Witching Hour

In modern times the term witching hour has become an colloquialism for other periods of unpredictable or troublesome activity. Parents may use it to describe the fussy period in infancy when a baby te...

The folklore of many cultures offers encouraging words on how to ward off supernatural powers or harness them to one’s advantage. These encouraging words with specific instructions on what to do at th...

Although this soliloquy, which was written between 1599 and 1601, mentions “the very witching time of night,” one of the first recorded uses of the term witching hour appears in the poem “Nightmare” b...

In literature and folklore In literature one of the earliest references to the witching hour appears in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, in which Prince Hamlet begins one of his soliloquies: ’Tis now the...

Some beliefs set the witching hour’s boundaries between 12:00 AM and 3:00 AM or between 3:00 AM and 4:00 AM. Biblical references to the death of Jesus were calculated as having occurred at 3:00 PM. Ac...

The association of witches with midnight is rooted in folk beliefs that supernatural phenomena are most prevalent at certain times of the day and year. Much like seasonal events, such as the solstices...

Witching hour, also called devil’s hour, in folklore, the time at night when the powers of witches and other supernatural beings are believed to be strongest, usually occurring at midnight or 3:00 AM....