Here’s an update about Iceland’s Witchcraft Museum from the always fascinating Atlas Obscura. We wrote about this place originally in 2015. This piece discusses the challenges of maintaining the museum these past few years, as well as detailing its holdings and features a video of a spirit banishing performed there. The article starts:
“Tucked away in a small, unassuming building in the town of Hólmavík, in Iceland’s Westfjords, is a museum that holds some truly gruesome displays of 17th century sorcery. There are pants made of human skin, which are said to give the wearer unlimited wealth; you can see magical sigils called staves, thought to offer powers ranging from the ability to see ghosts to making someone fall in love; and strange two-headed snake creatures that are born to steal goat’s milk.
“While all of this arcane weirdness could be viewed as little more than an out-of-the-way collection of oddities, for both the curator of The Museum of Icelandic Sorcery and Witchcraft, and the town of Hólmavík itself, the exhibitions here are an important reminder of a darker time in local history. Oh, and they’re also really great at bringing in tourist dollars.”
Read the entire piece here:
http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/iceland-witchcraft-museum-sorcery-interview
Thanks to Soror Hypatia for the tip
