dame Alice Kyteler, the Irish witch of 1323,
had a greased staff on which she 'ambled and galloped through thick and thin'; but no one seems to have suggested that she ever flew upon it.

Black Cats and Witches

Since black cats have been the traditional companions of witches for hundreds of years, it is only natural that there are a large number of beliefs
concerning them. One of the best known of these is the one that states that a person will have bad luck all day if a black cat crosses his path.
Another, not quite as well known, asserts that anyone who owns a black cat will be blessed with good luck for as long as the cat remains alive
and in his possession. Another one maintains that a bride who hears a black cat sneeze on her wedding day will have a happy marriage, while
still another one has it that inflamed eyes can be a cursed by passing the tail of a black cat across them nine times. The one that is probably the
least known states that if a black cat is placed in a cradle before the baby sleeps in it, the baby will be protected from evil spirits until he outgrows
the cradle.

Discovering the Identity of a Witch

If any livestock sicken and die because of a witch's spell, the identity of the witch who cast the spell can be discovered by cutting of the ears of
one of the afflicted animals, and toss them into a fire. The heat produced by the fire will release the witch's imp from the ears, and its master will
appear at the fire before anyone else arrives there. If food will not cook properly because a witch has cast a spell on it, the witch's identity can be
uncovered by putting some of the affected food into the fire. Again, the heat will release the witch's imp from the food, and it's master will appear at
the house before anyone else arrives.

The popular image of a witch is a toothless old hag whose nose and chin nearly meet, dressed in black, with a pointed hat (such as Welsh
women used to wear). In the past people also looked at those who had red hair or whose eyebrows met in the middle as witches. If you think you
spot a witch, spit over your left shoulder. To avoid the Evil Eye or counter it by extending the second and little fingers of your right hand.

Dried Hex Apples

If you shape an apple in the semblance of a human face, then hang it in the kitchen of your house, witches and other evil beings will not be able to
harm you or any member of your family who lives in the same house.

Exposing the Identity of a Witch

Although witches can make themselves invisible, it is difficult for them to maintain their invisibility during extremely cold weather. Sometimes only
part of the witch's body will become visible during these adverse weather conditions, but if someone grabs and hangs on to the visible part, the
rest of the witch's body will become visible, thereby exposing their identity.

Hemlock

This plant is traditionally associated with the Devil and witches, because it is poisonous. They were said to use it in spells to evoke demons and
evil spirits, and to destroy love, cause madness or paralysis, and blast fertility in men and animals. It was also one of the ingredients of those
flying ointments with which they were believed to anoint their bodies before they flew to the Sabbat. In England it is known as Bad Man's or Devil's
Oatmeal, and children are warned not to touch it because if they do so the Devil may seize and fly away with them.

The hemlock although does have healing and soothing properties, and was used in folk-medicine for several painful ills. A poultice of water-
hemlock (cowbane) cured rheumatism. Hemlock roots roasted until they were soft eased the pains of gout in the hand. A sixteenth-century
sleeping-apple contained hemlock juice mixed with opium, mandrake, henbane-seeds, and musk, which was rolled into a ball and held to the
patient's nose until he fell asleep.

Imps

On at least one occasion during the witchcraft hysteria of 1692, there were those who claimed that they saw small beings, very much like small
children, issuing from between the legs of woman who were suspected of being witches. In each case, the suspected with was in a jail when the
incident occurred, and although her jail cell was thoroughly searched, no further sign of the imp was discovered.

Killing a Witch

When a witch assumes the shape of a black cat, he will usually receive the same wounds on his body that the cat receives, regardless of whether
the wounds were caused by accident or were inflicted purposely. In spite of this, he will not necessarily die if the cat is killed, for the with can take
the shape of nine different cats, each of which has to be killed while the witch is in his shape, before he is affected, and he will die then only if the
ninth cat is killed with an article that contains some silver.

Monthly Orgies

The witches held monthly orgies or festivals. In Alsace the chimneys of houses are very wide, and it was through these they left the house without
being seen. At a certain farmhouse there were two woman (a mother and daughter) who were witches. With them lived an inquisitive young
farmhand. He had noticed that something unusual was taking place in the house every month, so one night he hid in the kitchen and watched.
About midnight the women came and stood naked before the fireplace, beneath the chimney, and after anointing themselves with an oil which the
Germans call Hexenfett (i.e., witches' fat), uttered some magic words, and up they went through the chimney. The young man then emerged from
his hiding place, and seeing the vessel containing the oil, he anointed himself to see what effect it would have on him. He and scarcely
pronounced the mystic words when he went up the chimney with a suddenness that was surprisingly, and when he reached the ground he found
himself astride a large black sow which carried him with great speed across the country. They soon arrived at a broad and swift-flowing river, but
this did not hinder the onward advance of the sow, for it cleared the broad expanse of water at a single bound. The young man looked back, and,
admiring its leaping powers, he said to the sow, "That was a long leap you made," but as he spoke the spell was broken, the sow disappeared,
and he found himself in a strange country many miles from home.

Sexual Potency and Witches

Witches are on record as having confessed to rendering males impotent by tying knots in pieces of cord. They also have charmed males into
believing that their penises have been stolen, as is mentioned in the Malleus maleficarum. Taking this a step further, rumors circulated that
witches cut off a hoarded penises, hiding them in the nests of birds or keeping them in boxes and feeding them with oats and corn.

In his Discouerie of Witchcraft (1594), Reginald Scot tells of a young man who was emasculated and went to a witch for help. She told him to
climb a certain tree and to choose any replacement he wished. He chose the biggest and heaviest and brought it to her for attachment. She said
he could have any one but hat one. That one was reserved for the parish priest.

At the Sabbat The Devil was said to have intercourse with the witches using his huge, scaly, and bifurcated phallus (so that they could be
penetrated for and aft at the same time). Witchcraft trials contained testimony of sex with the Devil and reports that it was painful, cold, and
unreproductive.

Voodoo Dolls

Witches can torment people by sticking sharp objects into dolls they have manufactured especially for this purpose. The victims receive
excruciating pains in the corresponding places in their bodies into which the sharp objects are stuck.