Half Demons - Witches

So far, I have only discussed nature demons appearing in Polish folklore, but it is important to remember about semi-demonic characters living among people. The most famous example of such creatures are witches.

Relatively recently, due to the influence of the Christianization of Polish lands, witches were perceived as pure evil. They were accused of contacts with the devil and working to destroy humanity, but the figure of the witch was known to the Slavs already in pagan times. Back then, herbalists and medicine woman were called hags who, thanks to knowledge and skills passed down from generation to generation, were able to heal people and animals. Women from witch families carefully guarded their secrets, which is why they were credited with using magic, which made them respected and feared by the local population.

They were depicted as old and ugly women living on the outskirts of the village. Sometimes they could take the form of young and beautiful women, and also turn into moths, cats or owls. Sometimes they met at night on the tops of treeless mountains and held their Sabbaths. People called such places the Bald Mountains and avoided going near them. As a rule, witches were mainly women, but in some parts of the country you can hear about male witches.

As I mentioned above, the Catholic Church has blurred the old perception of witches, and the progressive demonization of these figures has led to witch hunts. Women accused of witchcraft were subjected to terrible tortures, the most popular of which were burning alive at the stake or the so-called "water test". It involved tying a woman and throwing her into the water. If she did not sink, she was considered a witch, because it was commonly believed that a witch's body was as light as a feather and therefore would float on the surface of the water.

It is estimated that in Poland about 10,000 people legally tried for witchcraft lost their lives, but we cannot forget about the lynchings that were common at that time, which probably doubled the number of victims. One of the last such lynchings in Poland took place in 1836 in a small town located on the Baltic Sea. The fisherman's widow was then accused of witchcraft. She was subjected to a water test, but she survived it and finally died at the hands of her torturers.

This is the subject that I am the most passionate about. I think you can see that clearly in my photography and that's why almost every photo worked for that theme. I posted here my favourite ones but I'd love to know if there's a specyfic photo in which you can see me mostly as a witch (I hope you get what I mean).

Love, Erinthul.