Encyclopaedia of superstitions, folklore, and the occult sciences of the world

500 Pages·1903·21.601 MB·English

by  Anonymous

'2c.{ '21'2 , Z
wm
w
bar\larb ~ollcgc 1ibra~
..
FR.O~f
~-:r~
.....
The Titans Piled Mountains Upon Mountains that They Might get
into the Heavens and Battle with the Gods. Jupiter
Mounted on His Eagle Came Down and Over-
threw Them with His Thunderbolts.
eo..
CowrIaht,1101,brJ.II.YBWD~.& 80••
Jl.u.W.&.UKDtWIL
CONTENTS.
SECRET VIRTUES TO BE FOUND IN THE ENMITY BETWEEN ANIMALS, 16iS
OCCULT VIRTUES INHERENT IN ANIMALS IN LIFE AND DEATH, 1675
CHAPTER XXIII.
THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE OCCULT.
1677
THE MORAL CONSTITUTION OF MAN, •
ELEMENTS OF THE DIVINE PARACLETE AND THE FOUR CHARACTERS OF THE
ABSOLUTE, I6i7
ATRIBUTESOF GODANDTHE MEANING OFSATAN, • I6j8
STAIRWAY OF THE SCIENCE OF BEING, • I6i8
FAITH HEALING AND FORMULAS FOR TREATMENT OF THE SICK, I6i9
HEALING ADMONITIONS ApPLICABLE TO ALL DISEASES, 1680
HowA MAN ltlAYTHINKHIMSELFTO DEATH ORINTO STRENGTH, • 1681
CHAPTER XXIV.
GRAPHOLOGY.
CHARACTER IN HANDWRITING, • 1682
DICTIONARY OF FACULTIES READABLEIN NATURAL PENMANSHIP,. • 1682
STUDY OF SIGNATURES F~OM FAMOUS POETS, NOVELISTS, ADMIRALS. ~lusl-
ClANS. SURGEONS, ECCLESIASTICS,PREACHERS, ORATORS,ACTORS. STATES
MEN, POLITICIANS, SCIENTISTS, PHILANTHROPISTS, RELIGIOUSAND ~IIL-
ITARY COMKANDERS, • 16g1
CHAPTER XXV.
DICTIONARY OF BEAUTY AND CHARACTER.
DEFINITIONS OF BEAUTY, • ._ 16gB
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DIFFERENT FEATURES OF BEAUTY IN THE
FACE, 16gB
SPECIAL CHARACTERISTICS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDE~ GIVING COMPLETE IN-
SIGHTINTO THE MYSTERIES OF CHARACTER READING, • 1701
CHAPTER XXVI.
DICTIONARY OF ~IYTHOLOGY.
THE FABULOUS AND ROMANTIC MYTHS, HEROES AND DEITIES THAT CON
STITUTED THE RELIGIOUS PANTHEON OF THE ANCIENT GREEKS AND
ROMANS, • 1710
CHAPTER XXVII.
HYPNOTISM, CLAIRVOYANCE AND TELEPATHY.
METHODS A~DEXPEBIKE~T8.STAGES OFHyp~O'I'IC Co:\"DITIO~, DEHYP~OTIZA­
TIO:S, WHO CA1Ii BE HYPNOTIZED, EXTENSIO~ OF SE:\8E PEBcEPT10~S,
CRYSTAL GAZIXG. HYP~OTICTBANSFERE~CEOF SE:\8ATIO~ASDTUOl.TGHT,
TIlE h,\\rILLI:\G GAME" AS AN EXPLA~ATIO~ OF TELEPATHY, K~DS 01"
THOl:GHT TBAN'8nRE.~CE.DIBECTIONS FOB PRACTICE BY WHICH TO BE·
COllE SKILLED I~ Cr~IRVOYANCEAND TELEPATHY, THE VAST POSSIBILI-
TIES OF ME~TALSc!E::'fCE, 1721
(For Complete Alphabetical Index See End of Volume III.)
Witchcraft and Magic, Good and Evil
Spirits, Etc.
