Dolls and Witchcraft

Disclaimer

This is NOT a page about Wiccans or neo-pagans, and I do not advocate the belief that Wiccans are Satan-worshippers and/or baby-killers. I am well aware that they are not. This is a starting point for historical research into the great witch craze of 1100-1700 AD. And please, don't ask me for spells.

Dolls

Dolls have been used in magical rites for uncountable years. It comes as no surprise then that witches were said to have used them as well. Typically, these dolls were created by putting some of the victim's nail clippings or hair into the material from which the doll was fashioned. Also effective were bits of stolen or discarded clothing were soaked in "vital juices" like blood or sweat.

Although in folk magic these dolls could be used for love spells, witches tended to use them for murder. In 1649 in St. Albans, Elizabeth Knott and John Palmer were put to death for killing a woman by roasting a doll on a fire (King 42-43).

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Dolls and Witchcraft is copyright 1997-1998 to Shantell Powell.