1 00:00:01,240 --> 00:00:03,440 Speaker 1: It was my fault for letting the cattle graze so 2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:06,760 Speaker 1: near the old wood, in the circular stones, where the 3 00:00:06,880 --> 00:00:10,799 Speaker 1: roots grow elf twisted and rain water filled elf cups, 4 00:00:10,840 --> 00:00:14,760 Speaker 1: in the rock where strange lights danced some nights, and 5 00:00:14,840 --> 00:00:19,160 Speaker 1: the moonlight shines brighter than elsewhere. I'd lost cows before, 6 00:00:19,200 --> 00:00:22,160 Speaker 1: but never like this. I found her bloated and dead 7 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:24,840 Speaker 1: by the tree line. As I strolled up to the 8 00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:28,040 Speaker 1: poor heifer, I saw neither bite nor puncture on her hide. 9 00:00:28,600 --> 00:00:32,560 Speaker 1: I scanned the surrounding grass for signs of tracks or blood. 10 00:00:33,040 --> 00:00:36,120 Speaker 1: I saw neither. But that's when something caught my eye, 11 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:39,760 Speaker 1: A small stone point like an arrow head, with neither 12 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:43,920 Speaker 1: shaft nor fletchings, and carved by some art not practiced 13 00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:46,600 Speaker 1: by mortal men. I stooped to pick it up, and 14 00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:48,720 Speaker 1: that's when I felt a white hot pain in my 15 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:52,240 Speaker 1: upper left side. I felt for blood underneath my shirt, 16 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:56,000 Speaker 1: such was the pain, but found only unpierced flesh, even 17 00:00:56,040 --> 00:00:58,320 Speaker 1: as the agony of it brought me to my knees. 18 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:02,800 Speaker 1: In the tall grass, a scan the tree line. They 19 00:01:02,800 --> 00:01:06,080 Speaker 1: were invisible to my eyes, but I felt them somehow, 20 00:01:06,640 --> 00:01:09,720 Speaker 1: The elves watching on from the shadows of the wood, 21 00:01:10,400 --> 00:01:14,119 Speaker 1: perhaps snickering in their sublime odd tongue as the elf 22 00:01:14,240 --> 00:01:17,760 Speaker 1: bolt racked my body. But I clutched the stone in 23 00:01:17,840 --> 00:01:20,840 Speaker 1: my hand. I knew what I had to do. I 24 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:24,280 Speaker 1: dragged myself back across the field, sweat pouring down my 25 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:28,000 Speaker 1: face and my spleen swelling fit to burst with elf cake. 26 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:31,160 Speaker 1: Even then, when I arrived back at the house, I 27 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:33,399 Speaker 1: dropped the little of stone in a pan of water. 28 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:37,080 Speaker 1: I clutched my bible for good measure. I strained remember 29 00:01:37,160 --> 00:01:40,760 Speaker 1: words and incantations by either priest or wise woman. But 30 00:01:40,840 --> 00:01:43,200 Speaker 1: the best I could manage was a vague prayer to 31 00:01:43,240 --> 00:01:46,600 Speaker 1: be interpreted by whatever heard me. In my moment of need, 32 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:49,680 Speaker 1: I drank the stone, touched water down all of it, 33 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:53,400 Speaker 1: though it chilled my teeth and stung my tongue. And 34 00:01:53,440 --> 00:01:56,400 Speaker 1: then I realized, too late that the charm was no good, 35 00:01:56,920 --> 00:02:00,080 Speaker 1: for it had touched the ground, sunlight had fallen upon it. 36 00:02:00,600 --> 00:02:03,760 Speaker 1: The power of the elves had all but drained from 37 00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:07,160 Speaker 1: the thing, and I was afforded only passing relief. And 38 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:10,160 Speaker 1: so I write this letter by candlelight, and I will 39 00:02:10,200 --> 00:02:12,680 Speaker 1: weigh it down on the table with the Queer stone 40 00:02:12,720 --> 00:02:16,640 Speaker 1: as proof, for I am now Elf marked and Elf taken. 41 00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:20,880 Speaker 1: I swell, I ache to the moon rises once more 42 00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:31,120 Speaker 1: in the sound of their music fills the night. Welcome 43 00:02:31,160 --> 00:02:33,079 Speaker 1: just about to blow your mind the production of My 44 00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:42,680 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hey, welcome to Stuff to blow your mind. 45 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:45,840 Speaker 1: My name is Robert Lamb and I'm Joe McCormick. And 46 00:02:45,880 --> 00:02:49,280 Speaker 1: that little cold open definitely takes some liberties with the 47 00:02:49,320 --> 00:02:52,480 Speaker 1: folklore we're going to be discussing here today. When just 48 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:56,640 Speaker 1: trying to get a little seasonal Halloween flavor here going 49 00:02:56,680 --> 00:02:58,840 Speaker 1: in this episode, which I guess is kind of kick 50 00:02:58,919 --> 00:03:01,679 Speaker 1: starting or how lloween season here on Stuff to blow 51 00:03:01,720 --> 00:03:05,160 Speaker 1: your mind. But but today we're going to be talking about, 52 00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:08,800 Speaker 1: as you might guess from the opening, elf shot or 53 00:03:08,919 --> 00:03:14,000 Speaker 1: elf stones, Pixie arrows, elf arrows, and many other names, 54 00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:18,520 Speaker 1: the missiles of the others. Yeah, yeah, So the basic 55 00:03:18,639 --> 00:03:22,040 Speaker 1: idea here, I think is basically embedded in the fiction 56 00:03:22,080 --> 00:03:25,320 Speaker 1: we just shared here. The idea that and this is 57 00:03:25,480 --> 00:03:28,360 Speaker 1: just roughly so. Like with with many folk traditions, as 58 00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:32,440 Speaker 1: we'll discuss, there a number of variations over time and space. 59 00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:35,560 Speaker 1: But the idea here is that the elves, out of 60 00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:40,200 Speaker 1: trickery or pure malice, they might shoot cattle or humans 61 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:44,240 Speaker 1: in some cases with their invisible arrows, and these invisible 62 00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:47,680 Speaker 1: arrows leave little or no physical trace in again in 63 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:53,280 Speaker 1: many tellings, but cause otherwise unexplainable pain or disease or 64 00:03:53,320 --> 00:03:57,080 Speaker 1: perhaps even death. The notion was supported via the evidence 65 00:03:57,240 --> 00:04:02,560 Speaker 1: of discovered Neolithic arrowheads and other curios, and the ideas 66 00:04:02,680 --> 00:04:05,880 Speaker 1: especially tied to the British Isles, but one sees examples 67 00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:09,360 Speaker 1: of it from elsewhere in Europe as well as from 68 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:13,120 Speaker 1: the America's after colonial arrival. Right. So, the belief in 69 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:16,200 Speaker 1: elf shot, I think is best understood not as a 70 00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:20,200 Speaker 1: single belief but as a sort of uh complex of 71 00:04:20,320 --> 00:04:25,640 Speaker 1: related explanations for totally different types of natural phenomena that 72 00:04:25,680 --> 00:04:29,000 Speaker 1: are all sort of unified under under a common theory 73 00:04:29,400 --> 00:04:33,960 Speaker 1: of of fairy weapons and fairy malice. Yeah. Yeah, and 74 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:36,400 Speaker 1: without diving any deeper we can we can see the 75 00:04:36,440 --> 00:04:40,760 Speaker 1: appeal of these ideas. Right. It's a superstitious, supernatural script 76 00:04:41,279 --> 00:04:44,440 Speaker 1: that can help explain several different things, help explain and 77 00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:50,200 Speaker 1: otherwise unexplained illness, otherwise unexplained pain or another malady, otherwise 78 00:04:50,279 --> 00:04:54,560 Speaker 1: unexplained illness or death, and cattle and otherwise unexplained artifacts 79 00:04:54,600 --> 00:04:58,480 Speaker 1: found on or in the Earth. Now it makes sense, 80 00:04:58,480 --> 00:05:00,800 Speaker 1: I think at this point to discuss the elves of it, 81 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:03,120 Speaker 1: because I know, for for many of us out there, 82 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:06,920 Speaker 1: you you say the word elf, and there are probably 83 00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:10,159 Speaker 1: a few different key images and ideas that are gonna 84 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:13,560 Speaker 1: immediately come come to life in your mind. I mean, 85 00:05:13,680 --> 00:05:17,719 Speaker 1: especially now with the Rings of Power on TV and 86 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:20,680 Speaker 1: so forth, many of and also you know the resurgence 87 00:05:20,680 --> 00:05:22,840 Speaker 1: of Dungeons and Dragons, people are going to think about 88 00:05:22,839 --> 00:05:26,760 Speaker 1: the fantasy elves of Tolkien and Tolken derived works like 89 00:05:26,839 --> 00:05:30,080 Speaker 1: Dungeons and Dragons. Uh. For for others of you out there, 90 00:05:30,279 --> 00:05:34,120 Speaker 1: you might instantly think about Santa's elves or Keebler elves. 91 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:41,600 Speaker 1: Little you know, curious people making novelties and imaginary idealistic workshops. Right, 92 00:05:41,640 --> 00:05:43,920 Speaker 1: I would say that the influence of Tolkien is so 93 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:47,320 Speaker 1: strong that, uh, at least in America. I don't I 94 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:49,479 Speaker 1: don't know if this would be as true in the 95 00:05:49,520 --> 00:05:52,560 Speaker 1: rest of the English speaking world even, but but at 96 00:05:52,640 --> 00:05:54,720 Speaker 1: least in America, when you say elf, I think what 97 00:05:54,760 --> 00:05:58,120 Speaker 1: people mostly think is a Tolkien style high elf an 98 00:05:58,400 --> 00:06:02,160 Speaker 1: l Rond or Galadriel to figure a kind of noble 99 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:06,880 Speaker 1: and elegant fantasy aristocrat who has, you know, wisdom and 100 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:10,839 Speaker 1: magic arts to offer. Yeah, and generally just super blonde hair, 101 00:06:11,040 --> 00:06:15,640 Speaker 1: like real, real, pristine blonde wig going on in many cases. 