WITCH BOTTLES
History, Culture, MagicBy Daniel Harms
Foreword by Alexander Cummins
“The unearthed witch-bottle is something of a murky treasure. Sealed and secreted, they encapsulate magical ideas and sorcerous strategies for undoing the blights of bewitchment.” - Dr. Alexander Cummins, Foreword
WITCH BOTTLES by Daniel Harms is the first in-depth exploration of the history, culture and magic of this little-known practice used to protect against and remedy the believed effects of misfortunes attributed to witches. The author defines a Witch Bottle “as an object, usually intended to fight off maleficent magic, that employs at least two of the following three ingredients: a bottle, urine, and sharp objects, which may include needles, pins, or thorns”.
In the East of England these witch bottles were used from the 17th century onwards as a protection against the effects of witchcraft. From here it spread all over the British Isles and Ireland; and then to America in communities that feared witches. The author carefully presents research taken from history, folklore and archaeology, including examples of household deposits and domestic magic records, with detailed footnotes and examples of full incantations. Harms’ work is essential reading for scholars, practitioners of folk magic and all those interested in witchcraft.
“Witch bottles are rapidly becoming part of the heritage, not just of one person, but of the world, and granting them to our public institutions and museums will do much to help us to unlock their meaning, to the people of both the past and present.”
– Daniel Harms, author of Witch Bottles.
2022, 118 pages. Paperback & Kindle editions available.
ISBN 978-1-910191-00-2
B&W 6.14 x 9.21 in or 234 x 156 mm (Royal 8vo) Perfect Bound on White w/Gloss Lam
Witch Bottles: History, Culture & Magic by Daniel Harms
Unsettling the Contents: A Foreword on Witch Bottles by Alexander Cummins 11
Introduction 21
The Witch in Belief, Folklore, and Medical Practice 23
Origins of the Witch Bottle 28
Witch Bottles in Scandinavia 65
Witch Bottles in North America 67
Today’s Witch Bottles 82
Witch Bottles in the Media 86
Discussion 88
Conclusion 99
Works Consulted 101
Index 113
Dan Harms is a librarian and author living in central New York. He has a masters in anthropology from the University at Buffalo, and a masters in library and information science from the University of Pittsburgh. His fascination with magical belief and practice has led him to research and publish a great deal in the areas of folklore, ritual magic, and their appearances in literature.
His past works include The Cthulhu Mythos Encyclopedia, The Necronomicon Files (with John Wisdom Gonce), The Long-Lost Friend (editor), The Book of Oberon (with Joseph Peterson and Daniel Clark), William Dawson Bellhouse, Wax Images, Of Angels, Demons, and Spirits (with Daniel Clark), Balloonists, Alchemists, and Astrologers, and The Book of Four Wizards (with S. Aldarnay, forthcoming).
His articles have been published in Abraxas, Folklore, Fortean Times, The Journal for the Academic Study of Magic, The Journal of Scholarly Communication, The Journal of the Western Mystery Tradition, Thanatos, and The Unspeakable Oath. He has spoken at Treadwell’s in London, and at conferences at Oxford, Western Michigan University, and Waterloo University, among others. He is also an avid roleplaying gamer, and occasionally writes for publishers including Chaosium, Arc Dream, and others.