After spending decades unable to settle on one period of history or even one country to write about, I have apparently settled into a niche I enjoy (without using the tarot deck there, thank you!). I suppose it makes sense, if I think about it. I’m a character-driven writer. So instead of creating a career in the history of Regency or Victorian England or the American west or whatever, I have apparently taken root in writing about two distinctly different families through the generations and across continents. This way I don’t feel confined by their environment, and I can explore anywhere I like.
And most excellently, even when I place my Malcolm/Ives in contemporary settings, I have an opportunity to explore history. I’ve currently enmired (did you know Webster doesn’t recognize that as a word? Why? Everyone else knows what it means!) my Malcolm/Ives in a contemporary Southern mystery which requires me to call on my vague memory of early witch history. 
Since my memory is never reliable, I dug in for a refresher course. It’s rather frightening to see how history repeats itself.
Picture a climate similar to today’s, where malicious gossip snowballs based on no facts at all. During the 1600s, everyone, even the most educated, believed in magic. Whether or not people believed the devil was behind magic was a matter of personal opinion (just like the crazy arguments about Covid: take a side and shout about it. Back then, they barely had science, and religion ruled, so the argument could be won by the biggest bully pulpit and not necessarily the most educated voices).
Now, in the midst of this divisive fear and hostility over the possibility of the devil walking among us, picture an unexpected death, probably someone young. The young don’t die! Something or someone must be blamed. And since, of course, they had no science to figure it out, it always makes sense to blame another person. (Just like poor Dr. Fauci blamed for a virus!)
Outrage roars—although back then, it would have been over the back fence, at church, or the local pub, not Twitter and Facebook. And some unlucky person—almost always a helpless female with no rights and usually one the community doesn’t like—becomes the focus of a literal witch hunt. Suddenly, everyone remembers awful things that happened when she was around. One wild tale must top the other. And before long, the poor woman is labeled witch and ends behind bars or at the end of a rope.
So my weird psychic Malcolm women with their herbs, otherworldly knowledge, and bluntness would easily have attracted that suspicion and hostility. It doesn’t take much imagination to believe some would sail off to the New World with hopes of anonymity and freedom in a brand new land.
I really didn’t want the cliché of Salem for my Malcolm history, so I dug around some more—and came up with East Hampton, New York, on the remote tip of Long Island. (image is of an old sufficiently spooky home from the area!) 
One would think a place like that might be enlightened. But in 1658, Easthampton, as it was then, was a village and not the height of civilization. All it took was a dying teenager to shout a witch was in the room and name a neighbor she probably disliked, one Elizabeth Garlick, and the terrified community went berserk. Before long, her neighbors attested that she cast evil eyes, sent animal familiars, made children sick by touching them, and vanished livestock. They only just realized that, right?
I can play this story ten thousand ways—she had a well-respected husband, so the unattached widows in town saw a chance to eliminate his wife. Or Elizabeth argued with the wrong people, cursed them under her breath, helped people with herbs, didn’t go to church—anything works as a reason for the community to turn on her.
This is the fun part about history—when it diverts down unexpected paths. Instead of immediately being hung or burned or dunked, Elizabeth was a very fortunate lady. The town became so hostile and divided over her case (her husband was a respected businessman, which probably helped) that the local magistrates threw the hot potato to a higher authority. The case landed in the hands of a rather more enlightened judge, John Winthrop Jr.
Winthrop was a scholar and a healer and a man of science, even if that wasn’t a term used back then. Look right here—I already have a witchy Malcolm and a scientific Ives! Except in this case, Winthrop tried to make science out of witchcraft and doubted women capable of performing acts of magic without his training—definitely a typical Ives reaction!
As became his pattern, Winthrop didn’t find Elizabeth guilty or the community wrong. He diplomatically told them all to behave themselves and live together peacefully. Which they did, her son becoming a prominent miller in the years to come. Apparently the devil’s side lost this one. And Elizabeth had a very narrow escape.