102 00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:19,400 Speaker 1: I guess el Ron Elron didn't have blond hair. Elrond 103 00:06:19,400 --> 00:06:21,880 Speaker 1: have red hair. I don't know, dark hair. I don't 104 00:06:21,880 --> 00:06:24,640 Speaker 1: know he's I mean, there's an Elrond, young Elrond, the 105 00:06:24,720 --> 00:06:27,880 Speaker 1: younger version of Elrond is in the Rings of Power, 106 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:32,040 Speaker 1: and I'm I'm suddenly at at a loss to remember 107 00:06:32,040 --> 00:06:34,800 Speaker 1: what color is hair is mainly remember the ears. I 108 00:06:34,839 --> 00:06:38,640 Speaker 1: remember thinking around the year two thousand two or so. 109 00:06:38,720 --> 00:06:42,599 Speaker 1: It's like live Tyler. That's an elf. I guess. The 110 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:45,560 Speaker 1: interesting thing is that, of course both of these ideas, 111 00:06:45,560 --> 00:06:50,120 Speaker 1: obviously Tolkien's ideas of elves have have their roots in 112 00:06:50,360 --> 00:06:53,960 Speaker 1: actual folklore and mythology, as one would expect. But but 113 00:06:54,200 --> 00:06:56,600 Speaker 1: even like Santa's ells and Keepler elves, I guess they're 114 00:06:56,640 --> 00:07:01,760 Speaker 1: not They're not completely removed from the mythologic called roots here, 115 00:07:01,839 --> 00:07:05,360 Speaker 1: but that but perhaps less connected. Yea, as you're saying, 116 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:07,799 Speaker 1: Once you get outside of the very sort of narrowly 117 00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:12,360 Speaker 1: Tolkien influenced idea, the elf is actually an extremely broad 118 00:07:12,440 --> 00:07:16,160 Speaker 1: tradition right right, and you get into into many of 119 00:07:16,200 --> 00:07:21,440 Speaker 1: these traditions and beliefs of old and elves get more 120 00:07:21,520 --> 00:07:25,800 Speaker 1: mysterious and also more dangerous. They become less human and 121 00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:29,760 Speaker 1: harder to fathom. So I want Two of the sources 122 00:07:29,760 --> 00:07:32,080 Speaker 1: I often turn to when when thinking about these things 123 00:07:32,080 --> 00:07:35,240 Speaker 1: are Brewers Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, which is is 124 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:38,720 Speaker 1: you know, which is a pretty pretty good book even 125 00:07:38,720 --> 00:07:41,560 Speaker 1: today for for for highlighting some of this stuff. And 126 00:07:41,560 --> 00:07:43,600 Speaker 1: then of course I always look at the books of 127 00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:47,280 Speaker 1: Folklore's Carol Rose in particular for this one Spirits, Ferries, 128 00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:50,040 Speaker 1: Leprikaans and Goblins, which is still very much in print. 129 00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:54,480 Speaker 1: I always recommend that one to two fans of mythological 130 00:07:54,760 --> 00:07:58,400 Speaker 1: and folkloric beings. But in Brewers Dictionary Phrase and Fable, 131 00:07:58,480 --> 00:08:01,800 Speaker 1: the definition of elf is quote a dwarfish being of 132 00:08:01,840 --> 00:08:05,400 Speaker 1: Teutonic mythology possessed of magical powers which is used for 133 00:08:05,480 --> 00:08:09,960 Speaker 1: the good or ill of mankind. Carol Rose, in uh 134 00:08:10,080 --> 00:08:13,280 Speaker 1: in the Spirits Fairies, Lepricuns and Goblins, mentions that in 135 00:08:13,280 --> 00:08:17,920 Speaker 1: Teutonic mythology, the alpha are subdivided into dark elves and 136 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:21,840 Speaker 1: light elves, and Rose refers to them as well as 137 00:08:21,880 --> 00:08:26,720 Speaker 1: a type of sprite found in British, Icelandic, Scandinavian and 138 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:30,560 Speaker 1: Teutonic legend. They are the the alf the alf. There 139 00:08:30,560 --> 00:08:33,040 Speaker 1: are several different spellings that are kind of like elf 140 00:08:33,160 --> 00:08:36,280 Speaker 1: or alf or yielf for or in some cases you 141 00:08:36,320 --> 00:08:38,760 Speaker 1: have like the Ellen or el folk and Danish you 142 00:08:38,800 --> 00:08:42,960 Speaker 1: have the elvore in Swedish traditions, and then they're the 143 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:47,679 Speaker 1: spay Wise and Icelandic traditions and many more. Now there 144 00:08:47,679 --> 00:08:51,120 Speaker 1: have been attempts to understand elves as both um sort 145 00:08:51,160 --> 00:08:56,559 Speaker 1: of folkloric and mythological reverberations of our understandings of indigenous 146 00:08:56,640 --> 00:08:58,960 Speaker 1: people's which certainly ties in with some of the themes 147 00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:03,200 Speaker 1: will be exploring here, as well as with people born 148 00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:07,720 Speaker 1: with certain birth defects or people that have certain illnesses. Um. 149 00:09:07,880 --> 00:09:11,080 Speaker 1: And these are perhaps broader explorations, but but I think 150 00:09:11,120 --> 00:09:14,000 Speaker 1: we can see the validity of both avenues combined of course, 151 00:09:14,040 --> 00:09:17,160 Speaker 1: as always with the self sustaining power of myth, folklore 152 00:09:17,160 --> 00:09:20,040 Speaker 1: and belief. You know, we we often mentioned on the 153 00:09:20,040 --> 00:09:23,400 Speaker 1: show we can't we can't discount the power of human 154 00:09:23,440 --> 00:09:28,840 Speaker 1: imagination and creativity, be that uh, you know, imagination acting 155 00:09:28,840 --> 00:09:33,200 Speaker 1: out of pure whimsy, or imagination seeking to understand things 156 00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:38,280 Speaker 1: or just even make shape of various realities of life. Yeah, 157 00:09:38,320 --> 00:09:40,280 Speaker 1: And another way I would put that is that yes, 158 00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:43,400 Speaker 1: people often did probably see something that they didn't understand 159 00:09:43,640 --> 00:09:47,480 Speaker 1: and then try to put together a mythical theory of it, 160 00:09:47,520 --> 00:09:50,360 Speaker 1: a kind of supernatural explanation that would make sense of it. 161 00:09:50,600 --> 00:09:53,319 Speaker 1: But then other times, clearly people just make things up. 162 00:09:53,360 --> 00:09:56,679 Speaker 1: I mean, people have imagination and they dream things up. 163 00:09:56,720 --> 00:09:59,640 Speaker 1: So you get you get both in our mythical traditions, 164 00:09:59,679 --> 00:10:03,400 Speaker 1: I think. Can it's limiting to assume that you're always 165 00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:05,959 Speaker 1: looking at one thing or the other right right, But 166 00:10:06,120 --> 00:10:09,040 Speaker 1: once the once the script is established, the script is 167 00:10:09,080 --> 00:10:13,880 Speaker 1: generally nourished and maintained. Um so so like other similar 168 00:10:13,920 --> 00:10:16,400 Speaker 1: beings in folklore, such as say that the Irish tradition 169 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:19,840 Speaker 1: of the Tata done and uh, fairies and so forth, 170 00:10:19,880 --> 00:10:22,960 Speaker 1: there's kind of a ghost species are to the elves, 171 00:10:23,360 --> 00:10:28,439 Speaker 1: they're the sublime other that occupies places that we cannot occupy. 172 00:10:28,600 --> 00:10:32,079 Speaker 1: They hold powers that we scarcely comprehend, and they may 173 00:10:32,120 --> 00:10:34,640 Speaker 1: wish as well, they may wish us ill, or they 174 00:10:34,720 --> 00:10:37,920 Speaker 1: may just sort of be neutral in all matters. Uh. 175 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:42,120 Speaker 1: And there are reasons are hard to fathom they might 176 00:10:42,280 --> 00:10:44,520 Speaker 1: do the things they do on a whim, or they 177 00:10:44,600 --> 00:10:48,480 Speaker 1: might have seemingly good reason to act against us or 178 00:10:48,720 --> 00:10:53,240 Speaker 1: or forests. They're also associated with a host of unexplained phenomena, 179 00:10:53,640 --> 00:10:57,680 Speaker 1: including visual phenomena, making them a core supernatural script for 180 00:10:57,760 --> 00:11:02,000 Speaker 1: the unexplained that I think alone and many have pointed 181 00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:04,760 Speaker 1: this out aligne closely with twenty and twenty one century 182 00:11:05,240 --> 00:11:08,800 Speaker 1: uses of the UFO script of the the Alien Visitor 183 00:11:08,880 --> 00:11:11,920 Speaker 1: Script for the unexplained as a way of shaping and 184 00:11:11,960 --> 00:11:16,120 Speaker 1: processing things that we don't understand, for examples pointed out 185 00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:19,800 Speaker 1: by both in both Roses book and in Brewers. We 186 00:11:19,880 --> 00:11:23,720 Speaker 1: have a number of elf related phenomenon in folk traditions, 187 00:11:23,760 --> 00:11:27,640 Speaker 1: and they include the following. There's elf bore, which is 188 00:11:27,679 --> 00:11:30,920 Speaker 1: apparently This is the apparently a piece of wood from 189 00:11:30,920 --> 00:11:33,400 Speaker 1: which the knot has been dropped out. I don't know 190 00:11:33,440 --> 00:11:36,160 Speaker 1: how how much I really need a supernatural script to 191 00:11:36,200 --> 00:11:39,760 Speaker 1: explain that, but fair enough. There's elf cake. This is 192 00:11:40,160 --> 00:11:44,719 Speaker 1: an enlargement of the spleen elf child. This is a 193 00:11:44,840 --> 00:11:48,319 Speaker 1: change link getting into changeling traditions. This one was new 194 00:11:48,320 --> 00:11:51,040 Speaker 1: to me. An elf cup elf cup This would be 195 00:11:51,280 --> 00:11:53,760 Speaker 1: where you have stone that has a hollow form from 196 00:11:53,840 --> 00:11:57,160 Speaker 1: dripping water and water collects there. Well, that's the elf cup, 197 00:11:57,200 --> 00:12:00,200 Speaker 1: and I guess the elves drink from it. Elf are 198 00:12:00,240 --> 00:12:03,120 Speaker 1: getting interditions of the willow the wisp, which we've covered 199 00:12:03,160 --> 00:12:05,680 Speaker 1: on the show before. Now here's one that people with 200 00:12:05,800 --> 00:12:09,240 Speaker 1: long longer hair, or with children with longer hair can 201 00:12:09,280 --> 00:12:13,640 Speaker 1: definitely comment on. Elf locks. These are tangles and knots 202 00:12:13,760 --> 00:12:17,120 Speaker 1: in the hair caused by elves in the night. If 203 00:12:17,160 --> 00:12:20,200 Speaker 1: one is elf marked, that may refer to birth defects 204 00:12:20,280 --> 00:12:23,320 Speaker 1: or birth marks caused by the elves. If you are 205 00:12:23,360 --> 00:12:26,880 Speaker 1: elf taken, that means you're a bewitched or an enchanted person. 