Apotropaic Graffiti
Apotropaic graffiti or witch marks are a particular kind of graffiti designed to ward off evil. In England, they were commonly inscribed between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. The markings were usually scratched in the woodwork or on walls around chimneys, windows, and doors as a way of trapping evil spirits as they entered the building. They can, however, be found anywhere in the house where evil could lurk. At Knole House in Kent, the owners had warding signs carved into the woodwork of rooms set aside for a proposed visit of James I.
However, this magical graffiti is not just found in houses. It has been discovered in Wookey Hole Caves in Somerset, near to the stalagmite once passed off as the petrified body of a witch. It also appears in places where food and drink were stored. In the Tithe Barn at Bradford upon Avon in Wiltshire, apotropaic graffiti was inscribed inside to protect stored crops. At one point in its history, Shakespeares’ birthplace was a pub. Witch marks have been found contemporary with that period, on the stairs leading to the cellar where the beer was stored.
The most common form of apotropaic graffiti was the daisy wheel: a series of interlocking circles that formed a flower. However, they also took other forms. Intertwined ‘V’ and ‘M’ patterns have been found, signifying the Virgin Mary, as well as demon mazes, crisscross messes of lines designed to trap evil spirits. Pentangles have been found, and even teardrop shaped scorch marks made with candles.
The sudden appearance of this graffiti in the sixteenth century can be linked to the growing fear of witchcraft, which corresponded with the religious unrest caused by the rise of Protestantism and the break with Rome. Henry VIII passed the first specific witchcraft law in England in 1542 and James I fanned the flames of fear with his manic obsession with witchcraft in the early seventeenth century. However, witch marks began to die out in the nineteenth century. Society was becoming more rational- and, with the rise of the oil lamp, lighting in houses improved, making homes less gloomy and householders less likely to see evil lurking in the shadows.
Apotropaic Graffiti can also be found in the Tower of London, carved by prisoners awaiting their fate. But they are not the only graffiti prisoners left behind them there.