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The Folklore Society
The Folklore Society
Collection: Witchcraft and Magic in England, c. 1400–1920 Volumes The Folklore Society
Established in 1878, The Folklore Society is dedicated to the study of folklore in all its forms. Content sourced from its archive and library includes texts on folk customs in England, on the tradition of Wicca, and on witchcraft and trials of accused witches.
The material sourced from this society include works that examined superstition and the supernatural, such as Samuel Werenfels’ A Dissertation upon Superstition in Natural Things (FLS L 11 WER), published in 1748, and John Gaule’s The History of Witches, Ghosts, and Highland Seers (FLS L 10 HIS), which was published c. 1800. There are also sources evidencing the pervasiveness of magical practice throughout England as late as the nineteenth century, such as an unpublished notebook (FLS/2/ADD/5) that was found buried in the garden of James Murrell (c. 1785–1860). Known as “cunning Murrell” or the “Essex wizard”, he was reported to have employed magical means to heal humans and animals and had the ability to exorcise malevolent spirits. The writings in his notebook are concerned with astrology, conjurations, and geomancy—identifying the sigils, spirits, and characters of the planets.
Amidst the content sourced from The Folklore Society you will also find a series of photographs documenting paraphernalia relating to the practice of witchcraft in England that date from the late nineteenth century (FLS/1/7/2). There are likewise photographs of objects that were concealed within buildings to protect against witchcraft. Sources dating from the 1960s (FLS/1/7/10) document more recent academic and public debates surrounding superstition and witchcraft.
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