206 00:12:27,840 --> 00:12:32,400 Speaker 1: Elf twisted may refer to someone who has suffered a stroke, 207 00:12:32,720 --> 00:12:37,000 Speaker 1: but it also can refer to deformed vegetation elf twisted vegetation. 208 00:12:37,440 --> 00:12:39,240 Speaker 1: And then this is an interesting one I ran across 209 00:12:39,280 --> 00:12:40,880 Speaker 1: as well. I don't think this was in neither of 210 00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:44,760 Speaker 1: these texts, but elf milling the sound of woodworms chewing. 211 00:12:45,760 --> 00:12:47,840 Speaker 1: And then of course we have our elf pharaohs are 212 00:12:47,920 --> 00:12:51,120 Speaker 1: elf shot um, which again is a perfect script to 213 00:12:51,200 --> 00:12:54,280 Speaker 1: turn to in an attempt to explain the unexplainable, and 214 00:12:54,400 --> 00:12:57,760 Speaker 1: also is alluded to in the cold Open the artifacts 215 00:12:58,280 --> 00:13:02,120 Speaker 1: associated with elf shot. The little found uh uh stones 216 00:13:02,280 --> 00:13:06,360 Speaker 1: and arrowheads are also associated with various folk medicine and 217 00:13:06,440 --> 00:13:11,120 Speaker 1: magical practices, generally thought to heal or alleviate illness in 218 00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:16,000 Speaker 1: animals or humans. Generally, uh illness is caused or perceived 219 00:13:16,040 --> 00:13:18,520 Speaker 1: to be caused by the elf shot. Like if you 220 00:13:18,559 --> 00:13:21,440 Speaker 1: get shot by a fantasy arrow, by a magical arrow 221 00:13:21,480 --> 00:13:23,600 Speaker 1: from an uh from the elves, well, if you can 222 00:13:23,640 --> 00:13:26,640 Speaker 1: find that that artifact, well, then maybe we have a 223 00:13:26,720 --> 00:13:29,920 Speaker 1: chance of curing things. Or if we happen to have 224 00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:34,040 Speaker 1: any in the collection of the local healer, maybe a 225 00:13:34,040 --> 00:13:37,760 Speaker 1: little satchel of of elf stone somewhere, well, those can 226 00:13:37,800 --> 00:13:41,680 Speaker 1: be used uh in the curative arts, drawing on the 227 00:13:41,720 --> 00:13:45,400 Speaker 1: traditional logic of like cures like or sympathetic magic, the 228 00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:49,240 Speaker 1: idea that if your if your ailment is caused by 229 00:13:49,320 --> 00:13:53,160 Speaker 1: a certain type of object or or action, then it 230 00:13:53,160 --> 00:13:56,600 Speaker 1: can also be maybe cured by a similar or related 231 00:13:56,640 --> 00:14:01,880 Speaker 1: type of object or action, right right, And sometimes these stones, 232 00:14:02,600 --> 00:14:05,880 Speaker 1: these elf arrows and so forth, they're thought to be 233 00:14:05,880 --> 00:14:09,760 Speaker 1: be essentially the ones that were fired. Other times they 234 00:14:09,800 --> 00:14:12,640 Speaker 1: may have been dropped by the elves. And some other 235 00:14:12,679 --> 00:14:15,000 Speaker 1: cases you have situations where these things are interpreted as 236 00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:17,680 Speaker 1: having like fallen from the sky and so forth. Yeah, 237 00:14:17,679 --> 00:14:20,760 Speaker 1: a lot of the older sources that I read quoted 238 00:14:20,880 --> 00:14:24,600 Speaker 1: said that they were dropped from the air. Now for 239 00:14:24,680 --> 00:14:27,720 Speaker 1: a couple of related concepts. Here in Scotland, there are 240 00:14:27,720 --> 00:14:31,840 Speaker 1: also tales of fairy riding, by which a livestocks paralysis 241 00:14:31,880 --> 00:14:35,040 Speaker 1: has explained as being due to exhaustion caused by fairies 242 00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:37,720 Speaker 1: riding the animals around his mounts all through the night. 243 00:14:38,640 --> 00:14:41,560 Speaker 1: There's also the use of thunder stones, of which I 244 00:14:41,560 --> 00:14:43,440 Speaker 1: guess elf shot is kind of a subset or at 245 00:14:43,480 --> 00:14:47,240 Speaker 1: least the very related concepts in which people have reinterpreted stone, 246 00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:51,360 Speaker 1: axe heads, tools, and also fossils as sacred objects that 247 00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:54,960 Speaker 1: may have fallen from the sky or experienced some other 248 00:14:55,040 --> 00:14:58,280 Speaker 1: supernatural entry into our world. And we see examples of 249 00:14:58,280 --> 00:15:01,320 Speaker 1: this in European, Native American and Asian traditions as well. 250 00:15:02,520 --> 00:15:05,960 Speaker 1: I found an interesting quote on this. This is from 251 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:11,880 Speaker 1: eight in need Fire publishing The Illustrated Archaeologists by archaeologist 252 00:15:11,960 --> 00:15:16,600 Speaker 1: Jay romilly Allen. Quote. There is hardly a single prehistoric 253 00:15:16,680 --> 00:15:19,240 Speaker 1: remain in the country whose name does not show that 254 00:15:19,320 --> 00:15:23,960 Speaker 1: common people associated with fairies, which is hags or the devil. 255 00:15:24,480 --> 00:15:27,640 Speaker 1: So too, with the implements and objects found on ancient sites. 256 00:15:28,240 --> 00:15:30,960 Speaker 1: The stone celt is looked upon as a thunderbolt, the 257 00:15:31,080 --> 00:15:35,520 Speaker 1: flint arrow and elf arrow, the spindle wheel, a fairies millstone, 258 00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:39,760 Speaker 1: the colored glass bead, an adder bead adder beads by 259 00:15:39,760 --> 00:15:41,680 Speaker 1: the way where these were thought to have been created 260 00:15:41,720 --> 00:15:44,760 Speaker 1: by snakes, and they were used in folk medicine as well, 261 00:15:45,920 --> 00:15:48,920 Speaker 1: and of course in general, the idea of invisible missiles 262 00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:52,520 Speaker 1: sent by a supernatural enemy that causes illness. This is 263 00:15:52,560 --> 00:15:56,400 Speaker 1: also comparable to other concepts of magic, spells and curses 264 00:15:56,440 --> 00:15:58,960 Speaker 1: that can be found in cultures throughout the world from 265 00:15:59,440 --> 00:16:01,040 Speaker 1: you know their exam puls, like the traditions of the 266 00:16:01,080 --> 00:16:04,440 Speaker 1: skin walkers among the Navaho, the concept of google poison, 267 00:16:04,520 --> 00:16:08,040 Speaker 1: and the Han Chinese traditions um, and you know many 268 00:16:08,080 --> 00:16:10,480 Speaker 1: such traditions around the world that involve the work of 269 00:16:10,880 --> 00:16:14,960 Speaker 1: outsiders or secret outsiders that bring about sickness in a 270 00:16:15,040 --> 00:16:23,440 Speaker 1: given people. Thank yeah, now, I thought it would be 271 00:16:23,480 --> 00:16:27,360 Speaker 1: a good idea for elf shots, specifically to uh look 272 00:16:27,360 --> 00:16:30,400 Speaker 1: at a paper that collected some direct accounts of folk 273 00:16:30,480 --> 00:16:34,280 Speaker 1: beliefs about elf shot, especially in Scotland, UM, where a 274 00:16:34,280 --> 00:16:36,840 Speaker 1: lot of this folklore work was done. Uh. And this 275 00:16:36,880 --> 00:16:40,880 Speaker 1: paper is by Thomas Davidson. It's called elf Shot Cattle. 276 00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:45,080 Speaker 1: It was published in the journal Antiquity in nineteen fifty six. Uh. Now, 277 00:16:45,080 --> 00:16:47,200 Speaker 1: I do want to preface. In the next episode, I 278 00:16:47,240 --> 00:16:49,080 Speaker 1: think we're going to talk about a couple of papers 279 00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:52,800 Speaker 1: that um offers some criticism of the subject of elf shot, 280 00:16:52,840 --> 00:16:55,920 Speaker 1: maybe questioning some things about this alleged folk belief. But 281 00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:58,280 Speaker 1: I thought it would be good to first look at 282 00:16:58,360 --> 00:17:02,280 Speaker 1: some of the more prevailing notions from from previous scholarship. Now, 283 00:17:02,320 --> 00:17:07,000 Speaker 1: this paper by Davidson kicks off offering a number of accounts. 284 00:17:07,240 --> 00:17:10,240 Speaker 1: The first one is one that was recorded in Scottish 285 00:17:10,320 --> 00:17:15,199 Speaker 1: Notes and Queries in the first series. And uh this uh, 286 00:17:15,320 --> 00:17:19,120 Speaker 1: this is rendered with a wonderful bit of transliterated Scottish accent, 287 00:17:19,200 --> 00:17:21,520 Speaker 1: which I will not attempt to do in my own 288 00:17:21,600 --> 00:17:24,680 Speaker 1: voice as I read it. But it is quoting a 289 00:17:25,320 --> 00:17:28,000 Speaker 1: Buccan farmer. Uh. This is a this is a region 290 00:17:28,080 --> 00:17:31,679 Speaker 1: of Scotland, a Buccan farmer in the late autumn of 291 00:17:31,800 --> 00:17:37,159 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty four, and his complaint was as follows, quoted 292 00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:39,639 Speaker 1: in Scottish Notes and Queries. Oh, and there are a 293 00:17:39,640 --> 00:17:41,400 Speaker 1: couple of terms in here. I'll have to come back 294 00:17:41,440 --> 00:17:44,840 Speaker 1: and define in a minute, probably, but uh. The quote 295 00:17:44,840 --> 00:17:48,240 Speaker 1: goes like this, I've gotten an ill job this morning, 296 00:17:48,359 --> 00:17:51,439 Speaker 1: in the death of a fine stirk by elf shot. 297 00:17:51,840 --> 00:17:54,760 Speaker 1: And the pity is he wasn't fastened to a hair tether, 298 00:17:55,080 --> 00:17:57,840 Speaker 1: which is a halter made of hair. Uh. Fan, the 299 00:17:57,880 --> 00:18:01,280 Speaker 1: weapon would have fallen short of him. And then Davidson writes, 300 00:18:01,480 --> 00:18:03,800 Speaker 1: when asked whether it might not have been due to 301 00:18:03,920 --> 00:18:07,800 Speaker 1: quarter ill, he replied that couldn't be. My neighbor and 302 00:18:07,840 --> 00:18:10,240 Speaker 1: me open up the beast, and there was a hole 303 00:18:10,359 --> 00:18:12,800 Speaker 1: through his heart, so a couple of things there. He 304 00:18:12,840 --> 00:18:15,280 Speaker 1: says that this happened to a stirk. A stirk is 305 00:18:15,320 --> 00:18:18,480 Speaker 1: a yearling bullock or heifer, so I think a calf 306 00:18:18,640 --> 00:18:21,919 Speaker 1: young cattle. Uh. And then