138 – Hanging device with toad

Physical description:

Metal roasting Jack with two rings round it decorated with little metal faces, and with three hooks with a dried toad suspended from one of them.

Museum classification:

Spells & Charms

Size:

370 mm high

Information:

Original text by Cecil Williamson:  "Toads it is said are never very far away from witches or put another way witches are to be found where toads abound. Well some nasty witch did this toad no good whatsoever. This interesting and unique contraption was discovered many years ago during house alterations, suspended high up in an old chimney stack about nineteen feet above hearth level and some five feet down from the top of the stack. It must have been fixed in position from outside on the roof ridge. One can only accept that this was a clear cut case of good old west country ill wishing magic. The circular wire ring with its many little brass faces seems to have them specially made and is quite a mystery in itself. This item of neighbourly dislike was found in the Axminster area, 1936."

Interestingly, Cecil Williamson includes and/or modifies this spell with the inclusion of a skull, dish and herbs - presumably when the object was displayed in the Museum after 1960.  The following is a handwritten draft card and may not have been displayed with the object.  It may be Cecil's own musing as to how he would use the curse, not how it was actually used in Axminster.  CWOLC 10243 describes how this spell was set up:

"This is a nasty one being pure black magic to ill wish. The principle items are in three parts. The strange made up item of three hooks and the [Crossed out word, indiscernible] double wire ring supporting two rows of face masks. When being used the sorcerer rotates the whole thing slowly as he intones his ritual cursings. Impaled on the hooks are living animals such as the frog shown (and the victim [Crossed out word, Indiscernible] to suffer). Below is the human skull set on a white dish in a dressing of dried herbs. the frogs die and the fluids of decay drip down on to the skull to run down and saturate the herbs. These are then used in a certain way against the intended victim."

This object is actually a 19th century 'Roasting Jack',  from Snowshill Manor and was obtained when Cecil Williamson was asked to clear the 'Witches Garrett' which was uncovered by the National Trust in the 1960's during renovation works. It formed part of the set dressing used by Charles wade to decorate the space. It can just be seen hanging up in the attic space to the far right of the attached image.

 

Additional information

Scarborough Museum has two toads (apparently thought to be "male frogs") which were hung up in bags (one made of checked grey-blue fabric, the other made of very pretty fabric with a leaf design) in cottages in Devonshire in the early 20th century to keep out witches (and also a toad's skull tied with red wool, used to cure chest complaints (Jersey, 1912)). (Information supplied by Tabitha Cadbury - see her report 'The Clarke Collection of Charms and Amulets' in the museum library.)

 

Resource:

Object

Materials:

Metal, animal

Copyright ownership:

Copyright to The Museum of Witchcraft Ltd.

Original text by Cecil Williamson:  "Toads it is said are never very far away from witches or put another way witches are to be found where toads abound. Well some nasty witch did this toad no good whatsoever. This interesting and unique contraption was discovered many years ago during house alterations, suspended high up in an old chimney stack about nineteen feet above hearth level and some five feet down from the top of the stack. It must have been fixed in position from outside on the roof ridge. One can only accept that this was a clear cut case of good old west country ill wishing magic. The circular wire ring with its many little brass faces seems to have them specially made and is quite a mystery in itself. This item of neighbourly dislike was found in the Axminster area, 1936."

Interestingly, Cecil Williamson includes and/or modifies this spell with the inclusion of a skull, dish and herbs - presumably when the object was displayed in the Museum after 1960.  The following is a handwritten draft card and may not have been displayed with the object.  It may be Cecil's own musing as to how he would use the curse, not how it was actually used in Axminster.  CWOLC 10243 describes how this spell was set up:

"This is a nasty one being pure black magic to ill wish. The principle items are in three parts. The strange made up item of three hooks and the [Crossed out word, indiscernible] double wire ring supporting two rows of face masks. When being used the sorcerer rotates the whole thing slowly as he intones his ritual cursings. Impaled on the hooks are living animals such as the frog shown (and the victim [Crossed out word, Indiscernible] to suffer). Below is the human skull set on a white dish in a dressing of dried herbs. the frogs die and the fluids of decay drip down on to the skull to run down and saturate the herbs. These are then used in a certain way against the intended victim."

This object is actually a 19th century 'Roasting Jack',  from Snowshill Manor and was obtained when Cecil Williamson was asked to clear the 'Witches Garrett' which was uncovered by the National Trust in the 1960's during renovation works. It formed part of the set dressing used by Charles wade to decorate the space. It can just be seen hanging up in the attic space to the far right of the attached image.

 

Additional information

Scarborough Museum has two toads (apparently thought to be "male frogs") which were hung up in bags (one made of checked grey-blue fabric, the other made of very pretty fabric with a leaf design) in cottages in Devonshire in the early 20th century to keep out witches (and also a toad's skull tied with red wool, used to cure chest complaints (Jersey, 1912)). (Information supplied by Tabitha Cadbury - see her report 'The Clarke Collection of Charms and Amulets' in the museum library.)