But imagine my truly psychic Malcolm families living with that kind of ax hovering over their heads—I have a good case for them getting the heck out of New York and moving to even less populated areas in the south. South Carolina was settled by the English in the 1670s, and they needed every hand they could get. So maybe my colonial Malcolms managed to fit in somehow. That’s the theory I’m working on at this point anyway. 
So I now have a back story for why a family of Malcolms occupies a small town in the middle of South Carolina cotton fields without any of their extended family knowing of their existence, even in the 21st century. They’ve created their own safe haven in a town where their weirdness is expected. After all these centuries, they’re still not cash rich, but there’s a lot of them and they own property. That makes them an influential—if eccentric—force in town.
Back story. I’m happy.
(For those interested, the very first Malcolm title is Merely Magic, in the Magical Malcolm series, just reissued)
I’ll eventually need to introduce my contemporary California Malcolms to the South Carolina group, of course, but right now, I’m enjoying creating this new sandbox to play in.
If you lived in the 1600s, what are the chances that you’d be classified as a witch? I’m pretty sure my wandering around, muttering to myself, would shorten my lifespan considerably!
I have never understood why perceived witches and not wizards were persecuted. Might it be that wizards were considered to have closer links with the devil and would therefore be more dangerous to meddle with? In the late 1600s I’m sure I would have been dabbling with the latest phlogiston theory .. probably generating an occasional explosion or fire! I don’t think there was any question of witchcraft by Becher (proposer of phlogiston) even though he could easily have been blamed for fire in a haystack for example.
Audio enthusiasts might note that ‘Merely Magic’ and several other of Pat’s books are now free on Audible (for members) … I have downloaded mine 😊
I have never understood why perceived witches and not wizards were persecuted. Might it be that wizards were considered to have closer links with the devil and would therefore be more dangerous to meddle with? In the late 1600s I’m sure I would have been dabbling with the latest phlogiston theory .. probably generating an occasional explosion or fire! I don’t think there was any question of witchcraft by Becher (proposer of phlogiston) even though he could easily have been blamed for fire in a haystack for example.
Audio enthusiasts might note that ‘Merely Magic’ and several other of Pat’s books are now free on Audible (for members) … I have downloaded mine 😊
I have never understood why perceived witches and not wizards were persecuted. Might it be that wizards were considered to have closer links with the devil and would therefore be more dangerous to meddle with? In the late 1600s I’m sure I would have been dabbling with the latest phlogiston theory .. probably generating an occasional explosion or fire! I don’t think there was any question of witchcraft by Becher (proposer of phlogiston) even though he could easily have been blamed for fire in a haystack for example.
Audio enthusiasts might note that ‘Merely Magic’ and several other of Pat’s books are now free on Audible (for members) … I have downloaded mine 😊
I have never understood why perceived witches and not wizards were persecuted. Might it be that wizards were considered to have closer links with the devil and would therefore be more dangerous to meddle with? In the late 1600s I’m sure I would have been dabbling with the latest phlogiston theory .. probably generating an occasional explosion or fire! I don’t think there was any question of witchcraft by Becher (proposer of phlogiston) even though he could easily have been blamed for fire in a haystack for example.
Audio enthusiasts might note that ‘Merely Magic’ and several other of Pat’s books are now free on Audible (for members) … I have downloaded mine 😊
I have never understood why perceived witches and not wizards were persecuted. Might it be that wizards were considered to have closer links with the devil and would therefore be more dangerous to meddle with? In the late 1600s I’m sure I would have been dabbling with the latest phlogiston theory .. probably generating an occasional explosion or fire! I don’t think there was any question of witchcraft by Becher (proposer of phlogiston) even though he could easily have been blamed for fire in a haystack for example.
Audio enthusiasts might note that ‘Merely Magic’ and several other of Pat’s books are now free on Audible (for members) … I have downloaded mine 😊
OH, wonderful! I adore this family! It’s hard to wait.
(I always feel guilty. An author spends a long, lonely time creating a magic world. There are writings, research, rewritings, galleys, and so on. At last the book is out! I am a very, very fast reader; I demolish the book in less than 24 hours! My saving grace is that I reread the books with as much enjoyment as I did the first time. So your hard work does give me continued enjoyment.