there's this reference to quarter 307 00:18:22,040 --> 00:18:26,119 Speaker 1: ill as the the opposite explanation. Uh. Quarter Ill is 308 00:18:26,119 --> 00:18:29,440 Speaker 1: a common disease found in livestock, also known as black leg. 309 00:18:29,720 --> 00:18:32,560 Speaker 1: It's caused by an infection, often in one of the 310 00:18:32,640 --> 00:18:37,280 Speaker 1: limbs by Clostridium bacteria. And I've read in other sources 311 00:18:37,320 --> 00:18:40,320 Speaker 1: that death can be very rapid after symptoms first present, 312 00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:42,600 Speaker 1: sometimes just a matter of hours. So you could have 313 00:18:42,760 --> 00:18:46,200 Speaker 1: a calf fall dead of quarter ill without really much 314 00:18:46,280 --> 00:18:48,879 Speaker 1: warning at all. I love the detail about the hole 315 00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:51,560 Speaker 1: through the heart. This lines up with some other accounts 316 00:18:51,560 --> 00:18:54,600 Speaker 1: I was looking at where while you know which, elf 317 00:18:54,600 --> 00:18:58,119 Speaker 1: shot is not thought to present a traditional wound. In 318 00:18:58,160 --> 00:18:59,960 Speaker 1: some cases there's no wound at all, but other times 319 00:19:00,720 --> 00:19:02,679 Speaker 1: there is a wound if you know what to look for, 320 00:19:02,800 --> 00:19:05,960 Speaker 1: if you look closely enough. And of course this easily 321 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:09,200 Speaker 1: falls in with the realities we see mirrored and other 322 00:19:09,280 --> 00:19:12,720 Speaker 1: supernatural scripts, like if you you know the mark of 323 00:19:12,760 --> 00:19:15,479 Speaker 1: the witch, well, if you look closely enough and you 324 00:19:15,480 --> 00:19:17,760 Speaker 1: want to find it enough, you will find the mark 325 00:19:17,800 --> 00:19:21,320 Speaker 1: of the witch. If you want to find the you know, 326 00:19:21,400 --> 00:19:24,720 Speaker 1: the the hidden sensor that the aliens put in a 327 00:19:24,760 --> 00:19:28,159 Speaker 1: person's flesh, well, just keep looking. You'll find something that 328 00:19:28,240 --> 00:19:31,440 Speaker 1: seems a little odd, and surely that is the mark. Yeah, 329 00:19:31,440 --> 00:19:33,640 Speaker 1: there are all kinds of methods to detect the mark. 330 00:19:33,840 --> 00:19:35,919 Speaker 1: I'll talk about that a bit in a minute. One 331 00:19:35,960 --> 00:19:38,160 Speaker 1: of them I read about is like a the oldest 332 00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:41,080 Speaker 1: member of the family should wear a blue bonnet, and 333 00:19:41,080 --> 00:19:43,879 Speaker 1: then the blue bonnet will be rubbed all over the cow, 334 00:19:44,040 --> 00:19:47,280 Speaker 1: and somehow the rubbing of the flower or the actually 335 00:19:47,320 --> 00:19:49,159 Speaker 1: I don't know if that refers to a flower or 336 00:19:49,200 --> 00:19:51,960 Speaker 1: an actual bonnet, it says blue bonnet in the paper. 337 00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:53,960 Speaker 1: But whichever one it is, you rub that on the 338 00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:57,280 Speaker 1: cow and that will reveal where the where the animal 339 00:19:57,400 --> 00:20:00,920 Speaker 1: was struck. But anyway, so to recap this story from 340 00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:04,400 Speaker 1: from eighteen eighty four, this farmer is saying a healthy 341 00:20:04,440 --> 00:20:07,919 Speaker 1: young calf drops dead in its first year suddenly, no 342 00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:11,639 Speaker 1: apparent explanation. Uh. Though again, of course there are diseases 343 00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:15,040 Speaker 1: that caused sudden death in bovines. And the farmer and 344 00:20:15,200 --> 00:20:18,879 Speaker 1: his neighbor confirmed the cause of death was elf shot 345 00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:22,040 Speaker 1: because they did an autopsy and found that even though 346 00:20:22,080 --> 00:20:24,560 Speaker 1: the animal had no external wounds, there was a hole 347 00:20:24,720 --> 00:20:29,040 Speaker 1: in the animal's heart. Okay. Second account cited by Davidson. 348 00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:32,680 Speaker 1: This was originally published in Proceedings of the Society of 349 00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:38,399 Speaker 1: Antiquaries in Scotland. Uh, And it goes like this, Davidson writes. Quote. 350 00:20:38,440 --> 00:20:42,400 Speaker 1: Some years before, in eighteen sixty seven, a Mr. Hugh 351 00:20:42,560 --> 00:20:45,200 Speaker 1: Morrison saw a cow which was said to have been 352 00:20:45,280 --> 00:20:48,240 Speaker 1: killed by the fairies. When he pointed out to the 353 00:20:48,359 --> 00:20:51,640 Speaker 1: farmer that her death had been caused by rolling over 354 00:20:52,200 --> 00:20:55,000 Speaker 1: and her long horns penetrating the ground had kept her 355 00:20:55,040 --> 00:20:57,760 Speaker 1: in a position from which she could not rise. He 356 00:20:57,880 --> 00:21:00,680 Speaker 1: was told that that was a common way in which 357 00:21:00,720 --> 00:21:04,320 Speaker 1: cow's fall when struck by the UH. And then this 358 00:21:04,400 --> 00:21:07,119 Speaker 1: is something that is spelled like like it looks like 359 00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:10,200 Speaker 1: sage head sith, but I believe this is sage she 360 00:21:10,720 --> 00:21:14,560 Speaker 1: or side she, which is Scott's galelic for ferry arrow. 361 00:21:15,520 --> 00:21:18,520 Speaker 1: So Davidson connects these beliefs to as we already mentioned, 362 00:21:18,600 --> 00:21:22,720 Speaker 1: the discovery of neolithic flints in the fields and the 363 00:21:22,760 --> 00:21:27,359 Speaker 1: countryside where uh. He claims that these were not generally 364 00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:33,159 Speaker 1: associated with prehistoric human technology. Now, there are some associations 365 00:21:33,280 --> 00:21:34,800 Speaker 1: of that kind going all the way back to the 366 00:21:34,840 --> 00:21:39,040 Speaker 1: seventeenth century, but they're not generally accepted by the people, 367 00:21:39,240 --> 00:21:43,280 Speaker 1: Davidson says, and he quotes the story of a reverend 368 00:21:43,359 --> 00:21:46,840 Speaker 1: John Frasier who was writing a letter dated to the 369 00:21:46,880 --> 00:21:50,320 Speaker 1: year seventeen o two was recorded in a work called 370 00:21:50,359 --> 00:21:54,040 Speaker 1: The Darker Superstitions of Scotland by J. G. Dal Yell, 371 00:21:54,520 --> 00:21:57,679 Speaker 1: and the letter is talking about how Frasier thought it 372 00:21:57,720 --> 00:22:01,720 Speaker 1: was strange quote that these lf stones, whether little or 373 00:22:01,960 --> 00:22:06,960 Speaker 1: Michel Michel meaning large little or Michel, has still the 374 00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:10,280 Speaker 1: same figure, though certainly known to fall from the air. 375 00:22:10,880 --> 00:22:15,399 Speaker 1: The commonality superstitiously imagines that the fairies hath made and 376 00:22:15,480 --> 00:22:18,760 Speaker 1: gives them that shape, and that they do hurt by them, 377 00:22:18,920 --> 00:22:22,159 Speaker 1: which we call elf shot. And then he goes on 378 00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:26,159 Speaker 1: to quote a wonderful work the seventeenth century minister and 379 00:22:26,200 --> 00:22:31,280 Speaker 1: proto folklorist Robert Kirk's treatise The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, 380 00:22:31,440 --> 00:22:36,240 Speaker 1: Fawns and Fairies, which is a fantastic historical read if 381 00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:39,400 Speaker 1: you ever get time to check that out. So Kirk 382 00:22:39,560 --> 00:22:43,320 Speaker 1: is describing the beliefs of the people of Scotland and 383 00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:47,280 Speaker 1: talking about the weapons made by elves and fairies, and 384 00:22:47,320 --> 00:22:51,439 Speaker 1: so to quote here from Davidson. Similarly, Kirk describes the 385 00:22:51,440 --> 00:22:55,680 Speaker 1: weapons as being quote most what solid earthly bodies, nothing 386 00:22:55,720 --> 00:23:00,560 Speaker 1: of iron, but much of stone, like to a soft flints, 387 00:23:00,560 --> 00:23:04,359 Speaker 1: shaped like a barbed arrowhead, but flung like a dart 388 00:23:04,480 --> 00:23:09,080 Speaker 1: with great force. These arms cut by airt and tools. 389 00:23:09,160 --> 00:23:12,920 Speaker 1: It seems beyond humane. And I think aert as a 390 00:23:13,040 --> 00:23:15,359 Speaker 1: noun often means like a compass point, but it could 391 00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:19,200 Speaker 1: mean like art or guidance. But again Kirk is saying 392 00:23:19,240 --> 00:23:21,760 Speaker 1: that they're beyond human. Said I think I said humane, 393 00:23:21,800 --> 00:23:25,320 Speaker 1: but I'd probably just be human. Here have have something 394 00:23:25,359 --> 00:23:30,280 Speaker 1: of the nature of thunderbolt subtlety and mortally wounding the 395 00:23:30,400 --> 00:23:34,920 Speaker 1: vital parts without breaking the skin. So I love this idea. 396 00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:40,040 Speaker 1: They have something of the nature of thunderbolt subtlety. Uh. 397 00:23:40,320 --> 00:23:43,439 Speaker 1: This description from the seventeenth century reminds me of what 398 00:23:43,520 --> 00:23:45,880 Speaker 1: the farmer and the much later account in the nineteenth 399 00:23:45,880 --> 00:23:49,040 Speaker 1: century said about opening up the calf and finding that 400 00:23:49,359 --> 00:23:52,040 Speaker 1: even though the skin had not been broken, the heart 401 00:23:52,080 --> 00:23:54,120 Speaker 1: had been pierced with the fairy arrow, and they could 402 00:23:54,119 --> 00:23:57,800 Speaker 1: tell by the whole And Uh. Here Kirk says that 403 00:23:57,840 --> 00:24:02,040 Speaker 1: these weapons have this this thunderbolt subtlety. If I understand 404 00:24:02,040 --> 00:24:04,760 Speaker 1: that right, I think he's suggesting almost kind of a 405 00:24:04,840 --> 00:24:09,400 Speaker 1: semi spectral quality that like lightning, they can kill you 406 00:24:09,440 --> 00:24:12,720 Speaker 1: without leaving a hole in the skin. Even though they 407 00:24:12,760 --> 00:24:17,199 Speaker 1: are actual physical missiles. They've got kind of a transparent 408 00:24:17,520 --> 00:24:20,639 Speaker 1: or or subtle quality that allows them to kind of 409 00:24:20,640 --> 00:24:24,720 Speaker 1: warp through solid matter. And later in the text, Davidson 410 00:24:24,760 --> 00:24:28,640 Speaker 1: writes that there was a belief in Ireland where