Episode 211: Charmed

This is the story of the one.

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In 2019, something unexpected happened.

That was when an Englishman living in Florida decided to return something that scientists and historians had assumed was gone forever.

An actual piece of Stonehenge.

Everyone knows Stonehenge, right?

The ancient ring of standing stones, and a few that have fallen over the millennia almost serve as a mascot for a long-forgotten time.

And because of that, people have been studying the place for centuries, looking for answers, trying to put the puzzle back together.

A game that's made harder when some of the pieces are missing.

It seems that back in 1958, an archaeological team lifted the pieces of one of the monument's fallen arches and stood it back up, all put together.

But to do so, they needed to repair a fracture, which meant drilling three long cores into the stone and putting metal rods inside them for stability.

And these cores?

Well, they went missing.

And for 60 long years, everyone had assumed they were lost forever.

But of course, now we know the truth.

It seems that one of the workmen helping that day took a piece of it home.

And at the age of 90, he decided it was time to send it back.

To him, it was most likely a reminder of a very special special day.

To archaeologists, it's of the utmost scientific importance.

But to most everyone else, it's just a rock.

And it's a perfect example for how we as humans can place meaning and value on something benign and ordinary.

Some people have a lucky penny.

Perhaps you wear a necklace handed down over the generations.

Or maybe you just have a shelf in your room where you keep small reminders of happy moments or better days.

All of them have meaning, and all of them have power.

And sometimes, those objects have something else.

A little bit of magic.

I'm Aaron Mankey, and this is lore.

Sometimes we need to start with the textbook definition of something and work our way out from there.

And for that, we'll lean on Gerald Brosu Gardner, who spelled out exactly what a talisman was back in the 1942 issue of Folklore.

Objects specifically made or assumed naturally to possess certain powers to avert danger, to protect against disease, to guard against supernatural influences for evil, such as witchcraft, and to generally bring luck to the owner.

Call it a talisman, call it a good luck charm, call it whatever you want, but I think all of us innately understand what these objects are supposed to be.

In the world of folklore studies, they employ apotropaic magic, meaning they ward off bad things.

And at least most of the time, they're small enough to fit in your pocket.

And right about now, most of you are probably picturing the most famous talisman of all, the rabbit's foot.

Oddly enough, though, that's one of the examples we understand understand the least.

No one is sure about the why of their origin, and we're not even sure how long they've been in use.

All we know is that some of the first records about them come from the 1580s and connect rabbits' feet to arthritis relief.

Over the centuries, their use has spread geographically and become more generalized.

Today, they are about as ubiquitous as any object can become, which makes me wonder if the magic still holds up.

Next in line, as far as recognizability goes, is probably the horseshoe.

The basic legend is that an iron horseshoe hung over the door to your home was supposed to keep evil and bad luck out.

One explanation might be connected to the belief that fairy folk are repelled by iron.

But there is also the legend about St.

Dunstan in 969 AD actually nailing a horseshoe onto one of the devil's hooves, making the big old baddie rather afraid of them ever after.

Whatever their meaning, the practice of placing them above a doorway has gone on for centuries.

Only slightly less common are objects known as worry dolls.

Historians believe they originated among the indigenous people of Guatemala and tend to be small, 4-inch tall wooden figures wrapped in strips of colorful fabric and yarn.

For a long time, they were used by people as a way of warding off anxiety and fear.

You could whisper your worries to the doll and then place it under your pillow at night, giving you a better chance at resting peacefully.

Today though, a version of these worry dolls can even be seen in child psychology, where dolls are used in therapy as a safe listener for children.

A bit of old folklore, finding new life in a surprising way.

Also from Central America, there are charms known as milagros, little votive offerings typically made from metal, bone, or wax.

Each of the various shapes had their own meaning, sometimes obvious and sometimes not.

But the basic idea was that the charm would be blessed by a spiritual leader and then carried in a person's pocket to ward off a specific kind of evil or danger.

In New Orleans and other homes to the practice of voodoo or vodu, there are charms known as Grigri bags.

That's their most common name, but I also want to mention that there are a lot more.

Mojo bag, mojo hand, conjure hand, lucky hand, trick bag, root bag, conjure bag, and even, at least in one reference that my team could find, Gregory.

Which, yeah, is a bit unusual.

The tradition is believed to have originated in Africa.

It is very simple in concept, a small bag made of leather or cloth containing all sorts of magical items within.

The list of ingredients varies, but they also look very similar to a lot of other magical objects from around the world, like witch bottles and ancient Greek curses.

They contain rocks and herbs, human fingernails and hair, feathers and other parts of animals, and even coins and papers with writing on them.

