What is a Witch Bottle?
A witch bottle is a small glass or ceramic bottle that usually contains bent pins, nails, hair, wood, urine, or bone. Anything sharp that could be used in a protection charm.
Some even had designs of human faces on them. The idea was that a witch would be attracted to the bottle by the scent of urine, and once the witch was there, she’d become trapped by the sharp objects.
The tradition of witch bottles originated in the Middle Ages.
People believed that by creating these, they could stop a witch’s curse and turn it back on her. Once the items were placed in the bottles, they’d be sealed with red or pink wax and then be boiled, burned, and then buried, or placed under the hearth.
I first stumbled across this term while researching The Witch Moll Dyer. Click here to read her haunting story.
It was thought that the sharp objects would spear the witch, and the urine was to drown her. The ultimate goal was to kill the person who had placed a curse on you.
They have often been found in Europe and homes in the colonial United States during either excavation or renovations.
From what I understand, they can also be used by a witch as a way for their own protection from their oppressors.
The belief in witchcraft was prominent in colonial times.
People still use witch bottles today.
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