you 411 00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:31,600 Speaker 1: could have an animal that had been hit by by 412 00:24:31,640 --> 00:24:34,000 Speaker 1: an elf arrow and you would not find a hole 413 00:24:34,040 --> 00:24:36,960 Speaker 1: in the skin. But if you feel with your fingers 414 00:24:37,240 --> 00:24:40,560 Speaker 1: you could find a hole in the flesh beneath even 415 00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:43,680 Speaker 1: though again the skin is intact. And I love thinking 416 00:24:43,680 --> 00:24:45,800 Speaker 1: about that because even if you just you know, you 417 00:24:45,840 --> 00:24:48,320 Speaker 1: feel around on your own body, you can find all 418 00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:51,960 Speaker 1: kinds of little like I don't know, textural differences in 419 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:54,480 Speaker 1: the flesh underneath the skin you're pressing on, which you 420 00:24:54,480 --> 00:24:57,560 Speaker 1: could interpret to be like a hole. Yeah, yeah, there's 421 00:24:58,160 --> 00:25:01,480 Speaker 1: you can you can go wild, you know, reinterpreting your 422 00:25:01,520 --> 00:25:05,520 Speaker 1: own uh physiology if you think there might be some 423 00:25:05,640 --> 00:25:08,480 Speaker 1: sort of like a hole there made by by elves 424 00:25:08,600 --> 00:25:11,760 Speaker 1: or what have you. Um, yeah, yeah, so that it's 425 00:25:11,920 --> 00:25:16,240 Speaker 1: it's it's fascinating well and it makes me think about like, um, hypochondria, 426 00:25:16,720 --> 00:25:20,280 Speaker 1: you know, in this era. So now you might have 427 00:25:20,480 --> 00:25:24,960 Speaker 1: a more realistic catalog of diseases to draw upon when 428 00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:27,240 Speaker 1: you are a sort of like getting in your head 429 00:25:27,280 --> 00:25:29,320 Speaker 1: about that and assuming that you might have all kinds 430 00:25:29,359 --> 00:25:32,800 Speaker 1: of things affecting you. You can like look up real 431 00:25:32,880 --> 00:25:36,000 Speaker 1: medical conditions on the internet, but like, you know, at 432 00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:39,160 Speaker 1: a time before that, instead of hypochondriac googling the Mayo 433 00:25:39,240 --> 00:25:43,080 Speaker 1: Clinic website and stuff people are thinking about like elf 434 00:25:43,200 --> 00:25:46,240 Speaker 1: arrows and all kinds of curses and things like that, Yeah, 435 00:25:46,280 --> 00:25:48,520 Speaker 1: did I pull a muscle or do I have elf cake? 436 00:25:49,200 --> 00:25:53,200 Speaker 1: You know, it's both would seem equally possible in these cases. 437 00:25:53,520 --> 00:25:57,000 Speaker 1: I also think there's an interesting tension here that if 438 00:25:57,000 --> 00:26:01,159 Speaker 1: there was some belief that these weapons were how ghostly 439 00:26:01,440 --> 00:26:04,200 Speaker 1: or or subtle in a more archaic sense, like able 440 00:26:04,240 --> 00:26:09,120 Speaker 1: to pass through solid objects like a ghost. Um, that's 441 00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:13,119 Speaker 1: in an interesting tension with the evidence of them often 442 00:26:13,160 --> 00:26:16,240 Speaker 1: being literally an artifact made of stone. The stone the 443 00:26:16,320 --> 00:26:21,080 Speaker 1: most perfectly solid and earthly substance people can think of. Yeah, yeah, 444 00:26:21,119 --> 00:26:23,400 Speaker 1: that is interesting, the idea that this is some sort 445 00:26:23,400 --> 00:26:27,840 Speaker 1: of at once it is somehow I a magical, invisible 446 00:26:27,880 --> 00:26:31,520 Speaker 1: weapon that cuts right through flesh and pierces organs and 447 00:26:31,640 --> 00:26:35,200 Speaker 1: brings about mysterious health illnesses, and at the same time, yeah, 448 00:26:35,240 --> 00:26:37,240 Speaker 1: here's the stone. You can hold it, you can pick 449 00:26:37,280 --> 00:26:41,000 Speaker 1: it up. Uh it it outlives us all. One final 450 00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:45,080 Speaker 1: account I wanted to mention from davidson Um. He quotes 451 00:26:45,440 --> 00:26:51,560 Speaker 1: a testimony allegedly given during trials for witchcraft in Scotland. 452 00:26:51,600 --> 00:26:54,880 Speaker 1: And this is in a book by Pitcairn. Uh. And 453 00:26:54,960 --> 00:26:59,400 Speaker 1: this is citing the alleged testimony of a woman convicted 454 00:26:59,400 --> 00:27:03,680 Speaker 1: for witchcraft in sixteen sixty two named Isabel Goudie, who 455 00:27:03,720 --> 00:27:09,120 Speaker 1: reports having seen the elf arrows being made. Quote the 456 00:27:09,200 --> 00:27:13,080 Speaker 1: devil sharps them with his own hand and delivers them 457 00:27:13,119 --> 00:27:17,160 Speaker 1: to elf boys. What whittles and dates them? I think 458 00:27:17,240 --> 00:27:20,800 Speaker 1: dits means to like adorn, equip or ready something and 459 00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:24,320 Speaker 1: dates them with a sharp thing like a packing needle. 460 00:27:24,880 --> 00:27:27,920 Speaker 1: And a packing needle was a large, heavy needle used 461 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:31,760 Speaker 1: for sewing rough materials like canvas. Now that's an interesting 462 00:27:31,760 --> 00:27:34,560 Speaker 1: account for a number of ways. Uh. One is that, 463 00:27:34,640 --> 00:27:37,639 Speaker 1: of course, while we should always be skeptical readers of 464 00:27:37,680 --> 00:27:42,040 Speaker 1: any historical account, remember that they're like several extra layers 465 00:27:42,040 --> 00:27:45,520 Speaker 1: of skepticism you should apply to alleged confessions of witches, 466 00:27:45,640 --> 00:27:49,359 Speaker 1: not just because they involve supernatural elements, but because you 467 00:27:49,440 --> 00:27:53,320 Speaker 1: have to often suspect coercion in the circumstances of the confession, 468 00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:57,840 Speaker 1: and also suspect alterations made by the persons allegedly recording 469 00:27:57,880 --> 00:28:02,120 Speaker 1: the testimony. But interesting, nonetheless, that like somebody at least 470 00:28:02,119 --> 00:28:06,520 Speaker 1: put together this account of so Satan is making these 471 00:28:06,560 --> 00:28:09,399 Speaker 1: weapons and then handing them off to elf boys to 472 00:28:09,440 --> 00:28:12,240 Speaker 1: be refined to the elf boys will whittle them and 473 00:28:12,280 --> 00:28:15,800 Speaker 1: then adorn them with like a sharp prick on the end, 474 00:28:15,880 --> 00:28:18,479 Speaker 1: like a packing needle. Yeah, I was reading in one 475 00:28:18,520 --> 00:28:21,439 Speaker 1: of my sources that I was looking at that you 476 00:28:21,440 --> 00:28:25,200 Speaker 1: see a lot of uh of picking and choosing from 477 00:28:25,240 --> 00:28:29,320 Speaker 1: both Christian and pre Christian traditions and working out exactly 478 00:28:29,640 --> 00:28:32,400 Speaker 1: how elf shot works in this case, but also how 479 00:28:32,440 --> 00:28:35,320 Speaker 1: one alleviates self shot, Like are you are you calling 480 00:28:35,320 --> 00:28:39,440 Speaker 1: out to uh, to to the Holy Ghost, or are 481 00:28:39,480 --> 00:28:42,400 Speaker 1: you sort of calling out maybe with a little more, 482 00:28:42,840 --> 00:28:44,960 Speaker 1: you know, a little more vaguely to other powers in 483 00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:47,520 Speaker 1: the world. I would say this is also evidence of 484 00:28:47,560 --> 00:28:49,440 Speaker 1: a tradition that you see. I think we talked about 485 00:28:49,480 --> 00:28:52,400 Speaker 1: this a bit in some episodes we did last year 486 00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:56,880 Speaker 1: called the Holy Undead that involves some stories of stories 487 00:28:56,920 --> 00:29:00,680 Speaker 1: from the frontiers of Christianity in the medieval period. But 488 00:29:00,960 --> 00:29:04,320 Speaker 1: the idea would be that sometimes beings that were not 489 00:29:04,400 --> 00:29:08,760 Speaker 1: necessarily devils or could have multiple moral valences in the 490 00:29:08,800 --> 00:29:13,360 Speaker 1: original context of a religion, once the area is taken 491 00:29:13,400 --> 00:29:16,480 Speaker 1: over by a new religion, these beings undergo a kind 492 00:29:16,520 --> 00:29:19,560 Speaker 1: of formal demonization where now they're just turned into well, 493 00:29:19,600 --> 00:29:22,880 Speaker 1: those were demons, actually those are devils now. I'm reminded 494 00:29:22,920 --> 00:29:26,200 Speaker 1: of an example, uh that this was something from one 495 00:29:26,240 --> 00:29:28,640 Speaker 1: of our episodes last year that came out during Halloween, 496 00:29:29,280 --> 00:29:31,640 Speaker 1: Ghosts of wind and Rain. I believe with the title, 497 00:29:31,680 --> 00:29:35,360 Speaker 1: we mentioned her Nay the Hunter as being a kind 498 00:29:35,360 --> 00:29:39,600 Speaker 1: of kind of wild Hunt related ghost that was said 499 00:29:39,920 --> 00:29:42,600 Speaker 1: to ride through the woods surrounding Windsor Castle. And there 500 00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:45,000 Speaker 1: are various stories about him. But I remember one of 501 00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:46,560 Speaker 1: the one of the details from that, and I won't 502 00:29:46,560 --> 00:29:49,720 Speaker 1: go through through all of it, but there was one account, uh, 503 00:29:49,720 --> 00:29:52,400 Speaker 1: and this one was actually shared by by Carol Rose 504 00:29:52,440 --> 00:29:55,480 Speaker 1: and one of her books. Uh. There's a story told 505 00:29:55,600 --> 00:29:59,479 Speaker 1: or retold by folkloreist Ruth Tongue about three British youths 506 00:30:00,200 --> 00:30:03,520 Speaker 1: decked out in the teddy boys style of the nineties sixties, 507 00:30:03,920 --> 00:30:06,440 Speaker 1: and they're out there in the woods near Windsor Castle. 