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
🇺🇸 United StatesHex sign
Pennsylvania Dutch barn symbols that range from folk art to talismansCharm · Protection · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇺🇸 United StatesSociety of American Magicians
A global professional group for magicians that preserves the art and ethics of stage illusionIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreSéance
A gathering to communicate with spirits, ranging from religious services to stage performances.Rite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Living
🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreSandpainting
A ritual art of pouring colored sand to create temporary images for healing or spiritual teachingTradition · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreDavenport brothers
A pair of American stage magicians who performed spirit cabinet illusions in the late nineteenth century.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesHoward Thurston
A stage magician who built the largest traveling magic show in historyIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreChung Ling Soo程連蘇
An American stage magician who performed as a Chinese man and died during a bullet catch illusion.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇨🇦 Canada and 1 moreInternational Brotherhood of Magicians
A global organization for professional and amateur magicians founded in 1922.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇮🇪 Ireland and 2 moreJack-o'-lantern
A hollowed vegetable carved with a face and lit from within, worn as a Halloween symbolCharm · Protection · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreHarry Kellar
An American illusionist known for large-scale stage magic and mechanical tricks.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇺🇸 United States and 1 morePunxsutawney Phil
A groundhog who serves as the central figure in an annual American weather prediction festival.Belief · Seeing and foretelling · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇺🇸 United StatesPenn & Teller
A long-running American magic duo known for comedy acts and skeptical advocacyIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreHorace Goldin
A stage magician known for his fast style and the sawing illusion.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇳 IndiaStreet magic
Public performance of illusions for passersby, from traditional busking to impromptu guerrilla tricksIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreCups and balls
A classic stage illusion where objects vanish and reappear under inverted coversIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇺🇸 United StatesSawing a lady in half (sample)
A famous stage effect, described without its method.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Performed
🇺🇸 United StatesJersey Devil
A legendary creature from South Jersey folklore said to inhabit the Pine Barrens.Being · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇨🇦 CanadaSpoon bending
A magic trick and paranormal claim involving the deformation of metal cutleryBelief · Wonder and entertainment · Power and authority Historical
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreBarnstar
A painted or carved star used to decorate barns in parts of the United States and Canada.Charm · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreNeoshamanism
A modern spiritual movement adapting shamanic techniques for Western seekers outside their traditional cultures.Tradition · Healing · Change and initiation Living
🇺🇸 United StatesBed of nails
A wooden platform studded with nails used in magic acts and physics demonstrationsIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Performed
🇺🇸 United StatesRed Ghost
A legendary red camel with a skeleton rider from Arizona frontier folkloreFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇺🇸 United StatesDavid Copperfield's laser illusion
A stage trick where a magician appears to be sliced by a beam of light and reassembled.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesHot foil trick
A stage illusion where foil heats and burns in a volunteer's handIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreBigfoot
A large, hairy humanoid creature of North American folklore and cryptozoologyFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇺🇸 United StatesSkunk ape
A large, hairy humanoid cryptid said to live in Florida swamps and forestsFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇺🇸 United StatesLoveland frog
A legendary humanoid creature sighted in Ohio, often linked to urban folklore and local tourism.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇺🇸 United StatesSquonk
A fictional creature from American folklore known for weeping and dissolving in its own tears.Being · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇮🇸 Iceland and 2 moreFur-bearing troutLoðsilungur
A legendary fish with a coat of fur, found in North American and Icelandic tall tales.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇺🇸 United StatesHodag
A fabricated American cryptid from Wisconsin folklore and tall talesFigure · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreFearsome critters
Tall tale animals from North American logging camps used to jest and explain the wild.Figure · Wonder and entertainment · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesChessie
A sea monster of American folklore said to inhabit the Chesapeake Bay.Being · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreLady in Red
A female ghost in a scarlet dress, often linked to tragic or violent deaths.Being · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇺🇸 United StatesThe Occult: A History
A 1971 survey of occult figures and latent human powers by Colin WilsonText · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇨🇦 CanadaChasse-galerieLa Chasse-galerie
A French-Canadian folktale about lumberjacks who fly a canoe to visit lovers on New Year's EveFigure · Love and attraction · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreVäinämöinen
An ancient Finnish demigod and master singer from the Kalevala epicBeing · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreVanishing hitchhiker
An urban legend where a motorist picks up a passenger who vanishes, often leaving behind proof of their death.Belief · Seeing and foretelling · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreZombie walk
A public gathering where people dress as zombies to walk through city streets for entertainment or charityIllusion · Wonder and entertainment · Luck and prosperity Living
🇺🇸 United StatesMartian Monkey
A 1953 Atlanta hoax involving a tailless monkey dressed as an alienBelief · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreMagic
A performance art using natural means to create the appearance of impossible featsIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇨🇦 CanadaBalzac Billy
A groundhog-costumed mascot that forecasts the weather on Groundhog Day in Alberta.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreHaunted doll
A doll claimed to be haunted or possessed, often linked to film and urban legend.Belief · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇺🇸 United StatesAlfred Bulltop Stormalong
A giant sailor from New England tall tales and sea shantiesFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇬🇱 Greenland and 2 moreThe Goose Wife
A circumpolar myth of a hunter and a woman who sheds her bird skinFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇺🇸 United StatesPolka-dot paint
A stage magic trick and a real paint product that creates dotted patternsSubstance · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesMarmot Day
An Alaskan holiday celebrating local marmots and frontier culture, replacing Groundhog Day.Tradition · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇺🇸 United StatesKa-Bala
A 1967 talking board game that claims to tell the future with a spinning marble and tarot cards.Illusion · Seeing and foretelling · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesHail Satan
A Satanic exclamation used as ritual greeting, rebel cry, and pop-culture punchlineBelief · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Jersey Devil: Dystopiamatt, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Street magic: Hieronymus Bosch and workshop / Workshop of Hieronymus Bosch / After H, Public domain, source
- Spoon bending: Sgerbic, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Barnstar: Una Smith, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- 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
- Neoshamanism: Carptrash, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bed of nails: Herbert Ponting, Public domain, source
- Society of American Magicians: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Halloween: Toby Ord, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Séance: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Sandpainting: Mnolf, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hex sign: Smallbones, CC0, source
- Penn & Teller: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, CC BY 2.0, source
- Väinämöinen: Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Public domain, source
- Punxsutawney Phil: Anthony Quintano, CC BY 2.0, source
- Loveland frog: Tim Bertelink, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Squonk: Coert Du Bois and by William T. Cox;, Public domain, source
- Fur-bearing trout: Samantha Marx, CC BY 2.0, source
- Fearsome critters: Coert Du Bois, Public domain, source
- Zombie walk: tangi bertin, CC BY 2.0, source
- Martian Monkey: Tim Farley, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Harry Kellar: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Haunted doll: Cayobo, CC BY 1.0, source
- Marmot Day: Colin Canterbury/USFWS, Public domain, source
- Chung Ling Soo: AndyScott, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hail Satan: Paul Sableman, CC BY 2.0, source
- Howard Thurston: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Davenport brothers: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Chasse-galerie: Henri Julien, Public domain, source