Witchery in the Appalachians

[Ninurta]

I’ve seen some of this too.

When I was growing up I watched my mom quote that verse over a dog that would have bled to death before we got him to the vet. The bleeding stopped.

My cousin can remove warts, and witch water.

My dad used to tell about an older lady where he grew up that would use a hatchet to split storms if they were going to be bad ones. I tried it once when a bad storm was headed our way. I’m still not sure if it was going to naturally split and go around us but it did split.

My mom knows what verse that is, as dad had to use it on her one time so that she would live long enough to get to the hospital, but I'm not sure which specific verse it is, I'm just pretty sure it's in Isaiah. Mom used to keep it bookmarked in her Bible after that incident.

I've never heard of the storm splitting before, but there are hundreds of regional variants, things that remained in one area and were lost in others, according to what was used or what was needed in one area versus another. For instance, we never, or very, VERY rarely ever get tornadoes around here. the landscape inhibits them... so no charms against tornadoes will be found here locally. No one needed them.

Stump water is rarely ever used here. The Shawnees believed evil spirits lived in it (Giant Horned Snakes), so it's use was not passed on to us, just the danger of being in contact with it.

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