News
Witch-huntsHeading to Salem this October? 5 spots with true ghost storiesWitch-huntsScottish council votes to apologise to women persecuted as witches centuries agoStage magicHow Harry Houdini Became the Best Magician of All TimeCharmsThe Horns Hand Gesture: One Sign With Five Very Different MeaningsWitch-huntsSpooky Day Trips in Connecticut: Witchy History for HalloweenCharmsA Jurassic fossil turned talisman in Morocco links science and faithStage magicHarry Houdini returns from the grave in AI-generated Fox Nation series 100 years after his deathWitch-huntsConnecticut's forgotten witch trial pastFestivalsDay of the Dead festival resurrected at West Palm Beach arts hubStage magicIllusionist Leon Etienne brings magic to Oshkosh this monthWitch-huntsHeading to Salem this October? 5 spots with true ghost storiesWitch-huntsScottish council votes to apologise to women persecuted as witches centuries agoStage magicHow Harry Houdini Became the Best Magician of All TimeCharmsThe Horns Hand Gesture: One Sign With Five Very Different MeaningsWitch-huntsSpooky Day Trips in Connecticut: Witchy History for HalloweenCharmsA Jurassic fossil turned talisman in Morocco links science and faithStage magicHarry Houdini returns from the grave in AI-generated Fox Nation series 100 years after his deathWitch-huntsConnecticut's forgotten witch trial pastFestivalsDay of the Dead festival resurrected at West Palm Beach arts hubStage magicIllusionist Leon Etienne brings magic to Oshkosh this month
EveryJaadu

Magic in North America

Hoodoo and conjure, Appalachian folk magic, Indigenous ceremony (some of it closed to outsiders), modern Paganism and the stage magic of Houdini to Las Vegas. 187 entries on EveryJaadu so far.

Places of magic

New Orleans 6Salem 4Boston 2Chicago 2Harlem 2Liverpool 2Los Angeles 2San Francisco 2Adams 1Alaska 1Alberta 1Albuquerque 1Alexian Brothers Hospital 1Atlanta 1Balzac 1Beaman 1Bell Witch Cave 1Berks County 1Big Horn County 1Blythe 1Boulder Valley 1Braddock Heights 1Brisbane 1Bristol 1Broadway 1Brownsville 1Buffalo 1Central Park 1Chattanooga 1Chesapeake Bay 1

Rites of the region

Pennsylvania German powwowAppalachian charm for stopping bloodHoodoo mojo bagHoodoo floor washingCasting a Wiccan circleSpiritualist seanceThe Ouija boardSmudging, and who may do itNavajo sandpainting

Countries

馃嚚馃嚘 Canada 67馃嚞馃嚤 Greenland 11馃嚭馃嚫 United States 259
KindTraditionRiteCharmOracleSubstanceBeingFigureTextIllusionBelief
PurposeProtectionHealingSeeing and foretellingLuck and prosperityLove and attractionCursing and harmCleansing and purificationSpeaking with spirits and the deadChange and initiationBinding and oathsPower and authorityWonder and entertainment
WhoShamansFolk healersPriests and ritual specialistsWitches, sorcerers and cunning folkDiviners and readersMediums and the possessedCeremonial magicians and alchemistsHouseholds and ordinary peopleStage magiciansScholars and sceptics
BeliefHindu and TantricBuddhistJainMuslim and SufiJewishChristianSikhZoroastrianShinto and TaoistIndigenous and shamanicAfrican and Afro-diasporicPagan and NeopaganEsoteric and occultFolk and village customSecular and stageOther traditions
OccasionWeddings and betrothalFestivalsBirth and childhoodDeath and remembranceHarvest, farming and weatherNew yearInitiation and coming of ageIllness and misfortuneJourneys and voyagesEveryday use
StandingLivingRevivedFadingHistoricalLegendaryPerformed
OrderBest knownA to ZNewestLiving first
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesSalem Witch Trials A colonial legal crisis where over two hundred people faced accusations of sorcery in Massachusetts.Belief 路 Cursing and harm Historical 馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 7 moreSatanic panic A moral panic over unsubstantiated claims of Satanic cults abusing children in the late twentieth centuryBelief 路 Cursing and harm Historical 馃嚜馃嚜 Estonia and 1 moreEstonian mythologyeesti m眉toloogia The pre-Christian beliefs and legends of the Estonian peopleTradition 路 Protection 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesKennedy curse A pattern of tragedies linked to the American Kennedy familyBelief 路 Cursing and harm Historical 馃嚚馃嚘 CanadaSpoon bending A magic trick and paranormal claim involving the deformation of metal cutleryBelief 路 Wonder and entertainment 路 Power and authority Historical 馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 1 moreCurse of 1940 A superstition explaining a long championship drought for the New York RangersBelief 路 Luck and prosperity Historical 馃嚝馃嚠 Finland and 1 moreHiisi A Finnic spirit of sacred places that evolved into a demonic giant in folkloreBeing 路 Cursing and harm 路 Power and authority Historical 馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesGreenbrier Ghost A West Virginia murder case where a mother claimed her daughter's spirit revealed the truth.Belief 路 Cursing and harm Historical 馃嚚馃嚘 CanadaOak Island mystery A centuries-old legend of buried treasure and unexplained engineering on a Canadian island.Belief 路 Luck and prosperity Historical 馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 1 moreBaskerville effect A theory that superstition about unlucky numbers causes heart attacks through stressBelief 路 Cursing and harm Historical 馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesMartian Monkey A 1953 Atlanta hoax involving a tailless monkey dressed as an alienBelief 路 Wonder and entertainment Historical 馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 1 moreRemote viewing A claimed psychic ability to perceive distant targets without using the sensesBelief 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical 馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesSecond-term curse A belief that U.S. presidents face greater trouble in their second term than their first.Belief Historical

Photo credits on this page

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

The weekly digest

Every Monday: seven entries you may not know, what is on the calendar this week, and one rite drawn step by step.