New Window Display

We have a new display in celebration of autumn and the harvest.  It features a wide variety of corn art created by Gillian Nott.  The pieces are truly beautiful and look fantastic on Marti Dean's stag's head.  This 'kern babby' has this poem near it.

Corn Dolly Poem (by Minnie Lambeth)

 "Tis but a thing of straw" They say,

Yet even straw can sturdy be

Plaited into doll like me.

And in the days of long ago

To help the seeds once more grow

I was an offering to the gods.

A very simple way indeed

Of asking them to intercede

That barn and granary o'erflow

At harvest time, with fruit and corn

To fill again Amalthea's horn.

If you are in the area, come and have a look!  

Video filmed in Museum Library now available to watch

A couple of weeks ago Steve Patterson was interviewed in the Museum library about his book on Cecil Williamson (the founder of the Museum of Witchcraft).  The video is now available to watch. Thanks to Troy Books for providing us with this.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ1RgGSWHx0&feature=youtu.be

Unique visit to Dartmoor

Last Saturday Joyce and Kerriann met up with a group of Swiss witches at the beautiful setting of the Nine Maidens stone circle at Belstone on Dartmoor. Leading the group were Wicca and Biba and their gorgeous German Shepherd Cheyenne of the Swiss Witchcraft Museum Hexenmuseum Schweiz.

It was the perfect location to talk about how traditional magic explores our relationship with the natural world, as we handed round examples of the wealth of magical objects derived from Nature – including a swallow’s feather, an ammonite, and a lovely hazelnut charm from the Museum.

It was fascinating to learn more about Swiss magical traditions, which cast new light on some of our objects. In Switzerland ammonites were associated with snakes, and were thought to give the power to speak the language of animals. A Swiss folktale tells how a girl was given three hazelnuts that granted her three wishes. And apparently if a church minister looked at his congregation through the cross-shaped hole on the end of his church key, he would be able to see which of them were witches!

Wicca has recently written an excellent book about amulets and talismans, and kindly donated a copy to the museum library (see photo above). Remarkably, it includes a section on the strange animal muzzle amulets that have been puzzling us ever since one was donated to the Museum in 2012. Now, thanks to Wicca, we know that it was worn as protection against impotence caused by witchcraft!  Photo of the amulet below.

                                              

Radio programme to listen out for this Friday

The Museum of Witchcraft shop now stocks Levannah Morgan's book A Witch's Mirror the Art of Making Magic.  Levannah will be doing a radio interview about the book on an internet radio station this Friday at 6pm.  You can listen to the interview using this link 

http://mixlr.com/on-the-blackchair-conversations-on-the-occult/ 

and buy the book from us

 http://www.museumofwitchcraft.com/shop/gb/books/152-a-witch-s-mirror.html.

Winter opening

This year, the Museum will not be closing completely for the winter.  We will be open on Saturdays and Sundays from 10.30am to 4pm (last entry at 3.30pm) in November and December.  We will also be open every day of the Christmas period except for the major holidays (see below for exact dates)

Open 10.30-4pm December 20th-23rd

Closed Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day

Open December 27th-30th

Closed New Year's Eve and New Year's Day

Open 2nd-4th

We will then be completely closed from January 5th until the Easter school holiday (around March 23rd) when we will re-open for the 2015 summer season and be open every day until October 31st.

This new opening is a trial and we hope that it will be supported by visitors to Boscastle, local businesses, Friends of the Museum and by local people who may not get the chance to visit the Museum themselves during the busy summer months.  Our Museum shop and online shop will also be open for business if you are looking for unusual Christmas presents.  

Lots of new shop stock now available on online shop

Over the summer months we've tried out some new lines in the Museum shop.  Some have proven very popular with our visitors and have now been added to our online shop.  Have a look - we have new jewellery, books, keyrings and assorted witchy wares!

http://www.museumofwitchcraft.com/shop/gb/

Museum of Witchcraft takes part in Boscastle Food Festival

This year we will be taking part in the very popular Food Festival here in Boscastle.  We'll be offering people who visit the Food Festival £1 off their entry to the Museum and we will also have a stall in the Museum shop with food stuffs for people to try and buy.  

The products are all made in Cornwall and sold by local company, Luscious Lucy Cornwall.  Holly forages for ingredients herself and creates beautiful products to traditional recipes.  She is going to bring a range of syrups, jams and other assorted loveliness - one particular highlight will be warm spiced drinks made with elderberry.  Pop in, buy and support the Food Festival on Saturday October 4 and Sunday October 5th.  

http://www.boscastlefestival.co.uk

Coincidentally, this is also the weekend of our last candlelit evening of the year so if you come along and enjoy the Food Festival during Saturday then you can visit the Museum in the evening between 8pm and midnight at the discounted rate.

