Dangerously Chloe 04-08-14 Take my death seriously

[X3N0-Life-Form]

She's probably high on flying potions right now.

That sounds so ... Morrowind-esque

[Spidrift]

Actually, I have a fairly strong sense that a lot of medieval witches' "flying potions" were actually rather toxic botanical hallucinogens. They didn't make you fly, they just made you feel like you were flying...

[Tako]

That's a proven truth, and was even common knowledge in many parts of Europe. The "witches' ointment", which was applied on the skin, was made from several hallucinogenic plants and several medieval and Modern Age's doctors were able to successfully replicate it.

Read Cervantes's The Conversation of the Dogs. In that book a witch is accidentally discovered while tripping, and some neighbours start crying "that woman is dying! call a doctor!" but some others, who know her, are dismissive and say "Meh...she's just a witch getting high".

By the way, that character is based on a member of a real-life coven that was discovered and put on trial by the Spanish Inquisition. That coven was made of proven demon-worshippers, but the Inquisitors saw that they were harmless druggie-heads so clearly that they received very short prision sentences.

[vampire hunter D]

You people act like witches are real and not a made up thing by the church to burn people.

[Tako]

When you speak of witches, you have to take into account that there were at least three very different things that are being put into the same bag:

1.-Pagan cults and folk sorcerers. People kept worshipping gods like Diana, Thor or Frau Holde or Thor side by side with the Judeo Christian God in many pockets in Europe. Plus many minor spirits like Lady Orient, Ambotoko Mari, Akerbeltz or Leshii kept being propitiated even among Christians. And there were shamanistic cults like the Taltos or the Benandati who healed the sick and blessed the fields even among non-pagan populations, and there were hedge sorcerers selling charms, calling the rain and telling the future in every corner of Europe.

2.-Witches in tales, legends and folk culture. Nobody among the pagans, shamanic cultists or folk sorcerers called themselves "witches". "Witch" is an inherently negative word meaning "demon worshipper" or "evil sorcerer". The witches from our folktales are a construct based on a mixture of pagans priests, folk sorcerers and supernatural creatures from mythology, like lamias and strigae.

The Catholic Church actually disapproved the belief in witches, and in countries where Rome's control was strong, like Italy or Spain, accusing somebody of witchcraft was almost as dangerous as claiming to be a witch.

3.-People who tried to be witches. Once witches became an obsession, some people started to pretend to be witches. Some made a business out of it, like La Voisin, who sold poisons but complemented her earnings offering spells and black masses. Some others enjoyed the attention, and others were mad. And of course there were people who never claimed to be witches but were accused of it.

The Spanish Inquisition didn't accept the existence of witches as people with real powers, but considered "Witchcraft" a synonym of "Demon Worship", which was a very real crime. To them, what made you a witch wasn't the fact that you pretended to cast spells (that was called Sorcery, it was a very lightly punished crime and was practiced almost openly) but the fact that you worshipped devilkind.

The Ointment of Witches was a very real drug that was sold and consumed in rescricted, secretive circles that used it to get high and have hallucinations that they believed to be provoked by demons.

[FlashD81]

That was a very informative post.

[CFT]

Indeed, it was very interesting.

I think he forgot to mention Thor though ...

People kept worshipping gods like Diana, Thor or Frau Holde or Thor side by side with the Judeo Christian God in many pockets in Europe.

[vampire hunter D]

Yeah, but didhe mention Thor?

[Bambikles]

But where would you put people who knew traditional and effective medicine, without being pagans/shamans, yet demonized by various Christian confessions and mocked by official doctors of these times ?

[Tako]

Indeed, it was very interesting.

I think he forgot to mention Thor though ...

People kept worshipping gods like Diana, Thor or Frau Holde or Thor side by side with the Judeo Christian God in many pockets in Europe.

Yeah, but didhe mention Thor?

Well, he's big guy...

But where would you put people who knew traditional and effective medicine, without being pagans/shamans, yet demonized by various Christian confessions and mocked by official doctors of these times ?

That would happen very rarely. People wouldn't turn on you because you knew how to cure a sickness. And if what you did really worked, your neighbours would copy it and eventually it would pass to mainstream medicine.

Of course, during the worst periods of witch hysteria people could turn against you for any reasons: because you had a black cat; because you owned a white dog; because your cow gave more milk than your neighbour's; because you were the first person to ask your neighbour about her sick son's health; because you were an angry old woman who cursed a lot; because your neighbour was bitten by a rabid dog just after you saluted him; because were good at business and became richer than your neighbours; because you looked too young for your age...etc.

And supposed "witches" weren't the only victims: suspected lycanthropes, lepers and of course, jews, were accused of spreading diseases and curses and became target of mobs.

[Metathiax]

a grim reaper in training?

This seems most plausible to me. With the two tone hair and that outfit she oddly reminds me of Death the Kid. It would also add to the drama of the situation when she tries to reap Teddy's not quite dead soul. Then when he gets stuffed back in his body, her stalking him waiting for him to die proper like.

Her hair does give off a Death the kid vibe.

[Whisky-Tango-Foxtrot]

there were hedge sorcerers selling charms, calling the rain and telling the future in every corner of Europe.

Much like today...only now instead of "hedge sorcerers" we call them "hedge fund managers."

[Don Alexander]

Okay, this is love at first sight!!

Not to mention, no one was expecting this at all...

By the way, anyone reminded of Chronicle?

And when it comes to songs that fit...