113 Items Tagged

Witches

Defiled Baptismal Font

This historical font became infamous after a maid was allegedly tricked into urinating in it, leading to her tragic death sentence.

Salisbury, England

The Witches Tree

Along a Roman road flanked with beech trees hides a tale of wizardry and xenophobia.

Køge Huskors Memorial

This marker commemorates a long-lasting historical haunting and demonic possession that led to one of Denmark's worst witch trials.

Häxan sets featured a mash-up of iconographies, from Satanism to classical death motifs.

Behold the Weird Glory of Häxan, A Wild 1922 Film About Witchcraft

The ground-breaking documentary blended academic research with salacious scenes of torture and nudity. Censors weren't having it.

Gavia Baker-Whitelaw April 29, 2024

Glasgow, Scotland

The Witch's Skull

One of the city's oldest pubs displays a skull said to belong to the country's last witch burned at the stake.

Via Port’Alba

This 17th-century passageway is home to numerous bookshops, a witch legend, and the oldest pizzeria in the world.

A large warehouse lined with tables full of produce and goods.

Paramaribo, Suriname

Maroon Market

This "witch's market" is filled with Amazonian herbs, remedies, and the occasional libido-strengthening tincture.

Heksestein (The Witch Stone)

A memorial to 350 people burned at the stake for witchcraft.

Prestopans, Scotland

'Athena' Memorial Statue

A monument honoring 81 residents of this Scottish town who were executed for witchcraft in the 16th century.

Farnham, England

Mother Ludlam's Cave

This place is the subject of local legends about a good witch and a Celtic God.

Witch Rock of Montmartre

Witch Rock of Montmartre

This oddly shaped boulder in Paris is rumored to be cursed.

Frau Perchta is often called the Christmas Witch, but that is just one aspect of who she is: a powerful winter goddess who has endured a centuries-old campaign to vilify her.

Fearsome Frau Perchta Is an Ancient Alpine Winter Goddess

Today, she's commonly called the Christmas Witch or even "the female Krampus"—but she is so much more.

Victoria Linchong December 29, 2023

Sion, Switzerland

Tour des Sorciers

Visit a prison tower used during witch tribunals.

Stretching between the 16th and 18th centuries, the Scottish witch trials were among Europe’s longest and most deadly.

Isobel Gowdie and the Untold History of the Scottish Witch Trials

Some experts estimate as many as 3,000 people were accused and executed for witchcraft in Scotland.

Sarah Durn October 31, 2023

Soap Sally was always lying in wait to snatch idle children and turn them into soap and candles, according to regional folklore in Appalachia and the American South.

Soap Sally, a Villain of Appalachia and the American South, Echoes Old World Evil

The wicked washerwoman, child murderer, and entrepreneur has parallels to Baba Yaga and other classic European folk figures.

Emma Cieslik October 30, 2023

George Jacobs, whose witchcraft trial is shown here in Thomkins H. Matteson's 1855 painting, was one of 19 people hanged as a witch during the 1692 Salem witch trials.

The Salem Witch Trials Actually Happened in Danvers, Massachusetts

Tensions between Salem and Danvers were there from the start—contributing to the ensuing witch hysteria.

Theresa McKinney October 26, 2023

Three concrete slabs with small, destroyed remains of headstones sit behind a V-shaped tree opening.

Taos, New Mexico

The Three Brujas

Three witches are said to be buried beneath these unmarked concrete graves.

<em>The Nightmare</em> (1781) by Henry Fuseli taps into superstitions about sleep paralysis, a kind of parasomnia, or sleep disorder.

The Nightmare of Sleep Paralysis Makes a Comeback in Modern Horror

Centuries-old superstitions about troubled sleep are reawakening thanks to scary movies.

Alice Vernon October 9, 2023