Cinderloo
(Dawley Riots)

Witchcraft

Shropshire Folklore Introduction Contents

Whether or not witchcraft in its modern, organised, sense was ever a reality is highly doubtful. Witches were probably originally just "cunning" women, skilled in healing and herbalism. Witchcraft was re-invented in the 1940s by Gerald Gardner (possibly in collaboration with Aleister Crowley) as Wicca. Just recently, there have been a couple of excellent studies of present-day witchcraft: Tanya Luhrmann's Persuasions of the Witches Craft and Ronald Hutton's The Triumph of the Moon.

Well, just like anywhere, Shropshire has its fair share of witches. Not as many as Essex and not as famous as Lancashire, but anyway...