Tag Archives: Curses; Home Protection Folklore

Live Talk at the Museum of the Home in London for ‘What the Folk?’ Festival, Thursday 18th June 2026, 6:30pm – ‘Witch Bottles & Worn Shoes: A History of Home Protection Folklore Practices’

Unearth the secrets waiting within the walls of our domestic spaces, in this mysterious talk by Dr Romany Reagan.

*** Tickets available here!!! ***

The secrets waiting within the walls of our domestic spaces are often not unearthed until renovation works bring these mysterious items into the light of a new day – and often a new century.

During extensive renovation works at Museum of the Home, one such secret was uncovered.

Continue reading Live Talk at the Museum of the Home in London for ‘What the Folk?’ Festival, Thursday 18th June 2026, 6:30pm – ‘Witch Bottles & Worn Shoes: A History of Home Protection Folklore Practices’

Witch Bottles & Hidden Curses: Objects of Protection; Objects of Vengeance 

By Romany Reagan

Written accounts of witchcraft, witch trials, cunning folk, and folk magic were largely recorded by the Church, with all the prejudices associated with a one-sided narrative. Given these practices were handed down generation to generation through oral histories as a form of intangible heritage, only the Church’s ‘official’ version of these practices has traditionally survived as our record. Luckily for researchers, instructions for creating witch bottles were written down and tangible items such a old shoes and written curses were tucked into walls kept safe from destruction in their hidden places. Stepping away from the ‘official’ texts to these scraps and personal finds can help us learn from another perspective about these practices, offering a fascinating look at the fears—and sometimes wrathful vengeances—secreted away in hearths and walls by our ancestors.

The following is an excerpt from a talk I gave at the Museum of the Home (formerly the Geffrye Museum) in November 2019, ‘Witch Bottles & Worn Shoes: Home Protection Folklore Practices’.

Continue reading Witch Bottles & Hidden Curses: Objects of Protection; Objects of Vengeance