Jezebel: Witchcraft

Medieval Witches Graveyard Discovered In Italy

Margaret Hartmann — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 10:30:00 EDT

Here's a macabre reminder of what happened to women who got out of line in medieval times. 800-year-old remains were found with seven nails driven through the jaw bone, leading archaeologists to conclude that the woman was believed to be a witch. The area in Tuscany is thought to be a witches graveyard, since another female skeleton was found surrounded by 17 dice, a game women were forbidden to play. The women, who were around 25 to 30 years old, were buried in shallow graves with no coffin or shroud, and the first had 13 nails strewn around her that were used to pin down her clothes. Archaeologist Alfonso Forgione says, "This indicates to me that it was an attempt to make sure the woman even though she was dead did not rise from the dead and unnerve the locals who were no doubt convinced she was a witch with evil powers." More »

Wiccans Are Displeased With True Blood

Anna North — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 19:10:00 EDT

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By some measures, True Blood is the most popular show on TV. But one group isn't too happy with it: Wiccans. More »

Chronicle Of 17th Century Witch Trial Put Online

Lane Moore — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 15:43:00 EST

A team of dedicated researchers at the University of Manchester spent two weeks photographing a recovered notebook documenting a 1645 trial for witchcraft, so that the world may know of the evil witch who "confessed to sleeping with the devil when she was tortured." It is unknown whether or not "devil" means any man who was not her husband, and if being "tortured" refers to "that time of the month" or "living in a society that will hang a woman just because they think she's a weirdo." At any rate, you can check it out here. More »

"Witch-Hunts" On The Rise In Rural India

Sadie Stein — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 15:00:00 EST

You will be glad to know that an Indian shaman who forced women to drink poison in a "witchcraft test" has been arrested. But in fact, the problem is on the rise. More »

Romanian Witches Protest Taxes With Spells & Hexes

Dodai Stewart — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 13:10:00 EST

Something is going down in Romania, and it's not good. People who claim the profession of witch, astrologer and fortune teller will have to pay taxes for the first time, ever. Many are not happy. More »

eBay Witch Auctions Her Booty-Enhancement Spell

Margaret Hartmann — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:54:00 EDT

Are you desperate to achieve the perfect butt and perhaps a fan of the occult? For just $8.95, you can achieve your dreams by buying one "Booty Enhancement Spell" from a "Powerful Wiccan Witch" on eBay. Hurry, supplies are limited! More »

The Pyramid Collection: Shopping For Free Spirits & Black Widows

Dodai Stewart — Fri, 07 May 2010 17:00:00 EDT

The Pyramid Collection catalog promises "myth, magick, fantasy and romance." And it delivers: Vampires, faeries, Regency-era heroines — the gang's all here! More »

"Are There Cat Gentlemen, Too?"

Sadie Stein — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:30:00 EST

Lately, cat ladies have been in the news, prompting legislation, a documentary, and a new inquiry from Slate's "Explainer": "What's the deal with cat ladies?" And why are they always, well, ladies? More »

I Was A Fake Teenage Witch

Hortense Smith — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 14:20:00 EDT

The Bush Administration reportedly denied J.K. Rowling a Presidential Medal of Freedom over fears that her Harry Potter series promoted witchcraft. Apparently they weren't aware that many of us, Harry Potter or no, go through our witchcraft phase anyway. More »

Witch Doctor

Sadie Stein — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 11:40:00 EDT

A 17th Century "witch bottle" - a wine jug containing fingernails, pins, hair and urine - has been discovered outside London. It was not uncommon for sick people to bury these talismans to ward off illness-causing witches' spells. [Telegraph, Times] More »

The Swiss state of Glarus has exonerated...

Sadie Stein — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:20:00 EDT

The Swiss state of Glarus has exonerated a woman executed for witchcraft in 1782, calling Anna Goeldi's beheading "judicial murder" because the Protestant church council who tried her had no legal authority. Goeldi was convicted of "causing her employer's daughter to spit pins and experience convulsions." Notice that they don't actually say she wasn't a witch; let's not be rash! [UPI] More »

Saudi Woman Sentenced To Death For "Bewitching" People

Jessica G. — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 09:30:00 EST

Can you imagine living in a country where your Craft-inspired Wiccan dabbling could get you killed? For Saudi women, it's a reality: Fawza Falih has been sentenced to execution based on witnesses' testimony that she "bewitched" them, says CBS News. Falih was also convicted based on her own confession, but that admission was extracted under extreme pressure from Saudi religious police. Plus: Falih is illiterate, and she later retracted her written confession — she was unable to read the document she signed. More »

Would You Be Burned At The Stake?

Dodai Stewart — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 19:30:00 EST

You may think women have it rough today, but back in 16th century Europe, it was much worse. We're talking witch hunts, the paranoid, misguided and often fatal episodes that are part of Western History. A rare book written by Reginald Scott in 1584 called The Discoverie Of Witchcraft was recently found in an attic, reports The Times of London, and it details many women who met a horrible fate in the name of the occult. In one case, a dog barked at the vicar's son, who drew a knife and chased it home. The next day, the boy fell ill, and his father suspected the dog's owner of possessing evil powers. He had Mrs. Simons tried for witchcraft, but the jury could not agree on her guilt, and she escaped death. Many other women were not so lucky:

Unexplained deaths of infants, which would now be called cot deaths, were enough for the mother to be burnt as a witch. Even a prominent birthmark was often taken as a sure sign of witchcraft. Most confessions of witchcraft were extracted by torture, Scott argued.

Long Island 'Witch' Not Entirely Sane?

eurotrash — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 15:45:00 EST

Today's New York Post brings us conclusive evidence that sacked Long Island teacher Lauren Berrios is indeed a) a witch, and b) madder than a bag of monkeys. They say she "couldn't have looked nuttier in court yesterday if she donned a pointy hat and flew around on a broom." More »