The black dogs go under many names depending on which county you are in, here are some of the more common ones. In the north of England in counties such as Yorkshire and Lancashire you will hear names such as Guytrash, Shriker or Barguest, in East Anglia and Norfolk you will hear Black Shuck, Skeff or Moddey Dhoo and in the south of England you will hear names like Yeth or Wish Hounds. The origin of the word Guytrash is unknown but Shuck can be traced back to the Old English Scucca, meaning Demon while Barguest may come from the German 'Bargeist' meaning 'spirit of the (funeral) bier'. The Demon association is sometimes emphasised by the title 'Devil Dog'. In the south, Yeth means Heath while Wish in a similar vein is an old Sussex word for marsh. This name for the hounds is widely used in Sussex but the origin also seems linked to the term Witch Hounds which is also common. Whether there is any connection between the two, one coming from the other is unknown. The names may just be referring to the fact that these dogs are often seen in wild country places.
Shadow People are one of today's most-discussed paranormal topics, with no less an authority than Art Bell devotingmany hours of his talk show to the disturbing subject.
Shadow People are dark, human-shaped entities that are most often visible only in a victim's peripheral vision. When
the individual shifts his gaze in that direction, the
Shadow People vanish only to reappear once again in the
corner of his eye. This can occur repeatedly over a period
of hours or even days, driving the victim to the brink of
madness.
6. What do Shadow People look like?
Amazingly, some victims have been approached head-on by the furtive, shadowy creatures that usually lurk in the corner of one's eye, yet disappear when looked at directly.
In one case, a 37-year-old female accountant in Oslo, Norway stated, "I was just about to fall asleep when I spotted three Shadow People standing at the foot of my bed. Each had glowing red eyes and an inky, black form that kept shifting and changing. When I reached for my cellphone to call the police, they disappeared." Thereafter, the woman kept a light burning throughout the night and never saw the Shadow People again.
Humans have always struggled with the spirits of the dead
-- even in ancient Rome. During this era, ordinary people
fretted about the presence of ghost-like forms known as The
Larvae. These were the souls of dead people who had
committed horrific crimes while living on earth. Such souls
were endlessly restless and considered highly violent. The
Romans believed that The Larvae were even a cause of
madness in the living, and so were greatly feared.
8. What are Lemures?
MALIGNANT GHOSTS OF ANCIENT ROME, appearing in grotesque and fearsome forms by night to terrify the living, especially the surviving members of their own families. They were placated by the Lemuria, held annually on the 9, 11, and 15 May, when the head of the house would purify his hands and scatter black beans to appease the lemures.
According to tradition, this observance was instituted by Romulus afterhe killed his brother Remus. The period of the Lemuria was considered to be inauspicious for marriages or new ventures.
9. What is the 'Evil Eye?'
MAL DE OJO (THE EVIL EYE)
Contrary to its name, the evil eye is caused by excessive admiration.The evil eye is most common among infants since they are young and are believed to be unable to take such strong adoration. If a stranger admires a baby, the stranger must touch the infant in order to invoke God's protection from the evil eye. If not touched, the baby will experience a high fever, a lack of appetite or sleep, and vomiting. Mal de ojo can be transferred by anyone.
To avert mal de ojo, drink anis (aniseed) tea or so claimed by Wiccan/Pagan practitioners.
On another note, in some Latin Cultures, for example Puerto Rico, a bracelet with a charm in the shape of a closed palm, made out of onyx, is placed on the baby to protect it from the evil eye. Some parents use the bracelet, or as a pin on the baby's clothes or an item close to the baby for protection. It is also believed, that when you see a baby, and admire it, you always say outloud for God to Bless the child, to show you have no ill intentions towards the Baby.
10. Who are the Men In Black?
11. What is a Magic Carpet?
MAGIC CARPET - MAGIC OBJECT, a motif particularly common in Asian folktales. It has the property of transporting the one seated on it anywhere he wishes to go. In the Koran, King Solomon had a wonderful green silk carpet, large enough to accommodate his entire court, which he used to move from place to place speedily and in comfort. Prince Houssain in the Arabian Nights possessed a similar, although smaller carpet.