And one last charm to briefly mention is the Ukrainian object known as the Pisenka.

It's a tradition that actually dates back to a time before Christianity arrived in Europe, and you'd do yourself a big favor to look up videos of these amazing objects being created.

They really are stunning.

On a basic level, pisenka are decorated eggs.

Through a process known as writing, a special tool is used to apply hot colored wax lines to the egg, usually following one of many traditional patterns or shapes, artwork that was meant to imbue imbue the egg with magical powers.

It dates back to the pre-Christian times when eggs were seen as precious and sacred.

Why?

Because birds had the ability to fly closer to the sun than any other creature, giving their eggs a touch of the divine.

So over time, people learned to turn them into beautiful charms of protection.

When Christianity arrived though, rather than eradicate their tradition, the people there found new meaning and purpose for them.

Which is why today, most homes in America unknowingly continue that ancient tradition when they gather their children together and bust out the food coloring and the wax.

That ancient talisman of Ukrainian origin, the Easter egg.

As I mentioned earlier, talismans and charms were usually about protection from a threat.

Now, that threat might be a supernatural evil that a person feared, but it could also be a threat of physical danger, such as an illness or accident.

And there are few situations more dangerous to the human body than war.

Now, while talismans have been around throughout the history of warfare, covering the entire scope would take us hours here.

So instead, I'll just give the last century or so a spotlight, because even inside that tiny window, the stories and beliefs are absolutely fascinating.

Throughout World War I, for example, soldiers carried all sorts of objects with them that acted like charms or talismans to ward off danger and keep them safe.

Sometimes it was a sentimental thing, like a photo of a family member or a lock of a loved one's hair.

Often these items would be sewn into a pocket or the lining of their jacket, keeping the charm safe so that it could keep them safe in return.

During World War II though, a very specific object was used as a charm.

Known as as Capri bells, these tiny little silver bells were given as gifts by monks to soldiers who visited the Isle of Capri off the coast of Italy.

Why bells?

Well, it was believed that long ago a young shepherd on the island had an encounter with the Archangel Michael himself, who gave the boy a bell, claiming that the sound of it would keep him safe from harm.

The bells handed out by the monks there on the island in the 1940s were small and engraved with the shape of a four-leaf clover, another talisman we're all familiar with.

Soldiers would pin them to their coats or connect them to the zipper poles and would wear them into battle.

But one silver bell from Capri made its way to the White House.

It was sent as a gift and larger than the typical Capri bell.

And it's said that just moments after President Truman opened the gift and rang the bell, he received word that Germany had surrendered, which might be why that bell now rests in the National Archives.

Back to World War I for a moment though.

Apparently pilots throughout the war were known to keep all sorts of lucky charms with them on their missions.

A number of American pilots there flew for the French Air Force, known as the Lafayette Escadrille, and among them were men who felt the need for a bit of supernatural assistance.

Pilot Edwin Parsons, for example, kept a stuffed animal of a black cat in the cockpit and never flew without it.

And Eugene Bullard, the first African-American pilot to ever fly in combat, turned that idea up a notch by acquiring a live monkey named Jimmy, who joined him on on some missions.

Others in the group actually obtained two lions which were kept on the base and allowed to roam free, all because the men there viewed them as lucky charms.

And one last story.

During World War I, Allied soldiers began to obsess over a new kind of lucky charm that was supposed to offer them all the protection they needed.

It was a pair of small dolls, a boy and a girl, that were connected by a piece of yarn.

And as long as that yarn remained unbroken, their power to protect was maintained.

Now there are two legends about where these dolls came from.

One story says that a brother and sister were rescued from a burned-down farm and adopted by Allied troops.

The sister was said to have made the first pair of dolls and named them after herself and her brother.

After that, they were copied and then spread around.

Another story though claims that the original dolls came from a dress shop in Paris, handcrafted by a well-known seamstress who named them after a pair of refugees.

Either way, no respectable soldier would be caught without them.

One article from a paper in 1918 says it all.

Curious little mascots they are, they have taken Paris by storm.

But their charm is not to be purchased.

Until you have been presented with them, you have not their sweet protection.

And if you have one without the other, the charm is broken.

Oh, and as an interesting side note, one American soldier named Lee Duncan brought his home after the war.

Part charm, part memento.

Later, he would rescue a German shepherd and her puppies, two of which he kept for himself.

And I bet it wouldn't surprise you to learn that he named them after those dolls.

The sister pup, Nanette, went on to live a rather normal life, but her brother would grow into quite the character, eventually becoming one of the most recognizable dogs in Hollywood by appearing in nearly 30 feature films.