508 00:30:06,600 --> 00:30:09,080 Speaker 1: They find they find a horn in the woods, they 509 00:30:09,120 --> 00:30:12,960 Speaker 1: blow it, and then an unseen spirit pursues them through 510 00:30:12,960 --> 00:30:16,040 Speaker 1: the woods and shoots one of them with a ghost arrow, 511 00:30:16,480 --> 00:30:20,880 Speaker 1: slaying them dead without any physical wound. So so that 512 00:30:20,960 --> 00:30:24,800 Speaker 1: of course is easily playing with the same power of 513 00:30:24,840 --> 00:30:27,240 Speaker 1: colors that we have in elf shot. I mean, it 514 00:30:27,320 --> 00:30:29,640 Speaker 1: is essentially elf shot, So there could be like a 515 00:30:29,640 --> 00:30:33,000 Speaker 1: hole in the brain without mustling of the pompadour. Right, 516 00:30:33,440 --> 00:30:35,360 Speaker 1: the story is much funnier. By the way, if you 517 00:30:35,440 --> 00:30:37,680 Speaker 1: know what the Teddy Boys style looks like, so you 518 00:30:37,680 --> 00:30:39,920 Speaker 1: should look that up if you're not familiar. I had 519 00:30:39,920 --> 00:30:42,000 Speaker 1: to look it up again to see what the style 520 00:30:42,160 --> 00:30:45,200 Speaker 1: consisted of. And uh, it's hard to nail down, like 521 00:30:45,400 --> 00:30:47,360 Speaker 1: it's hard to really like, how do I explain this 522 00:30:47,760 --> 00:30:51,200 Speaker 1: weird suits, strange hair, kind of a youth a youth 523 00:30:51,280 --> 00:30:54,760 Speaker 1: style that did not quite become iconic, at least not 524 00:30:56,280 --> 00:30:59,520 Speaker 1: not not to to to modern minds. Maybe it has 525 00:30:59,600 --> 00:31:03,520 Speaker 1: more staying power in Britain. I see some elaborate upswept 526 00:31:03,560 --> 00:31:05,800 Speaker 1: hair styles. I guess you would call these pompadours or 527 00:31:05,920 --> 00:31:07,640 Speaker 1: I don't know, maybe something else. But then I see 528 00:31:07,880 --> 00:31:13,080 Speaker 1: very long coats, sometimes skinny ties. I don't know what 529 00:31:13,160 --> 00:31:16,520 Speaker 1: else to group this with. It's it's not exactly maud, 530 00:31:16,760 --> 00:31:21,360 Speaker 1: it's not exactly greas Er. It's it's something else. Yeah, yeah, 531 00:31:21,520 --> 00:31:24,240 Speaker 1: British subculture of the mid fifties to the mid sixties. 532 00:31:24,280 --> 00:31:26,840 Speaker 1: I guess the big thing would be, like, what are 533 00:31:26,840 --> 00:31:29,560 Speaker 1: the teddy boy movies? I think there was there was 534 00:31:29,960 --> 00:31:33,720 Speaker 1: just a movie called Teddy Boys from what is this nine, 535 00:31:33,760 --> 00:31:38,400 Speaker 1: starring Cliff Richard. But again I have to hear from 536 00:31:38,720 --> 00:31:41,280 Speaker 1: from perhaps our listeners in the UK who have thoughts 537 00:31:41,280 --> 00:31:43,600 Speaker 1: on the teddy boy style teddy Boy or not. You 538 00:31:43,600 --> 00:31:46,040 Speaker 1: don't want to go messing around in the woods, uh 539 00:31:46,120 --> 00:31:48,760 Speaker 1: and picking up strange horns and blowing on him, because 540 00:31:48,920 --> 00:31:51,680 Speaker 1: it's one way to catch a costero. Right. And one 541 00:31:51,760 --> 00:31:53,840 Speaker 1: last thing I do want to say about this paper 542 00:31:53,880 --> 00:31:55,880 Speaker 1: before we move on for now is that even by 543 00:31:55,960 --> 00:31:59,200 Speaker 1: Davidson's account, not everybody who found an arrowhead and in 544 00:31:59,240 --> 00:32:01,760 Speaker 1: Great Britain and centuries past thought that they were made 545 00:32:01,760 --> 00:32:05,760 Speaker 1: by elves, fairies, which is or the devil. Davidson quotes 546 00:32:05,800 --> 00:32:10,240 Speaker 1: a Welsh naturalist named Louid I think is how you 547 00:32:10,280 --> 00:32:13,040 Speaker 1: say his name, I spelled l h w y d. 548 00:32:13,920 --> 00:32:16,760 Speaker 1: But who this guy is early is the seventeenth century, 549 00:32:16,880 --> 00:32:19,800 Speaker 1: was arguing that these l pharaohs were in fact relics 550 00:32:19,880 --> 00:32:23,040 Speaker 1: of a previous regime of human manufacture. In fact, he 551 00:32:23,120 --> 00:32:26,120 Speaker 1: was arguing against multiple theories, one that they had been 552 00:32:26,160 --> 00:32:28,720 Speaker 1: made by supernatural beings, the other that they had just 553 00:32:28,800 --> 00:32:31,360 Speaker 1: been made as charms. Uh. And he was like, I 554 00:32:31,360 --> 00:32:33,239 Speaker 1: don't think they were made as charms. In fact, they 555 00:32:33,280 --> 00:32:35,840 Speaker 1: look a lot like the arrows that are still used 556 00:32:35,880 --> 00:32:39,240 Speaker 1: by some people today to hunt food. Uh So, yeah, 557 00:32:39,560 --> 00:32:41,600 Speaker 1: they were probably used for shooting by people who used 558 00:32:41,640 --> 00:32:43,680 Speaker 1: to live here. Yeah, but but like we said, they 559 00:32:43,720 --> 00:32:47,560 Speaker 1: do end up getting used as amulets and charms and 560 00:32:47,680 --> 00:32:50,880 Speaker 1: uh and also have their their place in folk remedies 561 00:32:50,920 --> 00:32:59,760 Speaker 1: of the day. One of the sources I was looking 562 00:32:59,800 --> 00:33:02,120 Speaker 1: at with a with a focus on Irish traditions is 563 00:33:02,200 --> 00:33:06,200 Speaker 1: Flint and Lithic Lore by Marian Dowd from twenty nineteen 564 00:33:06,240 --> 00:33:10,680 Speaker 1: published in Archaeology Ireland, and Dowd points out that the 565 00:33:10,760 --> 00:33:14,080 Speaker 1: artifacts and question in in Ireland in this case and 566 00:33:14,120 --> 00:33:17,480 Speaker 1: collected by the Irish Folklore Committee in the late nineteen thirties, 567 00:33:17,920 --> 00:33:21,560 Speaker 1: we're primarily collected and originally interpreted in post medieval and 568 00:33:21,640 --> 00:33:26,040 Speaker 1: modern Irish rural communities. And the various elf stones or 569 00:33:26,080 --> 00:33:30,120 Speaker 1: elf shots they consisted of various things including post medieval 570 00:33:30,200 --> 00:33:36,880 Speaker 1: gun flints, fossils, unusual pebbles, but they also included Neolithic 571 00:33:36,960 --> 00:33:40,880 Speaker 1: and Bronze age arrow heads. Uh So, I think that's 572 00:33:40,880 --> 00:33:43,280 Speaker 1: important to keep in mind, Like basically, anything could be 573 00:33:43,320 --> 00:33:45,920 Speaker 1: an elf stone or an elf arrow if it were 574 00:33:46,160 --> 00:33:48,120 Speaker 1: if it were found, if it were and if we're 575 00:33:48,160 --> 00:33:52,280 Speaker 1: found to be novel in some way and then gets uh, 576 00:33:52,520 --> 00:33:56,960 Speaker 1: you know, reinterpreted with this supernatural script. Reminds me a 577 00:33:56,960 --> 00:33:59,600 Speaker 1: bit of the I'm all I've brought this up numerous 578 00:33:59,600 --> 00:34:02,120 Speaker 1: times with the idea of star jelly, the idea that 579 00:34:02,160 --> 00:34:04,800 Speaker 1: if you see see some sort of it looks like 580 00:34:04,840 --> 00:34:07,320 Speaker 1: that something fell from the sky in the nearby woods. 581 00:34:07,520 --> 00:34:09,200 Speaker 1: So you go out into the nearby woods and you 582 00:34:09,280 --> 00:34:12,040 Speaker 1: keep poking around, and do you find something slimy that 583 00:34:12,200 --> 00:34:14,680 Speaker 1: you're like, I've never seen that before. This must be 584 00:34:14,719 --> 00:34:17,319 Speaker 1: the thing that fell from the sky. There's plenty, There 585 00:34:17,320 --> 00:34:19,840 Speaker 1: are plenty of slimy things in the woods. You just 586 00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:22,960 Speaker 1: are usually aren't looking for them. But if you look 587 00:34:23,000 --> 00:34:25,520 Speaker 1: for them with the script in mind, the mucus of 588 00:34:25,520 --> 00:34:30,920 Speaker 1: the universe. Yeah. So doubt also points out some basically 589 00:34:30,920 --> 00:34:33,000 Speaker 1: goes over some of the general ideas caught up in 590 00:34:33,000 --> 00:34:36,800 Speaker 1: the traditions of elf shot. Sometimes the effects were human 591 00:34:37,080 --> 00:34:39,840 Speaker 1: targeted in order to take the person away to the 592 00:34:39,840 --> 00:34:43,359 Speaker 1: fairy realm. But and it seems like most cases you're 593 00:34:43,360 --> 00:34:46,480 Speaker 1: dealing with the targeting of cattle. And in some cases 594 00:34:46,520 --> 00:34:49,799 Speaker 1: this might be intentional. Other times it's described as being 595 00:34:50,560 --> 00:34:54,360 Speaker 1: due to an accident, Like basically, there are battles between 596 00:34:54,360 --> 00:34:56,960 Speaker 1: groups of elves and the night, and well, your cattle 597 00:34:57,040 --> 00:35:00,839 Speaker 1: just happened to a stray between these two groups, and 598 00:35:00,840 --> 00:35:04,359 Speaker 1: one of them caught an elf arrow by accident. And 599 00:35:04,400 --> 00:35:06,319 Speaker 1: then there are other things, of course, one can do 600 00:35:06,400 --> 00:35:09,560 Speaker 1: to anger the elves and some of these traditions. One 601 00:35:09,600 --> 00:35:12,160 Speaker 1: of the examples that that she specifically mentioned is the 602 00:35:12,200 --> 00:35:16,120 Speaker 1: cutting down of a white thorn tree. Uh that especially 603 00:35:16,560 --> 00:35:19,440 Speaker 1: that could earn you an elf shot right there. And 604 00:35:19,480 --> 00:35:21,520 Speaker 1: then she gets into a lot of She also expends 605 00:35:21,560 --> 00:35:25,160 Speaker 1: a lot of time talking about the cures for elf shot, 606 00:35:25,600 --> 00:35:28,880 Speaker 1: and a lot of these do end up involving the 607 00:35:28,920 --> 00:35:32,160 Speaker 1: little elf stones and elf arrows that one might find 608 00:35:32,520 --> 00:35:35,759 Speaker 1: these various stone artifacts that are very often um uh 609 00:35:36,120 --> 00:35:41,400 Speaker 1: Neolithic or Bronze age arrowheads. But she mentions other cures 610 00:35:41,400 --> 00:35:43,840 Speaker 1: that don't involve this. For instance, one was to travel 611 00:35:43,960 --> 00:35:47,520 Speaker 1: silently and wordlessly to a bog and fetch water for 612 00:35:47,560 --> 00:35:50,160 Speaker 1: the animal to drink, but you had to keep your 613 00:35:50,200 --> 00:35:54,239 Speaker 1: silence the whole time, where it wouldn't work. She discusses 614 00:35:54,239 --> 00:35:57,320 Speaker 1: a collection of elf stones known as the Tawny Wady 615 00:35:57,360 --> 00:36:02,239 Speaker 1: duff Sades and the action She says consisted of fifteen 616 00:36:02,320 --> 00:36:06,879 Speaker 1: flint and church lithics, including a neolithic hollow scraper, too 617 00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:13,000 Speaker 1: convext scrapers, several complete and broken blades and flakes, waist flakes, 618 00:36:13,040 --> 00:36:16,520 Speaker 1: and a post medieval gun flint. And these are apparently 619 00:36:16,520 --> 00:36:19,760 Speaker 1: also been used in various folk medicine treatments over the years. 