The Power of the threshold
Whether furtively concealed in hedges with warnings of thorn and crimson berry or submerged in the warming echoes of home and family delights, the protective disposition of the threshold has always acted as a liminal boundary. They exist among all entrances, stoic in their silence while we walk between them every day. Yet we seldomly recognise their ability to hold the key to wonders beyond their locale.
They range from access to our abodes to the natural ever-growing thickets to the cold iron gates that guard the dead. The demarcation of its power lies within its enticement of the unity between worlds; the outside with the in, the spiritual with the physical and the unknown with the familiar. However, to intruding ears that lurk amongst the night’s obscure lanes; those that maniacally tread the velvet shadows, the threshold provides the perfect opportunity to dismantle its apotropaic barrier. This can be achieved most efficiently by wielding knowledge of the wicked and malefic arts.
These can be attributed to the Witch, an entity known throughout history and folklore as a powerful magical wielder. Everyday perceptions conjured of such individuals range from the past stereotypes of satanic worshipers who relinquish all that is considered moral, to the empathetic healers who utilised the natural world for their communal remedies and tinctures. However, within my home of Shropshire, the Witch was characterised in the 19th century only through the lens of evil, with the presence of the Devil remaining faithfully by their side like a besotted lover. From there on he infatuated the witch with lascivious tempts of power to further their progression towards his corrupt indoctrination.
A Witches power to curse lay within snaked tongue, uttering poisonous words towards those unfortunate enough to give ear to their curses as well as the ability to conduct sympathetic magic. This is a powerful and primitive form of magic that fashions symbolic representatives into an act or object which corresponds to the desired goal. This includes the infamous poppet that imitates a specific individual in order for supernatural cause to be inflicted upon them.
But the object for a Witch most likely to attack would be the threshold; protecting the most private and sacred rituals of the home. Once destroyed all manner of evil and malicious forces could enter to lay waste to the insides; a nasty type of curse that was reputed to have been used by the Witch Becky Smout on the Burbidge family in Shropshire.
Madness ensues
Benjamin Burbidge, an elderly, diligent man who called Bottomly farm home was a hard-working Waggoner. With the folly of youth, although nearly spent, still coursing through his veins Benjamin took to his task with as much elbow grease as any young working adult. Whilst he tended to the care of his prized mares; his Granddaughter Sally completed the housework. However, while mixing meal for the poultry one day, Sally made a perilous mistake when Becky Smout came begging at the threshold.
An assault upon the eyes with her withered and decrepit body that emanated an odour of distrust and wickedness, Becky was well versed in Witchcraft. Locals firmly believed in her power and described the Witch as arriving in Shropshire upon a broomstick from the majestic Clee hills. Her appearance burned with inferno fire, betraying any holy communion with God while domineering all unwitting Christians whose vision lay upon her, enticed by her look of hidden, seductive charm underneath her aged shell of a body. Yet all the power granted by her craft could not prevent Becky from being stricken with poverty. And so she craved for the handouts of the more fortunate, with Sally’s Poultry mix appeasing the grumblings of an empty and desperate stomach.
Stood patiently at the door, Becky begged Sally for a small portion of the meal. However, Sally, overtaken by her temper, was insulted by the arrogance of Becky’s appeal for food, claiming that she had better things to do with her time such as her preoccupation with fattening the hens ready for Christmas. A deafening silence grew and lingered between the two women with Becky peering into the insolence of the young woman who so rudely refused her. Calmly and collectively, Becky walked away until she turned around and began to write suspicious looking characters into the dust outside of the door. This was soon followed by a fraught of laughter that bellowed in the air like a theatre encore, as she triumphantly left the farm.
From that moment on, a thick fog of misfortune lay siege to the farm with Sally soon discovering the farms cockerel lifeless upon the ground with white, bubbling froth around its beak. Soon the voices that only sally could hear began to whisper in her ear with irritating persistence. The visions of things only she could see began to plague her life, slowly driving Sally into cold sweats and an inevitable descent into madness. All the while she was aggravated by the frequent, heathen words and laughter of Becky who frequently passed by the farm. However, this was not the end of her curse, for Becky’s retaliation soon spread like a disease over to Benjamin who became more restless, clumsy, and broke out into laughter at the most untimely of moments.