CHAPTER XIX.
ANTLER - Stap' horns are Mount Pilate, and whoever sees
considered in Spain to be an omen him will die before the year is out.
of the evil eye, and to be a safe When ghosts walk, the Russian
guard against its malignant influ peasant is murmuringa prayer and
ence. Should the evil glance be the Bedouin shepherd is muttering
cast, it is believed that the hom re a curse.
ceives it and instantly snaps asun
InWales,ghostlyharpersappear
der. They wear a tip of hom
on the surface of lakes, play bode
mounted in silver or gold, as a
ful tunes which foretell calamity to
charm.
the neighbors, and then disappear.
APPARITIONS,V ISIONS, If you have steel in your hand, a
GHOSTS, ETC.-Shouting CRam, ghostcannot harm you.
4
Ram," drives away ghosts and all
Phosphorescentlightsonlandor
evil things. (Bengalese.) sea denote the presence of an evil
Negroes think that sprinkling spirit.
the floor with quicksilver is worry It is unlucky to see the vision of
some to ghosts. an absent person, particularly if
The apparition of the head of a you do not see the face plainly. It
man announces death to the family is an omen of his death.
of Donatis in Venice. The old Celts believed in
wraiths or doubles; anyone seeing
It is said that Napoleon was vis
a double of himself would die soon
ited by a spirit in red, that warned
after.
him ofcomingevents.
If you see ghosts frequently and
In France, the "Iittle red man of
ask them what they want, they will
the Tuileries" appears on the eve
seldom reply, but will leave you
of some great national disaster.
and not appear again.
The \\l1ite Lady of Avenel A ghost appearing to a bride in
showed by the changing width of
the fonn ofa white horse, was con
hergolden girdle the changingfor
sidered to be the very best omen.
tunes of the family. (WalterScott,
If a person is haunted by an ap
"The ~Ionastery:')
parition whose face he cannot see,
If you wish to have the power to turning his coat will obtain for him
see ghosts. go to the graveyard at the full sightofthe ghost or its dis
midnight and stand on the grave appearance.
of a relative, alone.
Strange lights around a lonely
Pontius Pilate is believed to ap dwellingmarka visitfrom thedevil
pear once a >·ear on the top of to that habitation.
ENCYCWPAEDIA.OF SUPERSTITIONS.
The royal family of Germany has The "Ghost of the Hill" is an
a "white lady," whose appearance other Scotch death-warning.
always heralds a death. In Fouque's beautiful story of
If a seat in which a person is the Undine, the water-spirit, she
sittingsuddenly appears empty, al warns the recreant knight of his
though the person has not moved, approaching d\Ath, and he dies on
it is a certain sign that that person the night of his second nuptials.
will shortly die. Tradition says that the appear
In England and Germany a ance of two spectral owls of im
t
"white woman" is always an au mense size on the battlements of
gury of death. Wardour Castle, still warns the
family of Arundel of the approach
Whoever sees his shadow with
of an enemy.
out a head on the eve of St. Syl
vester, will die withina year. Toseethespiritofanabsentper
son coming toward you, is a good
A namelessand voiceless specter
sign. If it appears going away
stalks about the royal palace at
from you, the person will die.
Stockholm, and was once seen by
two princes, on the occasion of the German legend tells of a "Lady
death of the king, who expired on of Waldeck," a water nymph~
the battlefield of Luetzen. whose appearance would foretell
the death of the person who sees
The Stanley family are warned
by a spirit with a shriek of calam her.
ity, when death is near. (Scott's Ifa phantom flame springs up in
Peveri1 of the Peak.) the floor before you, one in the
house who is sick may die.
In Cambridgeshire, there is an
apparition known as the "Shuck," It is very unlucky to meet the
and in the Isle of Man it is the "love-talker." Irish.)
