The term witch's mark has two distinct meanings. In the early modern witch trials it referred to a mark on the body, often a teat-like growth, said to be where a witch's familiar spirit fed, and searching for it became a routine part of prosecutions, especially in England. Today "witch marks" also describes apotropaic symbols carved into buildings to keep witchcraft and evil away.
Witch's mark at a glance
| Meanings | (1) bodily mark sought in witch trials; (2) protective symbols carved on buildings |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Witch's teat, witch's pap; apotropaic marks |
| Peak of trial use | 16th and 17th centuries, especially England in the 1640s |
| Associated figure | Matthew Hopkins, self-styled Witchfinder General (died 1647) |
| Common carved forms | Hexafoils (daisy wheels), conjoined Vs, mesh patterns, taper burns |
| Notable find | Over 100 marks identified in caves at Creswell Crags, 2019 |
The mark in the witch trials
In early modern Europe, demonologists and judges believed that a witch's alliance with evil left traces on the body. Two related ideas developed. The Devil's mark was said to be a sign the Devil impressed on his followers when they made a pact with him, often described as a spot insensitive to pain that did not bleed when pricked. The witch's mark, or witch's teat, was imagined as a small nipple-like protuberance from which the witch's familiar spirit sucked blood or milk. In practice the two terms were often used interchangeably in trial records and pamphlets, and almost any mole, wart, scar or skin blemish could be interpreted as one or the other.
England, familiars and the witch-finders
The witch's teat was especially prominent in English witchcraft beliefs, which gave unusual weight to familiars: small animals such as cats, dogs, toads or mice believed to be spirits serving the witch in return for nourishment. Because the familiar had to be fed, finding the place where it fed seemed to offer physical proof of guilt. Accused people, most of them women, were stripped and searched, frequently by women appointed as searchers, and any suspicious mark was reported to the court.
The practice reached its height during the East Anglian witch-hunt of 1645 to 1647, led by Matthew Hopkins and his associate John Stearne in the unsettled conditions of the English Civil War. Their methods included bodily searches for marks, watching suspects for days and nights to see whether familiars would visit, and depriving them of sleep. Hopkins defended his methods in The Discovery of Witches (1647). The hunt was the deadliest in English history, and contemporaries, including the clergyman John Gaule, criticized its methods. In Scotland, professional "prickers" tested suspects for insensible spots with pins, a practice tied more closely to the Devil's mark.
Interpretation and decline
As skepticism about witchcraft prosecutions grew in the later seventeenth century, physicians and writers pointed out that the marks described in trials were ordinary features of the human body, including extra nipples, which occur naturally in a minority of people. Searching for marks lost legal credibility along with witchcraft prosecutions generally, and the Witchcraft Act of 1735 ended prosecutions for witchcraft as such in Great Britain. Historians now regard the mark as a product of demonological theory, popular belief about familiars and the procedures of the courts, and some scholars have read the image of the suckling familiar as reflecting anxieties about women, motherhood and the household.
Witch marks as protective symbols
In a second and more recent sense, "witch marks" refers to apotropaic marks: symbols scratched, carved or burned into buildings to turn away witches, evil spirits and misfortune. They are found in medieval and early modern churches, houses, barns and inns across Britain, and similar traditions exist elsewhere in Europe. They cluster at points of entry thought vulnerable to evil influences, such as doorways, windows, fireplaces and chimney beams.
Common forms include the hexafoil or "daisy wheel", a six-petaled flower drawn with a compass, sometimes interpreted as a single unbroken line in which evil could become trapped; conjoined or overlapping Vs, often read as invoking the Virgin Mary (Virgo Virginum); interlaced M or W letters; mesh or grid patterns; and teardrop-shaped taper burns deliberately made with a candle flame. Notable examples have been recorded at Knole in Kent, where scorched and carved timbers date from the early seventeenth century, and at many parish churches. In 2019 more than a hundred marks were identified in the limestone caves of Creswell Crags on the Nottinghamshire-Derbyshire border, one of the largest groups known in Britain. Their meaning is debated: some specialists argue that certain compass-drawn designs were also mason's practice or decorative layouts, so not every mark need be protective.
Related folk protection
Protective marks belong to a wider body of household magic against witchcraft. Shoes concealed in walls and near chimneys, witch bottles filled with pins and other materials, and dried cats placed in roof spaces are found in British buildings of the same period. Comparable customs include the painted hex signs of Pennsylvania Dutch barns. Together these finds show how ordinary people sought to defend their homes against the dangers they associated with witchcraft, in contrast to the legal machinery that hunted for marks on the bodies of the accused. For the wider tradition of protective symbols, see protection symbols.
Related entries
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between the witch's mark and the Devil's mark?
In theory the Devil's mark was a sign placed by the Devil at the moment of the pact, often a spot insensitive to pain, while the witch's mark or teat was where a familiar spirit fed. In practice trial records and pamphlets frequently used the two terms interchangeably, and any mole or blemish might be called either.
What do witch marks on old buildings look like?
The most common are hexafoils or daisy wheels, six-petaled flowers drawn with a compass, and conjoined Vs often linked to the Virgin Mary. Others include interlaced letters, grid or mesh patterns and teardrop-shaped burn marks. They usually appear near doors, windows and fireplaces, the openings through which evil was thought to enter.
How did witch-finders search for the witch's mark?
Suspects were stripped and their bodies examined, often by women appointed as searchers, for growths, moles or teat-like marks. In the East Anglian hunt of the 1640s Matthew Hopkins and John Stearne combined searches with watching suspects for visiting familiars and depriving them of sleep. Any unusual mark could be presented to the court as evidence.
Sources and further reading
This entry replaces an article from the original Mystica encyclopedia (online since 2001). It was rewritten from the sources above by The Mystica Editorial Team under our editorial standards. Last reviewed: October 4, 2026.