Germany,
J. G. Th. Grässe
Many years ago a night watchman in
Schwerte was courting two sisters at the same time, but without being serious
about marriage. Each of them asked him about this several times, but to no
avail. Therefore at last they got together and swore revenge against him. Now
both of these sisters were witches. One night when the night watchman was lying
in bed there came a knock at his window. When he opened it, the two of them
took hold of him, picked him up, and carried him high into the air. At first
they wanted to throw him into the Ruhr River, but they reconsidered and set
him, entirely naked, at the top of a tall tree where he was found half dead the
next day.
Frau Trude
Germany,
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
Once upon a time there was a small
girl who was strong willed and forward, and whenever her parents said anything
to her, she disobeyed them. How could anything go well with her?
One day she said to her parents:
"I have heard so much about Frau Trude. Someday I want to go to her place.
People say such amazing things are seen there, and such strange things happen
there, that I have become very curious.
Her parents strictly forbade her,
saying: "Frau Trude is a wicked woman who commits godless acts. If you go
there, you will no longer be our child.
But the girl paid no attention to
her parents and went to Frau Trude's place anyway.
When she arrived there, Frau Trude
asked: "Why are you so pale?"
"Oh," she answered,
trembling all over, "I saw something that frightened me."
"What did you see?"
"I saw a black man on your
steps."
"That was a charcoal
burner."
"Then I saw a green man."
"That was a huntsman."
"Then I saw a blood-red
man."
"That was a butcher."
"Oh, Frau Trude, it frightened
me when I looked through your window and could not see you, but instead saw the
devil with a head of fire."
"Aha!" she said. "So
you saw the witch properly outfitted. I have been waiting for you and wanting
you for a long time. Light the way for me now!"
With that she turned to girl into a
block of wood and threw it into the fire. When it was thoroughly aglow she sat
down next to it, and warmed herself by it, saying: "It gives such a bright
light!"
Germany,
Carl and Theodor Colshorn
In Hiddestorf, not too long ago,
there lived a widow who every Sunday was miraculously able to cook the most
delicious meals. By the time that the servant girls had gone to church in the
morning, she had not yet made a fire, had not cleaned the vegetables, and had
not even fetched any meat. But by the time church was finished, the best meal
was on the table.
Because that was not possible with
ordinary powers, one Sunday a servant hid himself behind a large barrel in the
kitchen in order to spy on the woman.
Just about the time the sermon was
beginning there was a commotion in the chimney, and the devil came down and
began to caress the woman. Afterward he started to fill the pots for her, but he
suddenly stood still and said, "Woman, there are two eyes too many in
here!" She denied it. "There are two eyes too many in here!" he
said again, but when the woman began to make fun of him, he filled the pots and
disappeared up the chimney.
At noon when everyone was seated at
the table, the servant said, "I don't want to eat, because I know that it
came from the devil!"
He had scarcely spoken when the
Black One came in through the window, grabbed the woman by her braid, wrung her
neck, and flew out the window with her.
England,
Robert Hunt
Once on a time, long ago, there
lived at Treva, a hamlet in Zennor, a wonderful old lady deeply skilled in
necromancy. Her charms, spells, and dark incantations made her the terror of
the neighborhood. However, this old lady failed to impress her husband with any
belief in her supernatural powers, nor did he fail to proclaim his unbelief
aloud.
One day this skeptic came home to
dinner, and found, being exceedingly hungry, to his bitter disappointment, that
not only was there no dinner to eat, but that there was no meat in the house.
His rage was great, but all he could get from his wife was, "I couldn't
get meat out of the stones, could I?" It was in vain to give the reins to
passion, the old woman told him, and he must know "that hard words
buttered no parsnips."
Well, at length he resolved to put
his wife's powers to the proof, and he quietly but determinedly told her that
he would be the death of her if she did not get him some dinner; but if in half
an hour she gave him some good cooked meat, he would believe all she had
boasted of her power, and be submissive to her forever.
