The Folklore of Magical Stones and Pebbles
Adder Stones: Stones said to be made out of the congealed venom of multiple adders, used to cure a man in Pitlochry, Perthshire of an adder bite [1] as they were elsewhere. In Cornwall, they were identified as blue stones with a yellow line through them and called "millpreves" (from Cornish myl pref, "thousand snakes) and folk healers wore rings made of them [2].
Blood Stones: Red stones with white lines running through them, used to cure bleeding, as in Guilden Mordern, Gloucestershire in 1911 [3] and carried as amulets against it [4]. In the Scottish Highlands, they were said to be the congealed blood of the Fir Chlis/Merry Dancers, the spirits of the Northern Lights, spilt in battles and falling to earth. Hence, in that region they were called fuil siochaire - faerie blood [5].
Charm Stones: In Scotland, these were pebbles credited with healing powers and bestowing those powers by being placed in water [6], such as on the island of Lewis, where they were placed in the water trough of cattle suffering from snakebites [7].
Hag Stones: Hag stones were stones with natural holes in them hung around the necks of horses to ward off witchcraft [8], hags [9] (nocturnal evil spirits associated with nightmares and sleep paralysis) [10] and faeries [11] and were also credited with healing powers and, in particular, that looking through the hole allowed viewing of faeries [12]. They remained in use well into the modern period, W. Hockcliffe, a train driver in St. Neots, Cambridgeshire, owned one as an amulet, and in the early 20th century, a woman from Exmouth, Devon used one to ward off nightmares [13] and one from Salisbury is on display at the Pitt Rivers Museum [14].
Growing Pebbles: In East Anglia, pebbles in the soil were said to grow into larger stones, and Blaxhall, Suffolk boasts a 5-ton boulder which was allegedly originally a pebble [15].
Haley Stanes: In the Orkney Islands, this was the name given to quartz pebbles which were built into the walls of houses for luck [16].
Hydrophobia Stones: This was the name given to the stones of the Monmouthshire village of Mynyddislwyn, which cured rabies if ground into powder, mixed with milk and given to the sufferer or just licked by them [17].
Irish Stones: In northeast England, Irish objects were credited with the power of curing snakebites and wasp stings; for example, an ancestral Irish flint in Blanchland, Northumberland used against snakebites and one in Stamfordham in the same county used against poison and never allowed to touch Irish soil [18] along with several others in the village. It was also believed in the county that Irishmen had the power to trap snakes by drawing circles around them, and that the milk of an Irish cow was also effective against snakebites [19].
Kenning Stones: In the West Country, these were old beads used to cure eye problems, usually a bluish colour and suspended on a string, and had to be kept from touching anything wooden to retain their power; one was kept in the Devon village of Great Torrington as late as 1899 [20].
Peter's Stones: Another Devonshire charm, this one consisting of a chipped-off piece of a saint statue mixed with lard and used to cure sore breasts; this stayed in use well into the 19th century [21].
Puddingstones: In Hertfordshire, pebbles joined together through natural cement were called puddingstones, and credited with promoting fertility and warding off witchcraft. Hence, in 1662 in Aldenham a suspected witch was buried with one, several people were buried with them in Great Gaddesden, and the church towers of Harpenden and Stocking Pelham having puddingstones built into them for apotropaic purposes [22].
Saint's Pebbles: Both St. Cuthbert from northern England and St. Columba from Scotland blessed pebbles on the beach that hence act as amulets against drowning [23].
Serinstens: In the Shetlands, a serinsten (from Norse sigrsteinn, “victory stone”) is a talisman obtained from the active nest or the beak of a raven, which ensures popularity, good luck and protection from human and trow attack [24].
Divinatory Pebbles: On Nos Calan Gaeaf (the Welsh Halloween), families in North Wales built a fire each and inserted a white pebble, marked for the person it corresponded to, into the ashes. If any pebbles were missing the next day, that person would die. In Merionethshire, this practice continued until the 1930s [25].
Lucky Pebbles: In Lincolnshire, smooth white pebbles were lucky amulets [26].
Inserted Pebbles: The Finger Steen on the Orkney island of Rousay, said to have been thrown by a giant from Westray, had pebbles inserted into it by passers-by to ensure good catches of fish [27].
Pebbles in Wells: Pebbles were thrown into holy wells as part of magical rituals in Llanelian-yn-Rhôs, Denbighshire [28], Trellech, Merionethshire [29] and St. David's, Pembrokeshire [30]
In the West Riding of Yorkshire, children would try to expel rainbows by making a cross of two sticks and putting a pebble at each end [31].
On the Orkney island of Westray, to cure children or animals of sickliness or melancholy sent by evil beings in response to praise without the invocation of God, read the following charm over water with or one black, one white and one red, blue or green seashore pebble – “Sain. Father, Son, Holy Ghost, bitten sall they be, wha haif bitten thee, care to their near vein, until thou get’st thy heath again, mend thou in God’s name” – while making the sign of the cross, give some of the water to the patient and sprinkle the rest over them [32].
William Henderson, 1879, Notes on the folk-lore of the northern counties of England and the borders, Nichols & Sons, p.165
Tony Deane and Tony Shaw, 1975, The Folklore of Cornwall, Batsford, p.118
Owen Davies, 1998, “Healing Charms in Use in England and Wales 1700-1950”, Folklore, volume 107, pp.19-32
Ronald Hutton (editor), 2015, Physical Evidence for Ritual Acts, Witchcraft and Sorcery in Christian Britain: A Feeling for Magic, Palgrave MacMillan, p.197
Katherine Briggs, 1976, A Dictionary of Fairies, Penguin Books Ltd., p.177
Colin Bord and Janet Bord, 1985, Sacred Waters: Holy Wells and Water Lore in Britain and Ireland, Granada Publishing Ltd., p.52
Marc Alexander, 2002, A Companion to the Folklore, Legends and Customs of Britain, Sutton Publishing Ltd., p.223
John Aubrey, 1684 (1881 reprint), Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme, Satchell, Peyton & Co., p.28
Janet Bord, 1997, Fairies: Real Encounters with the Little People, Michael O' Mara Books, p.12
Brice Stratford, 2022, New Forest Folklore, The History Press, p.137
Jo Bourne et al., 2009, The Most Amazing Haunted & Mysterious Places in Britain, The Reader's Digest Association, p.126
Ernest Marwick, 1975, The Folklore of Orkney and Shetland, Batsford, p.79
Theo Brown, 1961, “Some Examples of Post-Reformation Folklore in Devon”, Folklore, volume 72, number 2, pp.388-399
David Castleton, 2021, Church Curiosities: Strange Objects and Bizarre Legends, Shire Books, pp.85-86
Alexander 2002 pp.247-248
Ronald Hutton, The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain, Oxford University Press, p.366
Ethel Rudkin, 1933, "Lincolnshire Folklore", Folklore, volume 44, number 3, pp.279-295
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