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
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
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesCotton Mather
A Puritan minister and writer known for his role in the Salem witch trials and promotion of smallpox inoculationFigure Historical
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 1 moreMarie Laveau
A New Orleans priestess and herbalist who led Louisiana Voodoo in the nineteenth centuryTradition 路 Healing 路 Protection Historical
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomGiles Corey
An English-born farmer pressed to death for refusing to plead during the Salem witch trialsFigure Historical
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesRed Ghost
A legendary red camel with a skeleton rider from Arizona frontier folkloreFigure 路 Wonder and entertainment Legendary
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 1 moreBigfoot
A large, hairy humanoid creature of North American folklore and cryptozoologyFigure 路 Wonder and entertainment Legendary
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 4 moreTooth fairy
A childhood figure who exchanges lost baby teeth for gifts or coins.Figure 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesSkunk ape
A large, hairy humanoid cryptid said to live in Florida swamps and forestsFigure 路 Wonder and entertainment Legendary
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesLoveland frog
A legendary humanoid creature sighted in Ohio, often linked to urban folklore and local tourism.Figure 路 Wonder and entertainment Legendary
馃嚠馃嚫 Iceland and 2 moreFur-bearing troutLo冒silungur
A legendary fish with a coat of fur, found in North American and Icelandic tall tales.Figure 路 Wonder and entertainment Legendary
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesHodag
A fabricated American cryptid from Wisconsin folklore and tall talesFigure 路 Wonder and entertainment Historical
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 1 moreFearsome critters
Tall tale animals from North American logging camps used to jest and explain the wild.Figure 路 Wonder and entertainment 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesLava bear
A small bear from Oregon's lava beds once thought to be a unique speciesFigure Historical
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesMoll Dyer
A Maryland folktale about a woman accused of witchcraft and her cursed stoneFigure 路 Cursing and harm 路 Protection Legendary
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesTsul 'Kalu釓п彄釒︶幊
A Cherokee hunting deity and legendary giant of the Appalachian mountainsFigure 路 Cursing and harm 路 Protection Legendary
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesAlfred Bulltop Stormalong
A giant sailor from New England tall tales and sea shantiesFigure 路 Wonder and entertainment Legendary
馃嚞馃嚤 Greenland and 2 moreThe Goose Wife
A circumpolar myth of a hunter and a woman who sheds her bird skinFigure 路 Wonder and entertainment Legendary
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesZelph
A figure identified by Joseph Smith as a buried warrior in IllinoisFigure 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚚馃嚘 CanadaChasse-galerieLa Chasse-galerie
A French-Canadian folktale about lumberjacks who fly a canoe to visit lovers on New Year's EveFigure 路 Love and attraction 路 Wonder and entertainment Legendary
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 2 moreFlying Africans
A legend of enslaved people returning to Africa by magic flightFigure 路 Cursing and harm 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary
馃嚝馃嚠 FinlandAntero Vipunen
A buried giant in Finnish mythology who holds the magic words needed to build a boatFigure 路 Power and authority Legendary
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesBlack-eyed children
A modern American urban legend about pale children with dark eyes who seek entry into homes.Figure 路 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.
- Skunk ape: MikesMegapixels, CC BY 3.0, source
- Bigfoot: Roger Patterson and Robert Gimlin, Public domain, source
- Hodag: Gourami Watcher, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Antero Vipunen: Schulllz, CC0, source
- Flying Africans: Matthew T Rader, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Zelph: HotWheels53, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tooth fairy: Eden, CC BY 2.0, source
- Loveland frog: Tim Bertelink, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lava bear: Guy M. Ingram, Public domain, source
- Fur-bearing trout: Samantha Marx, CC BY 2.0, source
- Fearsome critters: Coert Du Bois, Public domain, source
- Black-eyed children: Megamoto85, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Moll Dyer: Dougtone, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Cotton Mather: Peter Pelham, Public domain, source
- Marie Laveau: E. W. Kemble, Public domain, source
- Chasse-galerie: Henri Julien, Public domain, source