The older communities throughout Nova Scotia are rife with tales from back in the day when the locals would swear on a stack of bibles that the Devil himself had just dropped by for a visit. The scene was generally set with some activity considered risky or sinful for those times, such as a card game on a Saturday night where the local men would have a few drinks and perhaps gamble away a few coins.
This is certainly true of the first rural communities along the south shore. Whether or not you think Satan actually exists is pretty much irrelevant in this context as the people I am about to tell you about would swear that he most certainly does.
Many years ago, these little places were sparsely populated by hard-working, church-going folks. They worked from sun up to sun down to make a living and provide for their families, without any of today’s modern conveniences. It was a very different time in stark contrast to today’s way of life. Regardless, Saturday nights were social time, with dances at the local hall and general get-togethers.
And in those little dusty communities, there were often general stores, selling household goods by day and often turned into gathering places for many local men when Saturday night rolled around.
There is a local “legend” if you want to call it that, from just outside Bridgewater, Nova Scotia. On one such evening back in the day, several local men had gathered in the back of the general store with a deck of cards, some money in their pockets and a bottle of spirits. Cards were dealt, wagers were placed and the bottle was passed around. It was not long before the front door of the store blew open and all heads turned to see an interesting looking stranger dressed in black standing before them.
He brought with him an air of mystery and asked to join the game. The men were nervous, but also intrigued and welcomed fresh blood to the game so they invited the stranger to have a seat, probably hoping to win a few extra dollars from the new guy.
At some point during the game, some cards fell to the floor. The store owner bent down to retrieve them and noticed the newcomer to the poker game had hooves instead of feet. Panicking, he looked at the stranger’s face for further proof of his devilish identity, at which time the fellow stood, bid them goodnight, and bolted for the door.
Another variation of very similar events took place in Cape Breton on a dark summer night back in the 1930’s. In this case, no cards were dropped but the cloven hooves were discovered on the stranger when the card game was over and he was stepping out the door to leave.
Did Satan join unsuspecting gamblers at various locations throughout Nova Scotia? Only those present at those card tables can tell you, but from what I’ve been told, they were pretty convinced.
There may be more truth in these old folk tales than you think.
In another similar tale, a naïve teenage girl went dancing at the local hall one night in a small rural community in nearby New Brunswick, against the wishes of her parents. A suave stranger danced the night away with her, much to her enjoyment. She, of course, became quite smitten with his mysterious ways and impressive dance steps. You can imagine her surprise when she innocently glanced down and saw he had cloven hooves instead of human feet. It was during this moment that thunder rolled and the fellow vanished before her eyes while laughing manically. She died of shock a few days later with the imprint of the devil’s hand on her lower back.
Equally interesting and just as intriguing, are the reports of witches that have lived amongst us here in Atlantic Canada. So as not to bore you with the history of witchcraft spanning hundreds of years, I am mostly referring to the type of witch that is known to be anti-social, has a cupboard full of potion ingredients and is regarded as someone you would not want to cross, lest a spell or two should be cast upon you. These could invoke disease, misfortune or death on their intended victims. Some were thought to be able to transform themselves into evil spirits, other beings or animals.
The Maritime provinces is no stranger to folklore and stories passed from one generation to the next about personal experiences involving these types of individuals.
My mother had once told me that in her family it was always said if you wanted to find out if someone was a true witch, you should lay a broomstick across the threshold of the door. A real witch would never dare step over it.
But is this the stuff only fairy tales are made of? Not exactly. We’ve had real witches living amongst us right here in Nova Scotia going back many years: Margaree Harbour, Cheticamp, Mull River, French Village, Lake Centre, New Ross and Lunenburg to name a few.
They were known to hex their neighbor’s livestock and cause general problems and unpleasantness for their undesirable neighbors. Anecdotes of old witches creating havoc in Nova Scotian communities are endless.
Speaking of Lunenburg, many years ago a few locals were convinced a woman in the town was a true, authentic witch. The reasons for their assumption are not clear but they thought her husband should be told. Naturally, he didn’t believe them but he was concerned and decided to test the waters to try and determine the truth.
He worked as a blacksmith and told his wife one night he needed her assistance in the forge. When it came time to get to work, she was nowhere to be found but mysteriously, an unusual bale of straw had appeared. The husband shoved a red hot piece of metal into it and it instantly went up in smoke. He went into his house only to discover his wife in bed, suffering from burns all over her body. The doctor came and a bloodletting was performed (a method used for centuries to release evil from a body). The witch in question did not survive.
As you drive through our picturesque communities, you may want to think about who used to live there and what they were capable of.
And the next time you shuffle a deck of cards or step on the dance floor, take a really good look at who’s around.
Further excellent reading on these topics can be found in the following books:
“Witchcraft: Tales, Beliefs and Superstitions from the Maritimes” by Clary Croft
“Legends and Monsters of Atlantic Canada” by Darryll Walsh
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