Hubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble……

It’s nearing the end of October, and that can only mean one thing….. Halloweeeeeeeeen! A celebration of all things gory, ghoulish and creepy, and here at the Oakeley Arms Hotel in Blaenau Ffestiniog we’re a sucker for a good Halloween fright!

The origins of the Halloween celebrations aren’t really clear – historians have debated them for years. Some s think it comes from the Christian tradition of celebrating All Saints Day on the 1st November – a day to honour and remember saints and for praying for those souls that had recently passed away.

Other historians believe that the celebrations of Halloween are linked to the Celtic and Pagan festival of Samhain, which was celebrated at the end of summer. Pagans believed that Samhain was when the door to the spirit world was opened just enough for ghosts, fairies and spirits to sneak into our world and cause a bit of havoc. Feasts were held in their honour, and places were set at tables for dead relatives and friends, but in order to scare away the beastly ghosts, ghoulish costumes were worn.

But, one thing’s for sure – you can’t celebrated Halloween without the mention of witches; the two go together like tea and biscuits or like sausage and mash…… Throughout history, witches have been celebrated, revered and ostracised as mere mortals struggle to understand the other-worldly links that these remarkable women seem to have.

So, for today’s blog we are celebrating the world’s most famous witches……read on for our favourites….

• Bridget Bishop – Ms Bishop was the first “witch” to be executed thanks to the Salem Witch Trials – perhaps the most famous witch trials in history. These trials took place in Massachusetts, USA as a result of the spread of Christians who believed that witchcraft was “dark” magic and practised by fellows of Satan himself. The episode is since considered one of the first examples of mass-hysteria, and 12 “witches” were executed thanks to shaky evidence and biased tests and trials.
• Merga Bien – a famous German witch who confessed to murdering her husband by means of witchcraft. A famous witch-hunter of the 17th century (Balthasar von Dernbach) captured her and forced her to admit that her unborn child was conceived by the devil himself…. she was burnt at the stake in 1605, and was the first of 250 women to be executed by the witch-hunter as part of the Fulda Witch Trials.
• Alizon Device – The Pendle Witch Trials are the most famous witch trials in Britain. They took pace in the Lancashire town of Pendle in 1612, when 12 local women were accused of murdering ten people by the means of witchcraft. The “witches” are still celebrated in this part of Lancashire, so if you visit you can take a walk along the Witch Way, enjoy a pint of Witch Ale and take a trip on the Witch Bus….
• Kikimora – a famous spirit witch who is said to make her presence known by leaving a trail of wet footprints around the house. Don’t annoy her or you’ll be on the receiving end of broken pottery, smashed televisions and windows broken to a thousand smithereens…
• Jenny Greenteeth – a terrifying fictional witch with yep, you’ve guessed it, a lovely set of green nashers….. She would drown young children and OAPs for the fun of it, and sometimes eat them for dinner afterwards.

So, we hope you don’t encounter any of these terrifying witches whilst you’re out and about this Halloween. And if you do – well turn and run the other way – very, very quickly!

Happy Halloween!

image by ciscopa on sxc.hu