"Manthe Dog." It is a wild and To a certain noble family living
savage dog, that appears to chase in the East of England, appears a
about in the air. spectral black dog as an omen of
The ghost of the last person death.
buried keeps watch over the In a certain noble English fam
churchyard until another is buried, ily, the form of a spectral head ap
to whom he delivers his charge. pears as a sign of death to any of
It is notorious that in a certain the members, and notably so when
noble English family, the form of the chief dies.
a spectral head appears as a sign In a certain noble Scotch family~
of death to any member. The ap a female figure, dressed in brown
pearance of a spectral black dog is clothes, appears as a warning of
also a portent of death. death.
Toseeaspectralhuge blackdog, The "hag of the mist," as she is
with fiery eyes, is, among the ne called, is a warner, who, by her
groes, a token of death; but the shrieks, foretells death to those
warningfails ifthe dogcan beshot who see or hear her.
with a silver bullet on seeing him
In monaste.es, the seats of
the next time. monks and nuns are occupied by
A dark gray man foretells death figures without heads when they
to a whole clan in Scotland. are about to die.
1306 BNCYCWPAEDIA OPSUPERSTITIONS.
If you can step on the head of Wax lights are believed to at
yourown shadow, itis noon. tractspecters,andthis isthe reason
why churches are supposed to be
Tradition says that the appear
haunted.
ance of two spectral owls of im
mense size on the battlements of If a person wished to know
Wardour Castle, Wiltshire, still whose ghost he was seeing, he
warns the Arundel family of the would tum up hiscufforcollarand
approach of the last enemy. thus it would expose its face and
remain as long as he kept the cuff
If there are paths newly-made in
turned up.
the morning through the grass,
which do not show any footprints, In the Castle of Orlamunde, if
it is a sign that a ghost has walked theservants heara little bird chirp
there in the night. (Negro.) ing at night, they know that the
white lady who haunts the halls or
The apparition ofa headless dog
ruins of at least a hundred castles
is a sign of death.
around, is coming to warn the
The appearance of Samuel to household of some evil that ,vill
Saul was a dire omen, the Bible
happen.
haVing accounts of many such ap
In West Surrey, there is a belief
pearances.
that whenaninfantdies itgoes,ap
He who brushes a ghost una parently in the body, to the nearest
wares,"will be shot by the fairies in relative and announces its own
the loins.
death.
The Australians consider the In New Zealand, when a person
ghosts of the unburied dead to be isabouttodie,hisghostisbelieved
demons. always to appear to the nearest and
A reappearance of the dead is dearest, no matter how far away.
supposed to happen usually nine If the "fetch-lights" are seen,
days after death. theyareconsideredtheforerunners
Ifyou see a ghost, it will be visi of death, in Wales.
ble to your companions if you When a member of the Graham
touch them. family was to die, a lady in green
Among the Sioux Indians, the was always seen seated under a
fear of the vengeance of their vic particular tree in the grounds of
tim's ghost deters from murder. Kincardine Castle, weeping that
the shadow of death hung over the
The Maoris believe in ghosts,
family.
"kehuas," and to step on one lying
acrossthepathisanomenofdeath. In Scotland, the family of Roth
murchas have "the ghost of the
Ghosts were believed to be of
hill" to warn them ofdeath.
such delicate texture that they suf
A spirit in gray always appears
fered pain if exposed to the light,
toa Campbell about to die.
andthatiswhytheywereseenonly
in dark places and in the night The house of Forbes is warned
time. bya lady ingreen sleeves.
Ghosts can be banished betwixt In Denmark, it is believed that
door and doorpost, and ifyou slam specters may be driven away by
the door, they will be so tormented smoking the room ,vith the smoke
that they will leave. of a tallow candle.
FOLKLORE. AND THB OCCULT SCIBNCBS. I'MYJ
In 165'7, the way to conjure a Byron often received visits from
ghost was to sit cross-legged, spit a specter, but said he believed it
three times to east,south and west, to be a creature of his imagination.
and say: "In the name of God, Newstead Abbey, the family home
what art thou, whence dost thou of I....ord Byron, like most feudal
come?" homesandcastles, haditsghost.
The writing on the wall, "Mene, If a person at night suddenly
Alene, Tekel Upbarsin,"wasa sign sees a shadowy image of himself- '
of the destruction of Babylon and "seeinghis wraith," the Scotch call
the death of Belshazzar. it-he is then soon to die.