Museum open late this Saturday

Don't forget - the Museum is open for a candlelit evening on Saturday September 6th (tomorrow).  Come along at any time between 8pm and 11.30pm to enjoy the Museum at night (we close at midnight)  There is no need to book - just come along, pay your admission and enjoy!

Invite to London Book Launch from the author

The Cecil Williamson Book of Witchcraft - a Grimoire of the Museum of Witchcraft by Steve Patterson (Troy Books 2014) 

Steve said, "This book contains not only a treatise of the modusoperandi of the old craft drawn from the man's own eye witness account but also much of Cecil Williamson's previously unpublished material including his own enigmatic spell book!  The book launch will be held at the Atlantis bookshop in London, 6.30pm Friday 5th September - come along!"

September Book Review

James Sharpe

Instruments of Darkness: Witchcraft in Early Modern England

(University of Pennsylvania Press)

This book explores witchcraft in early modern England.  It starts with an overview of historical scholarship on witchcraft so far exploring the early histories of witchcraft by Montague Summers, Jules Michelet and Margaret Murray before exploring the Freudian and feminist explanations of witch persecution.  He is critical of the terms 'witchcraze' and 'witch hunt', preferring the less strong term the “period of witch persecution in Europe”  This is in line with his thinking on the numbers of people executed at this time which he believes to have been closer 50,000 than the 9,000,000 million figure put forward by some.

Sharpe explores the origins of early modern ideas on witchcraft by considering the influences of the Classical World, St Augustine and St Thomas Aquinas.  He charts in detail the key texts which structured early modern thinking on witchcraft and explores theological and legal arguments for witch hunting as well as the attitudes of the multitude.

Chapter 4 was particularly illuminating focusing on Patterns of Persecution.  Sharpe creates a statistical picture of the early modern period using available court records.  From the available evidence, he is able to state that the period 1570-1590 included half of all accusations for the entire early modern period with the other peak period being the 1650s, that victims of witchcraft were more likely to be female (54.2% of cases involved a female victim), that earlier accusations often related to the damage of livestock while later accusations involved children as victims.  There were also cases of people who were accused of bewitching beer, milk or cream but these only appear in trial records because the witch was also accused of more serious crimes.  

Sharpe focuses on the English notion on maleficium and suggests that some of the wilder accusations (i.e., Sabbats and sex with the Devil) were the exception rather than the rule in English witchcraft trials.  His book ends with explorations of the changing religious context and the role of science in the eighteenth century which, he argues, created more scepticism about witchcraft.

West Country Folklore Event October 4 2014

We are very pleased to announce that Steve Patterson and the Museum of Witchcraft director, Simon Costin, will be running a fascinating day of talks, tours and discussions on the theme of 'West Country Folklore and Magic' at the Museum on Saturday October 4.

Please see flyer for details:

All are welcome.  On the same evening, between 8pm and Midnight, the Museum will also be open by Candlelight - any attendees of the workshop during the day will have free entry to the evening event!

Please book your place now to avoid disappointment

museumwitchcraft@aol.com 

Tel:  01840 250 111

Best Museum In Cornwall: Voting ends Sunday 31st August

There's still time to vote for the Museum of Witchcraft in the Cornwall Today Best of 2014 Awards.

Please vote for us by going to http://www.cornwalltoday.co.uk/awards/#/awards/vote-now/ and make your selection!  Alternatively you can email your vote to awards@cornwalltoday.co.uk.  Don't forget to type 'Museum of Witchcraft, Boscastle' and 'Best Museum' in the email.

Thanks for your support

A week (and a bit) in the life of an intern by Chloe Francis...

Working at the museum, even for such a short amount of time, has been one of the most eye opening and fantastic experiences I've ever had. When I emailed Judith in April, just after Simon took over as director, I was incredibly dubious as to whether or not the prospect of an intern would be welcomed. I remember in the days from sending the first email to getting the reply from Judith, I was sat on the decking back home in Matlock with my mum saying "oh god, what if I've made a huge mistake? What if nothing comes of this email" but, ever the wise one, she said "well you're not going to lose anything just by asking them!" And that enquiry was one of the best decisions of my life. This place has captivated me and intrigued me since I was 12/13 and found the museum by complete chance looking for a logo to sew onto a bag in textiles class! Hard to believe that was seven years ago now! (Unfortunately the teacher didn't let me use the iconic black witch on a broomstick silhouette which sits proudly on one of the doors. It was eye opening enough learning that the iconic door was not the entrance!)

