Halloween surprise! A curse and witches' marks found in centuries-old UK house

A UK charity group has discovered an eeriesurprise just in time for Halloween. It has found strange carvings known as witches’ marks on the walls of a Tudor property in England. The carvings, also known as apotropaic marks, were believed to have provided ritual protection against evil.

English Heritage, a charity that looks after hundreds of historic monuments, buildings and sites, found the markings on Gainsborough Old Hall. According to a statement, the group found a “staggering array” of designs with most of them being concentrated in the servants’ wing of the hall.

The statement added that Henry VIII and his then Queen, Catherine Howard once visited the manor house. Rick Berry,an English Heritage volunteer found the witches' marks after mapping around 20 carvings inside the grand building for two years.

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The remains of a hexafoil, a marking to trap demons, were also found in the building. The hexafoil would ordinarily be a six-petal design inside simple circles, but all that has been found are the circles. CNN quoted a spokesperson as saying that the petals likely faded away or that drawing them would have been beyond the skills of the carver.

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Marian marks and Pentangle

Another type of marking found was overlapping Vs, also known as Marian marks. As per certain beliefs, these marks are believed by some to be a call for protection from the Virgin Mary. A pentangle has also been found which was used to protect against evil.

The statement further elaborated on the findings at the Tudor property where a curse seems to have been put on former owner William Hickman. The property was owned by him from 1596.

His name was found etched upside down and the witches' marks were “probably” made around that time, the charity wrote on X. Defacing someone’s name was a way to curse that person at that time. Surprisingly, the practice is normally associated with the Roman and Anglo-Saxon periods and has never previously been found at an English Heritage property.

Nearly 100 marks believed to protect against fire were also uncovered at the property.

Kevin Booth, head of collections at English Heritage, said in the release, "The Old Hall has undoubtedly had a tumultuous past, not least under the ownership of the apparently unpopular William Hickman, but why it’s the scene of quite such a high concentration of protective carvings remains a mystery."