The riding out, originally part of the Diana legend, had become an integral part of witchcraft, but it was now invariably associated with demonically induced flight though the air. The witches now almost always fly to their meetings, though some, if they live close enough, go on foot. The Devil bears them through the air, often in the form of a beast, such as a wolf, a dog, a cat, or a goat or else in that of a black man. Sometimes the witches anoint themselves in order to prepare for this flight, but more often they anointed sticks, brooms, or even chairs. Sometimes the brooms flew without ointment, though the direct power of the Devil. The most unusual mode of diabolical travel was locomotion upon the excrement of horses or mules.
An interesting remnant of the ancient dramatic representation of the dance of death is a game of catch-who-catch-can, which is particularly popular in Saxony and Switzreland under the name of “Who’s afraid of the black man?” Perhaps the card game “Black Peter” (German name for “Old Maid”), which at Basle is known as the “Black Man,” owes its origin to this. According to Rochholts, the cath-who-catch-can game in Switzerland is played in the following manner: A kind of round dance is engaged in, during which the rhyme “Man of Black, don’t touch my back” is sung. The dancers then draw up in a row according to size, and number off. The one who happens to have the number 9 is the Black Man. His range is prescribed for him by means of a stick surmounted by a black cap, stuck in the ground; 2 stone or tree from the borders of his ground. Everyone whom he catches within the limits of his ground before he reaches the goal has to join him and help him to catch the rest. “Are you afraid of the Black Man?” he taunts the players. The more daring reply “No,” and venture into his territory. “What do you do when the Black Man comes? “ he asks again. “We take to our legs’ the others shout. That this game is a remnant of plague and death dances is rendered more probable by the following rhyme belonging to the 14th century, which stands under a picture of a child being taken away from its mother by Death:
Alas! O dearest mother dear!
A black man drags me away from here.
Why wilt thou let me go from thee
I cannot walk, no dance for me.
Kicked Out of Heaven Vol. II
The Untold History of The White Races cir. 700 – 1700 a.d.
666 pages 197 pages
ONLY 2 COPIES LEFT!
Kicked Out Of Heaven Vol. II: The Untold History of The White Races cir. 700-1700 a.d. is a 3 volume series that will be released one by one. This book details everything about European society and mentality. In this edition you will find these facts: Alcoholism & The Blue Devils, Insanity & Lead Poisoning, Ergot (LSD) Hallucinations, The Sweating Sickness & Leprosy, The Tobacco Enema & Leeches, The Defloration Mania, The Dancing Mania, The Black Death, The Gravediggers & Body Snatchers, Jews Poisoning the Wells, Millions of Deaths, Folklore & Superstition, Magic Mirrors & Crystal Balls, Witches Dancing in Baby Blood, Pants Made of Human Skin, Necromancy & Ghost Armies, Attacks from The Undead, Lycanthropy & Were-Wolves, Multiple Cases of Vampires, Who is Satan, Lucifer & The Devil!