Fabulous Folklore: Toads in Witchcraft

I love this tiny toad with a broomstick. It is found carved in wood on the building of the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic in Boscastle, Cornwall.

Toads have been associated with Witchcraft for many hundreds of years.

During the Renaissance it was widely believed that Satan sent witches familiar spirits to help them with their work. Toads were not liked in Medieval Europe, they were seen as ugly, disgusting creatures that were associated with poison. They were believed to be able to kill people even without being a familiar, which was a common concern. The witch could use the poison of toads to others, so the poor toad became entangled in this idea of harm. Stories of toads joining the Witches Sabbath or being compared to the Devil did not help, and terrified everyday folk, adding to their belief that toads were awful creatures connected to death and filth.

The familiar of the Second Witch in Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a toad known as Paddock. He has the witches throw another toad into their cauldron. It is possible that Shakespeare may have read Discovery of Witchcraft (1584) by Reginald Scot, where the word familiar is first seen in print.

It was thought that toads had a “toadstool” in their heads, a sort of magickal gemstone that acted as an antidote for poison. Amulets containing dried frogs were abundant; and cunningfolk may have used toads in their medicine and remedies, keeping them for this reason, and subsequently bolstering the idea of a witch’s familiar.

Bufagin, a toxin produced from the glands on the top of a toad’s head, may have been linked to flying rituals and ointments, but it is a steroid not an alkaloid, and as such produces an anaesthetic effect rather than a psychoactive one. However butofenin, a toad toxin and alkaloid may be a good ingredient for a flying potion.

NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Hag Stones 

NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Witches' Flight

Fabulous Folklore: The Witches of Belvoir

Trigger Warning: female persecution, murder, capital punishment

Recently we visited Belvoir Castle, near Grantham, Lincolnshire. It is home to the Manners family, and the workplace of Joan Flower and her two daughters.

After Henry and Francis Manners ~ sons of the Earl of Rutland ~ died, Joan Flower and her daughters Margaret and Philippa were accused of witchcraft. It was believed they had cursed the family after recently being sacked from their jobs at the castle, with the boys’ deaths being a final act of revenge.

They were known locally as herbal healers, but after the family fell ill, it was deemed that the Flowers women were responsible. The boys’ deaths left the Earl without an heir.

Others were implicated. Anne Baker, Joan Willimot and Ellen Greene were named by the sisters, and all the women confessed to communing with familiar spirits; Flower’s cat “Rutterkin” and Willimot’s cat “Pretty”, amongst others.

Joan Flower would not confess, and in a bid to prove her innocence exclaimed that she would choke on food if she was guilty of the crimes she was accused of. She was brought some bread and butter and is reported to have died after taking her first bite.

Margaret and Philippa were summarily tried, and then hanged at Lincoln Castle in 1619.

It has been suggested that the Flowers women were framed by George Villiers, who wanted to marry the Earl of Rutland’s daughter, Katherine. By marrying Katherine and using the Flowers as a smokescreen, he could kill the brothers and inherit the Manners’ wealth, including Belvoir Castle. 

NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Primrose 

NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: A Personal Spooky Story 

NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Place Names

Fabulous Folklore: The Witches of Belvoir

“Surely... God will choke me on this bread if I am guilty!”

It was 1613, and in Langham, Rutland, lived Joan Flowers. She had two daughters, Philippa and Margaret, who worked for the Earl of Rutland who was seated at Belvoir Castle.

Philippa helped in the nursery and Margaret was a poultry keeper and laundress until she was caught stealing eggs, and was dismissed from service. The Countess of Rutland refused to give her a character reference which meant she would be unable to find further employment with other local dignitaries.

Joan Flowers was absolutely enraged. Despite being poor she had built up good standing within her community, and she was angry that her daughter would be treated this way.

She gathered her small coven. Along with Ellen Green of Stathern, Joan Willimott of Goadby, and Anne Baker of Bottesford, and her daughters; the six women climbed to the top of Blackberry Hill, a sinister spot rumoured to be a place of malevolent magick. Here they made a pact with the Devil that revenge would be taken on the Earl and Countess of Rutland, and their three children.

Philippa provided a glove belonging to Lord Ross, Henry Manners, their young son. Joan dipped it in boiling water and rubbed it along the back of her familiar, a black cat called Rutterkin, before pricking it with pins. A week later the child became ill and died. Joan took feathers from the quilt of the Earl and Countess, and boiled the feathers, mixing them with blood, declaring “may they have no more children.”

The same was done with Francis Manners. He fell sick, but recovered. The witches were angry, and resorted to burying his glove in a dung heap, whereby Francis would fade as the glove decayed. Katherine Manners also started looking ill.

The witches were not secretive about what they were doing, and the news of the curse soon made it back to Belvoir Castle. In 1618, all six women were arrested and imprisoned at Lincoln Gaol. After questioning they were taken to the Lincoln Assizes. Joan Flowers maintained she was innocent, despite the evidence that was brought against her, and despite the boasting she had done.

In 1619, Joan stood before a packed court, having asked for bread to be supplied, and exclaimed in front of an audience sat on tenterhooks:

“Surely... God will choke me on this bread if I am guilty!”

She took a bite of the bread... and choked to death.

Joan Flowers’ daughters were found guilty and hanged at Lincoln Castle. It is not sure what happened to the others as it was not recorded, but their deaths did not save Francis Manners who died shortly after in 1620.

A memorial to the Earl and his family can be found at Bottesford Church:

“He had two sonnes, both which dyed in their infancy by wicked practice and sorcerye”

Footnote: There is evidence to suggest that the Flower family were set up. The family were disliked by the staff at Belvoir Castle, and despite being herbal healers were seen in their local community as obnoxious and arrogant. Many witch trials involved local squabbles. There is evidence to suggest that the boys were actually put to death by the Duke of Buckingham, who wanted to marry the Earl of Rutland’s daughter so that he could inherit the Earl’s fortune. It is said that local people were scared of the Flowers family, but we must consider that these were poor, uneducated women who had to defend themselves in court, with the average trial lasting no more than 20 minutes. Joan Flowers is buried at the crossroads in Ancaster.

NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: The Edith Weston Poltergeist

Fabulous Folklore: Robin Redbreast

There are many animals associated with this time of year, but most notably the Robin, who is often pictured perched upon a Yule Log.

Whilst many see the Robin as a symbol of good luck, fortune, and abundance, there is some dark folklore surrounding them, and they are closely associated with death.

Many believe a visit from a Robin is actually a visit from a relative in spirit. They’re seen as messengers for the spirit world, and there are many stories about their comforting presence following the death of a loved one. After my Grandmother died a Robin appeared every time my Mum entered her house. Some say that if a Robin pecks the windows or enters a house it signifies the coming death of a loved one. It is no surprise, then, that it is seen as bad luck to kill or injure one.

The old English ballad “Babes in the Wood” tells of the Wren and the Robin working together to cover the unburied bodies of two children who were abandoned and died:

And when they were dead 

The robins so red

     Brought strawberry leaves

And over them spread;

And all the day long,

The green branches among,

     They'd prettily whistle

And this was their song-

“Poor babes in the wood!

Sweet babes in the wood!

     Oh the sad fate of 

The babes in the wood!”

Christian stories suggest that the Robin was originally brown, his chest stained red by the blood of Jesus who was dying on the cross.

The Victorians were a fan of these little birds, and they would appear on Christmas cards, delivering letters like tiny postmen. The Royal Mail’s colour is red as it is linked to royalty, and thus the Victorians nicknamed their posties “Robins”.

We met this little chap last week who is fed by hand, so very friendly.

NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Wren's Day