Blockula

Lore & Background

Blockula could only be reached by magical flight, wherein witches and taken children would ride fence-posts, spits, beasts, or even the bodies of sleeping men. Children would be convinced to perform the ride after being given a shirt, a coat, and a doublet, and being asked if they wanted to attend a faraway feast; if they did not accept the invitation they would be forcibly brought along. The island was described as a delicate large meadow with no visible end, with a house that had a gate painted with divers colors. Inside, a huge room contained a very long table where witches sat, and the Devil's most esteemed witches sat closest to him at the head of the table, while children stood by the door.

Reader's Guide

Blockula's significance lies in its central role during the Swedish witch mania of 1668–1676, when it became a key element in the persecution of witches, as documented in Joseph Glanvill's Sadducismus Triumphatus. The island served as the imagined location for the witches' Sabbath, where the Devil presided over ceremonies, feasts, and debauchery. The detailed accounts from the Mora witch trials, including descriptions of magical flight, signing the Devil's book in blood, and the physical harm suffered by children taken there, fueled widespread fear and led to executions by the King's command. Blockula's legacy persists in modern Swedish and Finnish Easter traditions, where children dress as witches and go door-to-door for treats, and in the Stockholm rave scene, where an organizer named Blockula draws inspiration from the mythologies. The island's association with the real location Blå Jungfrun underscores how folklore and geography intertwined to shape historical witch-hunts.

Did You Know?

• Blockula could only be reached by magical flight, with witches riding fence-posts, spits, beasts, or even sleeping men.
• Children taken to Blockula often fell into fits, marked by extraordinary paleness, and could not recover themselves the next day.
• In modern Sweden, children dress as witches on Easter to commemorate the travel of witches to Blåkulla, similar to trick-or-treating.

Origins and Historical Significance

Blockula, from the Swedish Blåkulla meaning blue hill, traces its roots to the island Blå Jungfrun, which carried that older name and had been whispered about since medieval times as a gathering spot for witches. The earliest recorded reference to Blockula in a witch-trial context dates to 1597, when an accused witch named the place in her testimony. However, the location truly gained its notorious weight during the Swedish witch mania spanning 1668 to 1676, when it became central to accusations and prosecutions. Joseph Glanvill's 1682 publication, Sadducismus Triumphatus, cemented Blockula's place in the broader European discourse on witchcraft. Its appendix, a detailed account of the Mora witch trials, documented confessions from the late 1660s and early 1670s, describing how individuals were tried and executed by royal command. Through Glanvill's work, the Swedish Blockula narratives entered the wider intellectual conversation about demonic pacts and supernatural gatherings, transforming a local Swedish fear into a documented chapter of early modern European history.

The Journey and the Island's Layout

Reaching Blockula required supernatural flight, as no ordinary path led to the island. Witches and their abducted children would mount fence-posts, spits, goats, horses, or even the sleeping bodies of men. In one striking account, when space ran short, a spit was inserted into a goat's rear to create additional riding room. Children were lured with promises of a distant feast, dressed in red or blue garments, and if they refused the invitation they were carried along by force. The island itself was described as an endless meadow with no visible boundary. At its center stood a large house with a multicolored painted gate. Beyond the gate lay a separate small meadow where the riding animals were kept, while the human bodies used for transport stood drowsily against the wall inside. Within the house, a vast room held an extremely long table for the witches, and an adjacent chamber contained fine beds. The Devil's most favored witches sat nearest to him at the table's head, while children stood by the door.

Rituals, Revelry, and the Devil's Games

The night's proceedings began with each witch slicing a finger to sign the Devil's book in blood, followed by a mock baptism in which they surrendered their souls. The meal was modest—broth with colworts and bacon, oatmeal, buttered bread, milk, and cheese—though witnesses noted it tasted inconsistently, sometimes good and sometimes bad. After eating, dancing broke out, but the mood typically curdled into cursing, brawling, and other coarse behavior. The Devil was described playing a harp before the assembled witches before selecting favorites for private chambers. He was also said to beat the witches with spits after they rode them, then laugh at their bruised state. In another recurring episode, he convinced the group to build a massive stone house to shelter them from God's wrath at the Day of Judgment, only for sections of the wall to collapse and injure the witches, prompting his laughter before he healed them. A terrifying dragon-like devil bound in iron chains was also mentioned as a threat used to silence confessions.

The Toll on Children and Living Memory

The Blockula narratives carried a particularly grim dimension for the children taken on these flights. After their forced journeys, the children were described as extremely weakened; those carried overnight could not recover the following day. They would fall into fits, preceded by an extraordinary paleness that mothers could detect. During these episodes, children would lean on their mother's arms, and mothers would sit with them through the night, shaking them to no avail. Their chests grew cold, and in one bizarre detail, a burning candle stuck in their hair would not ignite. The swoons lasted anywhere from thirty minutes to two hours, after which the children would wake weeping, groaning, and begging for relief. Centuries later, the memory of witches traveling to Blåkulla persists in Swedish and Finnish-speaking communities. On Easter, children dress as witches, old men, and old women, going door to door for treats in a tradition echoing Halloween's trick-or-treating, sometimes presenting handmade cards and greetings.