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| Witches' Sabbath, 1821-1823. Francisco de Goya (1746–1828) |
"The surest method of escaping the influence of the evil eye, is to draw blood from the person of the witch. Shakespeare, in Henry III, says:
Devil or devil's dam, I'll conjure thee :
Blood will I draw. Thou art a witch.
Blood will I draw. Thou art a witch.
A country man told me recently that he had "raped old mother Tapp's arm with a great rusty nail two or three times," till he made the blood flow freely. "She can't hurt me again arter that," said he."
Hewett 1900
Just had a quick look in Roy Vickery, Garlands, Conkers and Mother-Die: British and Irish Plant-Lore (London: Continuum, 2010). Elder seems to have been quite commonly used to deter flies, either planted near a building or with twigs attached to horse harnesses (pp.56, 34). On Islay Bog Myrtle (Myrica gale) was hung up in the kitchen to keep flies off (p.34).
ReplyDeleteThanks for the offer of ghost stories - I'm right at the end of my writing, but I'd be delighted to see your work. (And I'm quite happy to put restrictions on any use of your material). Drop me a line at Paul.cowdellATtalk21.com (@ replacing AT).
Paul