Wicked Witches of the West

For hundreds of years, the West Fjords harbored one of Iceland’s darkest secrets – sorcery. Given the area’s long winters, extreme isolation and dire poverty, locals turned to witchcraft to solve their everyday troubles. By the 17^th century, West Fjords was the hub of Icelandic black magic and an establishment backlash that resulted in dozens of witch trials and burnings at the stake.

All of this comes to life at the fascinating Museum of Icelandic Sorcery and Witchcraft in Holmavik, a fishing village in the sparsely populated Strandir district. Tucked into a warehouse beside the wharf, the museum explains why black magic flourished in the region and details various means by which it was practiced.

One of the most common was carving a magic symbol called the “Hulenhelmer” onto a piece of lignite, which was then dipped in ink and pressed against someone’s forehead as protection against enemies both real and imagined. The ink had to be a blend of blood from your own finger and the heart of a living raven, mixed in a bowl with raven’s brain and pieces of human stomach.

The museum also displays an old spell for raising the dead. You start by painting a secret symbol on an oak plank using blood from the big toe of your right foot and the thumb of your left hand. Place the plank on the grave of the person you want to bring back to life. Walk three times around the graveyard church in a clockwise direction and then three times in a counter-clockwise direction. The dead person will then emerge from the earth. But you must immediately snatch the zombie by the neck and squeeze until it begs for mercy. Only then will the zombie follow your commands.

Do the residents of Holmavik still practice sorcery?

“It supposedly ended in the 18^th century,” says one of the museum caretakers. “But there have always been stories in this area about people with special powers.” Then she flashes a sly smile. “Nowadays we just don’t call it sorcery or magic.”

The Museum of Icelandic Sorcery and Witchcraft is currently open daily 11 AM to 3 PM and 6-7 PM, but in May it switches to longer summer hours. Check out the latest at their website — www.galdrasyning.is

www.icelandprocruises.com