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Posted by on in Culture Blogs
Over Stock, Over Stone

Pennsylvania historian Ned Heindel tells an interesting story in his book Hexenkopf: History, Healing, and Hexerei. Shortly after the First World War, a Lehigh County man in Eastern Pennsylvania's Witch Country went to a lawyer seeking a divorce on the grounds that his wife was a witch.

The tale will sound familiar to any student of European witch-lore. One night the man can't sleep, having drunk too much coffee that day. (It is precisely this type of telling detail, the storyteller in me wants to add, that really brings a story to life.) In the middle of the night, the man's wife gets out of bed, picks up a broom, and utters an incantation in Pennsylvania German:

Uber stock und uber stein.

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Recent Comments - Show all comments
  • Steven Posch
    Steven Posch says #
    Have you noticed how the print keeps getting smaller and smaller, too? My dad always says, "Age spares us nothing."
  • Ted Czukor
    Ted Czukor says #
    I love the OED, though it's a lot harder to lift now than when I was 20. I also love word derivations, so thanks for researching t
  • Steven Posch
    Steven Posch says #
    Thanks, Ted. I checked the OED for clarification (8 pages of definitions for "stock"!); according to which, the use of "stock" for
  • Ted Czukor
    Ted Czukor says #
    I enjoy your writings, Steven. Just want to point out that "Breeding Stock" can also refer to cattle.

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