On my running route, there is a family who decorates their front yard with scary looking Halloween themed items. For these folks, the Halloween season starts the day after Labor Day. The homeowner adds spine-chilling decorations to their cauldron of fright a little at a time so, by the time Halloween hits, the front yard is full of smoke machines, skeletons, witches and plenty of sound effects.
I don’t know anyone who is truly afraid of witches. Yet, that wasn’t always the case.
In my experience in the real estate business, I have come across architectural design elements in older homes that are “witch” related. This Halloween season, I thought I’d pass along this seasonally appropriate, and perhaps, curious information.
I’ve only seen this first design element once in my career which is called a “Witches Stone” or "Witches Seat" (see below). This is a stone which intentionally protrudes from the exterior of the chimney near the roof line of the house. According to folklore shared with me by a local mason, this small stone ledge was to serve as a resting place for any witches flying around who needed to take a break. You and I might think of it as an outdated example of the modern NYS Thruway rest stop, lacking the gasoline pumps, EV chargers and fast food opportunities, of course.
The second witch related item I’ve seen many times in my career is called a “witches crook” (see below). This is an intentional architectural design element in the construction of chimneys found in the attic of older homes that were constructed the 1700’s through the latter part of the 1800’s.
A witch’s crook is a bend in the chimney and was originally constructed out of both superstition and necessity.
The superstition part of the explanation is established in the belief that witches can only fly in a straight line, apparently. Since witches can’t fly at an angle and to prevent an errant witch from flying straight down a chimney, masons, during the 1700’s and 1800’s, intentionally placed a bend or angle in the chimney ostensibly to prevent witches from entering a home through the chimney. Well, that’s the folklore behind it.
There is a believable and sensible explanation behind why masons have made chimneys in attics with a bend, twist or angle that is universally referred to as a witch’s crook.
Masons in the 1700’s and 1800’s did not have the benefit we enjoy of modern design and engineering. For functional reasons, fireplaces in older homes were intentionally located at or near the center of a home to help provide a central point of heat distribution throughout the home. Masons would guess where the center of the home was located and used less than accurate methods to do so.
It was both common and aesthetically desired for the chimney to exit the roof at the peak of the home’s roof. To accomplish this, masons would often be placed in the position of having to bend, twist or angle the chimney in the attic so the chimney would exit the home at the preferred place in the roof line. Since the witch’s crook was in the attic where it would be seen infrequently, this design element was not considered to be unsightly or strange in appearance. Essentially, it amounts to an interesting design component of the chimney which serves a practical function.
From what I have been told by a knowledgeable mason, witch’s crooks are nothing to be concerned – or scared of - unless they are crumbling or falling apart. Just like any other chimney, they should be swept regularly for safety and inspected for structural integrity and to insure it is clear of obstruction.
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