In Wales, a large luminous body One day when Servius slept in
which rests close to the ground, his chamber, Tanaquil saw playing
frequently covering a large space, abouthis heada flame offire. This
is called the "tamoed," and is was a sign that the boy would rise
thought to be the token of the d~ to greatness. Servius became a
mise of anyone over whose land It famous grammarian, and died
hovers. about 300 B. C.
To preventa visit from the spirit The family of Rothmurchan, in
of the deceased a Hidatsa Indian Scotland, always had death or dis
scorches with red coals a pair of aster foretold them by the appear
moccasins, which are left at the ance of a specter called Bodac au
doorofthelodge. Thesmellofthe Dun.
burning leather keeps out the
The family of 1tliddleton, in
ghost.
Yorkshire, are warned of death by
In New Zealand, it is considered the appearance of a Benedictine
very ominous to see the figure of nun.
an absent friend; if the face is not
To see a dead person go about
visible, he will die soon; while if it
in white, meant that another of the
is plain to be seen, he is dead al
family was to die. (Western Nor
ready.
wa)P.)
If your house is haunted, bum
Goethe states that he one day
rosemary bush, cow-dung, and
saw the exact counterpart of him
hom, and the duppy will leave.
self, coming towards him.
Uarnaica.)
The .l\ustralian natives are much
To see a ghost or "duppy," you
afraidofghostsat night. Theystand
must look over your left shoulder.
in greatest dread of the ghost of a
Uamaica.)
man who was feared in life, and
To make a duppy laugh, show,it this feeling is greater after a lapse
a fire stick. Oamaica.) of several years from the time of
In the Turks Islands, if one his death.
wishes to have the power to see To shout, whistle, or carry mut
"jumbies," "duppies," or ghosts, ton at night, will cause the ghosts
all that is necessary is to put in to follow the person doing so.
one's e}·e the water from the eye (Madagascar.)
of a piebald horse.
Count Emanuel Swedenborg
Mark a circle on your door with continually talked with spirits. and
chalk. and DO duppy will enter. wrote great works about his visits
Oamaica.) to heaven and heD.
1108 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OFSUPERSTITIONS.
Pope saw an arm apparently he was induced by the reading of
come right through the wall, and some pious books, intended to di
made inquiries after its owner. vert the tedium of his illness, to
devote hiinself to a religious life,
Jumbies are, in folklore of Brit
ish Guiana,ghosts pureandsimple, a resolution in which he was much
strengthened by his vision on the
in which the simple,but notalways
pure, believe. battlefield.
If three persons hang up a mos WhenJochebad,the wife ofAm
quito-net together, they will see a ram, the Hebrew, in the land of
specter. Uapan.) Egypt, brought forth a son, Moses,
the whole house was filled with
Bohemian tradition tells of a tall
great light, as of the light of the
womaninwhitewithlongdishevel
sun and moon at the time of their
ed hair, who goes about on certain
shining. ("Book of Jasher.'')
nights, seeking disobedient chil
dren. H you want to see duppies, take
the matter from a dog's eye and
If you see a person whom you
rub your eye with it; and if you
know to be sick walking on the
street,thatpersonwill surelydie. are troubled by duppies, sprinkle
sand before your door at night.
A soldier of 1878, a Highlander,
Uamaica.)
told a correspondentthat his moth
er's wraith came and stood by bin, To take off a Uduppy," let the
at the hour she died in Scotland, person on whom it is set, sit on a
while he was on guard in India, in Bible and jump three times over a
the Indian mutiny. fire. A goat or some other ani
mal's blood must be shed on the
If aperson sees his or her shad
fire, andthe flesh partakenofbyall
ow in the water in the month of
present. Oamaica.)