OH, wonderful! I adore this family! It’s hard to wait.
(I always feel guilty. An author spends a long, lonely time creating a magic world. There are writings, research, rewritings, galleys, and so on. At last the book is out! I am a very, very fast reader; I demolish the book in less than 24 hours! My saving grace is that I reread the books with as much enjoyment as I did the first time. So your hard work does give me continued enjoyment.
OH, wonderful! I adore this family! It’s hard to wait.
(I always feel guilty. An author spends a long, lonely time creating a magic world. There are writings, research, rewritings, galleys, and so on. At last the book is out! I am a very, very fast reader; I demolish the book in less than 24 hours! My saving grace is that I reread the books with as much enjoyment as I did the first time. So your hard work does give me continued enjoyment.
OH, wonderful! I adore this family! It’s hard to wait.
(I always feel guilty. An author spends a long, lonely time creating a magic world. There are writings, research, rewritings, galleys, and so on. At last the book is out! I am a very, very fast reader; I demolish the book in less than 24 hours! My saving grace is that I reread the books with as much enjoyment as I did the first time. So your hard work does give me continued enjoyment.
OH, wonderful! I adore this family! It’s hard to wait.
(I always feel guilty. An author spends a long, lonely time creating a magic world. There are writings, research, rewritings, galleys, and so on. At last the book is out! I am a very, very fast reader; I demolish the book in less than 24 hours! My saving grace is that I reread the books with as much enjoyment as I did the first time. So your hard work does give me continued enjoyment.
I love how you’ve worked this all out! I’ve been paying a lot of attention to women in classic literature lately, and it’s punishment by the page. Women need to obey and behave. Now that I’m an old crone, they’d be sewing rocks into my hems or pushing me in front of a train. I believe I fall into the witch category. 😉
I love how you’ve worked this all out! I’ve been paying a lot of attention to women in classic literature lately, and it’s punishment by the page. Women need to obey and behave. Now that I’m an old crone, they’d be sewing rocks into my hems or pushing me in front of a train. I believe I fall into the witch category. 😉
I love how you’ve worked this all out! I’ve been paying a lot of attention to women in classic literature lately, and it’s punishment by the page. Women need to obey and behave. Now that I’m an old crone, they’d be sewing rocks into my hems or pushing me in front of a train. I believe I fall into the witch category. 😉
I love how you’ve worked this all out! I’ve been paying a lot of attention to women in classic literature lately, and it’s punishment by the page. Women need to obey and behave. Now that I’m an old crone, they’d be sewing rocks into my hems or pushing me in front of a train. I believe I fall into the witch category. 😉
I love how you’ve worked this all out! I’ve been paying a lot of attention to women in classic literature lately, and it’s punishment by the page. Women need to obey and behave. Now that I’m an old crone, they’d be sewing rocks into my hems or pushing me in front of a train. I believe I fall into the witch category. 😉
That is a most excellent questions, but I suspect it comes down to the age-old difference in the sexes and levels of authority. Women had no power. Men considered them useful for only one thing. Once a woman became a “crone,” she was dispensable. Wizards got respect because they were male.
Cool on the audio books! I had no idea.
That is a most excellent questions, but I suspect it comes down to the age-old difference in the sexes and levels of authority. Women had no power. Men considered them useful for only one thing. Once a woman became a “crone,” she was dispensable. Wizards got respect because they were male.
Cool on the audio books! I had no idea.
That is a most excellent questions, but I suspect it comes down to the age-old difference in the sexes and levels of authority. Women had no power. Men considered them useful for only one thing. Once a woman became a “crone,” she was dispensable. Wizards got respect because they were male.
Cool on the audio books! I had no idea.
That is a most excellent questions, but I suspect it comes down to the age-old difference in the sexes and levels of authority. Women had no power. Men considered them useful for only one thing. Once a woman became a “crone,” she was dispensable. Wizards got respect because they were male.
Cool on the audio books! I had no idea.
That is a most excellent questions, but I suspect it comes down to the age-old difference in the sexes and levels of authority. Women had no power. Men considered them useful for only one thing. Once a woman became a “crone,” she was dispensable. Wizards got respect because they were male.
