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.
🇩🇪 GermanyPied Piper of Hamelinder Rattenfänger von Hameln
A medieval legend about a piper who leads children away from the town of HamelinFigure · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇨🇳 ChinaTaotie饕餮
A zoomorphic mask on ancient Chinese bronzes and a mythological creature of gluttonyFigure · Protection · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇮🇪 Ireland and 3 moreChangeling
A substitute left by supernatural beings in place of a stolen human child or adultBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanHyakki Yagyō百鬼夜行
A Japanese folklore concept of a night parade of supernatural creaturesBelief · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreFox spirit狐狸精
A shapeshifting creature from Chinese folklore that can take human form and live for centuries.Being · Cursing and harm · Love and attraction Legendary
🇪🇪 EstoniaVanapaganVanatühi
A giant farmer and underworld figure from Estonian folklore who is often outwitted.Figure · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreRahabרַהַב
A Hebrew mythic sea monster and symbol of chaos, later used as a poetic name for Egypt.Being · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary
🇨🇴 Colombia and 1 moreLa Bolefuego
A fiery apparition from the Llanos that hunts travelers and avoids prayer.Figure · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇮🇪 IrelandDeath coachcóiste bodhar
A spectral carriage that signals an unavoidable death in European folkloreBelief · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇷🇸 Serbia and 1 moreVampire pumpkins and watermelons
A Balkan folk tale about ground fruit that turns into vampires.Belief · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreBake-danuki化け狸
A shape-shifting raccoon dog spirit from Japanese folklore known for pranks and illusions.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanLooking taboo
A mythic rule forbidding a gaze that would bring disasterBelief · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇬🇹 Guatemala and 1 moreEl Sombrerón
A tall, hat-wearing figure from Guatemalan legend who courts young women and haunts neighborhoods at dusk.Figure · Love and attraction · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇨🇳 China and 3 moreSwan maiden
A folk motif where a man steals a bird-woman's feather cloak to force marriage.Figure · Love and attraction · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇨🇴 ColombiaMohan
A forest spirit and ancestor soul in Colombian Indigenous folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary
🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreFlying Africans
A legend of enslaved people returning to Africa by magic flightFigure · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreWerecat
A feline shapeshifter found in global folklore and occult beliefBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanBanchō Sarayashiki番町皿屋敷
A Japanese ghost story about a servant who dies unjustly and haunts her murderer by counting plates.Figure · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇨🇱 ChileWarlock of Chiloébrujo chilote
A legendary network of sorcerers from the Chilean archipelago and their mythical powers.Belief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary
🇺🇸 United StatesMoll Dyer
A Maryland folktale about a woman accused of witchcraft and her cursed stoneFigure · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary
🇮🇩 IndonesiaBabi ngepet
A Javanese myth about a person who turns into a boar to steal wealthBeing · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Legendary
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Mohan: Sanjuan, Public domain, source
- Flying Africans: Matthew T Rader, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Changeling: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
- Hyakki Yagyō: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Fox spirit: Chen Menglei, Public domain, source
- Pied Piper of Hamelin: Edmund Evans, Public domain, source
- Vanapagan: Kristjan Raud, Public domain, source
- Banchō Sarayashiki: Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, Okiku ,, Public domain, source
- Moll Dyer: Dougtone, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Babi ngepet: Tropenmuseum, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Taotie: anonymous, CC0, source
- Vampire pumpkins and watermelons: The original uploader was Ke4roh at English Wikipedia ., Public domain, source
- Bake-danuki: Poposhka at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Looking taboo: ArchaiOptix, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Swan maiden: Walter Crane, Public domain, source