May, he or she will die before the
year isout. The "white lady" of Talks-hill,
About the middle of the seventh Gloucestershire, is said to scream
Chinese month, which falls during if any danger threatens a miner in
our autumn, paper clothes, i chi, passingthatway;and sofirm is the
are burned by many in their laun belief in that part, that none hear
dries and shops, a rite said to be ingthat sound will go to work that
performed for the spirit world at day, or proceed in the direction
large, both Chinese and foreign they intended going.
ghosts being propitiated or honor Grongers are ghosts of people
ed. who have been buriedat sea. They
Whoso takes home with him come to the most distant parts of
some ofthe grainsofcorn which is the world to warn their friends of
the food of a specter hen and her their death, and appear at twilight
chicks, will find them transformed in wet clothes.
into grains of gold (German.) In some parts of Northern
Ignatius Loyola, the founder of Europe, when Odin, the spectral
the order of the Jesuits, was until hunter, rides by with his furious
his thirtieth year a worldly knight, host, the windows in every sick
who, lyingwounded on the field of room are opened in order that the
Pampeluna, had an apparition of soul,ifit wishesto depart, shall not
theVirgin. Beingsentbyhischiv be hindered from joiningthe head
alrous captors to his father's castle, longchase.
1210 ENCYCLOPAE.DIA OF SUPERSTITIONS.
walkedaboutinhisshroudfromhis hurting one for a year by rising at
room to the chapel, carrying his midnight and standing barefooted
head under his ann. andsnappingthe fingers. A~other
plan is to put black beans In the
The estate of Trevi1le was given mouth, walk out into the air, throw
to an old family who came with them one by one behind you,never
WilliamtheConquerorto England. look back. repeating these words:
For many generations the family "With these beans I ransom my
has been declining, and has now self."
become extinct. Throughall time. To clear a house of ghosts, the
a peculiar token has ~arked the owner must clash cymbals of brass.
coming death of a VIngoe, the In some houses, utensils of that
owners of Treville. Above the metalwerestruck ninetimesbythe
deep caverns in the Treville cliff master, repeating: "Avaunt, ye ,an
rises a cairn. On this chains offire cestral manesI"
were seen ascending and descend-
ing,andoftenaccompan~edb!loud Wm. Sharpe, M. D., in referring
and frightful noises. It IS said that to his book, "Dream Visions,"
thesetokens havenotfailed tofore- says: "The meagre outline which
tellthe deathoftheheadofthefam- I gave of the visions can give the
ily, but sincethe last male member reader no adequate idea of their
diedbya violentend,theyhavenot vividness and the splendor of pres
been seen. entation; I believe they far sur-
pass those recorded by Anna
If the Welsh mountaineers see a Kingsford. They are only a few
tall man, thin and pale, in the dusk out of many far more striking, for
of the evening when they go out, instance:
and he hasablack dogwhosesteps Sixmonths before the tragic end
are towards the marsh which is at ofthe Emperorof Russia, I saw, in
the foot ofMountSt. Michael, they vision, in the northeastern heavens,
will run home, lock the doors, and a great beast, like a Siberian mam
fallon their knees to pray, for they moth, suspended by ropes, which
believe that a tempest is coming. were suddenly cut, and the beast
Soon after the winds howl, the fell to the ground, \vith a force that
thunder bursts forth in terrible tore up and scattered the e~rth in
peals, and the mountains shake to all directions. Other particulars
the base; and it is whispered that followed which pointed to Russia.t,
Merlin, the enchanter, is evoking The beast, also the sun, is the an-
the souls of the dead. cient symbol for a ruler.
The old "familiar," who had his In watchingin the churchyardto
abode in the castle near Biggar, see the procession of ghosts of
Scotland was called ··Carmoolis," those who are to die the coming
~
and supposed to visit the year,anoldwomanatScarborough
houses of the dying in the village after many faces had passed that
after dark; and children would she knew, saw a figure turn and
never dare to repeat, after the sun gaze at her. It was herself. She
went down, the old rhyme: screamed, fell senseless to the
"Carmoolis, Carmoolis,come ifye~~re, ground, and did not survive the
Lift up the latch and draw the barl shock.
.Ghosts of one's ancestors in The old sexton at a town in
Scotland, can be prevented from Yorkshire, always watched to see