The Witch Trap on the Farm

A farmer near Tongeren could not keep a single cow alive. One after another died without visible cause. No priest or friar from the area could help. The farmer tried everything: prayers, signs of the cross, blessed objects, but nothing worked.

Finally the farmer called upon another friar, a man known for his knowledge of witchcraft. The friar listened and said: “Tonight I shall come to you. Prepare a great fire, set a large cooking pot upon it, and place a piece of cow entrails inside.”

When the friar arrived at the farm that evening, two strong men with clubs stood guard at the gate. Tree trunks were braced against the gate so that no one could enter. The fire burned high and the cooking pot bubbled with the entrails inside.

At midnight a woman suddenly came running. With superhuman strength she pushed the tree trunks aside, opened the gate, and went in. It was the witch. The two guards seized her and struck her with the clubs.

The friar made the witch kneel before the fire and forced her to confess what she had done. The witch confessed all her crimes. She had bewitched the farmer’s cows for years. As proof, she pulled an entire sack of pins from the cows’ mangers. The pins had been the source of the enchantment.

After the confession, the friar let the witch go, but her power over the farm was broken. From that night on, the cows remained healthy and the farmer never again lost an animal to witchcraft.