Weird Witch Bottles, Historic Efforts to Ward Off Evil Spells and Witchcraft

Witch bottles (known also as ‘spell bottles’) are apotropaic devices (things believed to have the power to avert evil influences). These objects are believed to protect their owners from the negative effects of witchcraft. The belief in evil and malevolent forces went hand in hand with the efforts to counter these threats. In Early Modern Europe and North America, the centuries old belief in the powers of witchcraft was very real.

Over time, people devised various ways of protecting themselves against witches, most notably through witch hunts. Witch bottles were also a way of protecting oneself against witches, and they become popular during the 16th and 17th centuries. Interestingly, the available evidence suggests that usage of this device was popular in England and North America, but not in other parts of Europe.    

Choosing a Witch Bottle

Normally, glass bottles with lids would be used to make the witch bottles. Another common type of bottle used to make these apotropaic devices was a stoneware container known as bellarmine jugs (known also as bartmann jugs).

These vessels may have been named after Robert Cardinal Bellarmino, a Catholic Inquisitor who played an important role in the Counter-Reformation. The bottles can be easily identified as they are customarily adorned with the figure of a bearded man. It has been suggested that due to the depiction of this fearsome Inquisitor on such vessels, the bellarmine jugs were often used to make witch bottles.