Sadly, due to the season, I wasn't able to spend as much time in the museum as I would have liked to, but thankfully enough time to get to know the museum, have a taste of what it's like to work in a museum and, I hope, make some very good friends in Judith, Pete and Joyce. In fact Joyce has completely opened my eyes to things I wouldn't have seen before such as the Pendle Witch Trials and I've had many a long conversation sat in the booth about Witchcraft, writing books, making jokes about really ridiculous things, all in between serving customers and munching on the massive pasties from the bakers!

Without a shadow of a doubt, I have been an incredibly LUCKY intern this year. I've been allowed to handle artefacts, leaf through original documents, assist in the day to day jobs around a museum, catalogue some of the books which were bequeathed to the library and assist in finding a document someone was using for research. Oh, and was allowed to attend a book launch (see photos) which ended up with some of the Friends, Joyce, the author and me sat in the pub with various drinks! Possibly one of the more surreal nights of my life so far as we covered everything from Theology, Celtic History, the Vikings, Witchcraft (as you'd expect) and the history of Christianity in the British Isles. The book launch itself was fascinating as I had never heard of Cecil Williamson before coming here, yet I was standing at the back of the top gallery, taking pictures on a bad quality iPhone camera, listening to this guy talking about the life of a man who, I've now come to understand, was a complete character and who did some amazing things, a view which was reinforced by looking through the archive of his letters, positively laughing loudly, gasping at some of the things he was saying and plenty of exclamations of "oh my god!"

Judith, Pete and Joyce have moved heaven and earth to accommodate me at the museum for such a short space of time, something for which I am so incredibly thankful for as it wouldn't have been the same if it hadn't have been for them. The people of Boscastle have been so friendly and welcoming, with several interesting conversations in lunch breaks and wandering around prior to the door being unlocked for us to go in and clean the place up before it opens each day. The museum is a hidden gem and Boscastle provides the perfect backdrop to the quirky, unconventional, and incredibly relaxed museum. I cannot think of a better place to have spent two of the absolute best weeks of my life then the Museum of Witchcraft!

To Joyce, Judith and Pete, thank you ever so much for making me feel so welcome here!  Special shout out the Hannah who I didn't see very much but who is, I know, an essential and valued member of the Museum team.  

And thanks to Chloe from all at the Museum!  You can see her legacy in action by buying her leaflet on Magic in the North from the Museum shop or by looking at her temporary exhibition on the Flood in the upstairs gallery.  

Green Man in Switzerland

Joyce from the Museum writes:

 Some recent visitors to the Museum from Switzerland were particularly interested in our Green Man display (an example of which can be seen above), as they are from Kleinbasel (the part of the city of Basel on the right-hand bank of the Rhine), which has a festival called Vogel Gryff featuring a Green Man.

The festival takes place in January, and begins with the dramatically masked Green Man (known as Wildi Maa) travelling down the Rhine on a raft, brandishing a small pine tree, with canons firing salutes. At the Middle Bridge he is joined by two other figures – a lion (Leu) and a griffin (Vogel Gryff – who gives his name to the festival). All three then dance through the streets, collecting money for charity.

The festival dates back to the 16th century, and the three figures are the heraldic symbols of three local societies, which were originally militias, but are now essentially social clubs.

There are some entertaining films of the festival on YouTube, for example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlgdrMC291U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V65KHVgXxGo

Museum receives a lovely email from another satisfied visitor

We received a lovely email on Sunday, it was so nice that we thought we'd share it.  Many thanks to the family who sent it - we're glad you enjoyed your visit.

Recent Visit:-

We would just like to say a a VERY big Thank You to you for the warm welcome we received both to The Witches Museum & The Village of Boscastle.

Particularly to my furry 4 legged DOGS TRUST RESCUE dog (KEEVAH).

Dogs & their owners often get a lot of bad press via the media But the vast majority of us are responsible & caring & like to take our 4 legged companions with us where possible.

North Cornwall has made our family holiday so enjoyable because we could bring our most valued member of OUR family with us ( her first ever holiday by the sea so we ourselves were a little unsure how she'd behave) over the course of the week i have spoken to many holiday makers from various places from New Zealand to Sussex ( DOGS are NOT ALLOWED ON THEIR BEACHES)  who like us where so thrilled at the fact that dogs are made so welcome!

