History of Sorts

“On the wet windy evening of January 22, a youthful band of idealists went to a lonely cabin in the Maryland woods.” these are the first few lines of one of the more stranger stories of LIFE magazine.

“On the damp, windy night of January 22, a group of idealistic youths ventured into a remote cabin deep in the Maryland woods.”

A straightforward account of a 1941 “hex party” aimed with a singular purpose: “to kill Adolf Hitler through voodoo incantation.” According to LIFE, the event included “a dressmaker’s dummy, a Nazi uniform, nails, axes, tom-toms, and ample Jamaica rum,” inspired by a popular book of the time by occultist William Seabrook, Witchcraft: Its Power in the World Today.

Whether or not witchcraft played a role, these anti-Nazi enthusiasts knew how to have a good time.

“For an hour after arriving,” LIFE reported dryly in its February 10, 1941 issue, “the young sorcerers indulged in rum.” They had also invited Seabrook to join them at the cabin, inspired by his writings. “He eagerly accepted, viewing the occasion as an opportunity to test his theories and serve humanity.”

Seabrook, known for his flamboyant persona and best-selling books, mingled with figures like Aleister Crowley and recounted exotic travels, such as dining with West African cannibals. “It was like well-developed veal,” he wrote of his first experience with human flesh, “neither young nor quite beef, and unlike any other meat I had ever tasted.”

According to LIFE, the tom-tom drums used in the ceremony were borrowed from the U.S. Department of the Interior. “Despite their unusual activity, the participants were respectable Washington, D.C. residents,” while the cabin belonged to Charles Tupper, an employee of a Naval factory.

“The ritual,” LIFE detailed, “was orchestrated by Mr. Seabrook and began with naming the dummy: ‘You are Hitler; Hitler is you!’ The chief hexer then chanted: ‘Let the woes that come to you be transferred to him!’”

“The chief hexer continued: ‘Hitler! You are the enemy of humanity and the world; therefore, we curse you,’” LIFE added. “‘We curse you with every tear and drop of blood you have caused to be shed. We curse you with the curses of all who have ever cursed you!’ Each line was met with a unified response: ‘We curse you!’”

“The ceremony reached its climax as the hexers drove nails into the heart and throat of the Hitler dummy,” LIFE recounted. “They invoked the pagan deity Istan, hoping to transfer the dummy’s injuries to the living Hitler, chanting in unison: ‘We are driving nails and needles into Adolf Hitler’s heart!’”

“Decapitation,” LIFE noted, “brought an end to the short-lived dummy’s existence.”

“Hitler is buried in the deep pine woods to be consumed by worms,” LIFE concluded. “After the burial, the participants were left exhausted from the combined effects of the drums, ritual, emotions, and, of course, the alcohol.”

It wasn’t only Americans who had a go.

On August 1, 1940, a group of British witches conducted a ritual intended to curse Adolf Hitler. This unusual event took place in a remote location in the countryside, far from the public eye, and was part of a broader phenomenon where people turned to occult practices during World War II to influence the war’s outcome.

1. Context: The ritual was set against the backdrop of World War II, during which many people were looking for ways to combat the growing threat of Nazi Germany. The occult was seen by some as a way to exert mystical influence on the war.
2. Participants: The ritual was performed by a coven of witches led by a prominent figure in the British occult community. These witches were part of a broader network of occultists and spiritualists who believed in the power of their practices to affect real-world events.
3. The Ritual: The witches gathered in a secluded area to perform their spell. They used symbolic objects like a life-sized effigy or a dummy representing Hitler, along with ritual tools such as candles, swords, and magical symbols. The ritual involved a series of invocations and curses directed at Hitler, aiming to invoke supernatural forces to harm him or disrupt his plans.
4. Purpose: The primary aim was to use the power of the occult to weaken Hitler’s influence and bring about his downfall. The witches believed that by performing this ritual, they could influence events on the battlefield and contribute to the Allied war effort.
5. Outcome: While the ritual was intended to negatively impact Hitler, there is no historical evidence to suggest that it had any tangible effect on the war. The ritual remains a curious footnote in the history of World War II, illustrating the lengths to which some people were willing to go in their efforts to defeat the Axis powers.

Sources

https://time.com/3879261/putting-a-hex-on-hitler-black-magic-party-1941/

https://hsp.org/blogs/history-hits/putting-the-hex-on-hitler

https://www.thoughtco.com/british-witches-hitler-spell-4134250