Cows And Horses Witched
: STORIES OF SATAN, GHOSTS, ETC.The writer was told the name of the farm where the following events were
said to have taken place, but he is not quite sure that his memory has
not deceived him, so he will only relate the facts without giving them a
locality.
A farmer had a good mare that went mad, she foamed at the mouth, rushed
about the stall, and died in great agony. But this was not all, his cows
kept back their milk, and what they
could they churn the milk, for it turned into froth.
A conjuror was consulted, and the farmer was told that all this evil had
been brought about by a witch who had been refused milk at his door, and
her mischief was counteracted by the conjuror thus consulted.
Occasionally we hear of injured persons retaliating upon the witches who
had brought about their losses. This, however, was not often attempted,
for people feared the consequences of a failure, but it was,
nevertheless, supposed to be attainable.
I will relate a few instances of this punishment of witches for their
evil doings.
More
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Charm Against Foot And Mouth Disease
The cattle on a certain farm in Llansilin parish suffered from the above complaint, and old Mr. H--- consulted a conjuror, who gave him a written charm which he was directed to place on the horns of the cattle, and he was told this would act both ... Charm For Asthma
Place the Bible for three successive nights under the bolster of the sufferer, and it will cure him. ... Charm For Clefyd Y Galon_ _or Heart Disease
The Rev. J. Felix, vicar of Cilcen, near Mold, when a young man lodged in Eglwysfach, near Glandovey. His landlady, noticing that he looked pale and thin, suggested that he was suffering from Clefyd y galon, which may be translated as above, or l... Charm For Cocks About To Fight
The charm consisted of a verse taken from the Bible, written on a slip of paper, wrapped round the bird's leg, as the steel spurs were being placed on him. The verse so employed was, Eph. vi., 16:--Taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall b... Charm For Fits
A ring made out of the offertory money was a cure for fits. About the year 1882 the wife of a respectable farmer in the parish of Efenechtyd called at the rectory and asked the rector's wife if she would procure a shilling for her from the offeri... Charm For Removing A Stye From The Eye
Take an ordinary knitting needle, and pass it back and fore over the stye, but without touching it, and at the same time counting its age, thus--One stye, two styes, three styes, up to nine, and then reversing the order, as nine styes, eight styes... Charm For Removing The Ringworm
1. Spit on the ground the first thing in the morning, mix the spittle with the mould, and then anoint the ringworm with this mixture. 2. Hold an axe over the fire until it perspires, and then anoint the ringworm with the sweat. ... Charm For Rheumatism
Carry a potato in your pocket, and when one is finished, supply its place with another. ... Charm To Make A Servant Reliable
Y neb a fyno gael ei weinidog yn gywir, doded beth o'r lludw hwn yn nillad ei weinidog ac efe a fydd cywir tra parhao'r lludw.--Y Brython, vol. iii., p. 137. Which is:--Whosoever wishes to make his servant faithful let him place the ashes (of a... Charming The Wild Wart
Take a branch of elder tree, strip off the bark, split off a piece, hold this skewer near the wart, and rub the wart three or nine times with the skewer, muttering the while an incantation of your own composing, then pierce the wart with a thorn. ... Charms
The cure of diseases by charms is generally supposed to be a kind of superstition antagonistic to common sense, and yet there are undoubted cases of complete cures through the instrumentality of charms. Warts are, undoubtedly, removed by the fait... Charms For Quinsy
Apply to the throat hair cut at midnight from the black shoulder stripe of the colt of an ass. ... Charms For Warts
1. Drop a pin into a holy well and your warts will disappear, but should anyone take the pin out of the well, the warts you have lost will grow on his fingers. 2. Rub the warts with the inside of a bean pod, and then throw the pod away. 3.... Charms Performed With Snake's Skin
1. Burn the skin and preserve the ashes. A little salve made out of the ashes will heal a wound. 2. A little of the ashes placed between the shoulders will make a man invulnerable. 3. Whoso places a little of the ashes in the water with w... Clefyd Yr Ede Wlan Or Yarn Sickness
About twenty years ago, when the writer was curate of Llanwnog, Montgomeryshire, a young Welsh married woman came to reside in the parish suffering from what appeared to be that fell disease, consumption. He visited her in her illness, and one da... Coblynau Or Knockers
have been described as a species of Fairies, whose abode was within the rocks, and whose province it was to indicate to the miners by the process of knocking, etc., the presence of rich lodes of lead or other metals in this or that direction of the ... Cock-fighting
Cock-fighting was once common in Wales, and it was said that the most successful cock-fighters fought the bird that resembled the colour of the day when the conflict took place; thus, the blue game-cock was brought out on cloudy days, black when t... Coel Ede Wlan Or The Yarn Test
Two young women took a ball of yarn and doubled the threads, and then tied tiny pieces of wood along these threads so as to form a miniature ladder. Then they went upstairs together, and opening the window threw this artificial ladder to the grou... Conjurors
1. It was formerly believed that men could sell themselves to the devil, and thus become the possessors of supernatural power. These men were looked upon as malicious conjurors. 2. Another species of conjurors practised magical arts, having o... Corwrion Changeling Legend