What a lovely attitude to have to tourists AND their family pets i do hope this remains

We WILL be back

Thank You

We thought we'd share a photo from the blog archive as a reminder that dogs are welcome at the Museum (outfits are optional!)

Please Vote For Us!

The Museum of Witchcraft has been campaigning hard to win the Best Museum in Cornwall at the upcoming Cornwall Today Awards.

Please vote for us by going to http://www.cornwalltoday.co.uk/awards/#/awards/vote-now/ and make your selection!

Alternatively you can email your vote to awards@cornwalltoday.co.uk.  Don't forget to type 'Museum of Witchcraft, Boscastle' and 'Best Museum' in the email.

Thanks for your support.  The winners will be announced at a special award ceremony in September.

Book Launch at the Museum this Saturday

We are very pleased to be hosting a book launch this Saturday for Steve Patterson's book entitled Cecil Williamson's Book of Witchcraft.  The Museum will be open by candlelight for invited guests and there will also be a talk in the upstairs gallery.  If you have received an invitation and are planning to attend please can you RSVP or if you would like more details then please e-mail info@troybooks.com

Remembering the 2004 Flood

Hi, this is Chloé interning at the museum of Witchcraft!

Although only two of the current members of staff were working in the museum at the time of the flood, it having been a decade since it passed was cause for remembrance in the museum. As people are already aware, in the entrance to the actual museum, there is a small piece about the flood (with a picture of Graham's car!) but it is mainly pictures. However to celebrate the first decade since the event, Pete and Judith decided to put together a small collection of artifacts, which were related to the flood, as a temporary commemorative display. As part of a two week internship, I was here to help with the display.

The artifacts in the below picture are the ones which were chosen (Judith having sent me around to see what looked interesting and was either flood damaged or related to the flood in some way) and they include things such as the number plate of Graham's car which was swept into the sea, a pot which lost some of the Graveyard Dust which had previously filled it, a doll which had to be restored, some artifacts made by Margaret Bruce which were also flood damaged, the Odd Pod, which had turned from white to dark, and, most intriguing, a spoon which Uri Geller signed and bent and he had sent it to show his support in the aftermath of the flood. In fact I heard Joyce saying that the whole ground floor was filled with fudge the next day because next door, at the time, was a fudge shop! Unusually for the museum, which normally has the descriptions in the display case, the artifacts had to be numbered and a separate piece of paper with a description (not pictured) had to be made as the actual case is around half the size of a modern school desk 

It wasn't just the museum which was commemorating the decade anniversary since the flood, the National Trust Café next door had a slide show of pictures playing all Tuesday showing pictures from the immediate aftermath and photos taken earlier this year, ITV sent their local news crew to the village on Monday to do a small piece on the decade mark since the flood and pictured below are the Boscastle Buoys who sang outside the museum on Monday and Tuesday, raising funds for a local hospice.

I'll be doing more blogs for the museum in the next two weeks....... stay tuned!

Cornwall Air Ambulance

In their recent newsletter, Cornwall Air Ambulance thanked the Museum for its continued support.

Winners of Children's Art week announced

We had some fantastic, imaginative entries for Children's Art week.  We have now decided on the winners and their work is on display in the Museum (near the entrance to the Museum in the Images of Witchcraft section)  Each of the winners will receive a prize and a certificate.  Well done to all who entered!

Winner 16-18 Category Kirsty Atkinson

Winner 7-15 Category Jasmine Piercy

Winner 6 and under Category Hope Eton-Terry

Runner-up Dione Iole Socratous

August Book Review

Owen Davies

Witchcraft, Magic and Culture: 1736-1951 

(Manchester University Press)

Davies argues that whilst the law regarding witchcraft fundamentally changed in 1736 the attitudes and practices of the people did not.

He explores how the law sought to protect people from mob swimming (tests for witchcraft) and scratching and often sought to prosecute those involved in vigilante actions of this type.   Davies considers a wide variety of sources going beyond trial evidence to look at the witch in folklore as well.

The book explores in depth the common desire to consult witches, cunning people or gypsies for divination and fortune telling and how this desire later led to the development of the reading of tea leaves, Ouija boards and Zodiac men.   There were some very interesting sections on the prevalence of almanacs and on the popularity of “lay prophets” such as Mother Shipton and Robert Nixon.  I was interested to find out that a lot of people visited cunning people for help finding lost or stolen goods or solving mysteries and there was even one case of such a person being consulted by the local magistrate!  The book also detailed how cunning people would often help people who believed themselves to be bewitched and the various methods used to break the witch’s curse or spell.

