490 – Plait of hair from deceased

Physical description:

Plait of white hair 'removed from the head of a beloved one before burial'. Hung on a black ribbon.

Museum classification:

Spells & charms

Size:

300mm

Information:

The custom of removing hair from a deceased loved one before burial is widespread and ancient. The hair is said to contain the spirit of the person and can enable a witch to contact them after death. It was sometimes formed into finger rings, kept in lockets or in plaits.
Original text by Cecil Williamson: 'A hank of plaited white hair removed from the head of a beloved one before burial. The folklore of human hair and the preservation of snippets of locks of hair is a large subject, to the witch the hair of any person contains a part of the spirit of that person and so on and so on, anyway to have, to hold and to preserve a hank of hair is as good as having a front door key to a house. Hence with the hair the witch can conjure up the late owner, surprisingly seance mediums do not make any use of this method of jumping the fence of death which separates our worlds.'
A couple visiting the museum (6/10/10) have told us that while they were renovating their home (an 18th century house on the Isle of Wight) they found a plait of red hair secured in the join of two beams in the loft. The positioning suggests this is a protection charm. There is a photograph on their website www.strathwelldalerenovation.co.uk.

One of Cecil Williamson's interpretation cards in the museum's document archive (CWOLC 7372) describes a charm that is similar to this object: "TO BIND ONE IN LOVE TO YOU. This is a potent form of love charm used by women. They obtain from the witch some hair that has been taken from a dead person, prepared and suspended on a broad black ribbon. This they contrive to slip over the head of and around the neck of the person while sleeping whose love it is they wish to bind to them. After some time the ribbon and hair are carefully withdrawn from the sleeper before he awakes or has any knowledge of the operation. The ribbon and hair are put away in a secret place and as long as they remain undiscovered in the woman's possession so will the lover remain unchanged."

Materials:

hair, ribbon

Copyright ownership:

Copyright to The Museum of Witchcraft Ltd.

The custom of removing hair from a deceased loved one before burial is widespread and ancient. The hair is said to contain the spirit of the person and can enable a witch to contact them after death. It was sometimes formed into finger rings, kept in lockets or in plaits.
Original text by Cecil Williamson: 'A hank of plaited white hair removed from the head of a beloved one before burial. The folklore of human hair and the preservation of snippets of locks of hair is a large subject, to the witch the hair of any person contains a part of the spirit of that person and so on and so on, anyway to have, to hold and to preserve a hank of hair is as good as having a front door key to a house. Hence with the hair the witch can conjure up the late owner, surprisingly seance mediums do not make any use of this method of jumping the fence of death which separates our worlds.'
A couple visiting the museum (6/10/10) have told us that while they were renovating their home (an 18th century house on the Isle of Wight) they found a plait of red hair secured in the join of two beams in the loft. The positioning suggests this is a protection charm. There is a photograph on their website www.strathwelldalerenovation.co.uk.

One of Cecil Williamson's interpretation cards in the museum's document archive (CWOLC 7372) describes a charm that is similar to this object: "TO BIND ONE IN LOVE TO YOU. This is a potent form of love charm used by women. They obtain from the witch some hair that has been taken from a dead person, prepared and suspended on a broad black ribbon. This they contrive to slip over the head of and around the neck of the person while sleeping whose love it is they wish to bind to them. After some time the ribbon and hair are carefully withdrawn from the sleeper before he awakes or has any knowledge of the operation. The ribbon and hair are put away in a secret place and as long as they remain undiscovered in the woman's possession so will the lover remain unchanged."