St. Ives, the nearest market town,
was five miles off; but nothing doubting, the witch put on her bonnet and
cloak, and started. Her husband watched her from their cottage door, down the
hill; and at the bottom of the hill, he saw his wife quietly place herself on
the ground and disappear. In her place a fine hare ran on at its full speed.
He was not a little startled, but he
waited, and within the half hour in walked his wife with "good flesh and
taties all ready for aiting." There was no longer any doubt, and the poor
husband lived in fear of the witch of Treva to the day of her death.
This event took place after a few
years, and it is said the room was full of evil spirits, and that the old
woman's shrieks were awful to hear. Howbeit, peace in the shape of pale-faced
death came to her at last, and then a black cloud rested over the house when
all the heavens were clear and blue.
She was borne to the grave by six
aged men, carried, as is the custom, underhand. When they were about half way
between the house and the church, a hare started from the roadside and leaped
over the coffin. The terrified bearers let the corpse fall to the ground, and
ran away. Another lot of men took up the coffin and proceeded.
They had not gone far when puss was
suddenly seen seated on the coffin, and again the coffin was abandoned. After
long consultation, and being persuaded by the parson to carry the old woman
very quickly into the churchyard, while he walked before, six others made the
attempt, and as the parson never ceased to repeat the Lord's Prayer, all went
on quietly.
Arrived at the church stile, they
rested the corpse, the parson paused to commence the ordinary burial service,
and there stood the hare, which, as soon as the clergyman began "I am the
resurrection and the life," uttered a diabolical howl, changed into a
black, unshapen creature, and disappeared.
Germany,
August Ey
A miner was always making fun of
people who claimed that witches ride to the Brocken on Walpurgis Night. He
often said, "If such an old creature ever crosses my path, I will throw
her down. What chance would such an old skeleton of a hag made up of nothing
but skin and bones have against the likes of me?"
"Now, now," an old
neighbor woman who lived nearby would say. "It wouldn't be all that easy
to throw down such a rider. You should be careful what you say!"
"Tomfoolery! Tomfoolery!"
he said. "I'd make her forget about riding." To that the old woman
said nothing.
Walpurgis Night arrived. There was
shooting everywhere, as though the enemy were attacking. They were shooting off
firecrackers, flintlocks, rifles, and pistols. On that evening everyone was firing
his shooting iron, and the louder the noise, the better everyone liked it.
About nine o'clock the miner learned
that something had gone wrong in the shaft, and he was called upon to report
for duty. He got as far as Bremen Hill when he was approached by a swarm of old
hags flying through the air. There was such commotion and uproar as though all
the devils were on the loose.
One of the hags came down, turned
the miner over, whether he wanted to or not, and mounted him. Then away they
went through the air, following the others to the Brocken. He could barely
breathe, and the old hag was so heavy that she nearly broke his bones.
She finally climbed off him, and he
fell to the ground half dead. The other witches then surrounded him and danced
around him, and the devil himself was there with them. Finally they picked him
up and asked him if he could remain silent, or if he would like to be boiled in
oil. Now no one wants to be boiled in oil, so he said that he would never say
anything about the witches. Then the devil said to him that he would be a child
of death if he ever uttered a single word. And then the witches did unspeakable
things up there on the mountain.
As midnight approached, they all
gathered together, and one of the witches again took our miner and mounted him,
and they swarmed through the air until they reached Bremen Hill near Claustal.
They released him at the same spot where the witch had captured him. He lay
there for a few hours recovering his strength; then he slowly crept homeward.
When he arrived home, his wife was already up and was preparing to go into the
woods for a load of wood.
"Wife," he said,
"stay here. I have had a bad night. Go into the kitchen and put a little
wood into the stove. I have been sweating, and I need to change my clothes."
She did what he said. He then told the stove what had happened. His wife
overheard it all, but said nothing.
A half hour later the old neighbor
woman came by and said that it was a good thing he had spoken to the stove and
not to a person, or he would see how things would go with him.