620 00:36:19,760 --> 00:36:21,960 Speaker 1: As she points out later, you would often have in 621 00:36:21,960 --> 00:36:24,920 Speaker 1: a community, you would have a collection of these like 622 00:36:25,000 --> 00:36:27,720 Speaker 1: these would be the the elf stones that were kept. 623 00:36:28,040 --> 00:36:32,080 Speaker 1: And if there's some sort of suspected case of of 624 00:36:32,080 --> 00:36:35,160 Speaker 1: of an animal having been elf shot or experiencing elf bolt, 625 00:36:35,560 --> 00:36:39,279 Speaker 1: then you would turn to these artifacts and somebody you 626 00:36:39,280 --> 00:36:42,160 Speaker 1: know who knew how to use them. I included a 627 00:36:42,200 --> 00:36:46,040 Speaker 1: picture here of of these particular stones from from this paper, Joe, 628 00:36:46,040 --> 00:36:48,279 Speaker 1: and you can you can see them here there. Uh, 629 00:36:48,480 --> 00:36:50,440 Speaker 1: these have not been or at least to my eye, 630 00:36:50,440 --> 00:36:52,600 Speaker 1: they don't seem to have been changed in any way, 631 00:36:52,640 --> 00:36:55,160 Speaker 1: shape or form. I know. I saw some other images 632 00:36:55,200 --> 00:36:58,600 Speaker 1: where it looks like in the sort of reinterpretation of 633 00:36:58,600 --> 00:37:00,880 Speaker 1: the item, there might be something added to them, but 634 00:37:00,920 --> 00:37:04,520 Speaker 1: these seem very much as they would have been found. Yeah, 635 00:37:04,560 --> 00:37:08,560 Speaker 1: I've seen some mounted in um. I don't know what 636 00:37:08,640 --> 00:37:10,839 Speaker 1: the term is a little sort of like frame for 637 00:37:10,880 --> 00:37:14,359 Speaker 1: a for a stone charm. Yeah, so how would these 638 00:37:14,360 --> 00:37:17,760 Speaker 1: be used? Well, you mentions we we mentioned the water already, 639 00:37:17,840 --> 00:37:20,799 Speaker 1: and indeed the use of water seems to to to 640 00:37:20,880 --> 00:37:23,759 Speaker 1: be a common theme and treatments where you'll have the 641 00:37:23,760 --> 00:37:26,279 Speaker 1: the elf shot will be placed in the water. Other 642 00:37:26,320 --> 00:37:28,879 Speaker 1: times they'll be wrapped in a rag, and then that 643 00:37:28,960 --> 00:37:32,799 Speaker 1: bundle of of rag and stones will be placed in 644 00:37:32,840 --> 00:37:34,360 Speaker 1: the water, and then you give the water to the 645 00:37:34,400 --> 00:37:38,080 Speaker 1: animal to drink. Uh. Sometimes the water is heated up, 646 00:37:38,920 --> 00:37:42,000 Speaker 1: other times it's not. Sometimes iron is added to the mixture. 647 00:37:42,280 --> 00:37:45,879 Speaker 1: Sometimes coins. In one case that she cites the mix, 648 00:37:46,040 --> 00:37:49,279 Speaker 1: the mixer added quote a floorin a penny and a halfpenny, 649 00:37:49,760 --> 00:37:53,600 Speaker 1: so very very specific amount of money added to the mix. 650 00:37:53,880 --> 00:37:57,200 Speaker 1: Who keeps the money afterwards? Um, I don't know, Like, 651 00:37:57,239 --> 00:38:00,840 Speaker 1: I don't guess the money is considered especial as the stone. 652 00:38:00,960 --> 00:38:02,800 Speaker 1: So I guess the money might go back in your pocket, 653 00:38:03,480 --> 00:38:05,560 Speaker 1: but it could be wrong on that. She also mentions 654 00:38:05,560 --> 00:38:09,040 Speaker 1: a treatment method by which quote, a plow culture was 655 00:38:09,120 --> 00:38:13,120 Speaker 1: heated in the fire and passed around the cow several times, 656 00:38:13,480 --> 00:38:17,880 Speaker 1: repeating incantations until the elf dart quote melted into the 657 00:38:17,920 --> 00:38:21,439 Speaker 1: animal's body. And I really love that one, in part 658 00:38:21,480 --> 00:38:24,479 Speaker 1: because it doesn't seem to involve water or the use 659 00:38:24,880 --> 00:38:28,080 Speaker 1: of one of these stones. It uses like another sort 660 00:38:28,080 --> 00:38:33,120 Speaker 1: of magical modern artifact, like magical power is attributed to 661 00:38:33,320 --> 00:38:37,600 Speaker 1: the plow culture. And then you're you're using incantations and 662 00:38:37,640 --> 00:38:41,040 Speaker 1: making this like the supernatural dart that is inside the 663 00:38:41,080 --> 00:38:45,200 Speaker 1: animal melt away and become part of the animal. And 664 00:38:45,239 --> 00:38:47,640 Speaker 1: I don't know, this particularly reminded me of a bit 665 00:38:47,680 --> 00:38:51,520 Speaker 1: of of both, like psychic surgery and U follow the 666 00:38:51,600 --> 00:38:54,520 Speaker 1: ufology concept of alien implants, like you know, there's a 667 00:38:55,320 --> 00:38:57,560 Speaker 1: there's something inside it's not supposed to be be there. 668 00:38:57,640 --> 00:39:00,279 Speaker 1: Let's use a uh, you know, psychic surge to read 669 00:39:00,320 --> 00:39:03,680 Speaker 1: to remove it. Uh. And of course you know that'll 670 00:39:03,719 --> 00:39:06,160 Speaker 1: be a situation where you know it is a it's 671 00:39:06,200 --> 00:39:11,640 Speaker 1: a con act where one is is is pretending, putting 672 00:39:11,680 --> 00:39:14,920 Speaker 1: on a show of removing something from the body without 673 00:39:14,960 --> 00:39:19,439 Speaker 1: actually making uh an indention in the body. Now, what's 674 00:39:19,440 --> 00:39:22,799 Speaker 1: interesting to think about there, though, is that on one hand, 675 00:39:22,960 --> 00:39:26,440 Speaker 1: dealing with like modern concepts of of psychic surgery and 676 00:39:26,800 --> 00:39:32,640 Speaker 1: uphology U phoology UM versus these older ideas when you're 677 00:39:32,640 --> 00:39:36,319 Speaker 1: dealing with the human context, some sort of ritual like 678 00:39:36,400 --> 00:39:41,320 Speaker 1: this could have a placebo effect on the human individual, 679 00:39:41,960 --> 00:39:44,040 Speaker 1: and you would, so you can never discount the placebo 680 00:39:44,120 --> 00:39:47,560 Speaker 1: effect completely. But with the cow, I mean, the cow 681 00:39:47,600 --> 00:39:49,200 Speaker 1: doesn't know what's going on. They don't know. The cow 682 00:39:49,239 --> 00:39:51,360 Speaker 1: doesn't know why you're heating up a plow culture and 683 00:39:51,360 --> 00:39:54,480 Speaker 1: going in circles around it, etcetera. The wait, though, that's 684 00:39:54,480 --> 00:39:58,160 Speaker 1: actually a fantastic question that I have never thought to 685 00:39:58,200 --> 00:40:02,280 Speaker 1: look into before. Would there be a placebo effect on animals, 686 00:40:02,320 --> 00:40:05,239 Speaker 1: It would probably need to work by a different mechanism, because, 687 00:40:05,280 --> 00:40:07,440 Speaker 1: like in humans, it does seem to make a difference 688 00:40:07,480 --> 00:40:11,560 Speaker 1: if the human thinks there's a mechanism of repair or something, 689 00:40:11,760 --> 00:40:14,799 Speaker 1: even if there's not. UH. In the case of an animal, though, 690 00:40:14,800 --> 00:40:18,560 Speaker 1: I could still imagine there could be placebo like effects, 691 00:40:18,560 --> 00:40:22,440 Speaker 1: maybe like that an animal UH feels better by receiving 692 00:40:22,520 --> 00:40:25,520 Speaker 1: attention from its human, like the same human that feeds 693 00:40:25,560 --> 00:40:27,800 Speaker 1: it is paying attention to it now, or by I 694 00:40:27,840 --> 00:40:31,880 Speaker 1: don't know, other sort of calming effects of certain types 695 00:40:31,920 --> 00:40:34,480 Speaker 1: of attention or intervention. I don't know, like that the 696 00:40:34,520 --> 00:40:36,840 Speaker 1: licking of a like a dog licking its wound, that 697 00:40:36,920 --> 00:40:39,600 Speaker 1: sort of thing. I guess that's a more complicated topic, 698 00:40:39,960 --> 00:40:43,080 Speaker 1: like to what extent is the licking actually helping? And 699 00:40:43,120 --> 00:40:45,200 Speaker 1: then what to what extent is it just a calming 700 00:40:45,200 --> 00:40:47,480 Speaker 1: action on the part of the dog. Oh I I 701 00:40:47,480 --> 00:40:50,920 Speaker 1: imagine that dogs looking wounds is to some extent adaptive. 702 00:40:50,960 --> 00:40:53,120 Speaker 1: I again, I haven't checked this. I would. I would 703 00:40:53,120 --> 00:40:56,240 Speaker 1: assume that it would be to remove contaminants from wounds, 704 00:40:56,640 --> 00:41:00,520 Speaker 1: now downshairs other healing measures here. Um, This one I 705 00:41:00,520 --> 00:41:03,440 Speaker 1: think was was from the modern period quote the fairy 706 00:41:03,480 --> 00:41:06,160 Speaker 1: shot cow was cured by feeding her gunpowder mixed with 707 00:41:06,200 --> 00:41:12,120 Speaker 1: an egg my favorite breakfast. Wait a minute, Hold, don't 708 00:41:12,120 --> 00:41:17,279 Speaker 1: know how gunpowder has has ingredients that that are used 709 00:41:17,280 --> 00:41:20,759 Speaker 1: in cooking sometimes, right, like like nitrates? Am I wrong 710 00:41:20,800 --> 00:41:23,879 Speaker 1: about that? Hold on, okay, I was right about That's 711 00:41:23,880 --> 00:41:27,520 Speaker 1: a gunpowder is like the main constituent of it is 712 00:41:27,800 --> 00:41:31,680 Speaker 1: potassium nitrate also known as salt peter, and that is 713 00:41:31,719 --> 00:41:34,800 Speaker 1: also a major ingredient in like cured meats. So I 714 00:41:34,840 --> 00:41:37,880 Speaker 1: don't know, maybe you're having like a cured egg. Gilk, 715 00:41:38,120 --> 00:41:40,560 Speaker 1: I guess I'm reaching here. I'm I'm gonna put on 716 00:41:40,640 --> 00:41:43,520 Speaker 1: a strong warning against trying this at home, though, Please 717 00:41:43,600 --> 00:41:47,040 Speaker 1: do not try cooking do not cook with gunpowder. UH. 718 00:41:47,480 --> 00:41:51,040 Speaker 1: Do share somebout some other fascinating tidbits from these various 719 00:41:51,040 --> 00:41:53,719 Speaker 1: accounts of elf shot. One is that disrupting a ring 720 00:41:53,800 --> 00:41:57,000 Speaker 1: fort could earn you potential elf shot. These were these 721 00:41:57,000 --> 00:42:01,360 Speaker 1: are This also gets into the reinterpretation of of remains 722 00:42:01,480 --> 00:42:06,080 Speaker 1: of of old civilizations and cultures, because ring forts, UH, 723 00:42:06,239 --> 00:42:08,719 Speaker 1: certainly in Ireland and outside of Ireland as well, we're 724 00:42:08,719 --> 00:42:14,160 Speaker 1: talking about the remains of Bronze Age circular fortified settlements. UH. 725 00:42:14,160 --> 00:42:17,160 Speaker 1: In particulars. She mentions one account that was shared of 726 00:42:17,160 --> 00:42:20,919 Speaker 1: a woman driving cattle past her ring fort and then 727 00:42:20,920 --> 00:42:23,960 Speaker 1: suddenly the herd is attacked by a by a ferry 728 00:42:24,040 --> 00:42:27,799 Speaker 1: shooting one of these arrows through the air, and a 729 00:42:27,800 --> 00:42:31,239 Speaker 1: cow was struck and collapses. But then she's able to 730 00:42:31,239 --> 00:42:37,360 Speaker 1: search around find various bits of flint fragments, boil these 731 00:42:37,560 --> 00:42:41,239 Speaker 1: quote in the cow's drink and thereby cured her. And 732 00:42:41,280 --> 00:42:43,279 Speaker 1: there's some other fun accounts that there's some sort of 733 00:42:43,320 --> 00:42:47,640 Speaker 1: like near misses that I also thought were very very fun. 734 00:42:47,680 --> 00:42:51,799 Speaker 1: There's one account in which a UH, you have a 735 00:42:51,840 --> 00:42:55,319 Speaker 1: woman returning home and she has a wooden pail of 736 00:42:55,360 --> 00:42:58,359 Speaker 1: milk with her, and when she gets home, she realizes 737 00:42:58,400 --> 00:43:00,960 Speaker 1: that there are two elf stones bedded in the pail 738 00:43:01,680 --> 00:43:05,200 Speaker 1: uh and uh, and these were thrown by by the fairies, 739 00:43:05,239 --> 00:43:09,080 Speaker 1: by the elves. There's another story of a woman carrying 740 00:43:09,440 --> 00:43:13,080 Speaker 1: a baby and when she gets home, she finds that 741 00:43:13,160 --> 00:43:15,640 