12. Who was 'Mikula?'
MIKULA - RUSSIAN PEASANT HERO, a man with superhuman strength whose adventures are recounted in many byliny. He was the lover of mother Earth, Maki-Syra-Zemlya, who imparted his great strength to him. His cart, which he could life with one hand, could not be shifted by an army of ordinary men. A Paul Bunyan figure, he can crop more trees and till more land faster and better than any other peasant.
13. Who was Mululu?
AUSTRALIA ABORIGINAL CULTURE HERO, an ancestor of the
Dreamtime. He became a star after his death and made provision for his four daughters, who would otherwise have been unable to support themselves, to follow him: the healer plaited his long beard to make a latter to the sky and the four girls ascended it. They can now be seen as the crux or Southern Cross constellation, with their father nearby as the star we know as Centaurus.
14. NAIN ROUGE - RED DWARF', A HOUSEHOLD SPIRIT OF NORMANDY,
with special responsibility for fishermen. In US lore it refers to an evil ghost or demon said to have caused the conflagration in Detroit in 1805, and some Americans paint a cross upon their door to avert its power.
15. NAKH - WATER DEMON OF ESTONIAN LORE, the spirits of the drowned. Nakhs are shapeshifters, but usually appear in at least semi-human form or as a horse (cf Kelpie). Both males and females lure their victims into the water with a sweet singing or bewitch them into dancing until they drown, exhausted, females are often described as mermaid figures with long hair, bared breasts and the tail of a fish. They are sometimes known as Nakinein. To see a Nakh is always a bad omen, usually presaging death by drowning.
16. NASNAS - AN ISLAMIC DEMON, who appears to humans in the form of a frail old man. He waits by the side of ta river and begs to be carried across, but if a kind-hearted traveler should consent he twines his legs around his benefactor in mid-stream with demonic power and drowns him.
17. NHANGS - EVIL SPIRITS OF ARMENIAN LORE, sea dwellers often assuming the form of mermaids to lure their victims to their deaths. They belong to the ancient and widespread tradition of predatory, seductive female spirits.
18. NIGHTMARE - OPPRESSIVE NIGHT SPIRIT. The word derives not from mare meaning female horse, the common derivation of folk etymology, but from Old English mare, incubus, the nightmare is a fiend that sits on the sleepers chests and leaves them feeling oppressed, short of breath and panicky when they awake.
19. NINE - ONE OF THE MOST POTENT OF MYSTICAL NUMBERS, the trinity of trinities. It is also significant that the ancient lunar week had nine nights in the Roman method of counting. It appears frequently in folklore but ancient and modern, the Norse cosmos was composed of nine worlds, the hydra was nine headed, a charm to make the fairies visible involves placing nine gains of wheat on a four leafed clover, a cat has nine lives, and so on.
20. NISSE - SCANDINAVIAN HOUSEHOLD SPIRITS, an ancestral spirit who exhibits many brownie characteristics, he is helpful but volatile and easily offended and must be placated by discreet gifts of food.
21. NOCNITSA - HAG OF EASTERN EUROPEAN LORE, who prowls through the village at night to torment children. Careful mothers may protect their infants by keeping a knife in the cradle or, since this brings its own dangers, drawing a circle around the child with a knife or hiding an axe beneath the cradle. These practices illustrate the significance of iron as protection against malignant spirits.
22. NURE ONNA - EVIL SPIRIT OF JAPANESE LORE, portrayed with long hair and a long, flickering tongue.
23. OGRE - MONSTER OF FOLKLORE, characterized by gullibility and cannibalism. The witch of the Hansel and Gretel tale is a type of ogre. Witch-ogres can be either male or female, and can appear in both human and animal forms (in some versions of the tale, the bird witch leads the children to the gingerbread house is actually the witch in disguise). The various ruses used by the children to fool the witch are typical of such ogre tales, and typical too is the ogre's death, tricked by greed into stupidity and burned alive.