Cool on the audio books! I had no idea.
The original Magical Malcolm books did take an immense amount of research and time. They were longer too. But they’ve sold so many copies over the years that I’m quite fine with anyone who can read one in a day!
The original Magical Malcolm books did take an immense amount of research and time. They were longer too. But they’ve sold so many copies over the years that I’m quite fine with anyone who can read one in a day!
The original Magical Malcolm books did take an immense amount of research and time. They were longer too. But they’ve sold so many copies over the years that I’m quite fine with anyone who can read one in a day!
The original Magical Malcolm books did take an immense amount of research and time. They were longer too. But they’ve sold so many copies over the years that I’m quite fine with anyone who can read one in a day!
The original Magical Malcolm books did take an immense amount of research and time. They were longer too. But they’ve sold so many copies over the years that I’m quite fine with anyone who can read one in a day!
LOL, yup, the power politics of gender reflected in women as witches. It’s really pretty fascinating. (I’m pretty sure they didn’t have trains though. )
LOL, yup, the power politics of gender reflected in women as witches. It’s really pretty fascinating. (I’m pretty sure they didn’t have trains though. )
LOL, yup, the power politics of gender reflected in women as witches. It’s really pretty fascinating. (I’m pretty sure they didn’t have trains though. )
LOL, yup, the power politics of gender reflected in women as witches. It’s really pretty fascinating. (I’m pretty sure they didn’t have trains though. )
LOL, yup, the power politics of gender reflected in women as witches. It’s really pretty fascinating. (I’m pretty sure they didn’t have trains though. )
Tell that to Anna Karenina, LOL.
Tell that to Anna Karenina, LOL.
Tell that to Anna Karenina, LOL.
Tell that to Anna Karenina, LOL.
Tell that to Anna Karenina, LOL.
Great post, Pat, I love your Malcolms, and it’s a fascinating topic! And in answer to your question, what are my chances of being labeled a witch if I lived back then?
Really, really good. 😉
Great post, Pat, I love your Malcolms, and it’s a fascinating topic! And in answer to your question, what are my chances of being labeled a witch if I lived back then?
Really, really good. 😉
Great post, Pat, I love your Malcolms, and it’s a fascinating topic! And in answer to your question, what are my chances of being labeled a witch if I lived back then?
Really, really good. 😉
Great post, Pat, I love your Malcolms, and it’s a fascinating topic! And in answer to your question, what are my chances of being labeled a witch if I lived back then?
Really, really good. 😉
Great post, Pat, I love your Malcolms, and it’s a fascinating topic! And in answer to your question, what are my chances of being labeled a witch if I lived back then?
Really, really good. 😉
Oh yes. I’m doomed. I talk to myself (who else pays attention to what I say?). I don’t care for the womanly arts, AKA housework. I would stick out like a sore thumb.
Oh yes. I’m doomed. I talk to myself (who else pays attention to what I say?). I don’t care for the womanly arts, AKA housework. I would stick out like a sore thumb.
Oh yes. I’m doomed. I talk to myself (who else pays attention to what I say?). I don’t care for the womanly arts, AKA housework. I would stick out like a sore thumb.
Oh yes. I’m doomed. I talk to myself (who else pays attention to what I say?). I don’t care for the womanly arts, AKA housework. I would stick out like a sore thumb.
Oh yes. I’m doomed. I talk to myself (who else pays attention to what I say?). I don’t care for the womanly arts, AKA housework. I would stick out like a sore thumb.
I talk to my dog. (A bad sign) I use herbs and unusual things in healing and wellness. (Another bad sign) I have been known to sit very still for a long time just to listen to the birds around me. I once had a Hereford bull who was so enamored of me that he would knock down a gate, and come and look in the kitchen window to find me. (A sure sign there is something wrong with me)
But, I will say that if one is going to be a little out of the mainstream, a small Southern town is the place to be. Everyone is a little unusual in small Southern towns. So, unless you made your house float in the air, no one would even notice you. “Ol’ Aunt Betty Lou used to make the funniest sounds when she was stirring that big ol’ iron pot out in the yard. An’ why in the world would she ask the younguns to find frogs for her?”
