Do you think witches are characters from fairy tales? But no. There are places where they lived and still live. You just need to know where to look for places with a mystical past associated with witchcraft and witches.
Salem Witch City, Massachusetts, USA
This suburb of Boston is called "the city of witches". The hunt for local witches at the end of the 17th century became the most famous in the history of such events.
Salem is one of the first settlements founded by English settlers-Puritans. Religious fanatics attributed any troubles in the new place to witchcraft. Therefore, when the 9-year-old daughter of the local pastor and his 11-year-old niece accused the servant of this, they were immediately believed.
The girls made strange sounds, shouted, did not listen to prayers. This evidence was sufficient for the poorly educated Puritans. The process started like wildfire. 150 people were arrested. They were not just interrogated, but tortured in the best traditions of the Inquisition. Many died under torture, 19 people were hanged.
Whether this was a conspiracy of children, or the impact on them of some local poisonous herbs, is unknown. But today this tragedy has become a source of prosperity for the city. Several local museums are dedicated specifically to the Salem witches. The expositions are impressive:
- instruments of torture,
- wax figures of the accused,
- originals of court cases.
And the whole city has already become a museum of one theme - houses of that era, the dungeon where the prisoners were kept, and monuments to witches have been erected. There is even a store with magical items. A very atmospheric town.
Mount Brocken, Harz, Germany
One of the most famous mystical places in the country. It is believed that the mountain became famous as a witch thanks to Goethe. The Walpurgis Night scene in Faust describes the wild revelry of these creatures on top of Brocken. The writer could not have chosen a better place:
- mossy spruce forests,
- peat bogs,
- thick fog almost all year round,
- strong wind at the top.
But as a witchcraft, the mountain has been known since the 9th century. Ancient pagan rituals were held there. The inquisitors did not see much difference between pagans and sorcerers.
Even more charm to the grief is added by the legends about the Broken ghost or the Dark Man, they are already several centuries old. Today it is clear that this is a complex optical mirage due to fog and cloudiness. But how impressive …
The entire Harz mountain range is a place from German fairy tales: houses with steep roofs and small windows, narrow streets, dark forests and rocky mountains. Ideal for witches, gnomes and poor lumberjacks. Even the travel videos are dark and mysterious due to the fog.
Mountain of witches, Curonian Spit, Lithuania
In reality, it is a dune covered with a pine forest. It was once a place of pagan and magical rites. With the advent of Christianity, the hill was called Witch Mountain. The rituals stopped, but the place of power remained. And in subsequent centuries they looked for fern flowers here and jumped over the fire on the night of the local Ivan Kupala - Jonines.
Today it is a well-designed landmark, with wooden and cast-iron sculptures of witches, fairy-tale characters and heroes of local legends. Since the mountain is still reputed to be a place of power, people come here to make wishes.
Witch's Well, Edinburgh, UK
In the Scottish capital, on the way to Edinburgh Castle, there is a cast-iron fountain with a memorial plate. The image of two female heads entwined with a snake is crowned with a plant, a foxglove. It was used both as a medicine and as a poison. Thus, the author of the bas-relief sought to show the duality of any phenomenon, including good and evil.
The fountain is named "Witch's Well" in memory of hundreds of women who were burned at this place, accused of witchcraft. Many people associate Scotland with mysticism, ghosts in castles and witches. It is not known whether these women were real wizards, or fell into the general trend. It is only known that most of the executions in England fell on the inhabitants of Scotland.
Witch Market, Bolivia
The place can be called a necromancer's dream. The market sells dried cubs and embryos of llamas, dried toads, frogs and turtles. You can buy potions and herbs for all occasions, amulets, talismans, etc. Here they also offer to communicate with spirits, find out the fate.
This metropolitan market attracts many tourists. It is believed that real witches, sorcerers and shamans trade in products of their own production. In Catholic Bolivia, belief in God is harmoniously combined with belief in witchcraft. Therefore, the market is thriving. It is worth visiting for the sake of the local flavor, thickly seasoned with mysticism.
Museum of witches, Prague
This is the most positive of these places. There are no medieval torture instruments in the museum, but you can see the rituals or the process of making potions. Moreover, the workers are dressed in the traditional clothes of alchemists and witches, which adds magic to the atmosphere. Here you begin to understand that witches are not only evil old women, but also ordinary witches who heal people.
Village of witches, Navarra, Spain
From this village, Sugarramurdi, witch hunts all over the country began in the Middle Ages. And today the small village attracts crowds of tourists - with its mystical places, the special life of the inhabitants, and, of course, the museum of witches. In it you can learn about the abilities of the inhabitants of previous centuries to use the forces of nature for healing.
The most sacred place is the caves, where, according to legend, the witches' sabbaths took place. Now the tourist holiday "Witch's Day" is being held there. But even without a holiday, the caves seem mysterious, and even ominous. A mountain stream runs along them, its name translates as "flow from the underworld." The gloomy trail of smugglers lies nearby.
Witch Island, Philippines
Actually, a wonderful tropical island is called Siquihor. But he is known for his witches, sorcerers and healers. It is believed to be part of the sunken Atlantis. And here there is a kind of energy portal that feeds local sorcerers.
In any case, people come to them from all over the world - for healing. Famous Filipino healers who heal with their hands are also from here. The island has become a venue for international gatherings of wizards and healers, where they exchange witchcraft experience.