24. ONEIROMANCY - A FORM OF DIVINATION, the interpretation of dreams. The practice is found throughout the world, with varying degrees of complexity, ranging from direct instruction or warning to complex allegorical symbolism or psychoanalytic interpretation. The language of dream divination is said by many scholars to draw heavily on folkloric motifs and themes; since folklore is perceived as a product of the collective unconscious, it therefore relates closely to dreams, the product of the individual unconscious.
25. ONI - DEMONS OR OGRES OF JAPANESE FOLKLORE. They are generally represented with large heads, horns and fearsome teeth, but they are adept at shape shifting and may appear as frail old women or beggars. They are ceremonially ejected from the house during the New Year celebrations. A common theme of Japanese tales and are is the oni who becomes a devout Buddhist, submitting to the monks who saw off his horns.
26. OPEN SESAME - MAGIC FORMULA OF OPENING, used most famously in the tale of Ali Baba in the Arabian Nights to open the robbers cave. This is the best known form of a common folklore motif, the magic token that opens a treasury cave. In many European tales the object is a stick, in some a flower, and some scholars have speculated that these formulae sprang from a tradition investing plants with magic properties, here the name
of the herb itself is sufficient.
27. OVERLOOKING - MAGICAL PRACTICE, the act of casting the evil eye.
28. OVINNIK - HOUSEHOLD SPIRIT OF RUSSIA, the spirit of the drying kiln. If displeased (for example), if the family fire the kiln on a feast day or if they fail to offer suitable thanks for his continued help) he may burn down the kiln. To be sure of his goodwill, the family may offer the blood of a sacrificed cock around the kiln.
30. PELICAN - WATER BIRD, species Pelecanus, characterized by its capacious elastic throat pouch. In classical lore it is stigmatized as a greedy and treacherous bird, and in Hebrew lore it is an emblem of desolation, but in medireview Europe it became known as a model of maternal devotion, the female pelican was said to kill her young, either by smothering them overmuch or by knocking them with her wings, but after mourning them for three days she restores them to life with blood drawn from her own breast. This was used as an emblem of resurrection, and Dante likenedChrist to 'our pelican'.
31. PENATES - HOUSEHOLD SPIRITS OF ROMAN LORE, originally the pods of the storeroom (depenates). Their images, often made of wax or ivory, were worshipped at special shrines in the house, with offerings made at each meal and a fire kept burning in their honor. They are clearly connected with the lares, the spirits of the dead, and the two words are sometimes used interchangeably. The penates publici, the protectors of the Roman state, said to have journeyed with Aeneas after the fall of Troy, were worshipped in a state cult that did much to foster national unity and pride.
32. PEONY - FLOWERING PLANT, genus Paeonia (family Paeoniaceae), bearing the tinctively large and showy blooms. Its name is said to derive from Paeon, the divine physician who treated the gods for wounds sustained during the Trojan War. In Chinese lore it embodies the male yang principle (unusually among flowers) and is closely associated with imperial power, light, happiness and spring. Its seeds were used in some areas as a charm against all manner of night demons.
33. PEPPER - PLANT OF THE NIGHTSHADE FAMILY (Solanaceae) genus Capsicum, generally bearing pungent, often hot-tasting fruits. To secure a successful crop, many societies believe that peppers should be planted either by a red-head or by anyone in a suitably fiery and irascible mood. Whole chili peppers are widely said to be good for colds and aches. Because of their fiery taste, peppers are generally held to be powerful aphrodisiacs.
34. PERI - BEAUTIFUL SUPERNATURAL FEMALES OF ISLAMIC LORE, originally evil demons of Persian mythology who were responsible for eclipses, droughts and crop failures. They later metamorphosed into graceful, dainty being entrusted with the divine task of directing human souls to Paradise, said to be fathered by fallen spirits or engendered by fire.
35. PERSIMMON - TREE AND ITS FRUIT, genus Diopyros (family Ebenaceae), native to China (D. kaki) and central to southern North America (D. virginiana). It southern states of America colds can be transferred to the persimmon tree by means of magical knots or a tea made from the bark is used to treat chills. In some areas it is said to have the power of changing the sex of a girl who eats copiously of the fruit.
