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

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreDevil's Footprints A 1855 English mystery of hoof-like tracks appearing across snow-covered landscapesBelief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇮🇳 IndiaIndus worm A giant carnivorous river creature from ancient Greek accounts of the IndusBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇦🇱 AlbaniaKukudh An undead revenant from Albanian folklore that haunts houses and spreads sickness.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇬🇧 United KingdomHobgoblin A household spirit from English folklore known for chores and mischiefBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇫🇷 FranceMagonia A cloud realm of aerial sailors blamed for hail and stolen grain in medieval EuropeBelief · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomSpring-heeled Jack A Victorian phantom known for leaping over walls and breathing fire.Figure · Cursing and harm Historical 🇮🇳 India and 5 moreWerecat A feline shapeshifter found in global folklore and occult beliefBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary 🇮🇶 Iraq and 1 moreAramaic Uruk incantation A Seleucid-era magical tablet written in Aramaic using cuneiform signsText · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical 🇧🇷 BrazilBestial beastBesta-fera A centaur-like creature in Brazilian folklore thought to be the Devil.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇨🇱 ChileCamahueto A one-horned river bull from Chilote folklore that drags people to the seaBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇭🇺 HungaryLidérc A shape-shifting spirit from Hungarian folklore that brings wealth or illness.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇧🇷 BrazilCapelobo A Brazilian monster with a long snout that feeds on blood and brainsBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇮🇹 ItalyMazapégul A mischievous elf of Romagna with a red cap that steals sleep and braids horse manesBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇮🇹 ItalyBorda A blindfolded witch from the Po Valley who drowns children in marshesFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇩🇪 GermanyFeldgeist German folk creatures tied to crops, weather and harvest ritualsBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇮🇷 IranArzhang Divارژنگ دیو A demon chief in Persian epic who is defeated by the hero RostamFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreYellow badgeJudenstern A marked garment worn by Jews under laws of distinction and humiliation across centuries.Charm · Cursing and harm Historical 🇺🇸 United StatesPlastic shaman A label for imposters who sell fake Indigenous spiritual practices for profitBelief · Cursing and harm Living

🇩🇲 DominicaBelie Belcan A loa of justice and protection in Dominican Vudú, linked to Saint Michael.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Living 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 1 moreDouen A faceless creature with backwards feet from Trinidad and Tobago folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇮🇷 IranAkvan Divاکوان دیو A shape-shifting demon from Persian mythology that disguises itself as a wild horse.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇬🇧 United KingdomMaggy Moulach A Scottish brownie known for her hair and fierce protection of her kinBeing · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇺🇸 United StatesWoman in Black A spectral figure from Appalachian folklore said to punish men for moral failingsBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection 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 🇨🇳 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 🇮🇱 IsraelEisheth Zenunimאֵשֶׁת זְנוּנִים A demonic epithet for Lilith in Kabbalah and Western esotericismFigure · Cursing and harm Historical

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

🇯🇵 JapanYama-uba山姥 A Japanese mountain spirit depicted as either a cannibalistic monster or a benevolent guardian.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇨🇳 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 🇮🇱 IsraelMessiah ben Josephמָשִׁיחַ בֶּן־יוֹסֵף A Jewish eschatological figure who wages war and dies before the final age of peaceFigure · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical

🇸🇾 SyriaEchidnaΈχιδνα A half-woman, half-snake monster in Greek myth who mothered many famous beastsBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇺🇸 United StatesChepi A spirit of the dead in Narragansett belief, called upon for vengeance.Being · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇯🇵 JapanDaigensuihō大元帥法 An Esoteric Shingon Buddhist rite for military defense and cursing enemiesRite · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical

🇺🇸 United StatesBelled buzzard A folklore omen of disaster, depicted as a vulture wearing a bellBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇨🇱 Chile and 1 moreImbuncheifünche A deformed child-monster of Chilote folklore that guards a warlock's cave and serves as an instrument of curse.Figure · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary

🇬🇷 GreeceHarpyἅρπυια (hárpyia) Half-human, half-bird creatures from Greek and Roman myth, often seen as storm winds or snatchers of food.Being · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇮🇳 IndiaBramrachokh A demon in Kashmiri myth that mimics a light to lead travellers astrayBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇯🇵 JapanHannya般若 A Noh theater mask depicting a jealous female spirit or demonessText · Cursing and harm Living

🇺🇸 United StatesBlack-eyed children A modern American urban legend about pale children with dark eyes who seek entry into homes.Figure · 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.

Div: Unknown Calligrapher, Public domain, source
Hannya: Daderot, Public domain, source
Devil's Footprints: John Good, Public domain, source
Hobgoblin: Herbert Railton, Public domain, source
Spring-heeled Jack: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Camahueto: Rjcastillo, CC BY 4.0, source
Capelobo: Di (they-them), CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Feldgeist: Zwoelefant, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Arzhang Div: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Hoop snake: Fearsome Critters, Written by Henry H. Tryon • Illustrated by Margaret, CC0, source
Yellow badge: Edited version of original photo by Rama, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Belie Belcan: Domfranciscorodrigues, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Banchō Sarayashiki: Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, Okiku ,, Public domain, source
Frankenstein town gravediggers scandal: Jacek Halicki, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl, source
Yama-uba: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Legend of the White Snake: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Echidna: Daderot, Public domain, source
Daigensuihō: Kamakura-period artist; photo by Kudo Risaburo (工藤利三郎), Public domain, source
Belled buzzard: Saturday Evening Post Irvin Cobb Douglas Durr, Public domain, source
Imbunche: Lufke, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Harpy: Unknown, near the Tyrrhenian Group?, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Black-eyed children: Megamoto85, CC BY-SA 4.0, source