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Hagstones, also known as adder stones or witch stones, are pebbles pierced by a naturally occurring hole.[1] They are believed by some to be a protection against witchcraft, and an effective treatment for diseases caused by spellsVerbal charm to be spoken or chanted, sometimes a single magic word such as Abracadabra or the Renervate encountered in the fictional Harry Potter series of books. or the evil eyeBelief that certain people can inflict disease or death simply by a glance., and in particular hag-riding, a phenomenon now known as sleep paralysisDemon in male form that seeks to have sexual intercourse with a sleeping woman..[2] Some believed that a hagstone only became effective once a cord had been threaded through the hole to hang it by.[3]
The occultist Aleister Crowley, dubbed “the wickedest man in the world” following the publication of his book Diary of a Drug Fiend in 1922,[4] spent his final years in the seaside town of Hastings.[5] He is alleged to have cursed the town’s inhabitants, compelling any who left it to return. The only means of a lasting escape was to always carry a hagstone taken from the beach at Hastings.[6]