36. OAK APPLES - Oak apples are galls formed on oak trees by the larva of a type of wasp. In folk Magic, they are used as a means of divining whether or not a child has been bewitched or struck by the evil eye. To determine bewitchment, three oak apples are cut from a tree and dropped into a bowl or pail of water that is placed beneath the child's cradle. If they float, the child is safe; if they sink, he or she is bewitched. The procedure requires strict silence or it will not be accurate.
37. AIGUILLETTE - A knotted loop of thread, also called ligature, which witches were said to use to cause impotence, and perhaps even castration, in men, barrenness in women and general discontent in marriage. The aiguillette also served to bind couples in illicit amatory relationships.
38. ALRUNES - In German and Scandinavian myth, the Alrunes are sorceresses or female demons who can change shape; they are believed to be the mothers of the Huns. As late as the 19th century in some rural areas, they were personified by small statues, which were kept in the home, clothed and made offerings of food and drink. It was believed that the Alrunes could divine the future by responding to questions with motions of the head. If the statues were not properly cared for, they were said to cry out, which would bring great misfortune to the household.
39. AMBER - A yellow gold, fossilized resin with electrical properties, highly prized since prehistoric times and worn as jewelry to protect against witchcraft, sorcery and poisons. Only the pearl is older than amber in use as jewelry and amulets. Amber was heavily traded by the Phoenicians. The ancient Romans used it to cure headaches and throat infections, and considered a phallus made of amber to be the ultimate protection against the Evil Eye.
Amber also is considered a bringer of good luck and a protector of health. It is believed to help women in labor, to keep a person cool in the hot sun and to remedy failing eyesight, earaches and a host of intestinal and kidney ailments. Jet, or black amber, has similar properties. In Iceland, jet serves as a protective amulet. In medireview Europe, jet was burned to drive away evil spirits.
40. APPLES - Apples, cultivated in as early as 3000 B.C. have had a long association with Magic, Witches and goddesses. Magic apple lands, whose fruit gave eternal life, were cultivated by various Western pagan goddesses, among them the Greek Hera, the Scandinavian Idun (Idhunn), the Teutonic Freya and the Norse Hel, Queen of the Underworld. In Iroquois myth, the apple is the central tree of heaven. In Christianity, the apple offered Eve by the serpent is the fruit of life but becomes equated with sin.
Game and Divination with apples were part of the Celtic/Druidic harvest festival of Samhain (All Hallow's Eve), now celebrated on October 31. A surviving custom is the dunking for apples on this night. According to another custom, peeling an apple in front of a candlelit mirror on Samhain will reveal an image of one's future spouse.
Magical fermented cider may have been used in other pagan rites. In parts of England another name for strong cider is witches' brew. Apples and apple peel are used in divination mentions common in the British tales.
In English lore, the apple tree is synonymous with enchantment and associated with figures in the Arthurian legends. Arthur, upon being mortally wounded, was spirited by three fairy queens to the magical place of Avalon, "Isle of the Apples" or "appleland", ruled by Morgan Le Fay, the crone or Mother Death aspect of the Triple Goddess. Arthur's knight Lancelot fell asleep under a grafted apple tree and was carried off by four fairy queens. Queen Guinevere gave an apple to St. Patrick, who died, she was accused of Witchcraft and condemned to burn at the stake, but was rescued by Lancelot.
Witches who wished to bewitch or poison others were often said to use apples, as in the folktale of Snow White, who was put to sleep by the poisoned apple of the black witch queen. In 1637 Richard Jones, a 12 year old boy in Shepton Mallet in the county of Somerset in England, was said to be bewitched by a girl who game him an apple over his garden wall. The girl, Jane Brooks, was charged with witchcraft, convicted and hanged on March 26, 1638.
According to English folklore, it's back luck to pick all the apples to; some must be left for fairies.
The apple is a love charm in Vodoun, and in English, Danish and German folklore.