Hope everyone is well and safe and happy and if you are looking for young frogs, have I got a deal for you.
I talk to my dog. (A bad sign) I use herbs and unusual things in healing and wellness. (Another bad sign) I have been known to sit very still for a long time just to listen to the birds around me. I once had a Hereford bull who was so enamored of me that he would knock down a gate, and come and look in the kitchen window to find me. (A sure sign there is something wrong with me)
But, I will say that if one is going to be a little out of the mainstream, a small Southern town is the place to be. Everyone is a little unusual in small Southern towns. So, unless you made your house float in the air, no one would even notice you. “Ol’ Aunt Betty Lou used to make the funniest sounds when she was stirring that big ol’ iron pot out in the yard. An’ why in the world would she ask the younguns to find frogs for her?”
Hope everyone is well and safe and happy and if you are looking for young frogs, have I got a deal for you.
I talk to my dog. (A bad sign) I use herbs and unusual things in healing and wellness. (Another bad sign) I have been known to sit very still for a long time just to listen to the birds around me. I once had a Hereford bull who was so enamored of me that he would knock down a gate, and come and look in the kitchen window to find me. (A sure sign there is something wrong with me)
But, I will say that if one is going to be a little out of the mainstream, a small Southern town is the place to be. Everyone is a little unusual in small Southern towns. So, unless you made your house float in the air, no one would even notice you. “Ol’ Aunt Betty Lou used to make the funniest sounds when she was stirring that big ol’ iron pot out in the yard. An’ why in the world would she ask the younguns to find frogs for her?”
Hope everyone is well and safe and happy and if you are looking for young frogs, have I got a deal for you.
I talk to my dog. (A bad sign) I use herbs and unusual things in healing and wellness. (Another bad sign) I have been known to sit very still for a long time just to listen to the birds around me. I once had a Hereford bull who was so enamored of me that he would knock down a gate, and come and look in the kitchen window to find me. (A sure sign there is something wrong with me)
But, I will say that if one is going to be a little out of the mainstream, a small Southern town is the place to be. Everyone is a little unusual in small Southern towns. So, unless you made your house float in the air, no one would even notice you. “Ol’ Aunt Betty Lou used to make the funniest sounds when she was stirring that big ol’ iron pot out in the yard. An’ why in the world would she ask the younguns to find frogs for her?”
Hope everyone is well and safe and happy and if you are looking for young frogs, have I got a deal for you.
I talk to my dog. (A bad sign) I use herbs and unusual things in healing and wellness. (Another bad sign) I have been known to sit very still for a long time just to listen to the birds around me. I once had a Hereford bull who was so enamored of me that he would knock down a gate, and come and look in the kitchen window to find me. (A sure sign there is something wrong with me)
But, I will say that if one is going to be a little out of the mainstream, a small Southern town is the place to be. Everyone is a little unusual in small Southern towns. So, unless you made your house float in the air, no one would even notice you. “Ol’ Aunt Betty Lou used to make the funniest sounds when she was stirring that big ol’ iron pot out in the yard. An’ why in the world would she ask the younguns to find frogs for her?”
Hope everyone is well and safe and happy and if you are looking for young frogs, have I got a deal for you.
Really interesting blog. Creating back story & a world! Little by little women gain a voice. Patience has to be our strength!
Really interesting blog. Creating back story & a world! Little by little women gain a voice. Patience has to be our strength!
Really interesting blog. Creating back story & a world! Little by little women gain a voice. Patience has to be our strength!
Really interesting blog. Creating back story & a world! Little by little women gain a voice. Patience has to be our strength!
Really interesting blog. Creating back story & a world! Little by little women gain a voice. Patience has to be our strength!
Ah, well, as Nicola said, we’d be a coven!
Ah, well, as Nicola said, we’d be a coven!
Ah, well, as Nicola said, we’d be a coven!
Ah, well, as Nicola said, we’d be a coven!
Ah, well, as Nicola said, we’d be a coven!
