Winterlore: In Memoriam: A Drunk Witch

linocut stamp
An Ode to Phoebe Ward by Via Hedera
Bitch. I wana be you.
You fun, son of a gun.
Gutter queen,
often seen
making bulls flee, way over the hagerleen.
Through a hole, over a creek;
Inspire the bold and scare the meek.
Ride men, drink sin.
By Satan below,
with his fiery glow;
I wana be you
Before I go.
You know what I love most about folklore, fairytales andfables? The sense of identification we find with the figures wediscover. For some, the idea of a witch and the legend surroundingthem means more than the facts, and over time, what is fact and fiction simplybecomes folklore, legend or myth. I spend most of my time combingbooks. I collect and hoard them, and I read them day in and day outtaking notes on everything I find of any interest. As the cold wanes, Ihunker down into my books even deeper and enjoy the stories and tales that helppass the time as we wait for the sun's return.
“It is known that she was a woman of bad morals.”
I have to say, I really love falling in love with afolktale witch. Cross recounted a tale of the supposed NorthamptonWitch of North Carolina, Miss Phoebe Ward in the Journal of AmericanFolklore, and it was later picked up and further distributed throughthe Green, Brown and Hand collections, giving it somepopularity. This folk narrative was highlighted in Elizabeth A.Lay’s folk superstition drama/theater piece When Witches Ride: APlay of Folk Superstition. Supposedly, this 19th century witchwas famed for the misfortune she brought to those who turned her away, (likethe fairy from Beauty & the Beast), and embodied much of thesuperstition we love about witches here in the West.
What I liked about the witch in this narrative was that sherepresents the best aspects of witchery; this unashamed, unpredictable, cunningcreature who could be near death in the freezing cold and still charm a maninto giving her booze and a fire to sit by. The idea of this womanengenders affection in me. The tale says that she died very old,surrounded by a life of scandal and superstition, fear and fable. Iwant to go out like that.
Phoebe was a beggar, an old woman, presumably a whiteAmerican person, possibly a traveler, who made her living off of the rarecharity of others. The account states that the general atmospherearound her was fearful and negative; with people said to need to perform allacts of inhospitality in order to get her away from their homes where she waswell-known to overstay her welcome. People were seemingly quitecruel to this old beggar woman, sticking pins in the chairs they offered herand burning foul odors to drive her away- this was done using pepper, an oldremedy for driving away evil spirits, devils and witches, and I suppose, poorold women.
"Through thick, through thin, way over in the hagerleen"
The transformative skin-slipper is very much thequintessential new world witch motif of old, a definite throwback to the mostclassic fears regarding witchcraft that happen to be shared across cultures (asmagical concepts are want to do). I find the skin-slipping witch tobe the most fascinating one, a kindred spirit.
Correspondences of her variety of hag:
Keyholes, doors, chairsHexes, enchantment, tricksBrandyWinterFire, WindCow, horse, toadFor these new worldwitches of old tales, the slipping of skin was quite literal- the skin came offby means of a grease, ointment in combination with an incantation of some sort,or some kind of ritualistic movement like turning round in threecircles. The witch flew either as a beast, succubi,force or spirit- and the skin would be quite literally left behind, orotherwise, the “skin” could be interpreted as the body itself while the spiritflies away. But Phoebe Ward had more gifts than sheer skin-slipping-that art is basic to our kind, and Phoebe was no basic bitch witch.
Among other mysterious gifts presented within the briefnarrative of this folktale witch, Phoebe could:
Ride people at night as a nightmare Fly through keyholes Ride animals at night until they are spent in the morning by making them leap rivers Make a bull jump a river with an incantation which when disrupted or revoked, caused the animal to fallA witch like this could be warded off by:
Horseshoes hung over entrances Sieves hung over keyholes (she’d have to count all the holes before entering) Needles stuck in her ass by way of chair Pepper burned in a fire or stoveMaybe the idea of Phoebe was just a way to express thenarrative of witchery, maybe it was a hogwash tale ofnonsense spurred up to to give folks some good fun. Maybe, just maybe, Phoebe was a bonafide witchy woman (or amalgam of women) whowent out like a solid boss. I’m not sure I care, I kind of just likeknowing that this personification of American witchy superstition has a name, hasthe wisdom to help pass along to the next generation of witches. Sohere’s to you, and cheers to you Phoebe Ward the Northampton Witch oflore.
May we meet someday on these nocturnal flights, somewhere faraway from b'needled chairs...
When Witches Ride by Elizabeth A. Lay
Witchcraft in North Carolina by Tom Peete Cross
The Journal of American Folklore: "Folklore from the SouthernStates"-by Tom Peete Cross: Journal ofAmerican Folklore V XXII
The Silver Bullet, and Other American Witch Stories by Hubert J.Davis
Via Hedera's Blog
- Via Hedera's profile
- 4 followers
