Charms, Spells, and Curses. V. J. Banis

      BORGO PRESS BOOKS BY VICTOR J. BANIS

      The Astral: Till the Day I Die

      Avalon: An Historical Novel

      The C.A.M.P. Cookbook

      The C.A.M.P. Guide to Astrology

      Charms, Spells, and Curses for the Millions

      Color Him Gay: That Man from C.A.M.P.

      The Curse of Bloodstone: A Gothic Novel of Terror

      Darkwater: A Gothic Novel of Horror

      The Daughters of Nightsong: An Historical Novel (Nightsong Saga #2)

      The Devil’s Dance: A Novel of Terror

      Drag Thing; or, The Strange Tale of Jackle and Hyde

      The Earth and All It Holds: An Historical Novel

      A Family Affair: A Novel of Terror

      Fatal Flowers: A Novel of Horror

      Fire on the Moon: A Novel of Terror

      The Gay Dogs: That Man from C.A.M.P.

      The Gay Haunt

      The Glass House: A Novel of Terror

      The Glass Painting: A Gothic Tale of Horror

      Goodbye, My Lover

      The Greek Boy

      The Green Rolling Hills: Writings from West Virginia (editor)

      Green Willows: A Novel of Horror

      Kenny’s Back

      Life & Other Passing Moments: A Collection of Short Writings

      The Lion’s Gate: A Novel of Terror

      Love’s Pawn: A Novel of Romance

      Lucifer’s Daughter: A Novel of Horror

      Moon Garden: A Novel of Terror

      Nightsong: An Historical Novel (Nightsong Saga #1)

      The Pot Thickens: Recipes from Writers and Editors (editor)

      San Antone: An Historical Novel

      The Scent of Heather: A Novel of Terror

      The Second House: A Novel of Terror

      The Second Tijuana Bible Reader (editor)

      The Sins of Nightsong: An Historical Novel (Nightsong Saga #3)

      Spine Intact, Some Creases: Remembrances of a Paperback Writer

      Stranger at the Door: A Novel of Suspense

      Sweet Tormented Love: A Novel of Romance

      The Sword and the Rose: An Historical Novel

      This Splendid Earth: An Historical Novel

      The Tijuana Bible Reader (editor)

      Twisted Flames

      The WATERCRESS File: That Man from C.A.M.P.

      A Westward Love: An Historical Romance

      White Jade: A Novel of Terror

      The Why Not

      The Wine of the Heart: A Novel of Romance

      The Wolves of Craywood: A Novel of Terror

      COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

      Copyright © 1970, 2007, 2012 by Victor J. Banis

      NOTE: None of the traditional herbs, potions, or remedies for physical or mental ailments included in this book have been validated by any medical or government authority. The reader employs them solely at his or her own risk.

      Published by Wildside Press LLC

      www.wildsidebooks.com

      DEDICATION

      I am deeply indebted to my friend, Heather, for all the help she has given me in getting these early works of mine reissued.

      And I am grateful as well to Rob Reginald, for all his assistance and support.

      INTRODUCTION

      In this country and time, magic is very much in disrepute. Bring the subject up at a dinner gathering, and most of those present, if not all, will wrinkle their noses in amusement and openly pooh-pooh the matter. But what is truly amusing is that these same skeptics remain unaware of how strong and ingrained is their belief in the supernatural and how often they appeal to it.

      “Of course I don’t believe in magic. Oh, good luck on your trip.” “There’s no such thing; I make my own luck, and I plan to continue doing so, knock on wood.” “People are finally coming to realize how silly all this supernatural nonsense is, Lord willing.” Such conversational paradoxes would be funny if they weren’t so common and so unconscious.

      The truth is, we all believe in magic to some extent and try to influence natural events by its use, whether we cross our fingers, knock on wood, avoid black cats, hesitate to walk under ladders, blow out a match before the third cigarette is lit, toss spilled salt over our left shoulders, wish one another luck, wear good luck charms, carry rabbit’s feet, finger rosaries, pray, become nervous on Friday the thirteenth, or perform any of hundreds of symbolic gestures that have carried down to us from generations of believers.

      If we are reluctantly persuaded to admit that we do use certain magic charms and conjurations, we are often downright horrified that anyone should think we actually believe in them, or expect them to work, or give any credence to witches.

      Here again, we make liars and fools of ourselves. It would be sheer nonsense to say that witches haven’t existed and don’t exist right now. And they use magic, in many instances the same sort of magic we all utilize. And the simple truth is, it works—at least, some of the time.

      In some instances, there is absolutely nothing surprising about this success. Any man of science who examines the history of witchcraft, for instance, will discover that witches have always concentrated a great deal of their attention on healing physical ailments, frequently by the use of herbs. And a little examination will prove that some of their cures had every reason to work. Often the witches of the Middle Ages were expert herbalists, using healing techniques that have since become commonplace. It was once thought clever to laugh at the witches of England who used a type of mold to heal various ailments—until we discovered the healing powers of penicillin, which is produced from mold. Witch doctors amused Britishers with their use of a certain drug to heal “illnesses of the soul,” until someone investigated this strange drug and found the parent of the modern-day tranquilizer. Witches recommended frog’s eggs as a sort of disinfectant; today we know that they have a high iodine content. Many witch recipes called for plantain leaves or roots. The late W. H. Box, a world-famous authority on herbalism, has said that plantain could cure almost anything, from poisoning to piles.

      The power of suggestion was no doubt a powerful factor working in the witch’s favor, especially through the centuries in which people’s faith was strong—faith in God, in Satan, and in hosts of other forces.

      As to whether there was something more involved than fundamental scientific luck and the power of suggestion—well, nothing will be accomplished by reopening that quarrel. Our purpose here has been to bring together a collection of specific charms, curses, and spells in a sort of “recipe book” or “how-to.” There are plenty of other volumes on the subjects of witchcraft and magic, but all too often they deal in vague generalities or mumbo jumbo and tell us about this or the other spell but never get around to telling us the spell itself. We have avoided that here, within certain limitations—obviously some of the ingredients may sound strange to the modern reader. If we were to try to provide encyclopedic information on every item mentioned, we would probably get through no more than half a dozen spells. We have, for instance, included certain spells from the Egyptian magical writings. But we could have devoted at least one volume, more probably