Witches don’t exist. Not the ones who fly around on broomsticks cackling at the moon and turning people into frogs. That was all made up by some nasty men to get rid of little old ladies who knew a lot about plants and healing, but not much about the Lord. Of course, that’s a very broad sweep over the subject because I can’t go into it now.
Healers (alright, they aren’t all little old ladies) do exist and always have. They are not prone to warts, do not necessarily own a black cat, and use nature to make people better again. Some healers like to be called white witches because they use a bit of magic in their healing. But I know for a fact nobody has ever been turned into a frog by one [1].
[1] In 1331, a gentleman by the name of Mr Warren from Lesser Crocklington did claim that he had been temporarily changed into a toad by a Mrs Brock of the same village, but it turned out to be a mix of too much ale and a cruel trick played on him by his own daughter. Still it took a year-long investigation by the traveling courts to discover this, and by the time the truth was discovered the original claim had already spread around the county. Mr Warren’s daughter was put in the stocks, and Mrs Brock duly apologised to. As Mrs Brock had, by then, been hounded out of the village as a witch and forced to earn her keep by begging in the streets, the apology came a little late.
‘WITCHES & TOADS’ EXCERPT FROM ‘THE BLACKWOOD CRUSADE‘

What if the medieval folklore of old was based in truth? And what if just one girl was charged with the task of destroying it?
Adventure, swordfights, love, loss, faeries, battles… and magic. All in one book.
A fairytale for ages 10 – 100.
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Alternative Fact #1 from ‘Blackwood’
We’ve been using this diversionary tactic invented by Guy Garderobe for centuries. Here’s the story behind it.
Keep readingAlternative Fact #2 from ‘Blackwood’
The Killer Carriage and Unlucky John Swift, from ‘The Blackwood Crusade’
Keep readingAlternative Fact #3 from ‘Blackwood’
All the battles and triumphs between then and now seemed suddenly irrelevant, for this… this was the Black Wood…
Keep readingCover Photo: The Witch by Rondell Melling (Pixabay)
Mrs Brocks tale of being hounded out of villages some something daft could still happen with the advent of the social media age… o.o
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You’re so right. Nothing changes! Have you managed to catch any ‘Black Mirror’ episodes? There’s one called Nosedive about the future of social media where people are rated by others on the quality of all their social interactions, and their point score restricts how far they can get in life. It’s a bit too close for comfort. You’d lose major points for turning someone into a toad 😀
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I’ve watched some of the first ones, don’t remember that one. Most of the Black Mirrors are on the nose though. o.o
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It’s worth a look because it sure looks like we’re heading that way :-0
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