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

🇵🇱 PolandWitch trials in Poland A historical record of sorcery prosecutions and executions in Poland from the 15th to the 19th century.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇷🇺 RussiaBlack magic Magic traditionally defined by malevolent intent and selfish purposesBelief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇪🇪 Estonia and 1 moreWitch trials in Latvia and Estonia Early modern persecutions of sorcery and paganism by Baltic German authoritiesBelief · Cursing and harm · Cleansing and purification Historical

🇮🇷 Iran and 3 moreDaeva𐬛𐬀𐬉𐬎𐬎𐬀 A Zoroastrian entity that evolved from rejected gods to personifications of evil.Being · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical

🇺🇸 United StatesCurse of Tippecanoe An urban legend linking US presidential deaths to election years ending in zero.Belief · Cursing and harm Fading

🇺🇸 United StatesKennedy curse A pattern of tragedies linked to the American Kennedy familyBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreOccultism in Nazism The study of alleged magical links to the Nazi regime and the myths that surround themBelief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical 🇾🇪 YemenDhu'l-Khalasaذُو الْخَلَصَة A pre-Islamic shrine in Yemen destroyed by early Muslim forces.Text · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇷🇺 RussiaBlack magic Magic used for evil or selfish purposes, and the beliefs surrounding itBelief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreSeventh son of a seventh son A folklore belief that birth order grants supernatural healing or cursed powersBelief · Healing · Cursing and harm Historical 🇫🇷 FranceLouviers possessions A seventeenth-century French convent case of mass demonic possession and witchcraft accusationsBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreUnclean forceнечисть A Slavic term for evil spirits and the undead that inhabit the natural worldBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇧🇷 BrazilThe Hairy LegPerna cabeluda A Brazilian urban legend of a detached leg that attacks people at nightFigure · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇱🇰 Sri LankaMara A Buddhist figure representing the forces that block spiritual awakening and keep beings trapped in rebirth.Being · Cursing and harm · Binding and oaths Living 🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreHiisi A Finnic spirit of sacred places that evolved into a demonic giant in folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical

🇷🇸 Serbia and 5 moreWolves in folklore, religion and mythology A global survey of how cultures view the wolf as symbol, spirit or threatBelief · Power and authority · Cursing and harm 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

🇬🇷 GreeceGelloΓελλώ A Greek demon of infancy and a class of beings blamed for infant death.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical 🇺🇸 United StatesGreenbrier Ghost A West Virginia murder case where a mother claimed her daughter's spirit revealed the truth.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇯🇲 Jamaica and 3 moreDuppy A Caribbean term for a ghost or malevolent spirit, rooted in West African folklore.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Living 🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreTerritorial spirit A belief that demons or angels rule over specific lands and nations.Belief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living

🇫🇷 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 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreSuperman curse An urban legend linking misfortunes to actors and creators in Superman adaptationsBelief · Cursing and harm Living

🇫🇷 FranceLoudun possessionsaffaire des possédées de Loudun A 17th-century witchcraft trial in France involving alleged demonic possession by Ursuline nuns.Belief · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreCurse of Ham A biblical story used to justify slavery and racial discriminationBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreDamnation A state of divine punishment or separation from the sacred after deathBelief · Cursing and harm Living 🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreMaternal impression A discredited theory that a mother's shock or thoughts can mark her unborn childBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreReligious aspects of Nazism The study of how Nazi ideology borrowed religious forms and esoteric beliefs to build a political movement.Tradition · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Historical

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreLegend of the White Snake白蛇傳 A Chinese folktale about a snake spirit who becomes human to love a mortal manFigure · Love and attraction · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreDivine retribution Supernatural punishment by a deity in response to anger or wrongdoingBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇺🇸 United StatesChristian views on magic A spectrum of Christian beliefs about magical practices, ranging from strict condemnation to esoteric integration.Belief · Cursing and harm · Protection Living 🇲🇦 Morocco and 1 moreZuhriزوهري A human-djinn hybrid child in North African folklore, sought for treasure ritualsBeing · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Fading 🇨🇲 CameroonNyongo society A witch legend from Cameroon used to explain sudden wealth and unexplained deathBelief · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Living 🇬🇧 United KingdomLantern man A ghost light of the English fens said to lure victims into the marshesBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇱 IsraelNumber of the beastἈριθμὸς τοῦ θηρίου A biblical number linked to a prophetic figure and interpreted through ancient numerologyBelief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreBaskerville effect A theory that superstition about unlucky numbers causes heart attacks through stressBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreWitchcraft accusations against children Historical and modern persecution of children blamed for witchcraftBelief · Cursing and harm Living 🇫🇷 FranceMagonia A cloud realm of aerial sailors blamed for hail and stolen grain in medieval EuropeBelief · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity 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 StatesPlastic shaman A label for imposters who sell fake Indigenous spiritual practices for profitBelief · Cursing and harm Living 🇨🇳 ChinaChinese sorcery scares A series of moral panics in Imperial China driven by fears of magical harm and hair cuttingBelief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical

🇵🇱 PolandFrankenstein town gravediggers scandal A 1606 witchcraft trial in Silesia that may have inspired Mary Shelley's novelBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇸 Iceland and 3 moreDeal with the Devil A cultural trope of trading one's soul for worldly favours in exchange for demonic aidBelief · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Historical

🇱🇷 LiberiaMaryland ritual killings A 1970s Liberian case of ritual murders and the public executions that followedBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇯🇵 JapanKamikiri髪切り A Japanese yōkai blamed for the sudden disappearance of human hairBeing · Cursing and harm Historical 🇵🇭 Philippines and 3 moreMy Way killings Fatal disputes in the Philippines sparked by singing Frank Sinatra's song at karaoke barsBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇦🇺 Australia and 1 moreVoldemort effect A social pattern where naming a fear or problem makes it seem more powerfulBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreSerpent seed A fringe belief that Cain was the offspring of Eve and the Serpent, creating two distinct human lineages.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical

Photo credits on this page

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

Kennedy curse: Walt Cisco, Dallas Morning News, Public domain, source
Occultism in Nazism: Peretz Kaminsky, Public domain, source
Black magic: https://www.flickr.com/photos/eliogarcia/ (nick in flickr:creo que soy, CC BY 2.0, source
Number of the beast: William Blake, Public domain, source
Witchcraft accusations against children: Radbot, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Stallo: John Bauer, Public domain, source
Curse of Tippecanoe: Albert Gallatin Hoit, Public domain, source
Unclean force: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Div: Unknown Calligrapher, Public domain, source
Christian views on magic: Athanasius Kircher, Public domain, source
Wolves in folklore, religion and mythology: Unknown author, CC0, source
Strix: Prosthetic Head, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Gello: Filippino Lippi, Public domain, source
Dusios: Eric Hunt, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
Frankenstein town gravediggers scandal: Jacek Halicki, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl, source
Deal with the Devil: Christoph, Public domain, source
Maryland ritual killings: Fred van der Kraaij, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Mara: Under the Bo, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Loudun possessions: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Curse of Ham: Ксенофонтов Иван Степанович. Ksenofóntov Iván Stepánovich (1817-1875), Public domain, source
Damnation: Didier Descouens, Public domain, source
Kamikiri: Sawaki Suushi (佐脇嵩之, Japanese, *1707, †1772), Public domain, source
Divine retribution: John Martin, Public domain, source
The Hairy Leg: Diógenes Montenegro, Public domain, source
Voldemort effect: Shayan Barjesteh van Waalwijk van Doorn, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Serpent seed: David Roberts, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Religious aspects of Nazism: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source
Legend of the White Snake: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source