You have to figure there must have been a lot of women like that back then, but most of them had no choice but to do womanly chores. So I suspect the witch women had money or other means of avoiding the usual chores.
You have to figure there must have been a lot of women like that back then, but most of them had no choice but to do womanly chores. So I suspect the witch women had money or other means of avoiding the usual chores.
You have to figure there must have been a lot of women like that back then, but most of them had no choice but to do womanly chores. So I suspect the witch women had money or other means of avoiding the usual chores.
You have to figure there must have been a lot of women like that back then, but most of them had no choice but to do womanly chores. So I suspect the witch women had money or other means of avoiding the usual chores.
You have to figure there must have been a lot of women like that back then, but most of them had no choice but to do womanly chores. So I suspect the witch women had money or other means of avoiding the usual chores.
Oh yeah, the bull would have done you in!
And yeah, my thoughts exactly on the small southern town. Every one has a Madame Theresa’s Tarot Reading shop, don’t they?
LOL, no frogs, thank you.
Oh yeah, the bull would have done you in!
And yeah, my thoughts exactly on the small southern town. Every one has a Madame Theresa’s Tarot Reading shop, don’t they?
LOL, no frogs, thank you.
Oh yeah, the bull would have done you in!
And yeah, my thoughts exactly on the small southern town. Every one has a Madame Theresa’s Tarot Reading shop, don’t they?
LOL, no frogs, thank you.
Oh yeah, the bull would have done you in!
And yeah, my thoughts exactly on the small southern town. Every one has a Madame Theresa’s Tarot Reading shop, don’t they?
LOL, no frogs, thank you.
Oh yeah, the bull would have done you in!
And yeah, my thoughts exactly on the small southern town. Every one has a Madame Theresa’s Tarot Reading shop, don’t they?
LOL, no frogs, thank you.
I suspect it’s more like stubborn, devious perseverance.
I suspect it’s more like stubborn, devious perseverance.
I suspect it’s more like stubborn, devious perseverance.
I suspect it’s more like stubborn, devious perseverance.
I suspect it’s more like stubborn, devious perseverance.
I thought the Tarot reading shop was in California!
I thought the Tarot reading shop was in California!
I thought the Tarot reading shop was in California!
I thought the Tarot reading shop was in California!
I thought the Tarot reading shop was in California!
oh yeah, we have them here too. They’re pretty much everywhere these days. Along with the Dew Drop Inns.
oh yeah, we have them here too. They’re pretty much everywhere these days. Along with the Dew Drop Inns.
oh yeah, we have them here too. They’re pretty much everywhere these days. Along with the Dew Drop Inns.
oh yeah, we have them here too. They’re pretty much everywhere these days. Along with the Dew Drop Inns.
oh yeah, we have them here too. They’re pretty much everywhere these days. Along with the Dew Drop Inns.
EVERY small town in GA has Madam somebody…. Even college towns had them. I can’t remember who the Madam …. was in our town but she was there for at least 30 years after we moved there (1970 to 2000)
If you have your Magical Malcoms be one of the founders of a town With a big enough stake to run the store etc, than those who move there are more likely to go with the flow. They would say, Oh, those odd Malcoms, you never know what they are going to do. Decent folks in spite of the odd behavior. Worth marrying because they always have money. You just have to put up with odd behavior.
Yep….I would have stood out in Puritan New England or rural England. But I probably would have hid it pretty well because society compelled me to.
EVERY small town in GA has Madam somebody…. Even college towns had them. I can’t remember who the Madam …. was in our town but she was there for at least 30 years after we moved there (1970 to 2000)
If you have your Magical Malcoms be one of the founders of a town With a big enough stake to run the store etc, than those who move there are more likely to go with the flow. They would say, Oh, those odd Malcoms, you never know what they are going to do. Decent folks in spite of the odd behavior. Worth marrying because they always have money. You just have to put up with odd behavior.
Yep….I would have stood out in Puritan New England or rural England. But I probably would have hid it pretty well because society compelled me to.