And thus they knew that she was a
witch. The wife reported her, and the wicked witch was burned to death, just as
she deserved.
The Dark Daughter of the Norse Kin
Scotland
When the Norsemen came, and their visits were frequent and numerous, to this country and these islands, to lay claim to and take possession of the land, the fame they gathered for themselves through their indulgence in every manner of cruel spoliation, and slaughter of the people wherever they landed, was that they were a bold, courageous, hardy, rough ("The Norsemen a rough band"), peremptory and unscrupulous race, and more than that, it was attributed to them that they practiced witchcraft, charms, and enchantments, and had much of other unhallowed learning among them.The Norse King's eldest daughter was particularly noted for her knowledge of the "Black Art." There was no accident or mischance that befell friends, or destruction that overtook enemies, or any luck or good fortune that attended either friend or foe, but it was said that she was the cause of it, or had some hand in it. She was famed at home and abroad, far and wide, for her skill among cows and cattle, she was said to possess every variety of dairy knowledge in her father's kingdom. There was no charm or evil eye that fell on any living creature in the fold but she could dispel and avert, nor hurt nor injury they got but she could heal, nor dizziness nor fits into which they fell, from which she could not restore them, until it was said of her that the lowing of cattle, the incoherent cry of calves, and the rough cry of yearlings was to her the sweetest and most soothing music, and that she would answer the call of cattle, though she might be lost in the midst of the northern woods, and the cry from the nethermost part of the farthest off quarter of the universe. She knew the herb that had the property of taking its qualities from milk, as well as she was acquainted with the spells by which its virtues could be restored, and every charm and invocation that was practiced or then esteemed. The flowers of the meadows and woods were as familiar to her as the ridges of corn or a grain on straw, and there was not a leaf on tree, bush, or shrub, with whose properties she was not acquainted. Her father's kingdom was clothed with pine wood, and was then as now famous for the fine quality of the wood from which most of the wealth of the kingdom was obtained.
One of those times when the Norsemen came to Scotland to take possession of and sub-divide the land thus taken, they observed that the pine wood of Lochaber was growing so fast, and extending so far, that in time it might supersede the Black Forests of Sweden. But on this occasion the northern forces were driven back. On reaching home they reported the matter to the king, and their opinion, that the increase of the wood must be checked, otherwise his northern woods would be of little esteem.
It occurred to the King to consult his daughter on the matter, since she was learned, and to get knowledge from her of the best method of thinning and destroying the Scottish wood. She gave him the desired information, but said that she must be the bearer of the method and must necessarily go to Scotland herself. She obtained the King's permission and made preparations for the journey.
From the gifts she possessed, neither sea nor land, air nor earth could hinder her progress until she accomplished her purpose. When she reached Lochaber the method she adopted was to kindle a fire in the selvage of her dress, and she then began to go through the woods, and as she could travel in the clouds as well as on the ground, when she ascended and whirled in the air, the sparks of fire that flew from her dress were blown hither and thither by the wind and set the woods on fire, until the whole country was almost in a blaze, and so darkened by the smoke, that one could hardly see before them; and, from being blackened more than any tree in the forest, by the smoke and soot of the fiery furnace which surrounded her, she was known and spoken of by the name of "Dark, or Pitch Pine."
The people gathered to watch her, but from the rapidity of her ascent and the swiftness with which she descended, they could not grasp her any more than they could prevent her, and were at a loss what to do. At last, they sought instruction from a learned man in the place. He advised them to collect a herd of cattle in a fold, wherever she would stand still, and whenever she heard the lowing of the cattle she would descend, and when she was within gun-shot they were to fire at her with a silver bullet, when she would become a faggot of bones. They followed this advice and began to gather cattle and follow after her until the pinfold large and small was full set in the "Center of Kintail." Whenever she heard the cry of the herd she descended and they aimed at her with the silver bullet, as the wise man told them to do, and she fell gently among them. Men lifted the remains and carried them to Lochaber, and to make sure that dead or alive she would do no more injury to them, they buried her in Achnacarry; and the person from whom the story was first heard nine years ago [1880] said that he could put his foot on the place where she was buried.