Speaker 1: the baby has one of the elf stones in its 742 00:43:15,680 --> 00:43:18,880 Speaker 1: hand and it's chewing on it. Which I like that 743 00:43:18,920 --> 00:43:20,680 Speaker 1: one as well, Like did the baby catch it out 744 00:43:20,680 --> 00:43:23,080 Speaker 1: of the air or did the elves like give it 745 00:43:23,120 --> 00:43:26,120 Speaker 1: to the baby? Like I kind of like that later 746 00:43:26,120 --> 00:43:29,000 Speaker 1: interpretation because it's like, you know, the the elves sea like, oh, 747 00:43:29,040 --> 00:43:31,080 Speaker 1: this is a baby. This is really you know this, 748 00:43:31,080 --> 00:43:33,919 Speaker 1: this this isn't like the other humans. Let's give let's 749 00:43:33,920 --> 00:43:36,680 Speaker 1: give the baby an el pharaoh. And also let's kind 750 00:43:36,680 --> 00:43:40,280 Speaker 1: of just mess with the mom by doing this catching 751 00:43:40,280 --> 00:43:42,600 Speaker 1: it in the web. That's a nimble baby. That baby's 752 00:43:42,640 --> 00:43:47,319 Speaker 1: got a future in professional sports anyway. Conventional wisdom is 753 00:43:47,360 --> 00:43:50,160 Speaker 1: that if if there is elf shot thrown at you 754 00:43:50,200 --> 00:43:52,560 Speaker 1: and you having to find some an elf stone on 755 00:43:52,600 --> 00:43:55,360 Speaker 1: the ground, you better take it as a protective amulet 756 00:43:55,760 --> 00:43:58,760 Speaker 1: and or to use as it for its curative effects 757 00:43:59,080 --> 00:44:01,160 Speaker 1: if you were hit or or the you know more 758 00:44:01,200 --> 00:44:04,239 Speaker 1: particularly of a cow in your keeping was hit. And 759 00:44:04,280 --> 00:44:07,400 Speaker 1: there are sort of common interchangeable features of the cure 760 00:44:07,840 --> 00:44:11,320 Speaker 1: that doubt shares. So Uh. We've touched on on several 761 00:44:11,360 --> 00:44:13,480 Speaker 1: stories that mentioned this already. It's placing the stones in 762 00:44:13,520 --> 00:44:16,160 Speaker 1: water and perhaps adding something like a piece of metal 763 00:44:16,280 --> 00:44:19,600 Speaker 1: or particular coins to the water as well. Um. Then 764 00:44:19,640 --> 00:44:22,400 Speaker 1: the water may be consumed by the sick or in 765 00:44:22,440 --> 00:44:26,600 Speaker 1: some cases rubbed on like the cow's body. Uh. There 766 00:44:26,600 --> 00:44:30,080 Speaker 1: may be prayers, they may be incantations, and I saw 767 00:44:30,120 --> 00:44:32,839 Speaker 1: some examples of these that some of them like blean 768 00:44:32,920 --> 00:44:35,760 Speaker 1: more into Christian traditions and mentioned the Holy ghost. Others 769 00:44:35,800 --> 00:44:39,880 Speaker 1: seem a little more pre Christian. Uh. Water it the 770 00:44:39,920 --> 00:44:42,640 Speaker 1: water itself that's used may come from a particular place, 771 00:44:42,680 --> 00:44:47,080 Speaker 1: such as a stream at a crossroads or a particular bog. Uh. 772 00:44:47,640 --> 00:44:49,680 Speaker 1: And then at least in one case, I saw a 773 00:44:49,719 --> 00:44:52,839 Speaker 1: situation where once you have the water prepared, instead of 774 00:44:52,840 --> 00:44:55,840 Speaker 1: giving it to the cow, you pour it on the 775 00:44:55,880 --> 00:45:00,760 Speaker 1: ground near where the elf shot occurred, so so treat 776 00:45:00,960 --> 00:45:05,640 Speaker 1: the place where the wounding occurred, to treat the wound. Also, 777 00:45:05,760 --> 00:45:08,720 Speaker 1: silence during journeys factors into some of these already mentioned. 778 00:45:08,719 --> 00:45:11,200 Speaker 1: One account of that again a mixing of pagan and 779 00:45:11,280 --> 00:45:14,880 Speaker 1: Christian traditions and uh. Yeah, so so these are just 780 00:45:14,960 --> 00:45:17,840 Speaker 1: some of the basic properties you see in the treatment, 781 00:45:17,920 --> 00:45:20,279 Speaker 1: though there there again a lot of variations here. There's 782 00:45:20,280 --> 00:45:23,800 Speaker 1: a lot of drift into exactly how one might cure 783 00:45:23,880 --> 00:45:27,040 Speaker 1: elf shot and exactly how or to what extent or 784 00:45:27,120 --> 00:45:31,120 Speaker 1: if you might incorporate elf stones in the cure. Now 785 00:45:31,160 --> 00:45:36,080 Speaker 1: I didn't look, but I can only imagine that various 786 00:45:36,080 --> 00:45:39,720 Speaker 1: conspiracy thinkers have a lot of fun with us in uh, 787 00:45:39,800 --> 00:45:43,480 Speaker 1: in terms of like ancient aliens and uh, and perhaps 788 00:45:43,560 --> 00:45:47,399 Speaker 1: ancient time travelers. Like clearly they might argue this is 789 00:45:47,440 --> 00:45:49,680 Speaker 1: this is referring to a time when a time traveler 790 00:45:49,719 --> 00:45:52,800 Speaker 1: went back in time and fired a revolver at somebody 791 00:45:53,320 --> 00:45:55,759 Speaker 1: fired a handgun and there's a shell casing left on 792 00:45:55,800 --> 00:45:59,040 Speaker 1: the ground. Um or or you know, an alien used 793 00:45:59,040 --> 00:46:01,319 Speaker 1: a phaser or something to that effect. Yeah, I was 794 00:46:01,360 --> 00:46:03,719 Speaker 1: thinking phasers, because there you could have some kind of 795 00:46:04,120 --> 00:46:07,439 Speaker 1: you know, sort of science fantasy explanation of how it's 796 00:46:07,480 --> 00:46:11,399 Speaker 1: apps the inside, uh, the inside without burning skin. Yeah. 797 00:46:11,480 --> 00:46:15,239 Speaker 1: And of course I love the argument of well, the 798 00:46:15,440 --> 00:46:19,880 Speaker 1: elves were actually aliens, because yes, that is absolutely correct, 799 00:46:19,920 --> 00:46:22,319 Speaker 1: but not in the way that you're trying not not 800 00:46:22,440 --> 00:46:24,719 Speaker 1: in the way that you're you're saying it, like the 801 00:46:24,920 --> 00:46:26,680 Speaker 1: l the idea of the elf, the idea of the 802 00:46:26,719 --> 00:46:31,920 Speaker 1: alien visitor, like these, these are the highly related concepts. 803 00:46:31,920 --> 00:46:34,480 Speaker 1: These are linked concepts that do the same thing that 804 00:46:34,520 --> 00:46:38,600 Speaker 1: birth fulfill the same purpose in our attempt to understand, uh, 805 00:46:38,680 --> 00:46:42,960 Speaker 1: the the unknown. Uh So, Yeah, that's that's always amusing. Yeah, 806 00:46:42,960 --> 00:46:45,080 Speaker 1: I think it's quite clear that at the very least 807 00:46:45,080 --> 00:46:48,720 Speaker 1: in most cases what you're looking at is extremely similar 808 00:46:49,400 --> 00:46:52,880 Speaker 1: mental and social phenomena getting a new code of paint 809 00:46:53,000 --> 00:46:55,680 Speaker 1: or getting a real skin basically, And I certainly don't 810 00:46:55,680 --> 00:47:00,719 Speaker 1: want to speak ill of the elves. I will read 811 00:47:00,719 --> 00:47:03,960 Speaker 1: everybody a quote from the Wikipedia entry on elves. This 812 00:47:04,000 --> 00:47:06,959 Speaker 1: is what I shared with you, uh, just the other day, 813 00:47:07,160 --> 00:47:10,239 Speaker 1: Joe quote. This is from the Wikipedia entry. From a 814 00:47:10,239 --> 00:47:15,920 Speaker 1: scientific viewpoint, elves are not considered objectively real. Citation needed. 815 00:47:16,880 --> 00:47:19,720 Speaker 1: Where have you? Where has anyone ever proven that elves 816 00:47:19,719 --> 00:47:24,319 Speaker 1: are not objectively real? Well? They There's a citation on 817 00:47:24,320 --> 00:47:27,280 Speaker 1: this line, and it is from an article titled Elves 818 00:47:27,280 --> 00:47:30,160 Speaker 1: and Anglo Saxon, England Matters of belief, Health, gender and 819 00:47:30,239 --> 00:47:35,600 Speaker 1: identity by um Alaric Hall from from two thousand and seven. Oh, 820 00:47:35,680 --> 00:47:37,880 Speaker 1: I've got a couple of papers by Alaric Hall that 821 00:47:37,920 --> 00:47:40,680 Speaker 1: I think I'm going to talk about in the next episode. Okay, well, 822 00:47:40,719 --> 00:47:42,440 Speaker 1: I I it sounds like you'll be a good source 823 00:47:42,480 --> 00:47:46,600 Speaker 1: because he does seem to the Wikipedia citing citation here's correct, 824 00:47:46,960 --> 00:47:49,920 Speaker 1: does seem to side with the argument that elves are 825 00:47:49,960 --> 00:47:54,479 Speaker 1: not objectively real. Okay, we got to redo our whole 826 00:47:54,520 --> 00:47:57,759 Speaker 1: approach to this. Consult only journals that are dedicated to 827 00:47:57,800 --> 00:48:04,200 Speaker 1: the premise that elves are objectively real. All right, well, yeah, 828 00:48:04,239 --> 00:48:05,840 Speaker 1: well we'll be back in the next episode. We have 829 00:48:05,880 --> 00:48:09,040 Speaker 1: more to say about elf shot and uh elf disease 830 00:48:09,160 --> 00:48:12,960 Speaker 1: and so forth. Um. In the meantime, Yeah, welcome to 831 00:48:13,080 --> 00:48:16,640 Speaker 1: Halloween season. We hope to have multiple episodes here for 832 00:48:16,760 --> 00:48:19,359 Speaker 1: you that align with the Halloween season as usual here 833 00:48:19,360 --> 00:48:21,479 Speaker 1: and stuff to blow your mind. We like to really 834 00:48:21,520 --> 00:48:24,839 Speaker 1: like to lean into this holiday particularly, so uh yes, 835 00:48:24,920 --> 00:48:27,480 Speaker 1: stick with us. We have core episodes on on Tuesdays 836 00:48:27,480 --> 00:48:30,279 Speaker 1: and Thursdays. We have listener mail on Mondays. On Wednesday 837 00:48:30,600 --> 00:48:34,360 Speaker 1: you'll find a monster fact or artifact episode and again 838 00:48:34,440 --> 00:48:38,480 Speaker 1: during this season will definitely be be monstrous and horror themed. 839 00:48:38,920 --> 00:48:41,319 Speaker 1: And then on Friday's we do weird how cinema. That's 840 00:48:41,320 --> 00:48:43,400 Speaker 1: our time to set aside most serious concerns and just 841 00:48:43,440 --> 00:48:46,040 Speaker 1: talk about a weird film and of course daring. In 842 00:48:46,040 --> 00:48:48,600 Speaker 1: the month of October, those weird films are are are 843 00:48:49,200 --> 00:48:52,640 Speaker 1: are definitely going to be uh more of the horror 844 00:48:52,719 --> 00:48:55,960 Speaker 1: variety I imagine huge thanks as always to our excellent 845 00:48:55,960 --> 00:48:59,160 Speaker 1: audio producer Seth Nicholas Johnson. If you would like to 846 00:48:59,200 --> 00:49:01,640 Speaker 1: get in touch with us with feedback on this episode 847 00:49:01,719 --> 00:49:03,960 Speaker 1: or any other, to suggest a topic for the future, 848 00:49:04,360 --> 00:49:06,480 Speaker 1: or just to say hello, you can email us at 849 00:49:06,600 --> 00:49:17,080 Speaker 1: contact at stuff to Blow your Mind dot com. Stuff 850 00:49:17,080 --> 00:49:19,280 Speaker 1: to Blow Your Mind is production of I Heart Radio. 851 00:49:19,640 --> 00:49:21,759 Speaker 1: For more podcasts for my heart Radio, visit the I 852 00:49:21,800 --> 00:49:24,600 Speaker 1: Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listening to 853 00:49:24,680 --> 00:49:28,440 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.