Witch Bottles: History, Culture, Magic

by Daniel Harms

"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 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.

120 pages, Paperback

Published October 31, 2022

About the author

Daniel Harms is a writer, author and librarian living in upstate New York.

Harms is best known for the books The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana: A Guide to Lovecraftian Horror (which won an Origins Special Achievement Award), The Cthulhu Mythos Encyclopedia, The Necronomicon Files (co-authored with John Wisdom Gonce III), and The Long-Lost Friend: A 19th Century American Grimoire.

Harms work has appeared in publications such as The Journal for the Academic Study of Magic, Abraxas, Fortean Times, Paranoia, and The Unspeakable Oath. He is the originator of The Shadow Over Usenet, a detailed online discussion of the works of H. P. Lovecraft. He is a lecturer on Lovecraft Circle literature and occult films and history, and his blog Papers Falling from an Attic Window provides commentary on these and other topics.