The Norse King was amazed at his daughter not returning, and
at his not receiving any account from her. He sent abroad to get tidings of
her. When the news of the disaster that happened to her was brought to him, he
sent a boat and crew to bring her home, but the Lochaber women by their
incantations destroyed those whom he sent. The boat was wrecked, and the men
lost, at the entrance to Locheil. The next ships that came were not more
successful. The third time the King sent out his most powerful fleet. What they
did then was to send and try through spells to dry up the wells of the Fairy
Hill of Iona. The virtue of these wells was that wind could be obtained from
any desired quarter by emptying them in the direction of the wind wished for.
When the ships were seen approaching, the wells began to be emptied, and before
the last handful was flung out, the storm was so violent, and the ships so
near, that the whole fleet was driven on the beach under the Fairy Hill, and
the power and might of the Norsemen was broken and so much weakened that they
did not return again to infest the land.
Ireland,
Patrick Kennedy
Shemus Rua (Red James) awakened from
his sleep one night by noises in his kitchen. Stealing to the door, he saw
half-a-dozen old women sitting round the fire, jesting and laughing, his old
housekeeper, Madge, quite frisky and gay, helping her sister crones to cheering
glasses of punch.
He began to admire the impudence and
imprudence of Madge, displayed in the invitation and the riot, but recollected
on the instant her officiousness in urging him to take a comfortable posset,
which she had brought to his bedside just before he fell asleep. Had he drunk
it, he would have been just now deaf to the witches' glee. He heard and saw
them drink his health in such a mocking style as nearly to tempt him to charge
them, besom in hand, but he restrained himself.
The jug being emptied, one of them
cried out, "Is it time to be gone?" and at the same moment, putting
on a red cap, she added --
Hie over to England.
Making use of a twig which she held
in her hand as a steed, she gracefully soared up the chimney, and was rapidly
followed by the rest. But when it came to the housekeeper, Shemus interposed.
"By your leave, ma'am," said he, snatching twig and cap. "Ah,
you desateful ould crocodile! If I find you here on my return, there'll be wigs
on the green--
Hie over to England."
The words were not out of his mouth
when he was soaring above the ridge pole, and swiftly plowing the air. He was
careful to speak no word (being somewhat conversant with witch-lore), as the
result would be a tumble, and the immediate return of the expedition.
In a very short time they had
crossed the Wicklow hills, the Irish Sea, and the Welsh mountains, and were
charging, at whirlwind speed, the hall door of a castle. Shemus, only for the
company in which he found himself, would have cried out for pardon, expecting
to be mummy against the hard oak door in a moment; but, all bewildered,
he found himself passing through the keyhole, along a passage, down a flight of
steps, and through a cellar-door key-hole before he could form any clear idea
of his situation.
Waking to the full consciousness of
his position, he found himself sitting on a stallion, plenty of lights
glimmering round, and he and his companions, with full tumblers of frothing
wine in hand, hob-nobbing and drinking healths as jovially and recklessly as if
the liquor was honestly come be, and they were sitting in Shemus's own kitchen.
The red birredh [cap] has assimilated Shemus's nature for the time being to
that of his unholy companions.
The heady liquors soon got into
their brains, and a period of unconsciousness succeeded the ecstasy, the
headache, the turning round of the barrels, and the "scattered sight"
of poor Shemus. He woke up under the impression of being roughly seized, and
shaken, and dragged upstairs, and subjected to a disagreeable examination by
the lord of the castle, in his state parlor. There was much derision among the
whole company, gentle and simple, on hearing Shemus's explanation, and, as the
thing occurred in the dark ages, the unlucky Leinster man was sentenced to be
hung as soon as the gallows could be prepared for the occasion.
