witches Archives - Bone and Sickle

Born with a Veil

August 15, 2026 boneandsickle anomalies, Benandanti, birthing, cauls, curiosities, EPISODE, folk customs, folk magic, folklore, Friuli, history, legends, medicine, superstition, witch trials, witchcraft, witches

To be “born with a veil” (or caul) was once regarded as far more than an unusual circumstance of birth.[…]

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Trolls in Medieval Literature

April 27, 2026 boneandsickle ballads, EPISODE, folk tales, folklore, Germanic, Iceland, legends, literature, medieval, Middle Ages, monsters, Norse, Norse religion, Norway, saints, storytelling, troll-cats, trolls, witchcraft, witches

Trolls, as presented in medieval literature, are vastly different from the creatures we encountered in our last episode’s collection of[…]

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La Befana, the Witch of Twelfth Night

December 15, 2024 boneandsickle Christmas, EPISODE, folk customs, folklore, history, holidays, Italy, legends, pop culture, witches

A short extra episode on Befana, the gift-bringing Italian witch associated with Twelfth Night, the end of the Christmas season.[…]

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