Supernatural Defenses Activated through Death

Abstract

abstract:Objects such as concealed shoes, dried cats, horse skulls, written charms, and witch bottles have been found in thousands of buildings in Britain and elsewhere in the world with the clear aim of protecting the occupants of the building from sources of supernatural evil. There are also an array of marks that have been made on surfaces designed to ward off evil influences. Generally speaking, these objects contain an element of breakage or death before they can be used to protect against magical forces, arguably this is also true where the surface structure is broken to make a mark. Despite the large numbers of these objects and marks that exist, there is rarely any inclusion of them in works about the history of witchcraft. This paper is an exploration of the different objects and marks that were used for this purpose.