The poor Hibernian was in the cart
proceeding on his last journey, with a label on his back, and another on his
breast, announcing him as the remorseless villain who for the last month had
been draining the casks in my lord's vault every night.
He was surprised to hear himself addressed by his name, and in his native
tongue, by an old woman in the crows. "Ach, Shemus, alanna! is it going to
die you are in a strange place without your cappen d'yarrag [red cap]?
These words infused hope and courage into the poor victim's heart. He turned to
the lord and humbly asked leave to die in his red cap, which he supposed had
dropped from his head in the vault. A servant was sent for the head-piece, and
Shemus felt lively hope warming his heart while placing it on his head.On the platform he was graciously allowed to address the spectators, which he proceeded to do so in the usual formula composed for the benefit of flying stationers -- "Good people all, a warning take by me;" but when he had finished the line, "My parents reared me tenderly," he unexpectedly added -- "By yarrow and rue," etc., and the disappointed spectators saw him shoot up obliquely though the air in the style of a sky-rocket that had missed its aim.
It is said that the lord gook the circumstance much to heart, and never afterwards hung a man for twenty-four hours after his offense.
Bohemia
At the end of the sixteenth century
a miller woman lived in a mill with her six children. No servant could stay in
this mill because during the night a cat with six kittens would always come and
bite and scratch the worker, sometimes to death. However, one day a journeyman
came to the mill who knew black magic.
When he asked for a night's lodging
the miller woman said that it would not go well with him, because the place was
haunted.
"That doesn't matter,"
said the journeyman. "I'm not afraid."
That evening he lit a candle, drew a
circle around himself with sanctified chalk, then sat down at the table. Near
midnight a black cat with her six kittens approached the light, wanting to put
it out. The journeyman grabbed a hatchet and cut off one of the cat's paws. She
let out a terrible shriek, then all of them ran out the door.
The next morning the miller woman
was ill, and no one knew what was wrong with her. However, the journeyman knew
what it was; that morning instead of a cat's paw he had found a human hand
lying on the ground. He reported the event, and the miller woman was burned to
death, along with her children, for these too someday would have learned
witchcraft.
The Witch
Germany
A miller at a windmill near Wettin was for a long time unable to get a mill hand, because the mill was haunted, and four workers had already died there, one after the other. He finally hired a high-spirited boy. At midnight the boy was shaking out the grain when a small back cat crept up to him. A somewhat larger one followed, and the two of them grinned sinisterly at him.The one said to the other, "I wish the big gray one would come."
Soon thereafter a big gray cat arrived. As soon as it saw the boy it jumped at his throat; but with an ax the boy skillfully struck off half its paw, which immediately turned into half of a woman's arm. Then the cats ran away.
The next morning the boy waited in vain for his breakfast. He went downstairs and asked the miller why there was nothing to eat. The miller apologized, saying that his wife had turned deathly ill.
"Is she perhaps missing half an arm?" asked the boy. "If so, I can lend her one."
And in truth one of the woman's arms was only half there, and the severed piece fit onto the stump.
Then it was known that she was a witch, and she was burned to death.
Germany
For
a long time a mill hand had been plagued every night by Trudd. Then one night,
following the advice of an experienced man, he took a sharpened sabre to bed
with him and stayed awake looking for what might come. Suddenly a cat crept up
to the bed, then positioned itself to jump onto it. It scarcely had its claws
on the sideboard of the bedstead when the mill hand struck with the sabre,
cutting off the claws at their roots. In the same instant the cat disappeared.
The next morning it was reported that the miller's wife was
still in bed. It was said that during the night she had fallen down the cellar
stairs and badly hurt her hands. In reality, howver, all of her fingers had
been cut off.
England
Touch a
Logan stone nine times at midnight, and any woman will become a witch. A more
certain plan is said to be to get on the Giant's Rock at Zennor Church-town
nine times without shaking it. Seeing that this rock was at one time a very
sensitive Logan stone, the task was somewhat difficult.
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