Popular Post Still Waters Posted December 10, 2017 Popular Post #1 Share Posted December 10, 2017 Thousands of buildings in the British Isles are believed to have shoes hidden within their walls. But why did superstitious builders and homeowners believe in such a mysterious tradition? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-41507752 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Monk Posted December 10, 2017 #2 Share Posted December 10, 2017 I like the child's one with mud and grass still stuck to it. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acute Posted December 10, 2017 #3 Share Posted December 10, 2017 When my brother had an internal wall removed, there was a WW2 Royal Marines beret placed inside. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evalha Posted December 10, 2017 #4 Share Posted December 10, 2017 so yeah, they removed the shoes. Great idea. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_KB_ Posted December 10, 2017 #5 Share Posted December 10, 2017 You know doing that is kinda like a spell or a ritual... so if they do a spell or a ritual then they're technically witches... and if their witches then they shouldn't be able to enter their house... but why would they want that... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nzo Posted December 11, 2017 #6 Share Posted December 11, 2017 Going to be building a new home soon and thank goodness I seen this article. Now I shall place my shoes in the cement walls near the entrance. It may be superstition but hell, this whole universe should not exist and it does, so better safe then sorry. I don't need Dolores Umbridge paying me a visit or her cats. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eldorado Posted December 11, 2017 #7 Share Posted December 11, 2017 20 hours ago, acute said: When my brother had an internal wall removed, there was a WW2 Royal Marines beret placed inside. i found a pair of old boots. I cleaned them up and they now work for the Dept of Work and Pensions. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freetoroam Posted December 11, 2017 #8 Share Posted December 11, 2017 13 hours ago, _KB_ said: You know doing that is kinda like a spell or a ritual... so if they do a spell or a ritual then they're technically witches... and if their witches then they shouldn't be able to enter their house... but why would they want that... Not according to the article: the idea was to ward off witches. Quote "In the early modern period, people also believed in demons, ghosts, elves, goblins - but witches were the most frightening because they were in human form," he said. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-41507752 People were very superstitious back then, and believing in demons, ghosts, elves, goblins and witches allowed for much of it. Today people are more knowledgable and thanks to science and much research, explanations are given. There are still some who still believe in demons etc. But you do not have to believe in religion or be naive to be superstitious, but it helps. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_KB_ Posted December 11, 2017 #9 Share Posted December 11, 2017 25 minutes ago, freetoroam said: Not according to the article: the idea was to ward off witches. People were very superstitious back then, and believing in demons, ghosts, elves, goblins and witches allowed for much of it. Today people are more knowledgable and thanks to science and much research, explanations are given. There are still some who still believe in demons etc. But you do not have to believe in religion or be naive to be superstitious, but it helps. well yeah but if they do that then their technically casting a spell making them witches... besides what's wrong with being a little superstitious, i mean I've seen some strange sh*d and you can only handle so much of it before you start thinking maybe theres something to this magic stuff 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piney Posted December 11, 2017 #10 Share Posted December 11, 2017 They find shoes sometimes while revamping houses that were part of John Fenwick's Colony in Salem, New Jersey but this aspect was never mentioned by historians around here. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BorizBadinov Posted December 11, 2017 #11 Share Posted December 11, 2017 I had never heard of this with shoes but I can understand the concept. A personal item would have stronger effect to a believer. Wards or protection symbols used to decorate barns to create a hex free zone and bring good luck, similar concept. Fighting fire with fire. That little muddy shoe conjures an image of a small child playing out in the mud and catching a fever. Perhaps placed by a concerned parent out of options to cure a sickness thought to be witchcraft perhaps. The stories we will never know. Pretty fascinating thanks for sharing it. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paperdyer Posted December 11, 2017 #12 Share Posted December 11, 2017 The spell, or non-spell must have worked. Didn't all the witches move to New England? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piney Posted December 11, 2017 #13 Share Posted December 11, 2017 6 hours ago, paperdyer said: The spell, or non-spell must have worked. Didn't all the witches move to New England? No but they use to persecute us Quakers as witches in New England. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herr Falukorv Posted December 12, 2017 #14 Share Posted December 12, 2017 An old co-worker were renovating his sommer cottage 4-5 years ago and were tearing down an inner wall. Inside he and his wife found an old arabic dagger and a little box with old coins in gold. The auction house they visited said the things very worth some 35.000 euro.. Thats a nice bonus to the holiday fund. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calibeliever Posted December 12, 2017 #15 Share Posted December 12, 2017 The way I understood it, the shoes (or other personal effects of the dead) were placed in the walls to bind the deceased owner's presence to the house. That spirit acted as a guardian and protected the home from other harmful spirits. Source: Anecdotal, remembered from a conversation many, many years ago. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myles Posted December 13, 2017 #16 Share Posted December 13, 2017 On 12/10/2017 at 8:51 AM, acute said: When my brother had an internal wall removed, there was a WW2 Royal Marines beret placed inside. I've remolded the house over the years, I always put a few things in the wall for someone to come across at some point. Nothing of real value though. Maybe a newspaper. Last time it was an MP3 player we no longer used. I love when I find stuff like that, so I just want to pass it on. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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