Folklore of Idaho: Water Babies

There once was a famine in Pocatello, Idaho many years ago.
Mothers would drown their children rather than watch them slowly starve to death.

It is believed by some, that these children did not die, but in fact, adapted to their environment by growing fish tails, fins, and gills.

Some say they are actually quite "ghoulish" in appearance.

In some stories they are no more than trickster spirits that enjoy playing pranks; Other stories say that the water babies will giggle or cry to lure their victims towards the water, only to pull them under and consume their flesh.

Folk Beliefs: Rats
- Believed to have a "sixth sense" when it comes to predicting death, and various traditions credit them with knowing when a catastrophe of some kind is approaching.
- Will desert a sinking ship- even if it seems as though the ship is sound and not in any immediate danger.
- Lucky if rats are seen boarding a new ship, however, it is unlucky to even utter the word "rat" on board.
Rat infestation removal methods in folk magic:
- write a curse on a piece of paper, and then leave it where the rats will find it
- sit beside a rat's hole and politely ask them to leave.
- an increase in the number of rats is said to mean war is about to break out.
- a concoction of a dried rat's tail may be used to treat a fever or cold.
- to ensure a child grow up with strong teeth it is suggested to leave one of the child's last milk teeth by a rat hole and request that the rat accept it in exchange for a new one.

🖌️ Ferdinand van Kessel

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTYBb4joR/

Spring Fairytale, 1872, by Gabriel von Max

Hannah Cranna, The Witch of Monroe (Folklore from Connecticut)

Everyone knew Hannah Cranna (real name Hannah Hovey) was a witch.

They first suspected so, when her husband, Captain Joseph Hovey, flung himself from a cliff, resulting in his death.

They all blamed Hannah, accusing her of bewitching him.

People began to avoid her as much as possible, going so far as to deny her any help she may need.

She once asked a neighbor if she could borrow some sugar. The woman Denied her. Hannah then placed a curse on the woman so that she may never bake again.

It is said that Hannah predicted her own death in 1859.

She asked the townspeople to carry her casket on foot rather than by wagon. Her request was denied and her coffin continuously fell off the wagon they placed her on , forcing the men to carry her to the cemetery.

Today, people get in horrible wrecks on the road that passes the cemetery in which Hannah is buried. The victims claim they swerve to avoid hitting a haggard old woman standing in the road, directly across form Hannah's grave

“There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” - Hamlet