And his name, borrowed straight from that precious old World War I charm,

Rin Tin Tin.

Donald wanted nothing more than to fight for his country, so much so that he was counting the days to the end of his time in high school so that he could enlist and help out.

And finally, that day arrived.

His test involved both written and physical portions, and sadly, while he passed the written exam with flying colors, he was stopped short by flat feet.

His dream of serving, if you'll pardon the pun, had been shot down.

Leaving the family farm, he eventually found his way into a construction job.

And during his time there, the war and its demands on the United States began to change how people entered the armed forces, namely the draft, which pulled in millions of American men into service whether they wanted to or not.

which meant that finally, Donald would get his chance to fight.

With his trusty Bible in his pocket, he was sworn in on August 21st of 1944 and immediately entered basic training.

But since the Battle of the Bulge was putting a strain on Allied forces in Europe, that training was cut short.

Instead, he and the rest of his fellow recruits were sent to board one of the many luxury ocean liners that had been converted into a troop transport ship.

During the two days it took to load everyone and all the supplies, Donald received his assignment, cutting the cheese.

Literally, he reported to the galley and spent days upon days slicing pieces of cheese for the rest of the soldiers to eat.

But finally, after a lot of cheddar and miles of ocean, they arrived in Belgium, ready to fight.

Donald was assigned to the machine gun squad of Company K, the 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division.

But almost immediately he got sick, which got him pulled from action to recover in the infirmary for two weeks.

And it's safe to assume that during his time there, untold numbers of his fellow soldiers were killed in action.

But not Donald.

Lucky, to say the least.

Soon he was back on the front lines though, and finally his chance to fight for his country had arrived.

But just two days later, he was pulled again, this time for becoming sick with scarlet fever.

It was a diagnosis that earned him five more weeks in a hospital bed, a break from the action that his fellow soldiers would have welcomed, and one that most likely saved his life yet again.

His constant companion during that hospital stay was his Bible, which he read every day.

It brought him comfort and probably did a good job of keeping his mind off of the disappointment he felt at missing the action.

But however comforting it was, nothing could compare to how happy Donald was when he was finally given a clean bill of health and sent back to the front line, which is where he found himself on March 23rd of 1945, on one of the small hills near the River Rhine in Germany.

And everything about that day was exactly what he had dreamed of.

After all, he was finally fighting the enemy amidst the chaotic storm of bullets and bombs.

But war is never safe, and Donald had worked hard to put himself in a very dangerous situation, which is why I doubt he was surprised when two explosive shells landed far too close to the group of soldiers he was part of.

When they went off, men all around him fell to the ground.

Donald, too, was thrown off his feet, shrapnel tearing into his body and face, sending blood and flesh into the air.

And there he lay, one more body among hundreds, torn torn down by the machine of war.

His company moved on though, marching forward into enemy territory.

They fought hard, lost more of their friends, and eventually stopped for the night.

And that's when a shape stumbled into camp.

It was Donald, and he was alive.

Yes, his body was covered in bloody wounds, including a number of vicious cuts on his face.

But the biggest piece of shrapnel, the one that should have killed him and ended his brief military career, was still visible, embedded in his chest, right over his heart.

But there was no blood, because rather than flesh, the metal had struck his talisman, the Bible.

Luck had kept him from serving on the front line for many long weeks, most likely saving his life.

But even when he finally had his chance to fight, it was also there to keep him alive.

Proving that what exactly we consider to be lucky is often in the eye of the beholder.

If reading through the history of talismans has taught me anything, it's just how resilient the belief and practice has always been.

From the ancient world to modern times, there have always been people who've allowed charms and objects into their lives that radiate a bit of positivity.

Just last week, as luck would have it, no pun intended, I swear, I struck on a perfect example in my own life.

Now please remember that I'm usually seated at a desk all day.

In fact, my job requires a lot of sitting.

So this spring, I started taking golf lessons, mostly for a chance to walk around outside in the sunshine, like some sort of vampire freed from a centuries-long curse.

Anyway, last week, I took my third ever golf lesson, and while there were a lot of ups and downs, again, no pun intended, I experienced one perfect glorious moment that I will never forget.

I managed to make a hole in one.

A real legitimate one too.

And friend, let me tell you, I was elated, over the moon, and also very, very certain that the rest of my golf experience would be downhill from here.

But do you know what I'll always have?

The ball.

Because I made sure I brought it home, where it now sits on a shelf in my office.

It's human nature.

Whether we associate an object with a moment of success or feel the need to carry that object into other more risky situations, we have this tendency to wrap physical objects around our emotional vulnerabilities.

The talismans of World War II might have very well gone away.