41. BABA YAGA - In Russian folklore, a female witch who loved to roast and eat people, preferably children. She was as likely to pop a niece in the oven as she was a stranger. She lived in a little hut beyond a river of fire in the "thrice tenth kingdom." The hut was ringed with stakes topped by human heads. It stood on chickens' legs and dogs' heels and turned on command. Those who were brave enough to enter the hut usually found Baba Yaga lying on the floor with her right leg in one corner and her left leg in another, sometimes with her nose growing into the ceiling.
The Bony-Legged One, as Baba Yaga often was called, would cackle at her guest, "Fie! Fie! I smell a Russian bone!" If she didn't try to get them into the oven, she gave them advice.
Baba Yaga possessed a magic wand and flew in an iron mortar (cauldron) that she spurred on with a pestle as she swept away her tracks with a broom. She had two or three sisters, also called Baba Yaga.
42. BABYLONIAN DEVIL TRAP - A terra-cotta inscribed with charms or magical texts to drive away evil. Babylonian devil traps were common between the third to first century B.C. and sixth century A.D. They were especially adopted by captive Hebrews.
The bowls were inverted and buried under the four corners of the foundations of houses and buildings. Their magic was believed to protect against an assortment of evils, including male and female demons, illness, curses and the evil eye. Some inscriptions invoked God or quoted from Hebrew scriptures. One bowl from the 3rd century B.C. proclaims a "bill of divorce" to the Devil, and all his night-monsters, ordering them to leave the community.
43. BLOODSTONE
A variety of semiprecious stones with magical or healing properties. Perhaps the best known is green jasper with red flecks, used in rituals and charms by sorcerers and witches. It is considered an enabling stone, bringing about the wishes of the user. It protects health, drives away night demons, guards against deception and pacifies. It is also used in the divination of natural disasters, such as storms, earthquakes and floods. Powdered, it has been used in medicines throughout history, particularly by women as an aid to pregnancy and lactation.
Bloodstone also refers to red coral, red marble, red jasper, carnelian, red agate and heliotrope. The ancient Egyptians associated red jasper with the blood of Isis. Ancient Greek believed bloodstones fell from heaven and could stop internal and external bleeding.
In Europe, especially in the Mediterranean area, bloodstones have long been regarded as protection against the evil eye.
44. BOGEY - In folklore, a type of horrible evil spirit that travels alone or in groups and loves to make mischief. Bogies go by various other names, the most common of which are Bogey-man, boogie-man, bug-a-boo, boo, bugbear, bock, boggart, and bogey-beast. Bogies are recognized in other cultures by still other names. They sometimes are synonymous with the Devil. In Wales, the bogey is called a bug (ghost), in Scotland a bogle and in Germany a Boggelmann. The irish puca is similar. No matter where it is found, the bogey is usually big and black, typically does its work at night, and scares children. In past generations, the threat of calling upon bogies was used to frighten children into good behavior.
45. BRUJA/BRUJO - The feminine and masculine names, respectively for the witches of Mexico, Mesoamerica and Hispanic communities in the United States. Of the two, the bruja, the woman, is more prevalent and considered to be more powerful. In the superstitious culture of Mexico, the bruja holds a visible, important function, she is sought for remedies for physical illness, and spells and charms to remedy emotional, romantic, and social problems. Bruja's may be found in many open air markets in Mexico, selling herbs, charms and other objects from which customized amulets and charms may be made. Many of their remedies for physical ailments are based on folk cures handed down through the centuries.
One of their most popular magical objects is the dead hummingbird, which the bruja wraps in embroidery threads of brilliant colors, leaving only the beak, feet and some tail feathers uncovered. The charm is used to reveal the identifies of those who are suspected of casting spells on, or gossiping about, the owner of the charm. To make the charm work, the owner wraps it in a piece of clothing or lock of hair from the suspected offender. The bird is then held in the palm of the hand and meditated upon, it is suppose to reveal the answers telepathically.
46. CERNUNNOS - The horned God of the Celts, associated with the hunt and with fertility. He was sometimes portrayed with serpent's legs, a man's torso and the head of a bull or ram; or he was shown with stags or wearing stag antlers. Cernunnos was ruler of the underworld or other world, the opener of the gates between life and death. He also was worshiped by the Romans and Gauls, who sometimes portrayed him as tripe-headed. The name Cernunnos means simply "the horned".
