The witching hour is a time when supernatural creatures are active, associated with darkness and distorted perceptions. It has ancient mystical associations and is still believed in by some. Neopagans may perform ceremonies during this time, and going out late at night is viewed with suspicion in some societies. Nocturnal animals are often associated with witchcraft.
The witching hour is a time of night when supernatural creatures are believed to be particularly active, making it a prime time of night for witchcraft. Many people think of midnight specifically when they hear this term, while others more generally associate it with the middle of the night, the dark hours when few people are awake and around. The association between darkness and supernatural activity is quite ancient, although the term itself only dates back to around the early 1800s; terms such as “the time of the witches of the night” were used before this period.
Darkness has had mystical associations in many human cultures, possibly because it is hard to see at night, causing distorted perceptions of the world. In the middle of the night, people are also supposedly more tired and therefore potentially susceptible to events that may seem supernatural. Traditional sorcerers, shamans, and other supernatural practitioners have often worked at night, belying the notion that only dark magic is practiced at night.
Many people historically believed that the witching hour marks a time of increased activity by witches, demons, ghouls, and other creatures that are not of this world. In some regions of the world, people still try to avoid going out late at night, while others who are interested in supernatural occurrences may make a deliberate effort to go out at midnight or so. While belief in the supernatural is generally on the fringes of many modern societies, even pragmatic people have been known to comment that the depths of the night feel a little creepy and mysterious at times, especially during a new moon.
Members of the neopagan community may perform late-hour ceremonies to take advantage of the belief that the connection between the supernatural world and the real world is strongest during the witching hour. The idea also comes up in many fantasy books and people may jokingly refer to it in the context of a night out. In many societies, people who go out late at night are often viewed with suspicion, due to centuries of superstition about things that happen late at night.
You certainly don’t have to be superstitious to believe in the witching hour. The nighttime hours often seem to have a different quality to the early evening and daytime, perhaps due to the lack of people and darkness. This time of night often reveals many creatures that most people never see during the day, such as owls, bats and other nocturnal animals, perhaps explaining their traditional association with witchcraft in many cultures.
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