Folklore Thursday

To mark #FolkloreThursday we scoured the Collection for all things mystical. Here’s what we found.

Pierced Potato

This pierced potato comes from Carmarthenshire County Museum and is believed to be a charm to ward off evil. The potato pierced with matchsticks was found hanging over a row of peas in a Carmarthen garden.

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Horse Hair Charm

Also from Carmarthenshire County Museum is this horse hair charm which was found pegged behind the door of a house in Laugharne in 1921. The charm is said to provide protection against witches.

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Wax Effigy

Whilst the other items in the Collection were intended to ward off evil, this wax effigy from Gwynedd Museum incites it. The effigy on a piece of slate was found in a well at Ffynnon Eilian, Anglesey, 1925. The clay figure’s left arm has been broken off and the letters RF have been carved into the centre of the slate. It’s likely that the person who made this wished ‘RF’ harm and that the well in which it was found was a ‘cursing’ well.

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Cursing Pot

This cursing pot, also from Gwynedd Museum, was found on Penrhos Bardwyn farm, Holyhead, Anglesey in 1871. The pot contained the remains of a frog that had been pierced by numerous large pins. Over the mouth of the pot was a piece of slate with the name ‘Nanny Roberts’ etched on both sides. It appears that someone wasn’t very fond of Nanny Roberts….

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