I doubt any currently deployed members of the military are wearing Capri bells on their jackets or nanets and rin tin tin dolls, but I'm willing to bet that there's something new, something different that meets that old common need.

Even amidst the most expensive equipment in the world where the scientific advancement of humanity is on full display, we will always find a little relic of that old superstition.

Why?

Well, researchers believe the reason is because they work.

No, they don't have special powers, but they do give us confidence to take risks, do more, and rise above.

Because in the end, what talismans and good luck charms offer isn't magic or some supernatural aura of protection.

It's hope.

And hope, as is so often the case, wins the day.

From rabbits' feet to ragdolls and everything in between, history is littered with examples of good luck charms that often delivered exactly what their owners were looking for.

I certainly hope today's episode gave gave you new perspective on an ancient practice and opened your eyes to just how lucky all of us really are.

But some good luck charms have done more to protect themselves than the people who claim them.

And I've pulled together a fun and fascinating story to explain what I mean.

Stick around through this brief sponsor break to hear all about it.

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This episode of Lore was made possible by 13 days of Halloween Devil's Night.

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When the Bismarck went down, Sam was there.

The Bismarck, if you didn't already know, was the pride and joy of the German Navy.

Launched in February of 1939, it was the largest battleship the country had ever produced, along with its twin, the Tirpitz.

It was over 240 meters long and weighed in at nearly 42,000 tons, never mind the firepower it had on board.

And all of that was bad news for the Allies as World War II got underway, especially in the North Atlantic, where the battleship was stationed in an attempt to stop Allied naval and supply activity.

And that's what it was doing, along with its crew of 2,200 sailors, when it encountered the British Royal Navy on May 26th of 1941.

The battle that ensued took a couple of days, but in the end, the Bismarck sank, taking all but 5% of the lives on board with it.

The 115 or so survivors were picked up by a British ship called the HMS Cossack, and it was during that search that they also located something else, a cat, floating on top of a board.

The black and white feline was brought on board and dried off and named Oscar after the letter O, which according to the International Code for Signals, represented man overboard.

Whether or not the cat was a Nazi sympathizer remains unclear, but it didn't seem to mind having a safe, dry place to call home.

That was May of 1941.

Five months later, though, the Cossack, now in the Mediterranean near Gibraltar, was struck by a German submarine, blowing off the ship's entire front section.

Sadly, somewhere around 150 crewmen perished as it sank, but one life that was not lost was the cat.

It was another British ship, the HMS Legion, that rescued the survivors, including Oscar, but the cat was soon moved to the British aircraft carrier, the HMS Ark Royal.

Of course, no one on board knew what to call the animal, so they settled on a new name, Sam.

Actually, the full name they gave him was more descriptive.

They called him Unsinkable Sam.

Never mind the fact that he was only thought of as unsinkable because every ship he'd been on had, in fact, sank.

And never mind the common superstition regarding how bad it was to bring a black cat onto a ship.

These sailors apparently felt confident that they'd win in a contest with fate.

But oh, how wrong they were.

On November 14th of 1941, just three weeks after Unsinkable Sam's arrival, the Ark Royal was struck by a torpedo.

The good news this time is that the aircraft carrier sank so slowly that all but one of its crew members managed to make it off alive, including Sam, who, if the stories are true, was reportedly a bit angry over over the whole ordeal, but otherwise uninjured.

Thankfully, Unsinkable Sam's military career ended with that final rescue.

It's said that he lived out the rest of his days at a home for retired sailors and passed away sometime in 1955.

As far as I can tell, there were no ships involved in his final moments.

The story of Unsinkable Sam has lived on over the years, although it's not as clear as one might expect.

For starters, there are a lot of photos passed around online that that claim to show Sam in the prime of life.

The trouble is, many of them are actually pictures of other naval cats.

In one, you can actually zoom into the cat's collar and see the name of an entirely different vessel, the HMS Amethyst, a ship Sam was never rumored to call home.

Unsinkable Sam is one of many seafaring cats that have been recorded and talked about over the years.

But whether he was entirely legend, wholly legitimate, or something in between, I think we can all all agree on what truly matters most in his story.

In order for someone to be considered so lucky, sometimes everyone else around them has to do a bit of suffering.

This episode of lore was written and produced by me, Aaron Mankey, with research by Jenna Rose Nethercott and music by Chad Lawson.

Lore is much more than just a podcast.

There's a book series available in bookstores and online, and two seasons of the television show on Amazon Prime Video.

Check them both out if you want more lore in your life.

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My production company, Grim and Mild, specializes in shows that sit at the intersection of the dark and the historical.

You can learn more about all of these shows and everything else going on over in one central place, GrimandMild.com.

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