Cursing and harm

Curses, hexes and sorcery as people describe and fear them, with the counter-magic against them.

Cursing and harm are the part of magic that societies fear most. This page describes curses and sorcery as beliefs, and the social role of fear and accusation, and does not give instructions. The evil eye, the curse tablets of the Greek and Roman world, Hebrew and Arabic writings on harmful magic, sorcery in Melanesia and Africa, and the European witch are all part of this subject. Most of the harm recorded is that done to people accused.

What is believed

Many cultures hold that envy, anger or hostile ritual can bring illness, loss or death to a victim. The beliefs differ: in the Mediterranean, the evil eye needs no intent. In Azande society, studied by Evans-Pritchard, witchcraft was an inherited substance that explained why misfortune struck one person and not another. Greek and Roman lead curse tablets, often addressed to gods of the underworld, show the belief was written down in antiquity.

Accusation as social force

Where harm is feared, accusation follows. Anthropologists have shown that charges of witchcraft often follow tension inside a family or village, such as inheritance, jealousy or a sudden death. Accusers are usually in conflict with the accused, who is more likely to be old, poor, widowed or marginal. The belief can enforce norms and also destroy people. People also fear being accused, since an accusation can arrive without warning and can follow a family for generations.

Persecution and its present

European and colonial American witch trials, from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century, put tens of thousands to death, including the Salem trials of 1692. The practice has not ended. Mobs and families still attack accused people in parts of Africa, India, Papua New Guinea and elsewhere, and Saudi Arabia has executed people for sorcery. Albino people have been killed for body parts in East Africa. Several states are drafting or enforcing laws against accusation itself.

Counter-magic and scholarship

Where harm is feared, so is protection: amulets, cleansing, and a specialist who can say who sent it. Scholars see curses as a language of grievance, and psychologists have documented the nocebo effect, in which belief in harm can bring on real distress. A person who is afraid should seek medical and social help, and talk to someone they trust. People who believe they have been cursed should be helped to find practical support, including from health services, and not left alone with fear.

Cursing and harm on EveryJaadu

The entries written up so far, best known first.

RegionSouth Asia Southeast Asia East Asia Central Asia and the Caucasus Middle East North Africa Sub-Saharan Africa Europe North America Latin America and the Caribbean Oceania

KindTradition Rite Charm Oracle Substance Being Figure Text Illusion Belief

WhoShamans Folk healers Priests and ritual specialists Witches, sorcerers and cunning folk Diviners and readers Mediums and the possessed Ceremonial magicians and alchemists Households and ordinary people Stage magicians Scholars and sceptics

BeliefHindu and Tantric Buddhist Jain Muslim and Sufi Jewish Christian Sikh Zoroastrian Shinto and Taoist Indigenous and shamanic African and Afro-diasporic Pagan and Neopagan Esoteric and occult Folk and village custom Secular and stage Other traditions

OccasionWeddings and betrothal Festivals Birth and childhood Death and remembrance Harvest, farming and weather New year Initiation and coming of age Illness and misfortune Journeys and voyages Everyday use

StandingLiving Revived Fading Historical Legendary Performed

OrderBest known A to Z Newest Living first

🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreMare A spirit that sits on sleepers to cause nightmares and physical distressBeing · Cursing and harm Historical

🇸🇪 Sweden and 2 moreMjölnirMjǫllnir The hammer of the Norse thunder god Thor, used as a weapon and for blessingsBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical

🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreUpiórупіор A demonic spirit from Slavic and Turkic folklore that is believed to return from the dead to feed on the living.Being · Cursing and harm Historical

🇩🇪 GermanyAlp A Germanic spirit that presses on sleepers and drinks milkBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇮🇸 Iceland and 1 moreNornsnornir Fate-weaving figures from Norse myth who shape human destiny and tend the world tree.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomBoggart A malevolent household spirit from northern English folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm Historical

🇷🇺 Russia and 4 moreLady MiddayPoludnitsa A Slavic noon spirit who watches over fields and punishes those who work during the hottest hours.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical 🇷🇴 Romania and 2 moreStrigoi A Romanian undead spirit linked to witchcraft and vampirismBeing · Cursing and harm Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomWirry-cow A Scottish folk figure representing a frightening object or spiritBeing · Cursing and harm Historical

🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreChortчёрт A Slavic demon spirit with horns and hooves, known in folklore as a trickster or minor evil force.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇷🇴 Romania and 2 moreStrixστρίξ A classical bird of ill omen that evolved into a term for witches and vampires across Europe.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇫🇷 FranceTitivillus A medieval demon who collects scribal errors and liturgical mistakes in a sack.Being · Cursing and harm Historical

🇬🇷 GreeceGelloΓελλώ A Greek demon of infancy and a class of beings blamed for infant death.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical

🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreWiedergänger A German term for a revenant or ghost that returns to the world of the living.Being · Cursing and harm Historical 🇷🇺 RussiaHabernitsa A noon demon of Slavic fields who punishes workers and causes pain.Being · Cursing and harm Historical

🇩🇪 Germany and 4 moreNight ravennattravn A nocturnal creature of European folklore, feared as a child-stealer or seen as a ghost in bird form.Being · Cursing and harm Historical

🇫🇷 France and 1 moreDusios A Gaulish spirit type later classified as an incubus demon by early Christian writersBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical

🇫🇷 FranceYan-gant-y-tan A Breton demon who carries five candles and is said to bring bad luck.Being · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇭🇺 Hungary and 1 moreSárkány A winged reptilian beast from Hungarian folklore, linked to weather and literary heroes.Being · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇳🇴 NorwayDeildegast A Norwegian ghost bound to boundary stones it moved in lifeBeing · Cursing and harm Historical 🇮🇸 IcelandSelkolla A seal-headed woman from Icelandic folklore who clashed with a medieval bishop.Being · Cursing and harm Historical

🇸🇪 Sweden and 1 moreStalloStállu A large, clumsy creature from Sámi folklore that eats people and is often outwitted by humans.Being · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomLazy Laurence A mischievous English pixie who makes orchard workers lazy and gives them indigestionBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical

🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreFiredrakeognennyi zmei A European dragon myth born from sightings of shooting stars and will-o'-the-wispsBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇮🇹 ItalyMazapégul A mischievous elf of Romagna with a red cap that steals sleep and braids horse manesBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

Stallo: John Bauer, Public domain, source
Alp: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
Upiór: Віщун, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Norns: file: James Steakley ; artwork: Gustav Heidenreich, Public domain, source
Boggart: Katolophyromai, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Strix: Prosthetic Head, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Titivillus: Andrewrabbott, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Gello: Filippino Lippi, Public domain, source
Wiedergänger: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Yan-gant-y-tan: Louis Le Breton, Public domain, source
Night raven: Kim Diaz Holm (den unge herr Holm), CC BY 4.0, source
Dusios: Eric Hunt, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
Mjölnir: Mårten Eskil Winge, Public domain, source
Sárkány: Albrecht Dürer, Public domain, source
Lady Midday: Віщун, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Firedrake: Ramesh Kumar R, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Chort: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Mare: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source