EVERY small town in GA has Madam somebody…. Even college towns had them. I can’t remember who the Madam …. was in our town but she was there for at least 30 years after we moved there (1970 to 2000)
If you have your Magical Malcoms be one of the founders of a town With a big enough stake to run the store etc, than those who move there are more likely to go with the flow. They would say, Oh, those odd Malcoms, you never know what they are going to do. Decent folks in spite of the odd behavior. Worth marrying because they always have money. You just have to put up with odd behavior.
Yep….I would have stood out in Puritan New England or rural England. But I probably would have hid it pretty well because society compelled me to.
EVERY small town in GA has Madam somebody…. Even college towns had them. I can’t remember who the Madam …. was in our town but she was there for at least 30 years after we moved there (1970 to 2000)
If you have your Magical Malcoms be one of the founders of a town With a big enough stake to run the store etc, than those who move there are more likely to go with the flow. They would say, Oh, those odd Malcoms, you never know what they are going to do. Decent folks in spite of the odd behavior. Worth marrying because they always have money. You just have to put up with odd behavior.
Yep….I would have stood out in Puritan New England or rural England. But I probably would have hid it pretty well because society compelled me to.
EVERY small town in GA has Madam somebody…. Even college towns had them. I can’t remember who the Madam …. was in our town but she was there for at least 30 years after we moved there (1970 to 2000)
If you have your Magical Malcoms be one of the founders of a town With a big enough stake to run the store etc, than those who move there are more likely to go with the flow. They would say, Oh, those odd Malcoms, you never know what they are going to do. Decent folks in spite of the odd behavior. Worth marrying because they always have money. You just have to put up with odd behavior.
Yep….I would have stood out in Puritan New England or rural England. But I probably would have hid it pretty well because society compelled me to.
I really ought to stop by one of those tarot shops someday…
And yup, the town accepts idiosyncrasies quite nicely!
I really ought to stop by one of those tarot shops someday…
And yup, the town accepts idiosyncrasies quite nicely!
I really ought to stop by one of those tarot shops someday…
And yup, the town accepts idiosyncrasies quite nicely!
I really ought to stop by one of those tarot shops someday…
And yup, the town accepts idiosyncrasies quite nicely!
I really ought to stop by one of those tarot shops someday…
And yup, the town accepts idiosyncrasies quite nicely!
Wizards used ritual magic to “summon and control” demons, using spells that called on God and angels to protect them. They worked overtime to convince the church that they were controlling magic with God’s power. Herbwives were busy trying to deliver babies and keep mothers healthy. And those of us who are too intelligent to be women (that culture’s perception) or too inclined to tell someone what we really thought?
That might go poorly. How ironic that women were usually trying to take care of family and community–or protect themselves, if their menfolk were gone, with a well-placed hint of power–while men were eternal in what they sought, if their gramaries are to be believed (wealth, power, and their neighbor’s beautiful wife!)
Wizards used ritual magic to “summon and control” demons, using spells that called on God and angels to protect them. They worked overtime to convince the church that they were controlling magic with God’s power. Herbwives were busy trying to deliver babies and keep mothers healthy. And those of us who are too intelligent to be women (that culture’s perception) or too inclined to tell someone what we really thought?
That might go poorly. How ironic that women were usually trying to take care of family and community–or protect themselves, if their menfolk were gone, with a well-placed hint of power–while men were eternal in what they sought, if their gramaries are to be believed (wealth, power, and their neighbor’s beautiful wife!)
Wizards used ritual magic to “summon and control” demons, using spells that called on God and angels to protect them. They worked overtime to convince the church that they were controlling magic with God’s power. Herbwives were busy trying to deliver babies and keep mothers healthy. And those of us who are too intelligent to be women (that culture’s perception) or too inclined to tell someone what we really thought?
That might go poorly. How ironic that women were usually trying to take care of family and community–or protect themselves, if their menfolk were gone, with a well-placed hint of power–while men were eternal in what they sought, if their gramaries are to be believed (wealth, power, and their neighbor’s beautiful wife!)
