Broomstick Accidents September 8, 2015
Author: Beach Combing | in : Modern , trackback
A simple question today. Are witch’s broomsticks dangerous? Well, anything that takes human beings out of the natural element, namely the earth and places them with the birds could go wrong and depending on how high witches were flying, horribly wrong. The greatest in flight danger that witches faced was accidentally saying a Christian name while flying: the broomstick (a devilish instrument) would, of course, immediately cease to work.
You can imagine the scene. Elderly woman with hairy moles on chin turns around on her stick with expressions of anxiety: ‘Oh no, I’ve forgotten the bat’s blood, the sisters will be furious, Christ!’ Fourteen-second vertical scream and, then, breaking tree branches and silence.
Church bells were also supposed to be dangerous if you passed close: church bells, of course, does to diabolical powers, what bleach does to microbes. However, by great good fortune we also have a description from a witch of the dangers of overloading in the air. The woman in question is Ann ‘Goody’ Foster and the records are from the Salem trials. She had been tortured: you might want to take that into account. This is the actual trial record:
18 July 1692. Ann Foster Examined confesed that the devill in shape of a [black] man apeared to her w’th Goody carier about six yeare since when they made her a witch & that she promised to serve the divill two yeares: upon w’ch the Divill promised her prosperity & many things but never performed it, that she & martha Carier did both ride on a stick or pole when they went to the witch meeting at Salem Village & that the stick broak: as they ware caried in the aire above the tops of the trees & they fell but she did hang fast about the neck of Goody Carier & ware presently at the vilage, that she was then much hurt of her Leg
Goody (obit 1692) was lucky enough to die in prison, otherwise she would have been executed. Her confession perhaps saved the life of her daughter and granddaughter: Goody’s daughter blamed her mother and her mother seemed only too happy to take the blame. These ridiculous confessions are hemmed around by awful tragedies.
Apparently witch flying accidents still sometimes take place today in Africa. Here is a description from Nigeria (a witch flew over a prayer meeting) and here from Zimbabwe on the other side of the continent. There has also allegedly been aviation legislation against flying witches in Swaziland.
Other flying witch accidents: drbeachcombing AT yahoo DOT com