Once on a time, in the fourteenth century, the wife of a man at Corwrion had twins, and she complained one day to the witch who lived close by, at Tyddyn y Barcut, that the children were not getting on, but that they were always crying, day and ni... Cows
Cows Kneeling on Christmas Morn. In the upland parishes of Wales, particularly those in Montgomeryshire, it was said, and that not so long ago, that cows knelt at midnight on Christmas eve, to adore the infant Saviour. This has been affirmed ... Cows And Horses Witched
The writer was told the name of the farm where the following events were said to have taken place, but he is not quite sure that his memory has not deceived him, so he will only relate the facts without giving them a locality. A farmer had a go... Crane
The crane is often mistaken for the heron. When the crane flies against the stream, she asks for rain, when with the stream she asks for fair weather. This bird is said to be thin when the moon wanes, and fat at the waxing of the moon. ... Crickets
It is lucky to have crickets in a house, and to kill one is sure to bring bad luck after it. If they are very numerous in a house, it is a sign that peace and plenty reign there. The bakehouse in which their merry chirp is heard is the place to ... Crows' Feathers
In Montgomeryshire it was, at one time, supposed that if a person picked up a crow's feather he was sure to meet a mad dog before the day was over. But in other parts it was considered lucky to find a crow's feather, if, when found, it were stu... Cwn Annwn Or Dogs Of The Abyss
The words Cwn Annwn are variously translated as Dogs of Hell, Dogs of Elfinland. In some parts of Wales they are called Cwn Wybir, Dogs of the Sky, and in other places Cwn Bendith Y Mamau. We have seen that Bendith y Mamau is a name given to the... Cyhyraeth Death Sound
This was thought to be a sound made by a crying spirit. It was plaintive, yet loud and terrible. It made the hair stand on end and the blood become cold; and a whole neighbourhood became depressed whenever the awful sound was heard. It was unli... Cynon's Ghost
One of the wicked Spirits which plagued the secluded Valley of Llanwddyn long before it was converted into a vast reservoir to supply Liverpool with water was that of Cynon. Of this Spirit Mr. Evans writes thus:--Yspryd Cynon was a mischievous go... David Salisbury's Ghost
I will quote from Bye-Gones, vol. iii., p. 211, an account of this Spirit. There was an old Welsh tradition in vogue some fifty years ago, that one David Salisbury, son of Harri Goch of Llanrhaiadr, near Denbigh, and grandson to Tho... Death Watch
This is a sound, like the ticking of a watch, made by a small insect. It is considered a sign of death, and hence its name, Death Watch. A working man's wife, whose uncle was ill in bed, told the writer, that she had no hopes of his recovery, b... Denbighshire Version Of A Fairy Mother And Human Midwife
The following story I received from the lips of David Roberts, whom I have previously mentioned, a native of Denbighshire, and he related the tale as one commonly known. As might be expected, he locates the event in Denbighshire, but I have no re... Dick The Fiddler And The Fairy Crown-piece
For the following story I am indebted to my friend, Mr Hamer, who records it in his Parochial account of Llanidloes, published in the Montgomeryshire Collections, vol. x., pp. 252-3-4. Mr Hamer states that the tale was related to him by Mr. Nicho... Divination With The Twca Or Knife
The proceeding was as follows:--The party who wished to know whom he, or she, was to marry, went to the church secretly and walked around it seven times, repeating the while these words:-- Dyma'r Twca, Lle mae'r wain? Here's the ... Ducks
When ducks sportively chase each other through the water, and flap their wings and dive about, in evident enjoyment of their pastime, it is a sign that rain is not far off. ... Eagle
Persons who had eaten eagle's flesh had power to cure erysipelas, and this virtue was said by some to be transmitted to their descendants for ever, whilst others affirmed it only lasted for nine generations. See page 263, where this subject is full... Early Reference To Witches Turning Themselves Into Hares
The prevalence of the belief that witches could transform themselves into hares is seen from a remark made by Giraldus Cambrensis in his topography of Ireland. He writes:-- It has also been a frequent complaint, from old times, as well as i... Elidorus And The Fairies
A short time before our days, a circumstance worthy of note occurred in these parts, which Elidorus, a priest, most strenuously affirmed had befallen to himself. When a youth of twelve years, and learning his letters, since, as Solomon says, 'T... Fairies In Markets And Fairs
It was once firmly believed by the Welsh that the Fairy Tribe visited markets and fairs, and that their presence made business brisk. If there was a buzz in the market place, it was thought that the sound was made by the Fairies, and on such occa... Fairies Working For Men
It was once thought that kind Fairies took compassion on good folk, who were unable to accomplish in due time their undertakings, and finished in the night these works for them; and it was always observed that the Fairy workman excelled as a trade... Fairy Changelings
It was firmly believed, at one time, in Wales, that the Fairies exchanged their own weakly or deformed offspring for the strong children of mortals. The child supposed to have been left by the Fairies in the cradle, or elsewhere, was commonly cal... Fairy Dances
The one occupation of the Fairy folk celebrated in song and prose was dancing. Their green rings, circular or ovoidal in form, abounded in all parts of the country, and it was in these circles they were said to dance through the livelong night. ... Fairy Hammer And Fairy Or Elf Stones
Stone hammers of small size have been ascribed to the Fairies, and an intelligent Welsh miner once told the writer that he had himself seen, in a very ancient diminutive mine level, stone hammers which, he said, had once belonged to the Fairies. ...