The famous Gundestrup Cauldron, a large, gilt silver cauldron dated ca.100 B.C. and recovered from a bog near Gundestrup, Denmark, depicts a stag-horned Cernunnos in several scenes, as an antlered man attended by animals, including a boar, and grasping a ram-headed serpent, and grasping a stag in each hand. The cauldron is believed to be Celtic in origin, though some scholars say it is Gallic.
In contemporary Witchcraft and Paganism, the Horned God is often addressed as "Cernunnos" in rituals.
47. CORN DOLLY - A type of ritual doll, or variation of a popper, used in traditional European seasonal rites for fertility of the land. The corn dolly is a harvest figure made of either the last or first sheaves of grain. It is placed in the fields or used as a charm in fertility rites or as a centerpiece in seasonal celebration. Corn dollies are hung in homes or fed to livestock as a magical charm for their well-being.
Modern corn dollies are made in various shapes, especially for hanging in the home, such as bells, cornucopias, or placed into intricate patterns.
Corn dollies have many names, such as corn-mother, grandmother, mother of the grain, harvest-mother, mother-sheaf, old woman, old wife, the Cailleach, the hag, the queen, the Bride, the maiden, the Ceres and the Demeter. The latter two are the Greek and Roman names, respectively, for the goddess of the grain and harvest.
48. DEOSIL (ALSO DEISEAL) - Clockwise circular movement which in Magic and witchcraft is used in casing positive spells and in casting the magic circle. The clockwise rotation is associated with the movement of the sun across the heaves and with blessing and good fortune. Deiseal is the Irish term for "a turning to the right" or the "holy round". Deosil dances and circuits are done not only around magic circles but around festival fires, holy objects such as sacred stone, crops, fields, homes and building. The opposite of deosil is Widdershins.
49. DEVIL FISH - A type of ray fish used by Mexican witches (brujas or brujos) in the casting of spells. When dried, the devil fish resembles a man with a horned head, tail and webbed arms. It is considered effective in quieting up gossipy neighbors.
50. DEVIL'S MARK - According to witch-hunters, the devil always permanently marked the bodies of his initiates to seal their pledge of obedience and service to him. He marked them by raking his claw across their flesh or using a hot iron, which left a mark, usually blue or red but not a scar. Sometimes he left a mark by licking them. The Devil supposedly branded witches at nocturnal sabbats.
The marks were always made in "secret places", such as under eyelids, in armpits and in body cavities. The mark was considered the ultimate proof of being a witch - all witches and sorcerers were believed to have at least one. All persons accused of witchcraft and were brought to trial were thoroughly searched for such a mark. Scars, birthmarks, natural blemishes and insensitive patches of skin that did not bleed qualified as Devil's marks. Experts firmly believed that the mark of Satan was clearly distinguishable from ordinary blemishes, but in actuality, that was seldom the case. Protests from the victims that the marks were natural were ignored.
Accounts of being marked by the Devil were obtained in the "confessions" of accused witches, who usually were tortured to confess. Inquisitors routinely stripped off the accused witch's clothes and shaved off all body hair so that no square inch of skin was missed. Pins were driven deeply into scars, calluses and thickened areas of skin. Since this customarily was done in front of a jeering crowd, it is no surprise that some alleged witches felt nothing from the pricks.
Fortunately for medireview inquisitors, the Devil also left invisible
marks upon his followers. If an accused witch had no likely natural
blemishes that could be called a Devil's mark, pins were simply driven into her body over and over again until an insensitive area was found.
British anthropologist Margaret A. Murray theorized that Devil's mares were actually tattoos, marks of identification, which she offered as support of her contention that witchcraft as an organized pagan religion had flourished in the Middle Ages. Murray's controversial ideas have been rejected by scientists and academics due to lack of evidence.
51. Preternatural:
Preternatural -
1. Out of or being beyond the normal course of nature; differing from the natural.
2. Surpassing the normal or usual; extraordinary.
3. Transcending the natural or material order; supernatural.
