A curse is an expressed wish that some kind of harm or bad fortune, inflicted by supernatural powers such as a spell, magic or witchcraft, will befall an individual, a group of people, or a place. Curses are found in many religious faiths and ritualistic practices. Sometimes they are called ‘hoodoo’, ‘jinx’ or the ‘evil eye’. But do curses really work? Consider these famous examples.
In Blekinge in Sweden, there are a group of large and ancient rune stones laid out in a circle. On one of them is carved this curse: ‘…an insidious death awaits he who breaks this monument.’ A farmer wanted to remove the stone in order to have more land to cultivate, so he lit a fire around it to heat it up so that it would crack open and he could remove it easily. Suddenly, a freak gust of wind blew over the flames, spreading them onto the man, who caught fire and died. At the same time, the wind blew out the flames around the stone. Then the air became completely calm again.
Your organisation does not have access to this article.
Sign up today to give your students the edge they need to achieve their best grades with subject expertise
Subscribe