Wizards used ritual magic to “summon and control” demons, using spells that called on God and angels to protect them. They worked overtime to convince the church that they were controlling magic with God’s power. Herbwives were busy trying to deliver babies and keep mothers healthy. And those of us who are too intelligent to be women (that culture’s perception) or too inclined to tell someone what we really thought?
That might go poorly. How ironic that women were usually trying to take care of family and community–or protect themselves, if their menfolk were gone, with a well-placed hint of power–while men were eternal in what they sought, if their gramaries are to be believed (wealth, power, and their neighbor’s beautiful wife!)
Wizards used ritual magic to “summon and control” demons, using spells that called on God and angels to protect them. They worked overtime to convince the church that they were controlling magic with God’s power. Herbwives were busy trying to deliver babies and keep mothers healthy. And those of us who are too intelligent to be women (that culture’s perception) or too inclined to tell someone what we really thought?
That might go poorly. How ironic that women were usually trying to take care of family and community–or protect themselves, if their menfolk were gone, with a well-placed hint of power–while men were eternal in what they sought, if their gramaries are to be believed (wealth, power, and their neighbor’s beautiful wife!)
I had a very bad habit in my youth of telling the truth even if it was inconvenient. But without seeing any alternatives, I think I might have held my tongue and lived, even as my ancestors must have.
As the joke/not a joke goes, we are the witches the Inquisition missed. I have a friend who had ancestors living in Salem Village. No joking matter for them. I don’t know what dream or set of gut evaluations her many times great-grandmother put together, but the woman woke in the night, roused the household, packed them up, and had them all on their wagon leaving town before dawn.
So they missed the trials and possible death in Salem Village.
I had a very bad habit in my youth of telling the truth even if it was inconvenient. But without seeing any alternatives, I think I might have held my tongue and lived, even as my ancestors must have.
As the joke/not a joke goes, we are the witches the Inquisition missed. I have a friend who had ancestors living in Salem Village. No joking matter for them. I don’t know what dream or set of gut evaluations her many times great-grandmother put together, but the woman woke in the night, roused the household, packed them up, and had them all on their wagon leaving town before dawn.
So they missed the trials and possible death in Salem Village.
I had a very bad habit in my youth of telling the truth even if it was inconvenient. But without seeing any alternatives, I think I might have held my tongue and lived, even as my ancestors must have.
As the joke/not a joke goes, we are the witches the Inquisition missed. I have a friend who had ancestors living in Salem Village. No joking matter for them. I don’t know what dream or set of gut evaluations her many times great-grandmother put together, but the woman woke in the night, roused the household, packed them up, and had them all on their wagon leaving town before dawn.
So they missed the trials and possible death in Salem Village.
I had a very bad habit in my youth of telling the truth even if it was inconvenient. But without seeing any alternatives, I think I might have held my tongue and lived, even as my ancestors must have.
As the joke/not a joke goes, we are the witches the Inquisition missed. I have a friend who had ancestors living in Salem Village. No joking matter for them. I don’t know what dream or set of gut evaluations her many times great-grandmother put together, but the woman woke in the night, roused the household, packed them up, and had them all on their wagon leaving town before dawn.
So they missed the trials and possible death in Salem Village.
I had a very bad habit in my youth of telling the truth even if it was inconvenient. But without seeing any alternatives, I think I might have held my tongue and lived, even as my ancestors must have.
As the joke/not a joke goes, we are the witches the Inquisition missed. I have a friend who had ancestors living in Salem Village. No joking matter for them. I don’t know what dream or set of gut evaluations her many times great-grandmother put together, but the woman woke in the night, roused the household, packed them up, and had them all on their wagon leaving town before dawn.
So they missed the trials and possible death in Salem Village.
oh that’s a fabulous story, thank you! Yeah, she might have been in real trouble if she’d stayed!
oh that’s a fabulous story, thank you! Yeah, she might have been in real trouble if she’d stayed!
oh that’s a fabulous story, thank you! Yeah, she might have been in real trouble if she’d stayed!
oh that’s a fabulous story, thank you! Yeah, she might have been in real trouble if she’d stayed!
oh that’s a fabulous story, thank you! Yeah, she might have been in real trouble if she’d stayed!