In this book, Davies critiques Keith Thomas’ (1971) summary of witch persecutions.  Thomas said that accusations almost always arose because of “charity evaded” and “misfortune incurred”.  Davies argues that there was no stereotypical witch (according to the trial records anyone could be accused and people were more interested in motives to curse or harm than in the appearance of the individual).  He posits that people were likely to be accused because of a breakdown in normal neighbourliness and often because of conflicts within family groups.  The 'beggar witch' identified by Keith Thomas and Reginald Scot existed in the popular consciousness and popular literature but these were not the people involved in legal cases in the 18th and 19th centuries.  

The book ends with a succinct summary of the reasons for the declining belief in witchcraft which includes a shift from rural to urban living, more state involvement and less self-governance, greater stability and altered agricultural practices.

Museum of Witchcraft on Twitter

The Museum now has 10,000 followers on Twitter!

Thanks for your support...

http://twitter.com/witchmuseum

New MoW app goes live

A new free app is available to all who wish to explore the magic of Cornwall using objects from the Museum of Witchcraft collection.

It is available at http://www.placeify.co.uk/magicandwitchcraft/

Best viewed using your smartphone (but it can also be viewed on any device or computer with internet access), it takes you on a comprehensive tour of the county, making connections between objects, stories of witchcraft, local customs, and the landscape itself.

Visitors, having been inspired by the museum, often ask about sacred sites, magical places and the 'real Cornwall' - so this is a great way for tourists to see the county and to learn more about our collection at the same time.  It is also fantastic for those of you who are very familiar with the objects - as they are placed back in their natural contexts and have lots of interesting additional information attached to them.  There are also stimulating questions which we hope will engage users and begin interesting conversations.

The app is still in the beta testing phase - so we would really appreciate your feedback (museumwitchcraft@aol.com).

All you need to do is go to http://www.placeify.co.uk/magicandwitchcraft/ and have a go!  There is no need to download any software or go to an app store - it is available online and ready to use.

'Witchcraft & Traditions of Magic' 4 week course at the Museum of Witchcraft

The Museum is proud to announce a series of talks commencing in October 2014 by Steve Patterson.  Steve is a folklorist, writer and woodcarver who lives and works in West Cornwall. He has been on television and radio, lectured extensively in both London and the West Country and his writings on west country folklore and magical traditions have appeared in a number of journals and anthologies including “The Cauldron – journal of witchcraft, Paganism and Folklore”, “Serpent songs” and “The Museum of witchcraft – a magical history”. He has also written an extensive ‘natural history’ of Cecil Williamson and the Museum of Witchcraft including a number of Cecil Williamson’s unpublished manuscripts –“Cecil Williamsons book of witchcraft” (Troy Books 2014). He has worked as a volunteer in the Museum of Witchcraft since 1996 and many of his woodcarvings may be seen within. After giving one of his lectures in the Museum of Witchcraft, one Dutch student commented –“Mr Patterson …you have a head like a museum!”

Steve will present these informal, engaging and lively talks here in the Museum library.  If you want to learn more about the history of magic and its importance within the English and Cornish landscape then this is not to be missed!  No prior knowledge required!

For more info see above poster, and contact the Museum by email or phone.  museumwitchcraft@aol.com or 01840 250111.

Museum by Candle-light this Saturday!

Don't forget to visit us from 8pm till midnight this Saturday August 2nd.

Seeing the Museum by candlelight really is an unforgettable experience.  Why not come after a meal out in Boscastle?

We open by candle-light on the first Saturday of the month, so if you miss it this weekend the next dates are:

September 6th
October 4th

We look forward to welcoming you to the Museum

Corn Crafts at the Museum this weekend

Visit the Museum this weekend to see corn dollies being made by Gillian Nott.  Come along and speak to Gillian about the creation and significance of these beautiful objects.  She will be in front of the Museum on Saturday and Sunday until around 4pm on each day.  Not to be missed!

Shrine at the Museum

The Shrine area in the entrance is a place for contemplation and reflection - in keeping with this we have recently installed a brass dish filled with sand so that people may leave candles.

New residents at the Museum...

We are pleased to announce that the world of faery has come to the Museum of Witchcraft!

The old tree stump is a new home for somebody; they have chosen a very nice spot next to the sweet-peas...

