Why Do Witches Wear Pointy Hats? The History Behind the Costume

America’s obsession with witches is older than the country itself. At first, it was rooted in fear, fueling false accusations of witchcraft, including those that led to the Salem witch trials. Beyond the courtroom, witches have been a steady presence in American culture through folk legends and local lore, fairy tales, Halloween traditions, and eventually,

The Legend Of Witches Flying On Brooms Explained

Witches flying through the air on brooms is an iconic image associated with Halloween. But how did the two — witches, brooms — become associated with one another? It’s hard to say, since both have folklore reaching back hundreds of years. Most trace the origin of Halloween to the ancient Celtic holiday of Samhain, a

The Salem Witch Trials 1692

With October just around the corner, Halloween and Salem Massachusetts often comes to mind. The city of Salem Massachusetts has a global perception for being a town of Halloween and witch related festivities. Part of this perception is tied to the Salem Haunted Happenings celebration that takes place here in Salem Massachusetts every October. This

May 26 – On this day in History: American Witch Hanged, Dracula Published

Alse Young is the first American executed for witchcraft in 1647 Forty-five years before the hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials, the first American colonist accused of witchcraft, Alse Young, is executed in the town square of Hartford, Connecticut. More executions will follow, as witchcraft would remain a capital crime in Connecticut until 1750. More

‘Witches’ that were tried, drowned and hanged in sleepy Merseyside village

Legends of alleged ‘witches’ have been part of folklore for centuries. With barbaric trials taking place in towns across the country through many towns in the country to ‘confirm’ a woman was in fact a ‘witch’. Alleged “witches” were “tried, drowned and hanged” in one area which now inhabits Merseyside – with another being executed

Why Black Cats Are Associated With Halloween and Bad Luck

Among superstitions, one of the oldest and most enduring is that crossing paths with a black cat will bring on bad luck. The dark-colored felines have also been folded into modern Halloween symbols, giving them the (unearned) reputation of being spooky. But how and where did the association between black cats and bad luck begin?

Under the Skin: Shape-Changing in Mexican Folklore

Witches in European folklore fly through the air on broomsticks, but in Latin America they change shapes, turning into different animals. This belief in shape-changing sorcerers, which is present in many Indigenous communities across Mexico and Central America, seems to be based on old Prehispanic concepts of the animal, the soul and the self. The

Modern-day ghosts spied at Pendle Hill

Modern day hauntings have occurred at the site of one of the most infamous witchcraft sagas in the world, it is claimed. Ghost hunters following in the footsteps of the notorious Pendle witches say other spirits have been picked up on the daunting, macabre hillside of Pendle. Pendle Hill was the centre of notorious allegations

Do You Know the Legend of New Hampshire Witch Eunice ‘Goody’ Cole?

New Hampshire’s Only Convicted Witch is Memorialized in Hampton I know we all know the history of Salem, Massachusetts, and it’s a popular tourist destination. But did you know that many, many years before the Salem Witch trials, the residents of New Hampshire tried a Eunice “Goody” Cole for witchcraft not once, but three times?

Celebrating The 400th Birthday Of Salem Witch Trials Victim Rebecca Nurse

In Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible,” the playwright notes that “gentleness exudes from” a sick, elderly woman named Rebecca Nurse. At age 71, Nurse became the oldest woman killed at the Salem witch trials of 1692 and 1693. About 200 people were tried for witchcraft in Puritan New England and 19 of them, mostly women, were