| James Murrell's Witch Bottle | |
|---|---|
|
Origin |
James Murrell |
|
Type |
Magic Rituals Bottle |
|
Effects |
Captures oddness or irregularity |
|
Downsides |
Pushes maliciousness away, does not dispel into ether |
|
Activation |
Filling with herbs |
|
Collected by |
Warehouse 12 |
|
Section |
|
|
Aisle |
Gardner-2284 |
|
Date of Collection |
March 9, 1884 |
| [Source] | |
Origin[]
James Murrell (c. 1785 – 16 December 1860), also known as Cunning Murrell, was an English cunning man, or professional folk magician, who spent most of his life in the town of Hadleigh in the eastern English county of Essex. In this capacity, he reportedly employed magical means to aid in healing both humans and animals, exorcising malevolent spirits, countering witches, and restoring lost or stolen property to its owner.
Describing himself as "the Devil's Master", he cultivated an air of mystery about himself, also experimenting with the creation of iron witch bottles His house was locally known as a "place to avoid" and those visiting him reportedly often waited for some time outside, plucking up the courage to enter. Within the cottage, Murrell had drying herbs hanging from his ceiling, and his devices were reported to include a crystal, a mirror, and a bowl of water. On a number of occasions his magical activities gained the attention of the local press. Although many residents valued his services and viewed him as a good and benevolent individual, his activities proved controversial and divisive. Many educated figures criticized what they saw as his role in encouraging superstition among the local population; his death certificate recorded his profession as that of a "quack doctor".
A witch bottle is an apotropaic magical item used as protection against witchcraft. Most would be prepared by a local folk healer with a sample of the person to remove a bewitching curse, filled with some prescription of material to dissuade evil. They would customarily be buried beneath the fireplace, underneath the foundation or kept out of sight to ensure their power as long as they were hidden away. Murrell used witch bottles as part of his magical practices, and, during the 1950s, the folklorist Eric Maple encountered claims that Murrell was able to summon anyone he wished using them, including individuals who had gone overseas.
Effects[]
Functioning similar to a genie in a bottle, it pulls in any general weird phenomenon and unusual funk into it. Random events that don’t align with standard daily living just get funneled inside, to presumably dissipate after a time. Breaking the bottle releases nothing but perfumed vapors; afterwards the shards reform when not looking.
Is effective against anything mildly disruptive or chaotic, making it a good countermeasure against mid-level artifacts with limited power. However, it does not work against sources of great negative emotional energies. Instead it just nudges it beyond the current horizon to be someone else’s problem.