Invite the faery-folk to your garden with our lovely new fairy doors!  Pop in to the Museum shop to browse our range of Made in Cornwall doors...

New Shop Stock Available!

The Museum of Witchcraft Shop has some exciting new items for the summer holidays.

How about a fabulous 'Magical Cabinet' complete with miniature scrying crystal, skull, candles, bottles with magical ingredients, and loads more!

We also have new Tree of Life bracelets, tarot charms...

Acorn-inspired earrings...

Lucky sixpences (both as necklaces and charms with paper scrolls) and lots of other beautiful magical things...

We also have some fantastic new key-rings, fridge magnets and badges - using Cecil Williamson's brilliant retro art from the '60s and '70s.

All these great items will be available through our online shop very soon!  Or you can call into the Museum shop anytime...

http://www.museumofwitchcraft.com/shop/gb/

New window display in place

"From remotest times, back even to the birth of humanity, Talismans have been held in high estimation by all nations...on account of their virtues, as transmitters of luck and to avert misfortune." W Pavitt, The Book of Talismans (1970).

We have a new theme to our wonderful Stag's Head window display:  Amulets and Talismans from around the world.  These beautiful hand-painted objects hang from the antlers, evoking the beauty of the originals - some of which can be seen inside the museum - this Cornetto (red charm) for example, can be seen in 'Protection' upstairs.

We have also provided a little information on some of the charms and talismans to inform and intrigue our visitors.  

Triangular Abracadabra

Did you know that abracadabra roughly translates as begone?   People in the Middle Ages wore talismans like this to try and get rid of illness.

Cornetto

An Italian charm to ward off the evil eye.  It looks like a chilli and the name means little horn.

The Ankh

A mysterious Egyptian symbol with a circle at the top of a cross, also known as the ‘key of life’.

Chao-Lao

The Chinese god of long life. He has an elongated head to indicate his vast wisdom.

Come and see the new display!

School visits Museum

We were visited on Tuesday by a school group from Roseland Community College.  The students were enjoying their activities week and looking at Cornish Myths and Legends.  In the morning they visited Tintagel Castle and then in the afternoon they toured the Museum and did some (supervised) object handling.  They looked at some mystery objects and tried to figure out how they would have been used by cunning people in the past.  Although only a short visit the students seem to have learnt a lot about magical practices.  If you would like to organise a school visit to the Museum, please contact Judith to talk about a tailor made educational package.

New leaflets for visitors

We have two new sets of leaflets to enhance visitor's experiences of the Museum.  The first is a brief guide to the Museum which has been translated (thanks to the Pagan Federation) into French, German, Spanish and Dutch.  This will be a great help to speakers of these languages as it provides a brief introduction to each section of the Museum and a bank of key words which appear regularly throughout the collection.

We have also developed a series of "I like" guides to enable visitors to personalise their journey through the Museum and have their attention drawn to key objects based on the themes that interest them.  We have four leaflets available: I like art, I like a good story, I like nature and I like unusual things.  They are displayed near the entrance and are free to pick up and use.

Visitor tells us about witch hunt in the Netherlands

Joyce from the Museum writes:

A visitor from the Netherlands has given us some interesting news about her home town Roermond.

400 years ago Roermond was the scene of a witch hunt that led to 74 people being burned. To commemorate this anniversary the townspeople have created a website 

http://www.heksenjaarroermond.nl/ 

They have also been holding a series of events, organising education programmes, and have produced a powerful musical drama Heksenwaan.

Entertainment and spectacle have played their part, but the townspeople have also put a special emphasis on the importance of remembering that prejudice and injustice are still all too common, and that in honouring the memories of those who died during the witch hunts we must also recognise that their stories still have relevance today.

The Museum of Witchcraft would like to salute the people of Roermond for such an insightful and moving response to this tragic episode in their town’s past.

Welcome to Joan's Garden

The Museum now has a new feature for visitors to enjoy - a herb garden.  In the courtyard in front of the Museum there is now a herb wheel with various herbs in it.  We already have Joan, the wise woman's cottage inside the Museum and we've imagined that this is the garden where she picks herbs for her remedies and gives them with advice to the people who might visit her in search of help.

We've used Michael Howard's Witches' Herbal book to select herbs with witch stories and folklore connections.  The herbs are planted and labelled with information about them such as "a handful of carraway seeds in your husband's pocket should keep him faithful" and "comb your hair with rosemary to prevent baldness"  An attractive, educational and intriguing new aspect to the Museum!