With what little rational mind and courage Benjamin had left, promoted by the failed efforts of doctors to cure himself and his granddaughter, the farmer made his way to Becky to plead for the curse to be lifted. Once he arrived at her home he offered a gift of a guinea which he had received many years ago for his heroic deed of saving a drowning boy. But cruelty and vindictiveness had enveloped Becky. She viciously refused the gift presented by the feeble man whilst laughing in his face, causing Benjamin to flee as far as his trembling legs could take him. Shaken up and tearful with no hope left in his body for the recovery of his family, Benjamin succumbed to his fate.
For a prolonged period Sally and Benjamin failed to recuperate, progressing further into the curse with Sally eventually rendered speechless. Fortunately, Benjamin’s Son Frank and his Grandson Malachi had paid a visit, filled with the freshness of life and bursting at the seams with radiant hope that they could cure their besieged family members. Despite the restless and angry ramblings of Benjamin against such foolishness inspired by his despair, Malachi reassured his grandfather that he knew of a charm that would free him of his troubles. With a stride of confidence and a whistling tune, Malachi exited the house with the rest of the family left with the sound of scuffling and crying floating upon the wind. The window beheld the sight of Benjamin’s grandson engaged with the Witch, threatening to beat her black and blue with an ash plant if she did not confess to having no power over the Burbidge household. Unto God Becky swore that she was a fool and would leave the family alone for the remainder of their days.
A variety of protective threshold charms
With a strong and resolute conviction in the power of Witchcraft, it was common for old Salopian folk to adopt an array of apotropaic methods to secure their homes threshold. Such examples include the infamous witches’ bottles. These contain a tremendous variety of objects and materials, often discovered during restoration work to historic buildings. Sinister in appearance, these bottles are usually found dwelling beneath the floors, around the chimney and especially the threshold, filled with bent pins, hair, nail clippings, screws, and most commonly urine. Despite their name, these were not fashioned by Witches but by those weary against their power. For Salopians believed they acted as a protective charm that would counteract any spell cast by a witch or alternatively kill the culprit.
Alternative charms included the Iron Horseshoe. These were hung above the threshold of stable doors to prevent evil spirits from enacting out harm as well as Witches from stealing horses to ride them to their sabbatical meetings before returning them exhausted or “hag ridden”. The horseshoe, with its lucky reputation could also be hung up in the home to keep the Devil at bay who was believed in Shropshire to travel in circles. Therefore, upon approaching the bifurcated shape, he would be forced to recede back along his travelled route.
Others charms to protect the threshold in Shropshire included the use of dried cats who were hidden within the wall of a home due to the belief that the feline companion was gifted with a 6th sense. By utilising this, the cat could detect the presence of a wicked witches familiar and could consequently ward them off from within the spiritual plane. However, this particular gruesome method was thankfully not performed while the animal was alive, with examinations indicating post-mortem concealment in the majority of cases.
Yet of all the methods at the disposal to Witch fearing Salopians, the most common charm used was the drawing of particular, intriguing patterns. These were created by rubbing elder, dock and sometimes oak leaves into a substance that could be traced into intricate, knot like patterns upon the threshold, hearth, or floor. This was done in order to stop the Devil and witches from entering the home. Common patterns often included a border of crosses between two lines, undoubtedly and subtly invoking the power of Christ, as well as continuous borders of loops. These must be drawn with a particular dexterity, so not to break the pattern or its power
Ultimately the threshold, although appearing to most as nothing more than an entry, is a place of phenomenal power. It is a place ascribed with protective enchantments and acting as a source of attack from malignant forces. Although the modern day features new developments of home protection ranging from alarms to security cameras, our ancestors who were more magically inclined had their own methods of securing their home. And within a world that is becoming increasingly spiritual one can never be sure whether somebody is attempting to attack the threshold; with frequent stories heard of those casting the evil eye, either unintentionally or with full malice. So, for the best and effective measure it might just be worth keeping those empty bottles and horseshoes at hand… just to be on the safe side.
