Benandanti versus Witches

In this episode we return to the topic of the Benandanti, or “good walkers,” those mysterious spirit-travelers of   northeastern Italy, who claimed to leave their bodies at night to battle witches. Drawing upon the records of the Roman Inquisition from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, we explore a remarkable body of folklore involving nocturnal battles, wandering souls, magical healing, and increasingly sinister encounters with the Devil.

We begin with a little audio teaser involving contemporary witchcraft legends from Friuli, the region in which most of our Benandante cases unfolded centuries earlier.  There, in the coastal town of Grado, on Epiphany Eve, terrifying sea-witches known as Varvuole arrive by boat, shrieking through the streets and threatening naughty children. Amid audio snippets of their bloodcurdling screams, we consider certain parallels between the Varvuole and Frau Perchta, Bone and Sickle’s favorite Epiphany Eve witch.

Sea Witches, Varvuole, arrive in the harbor of the Grado.

Next, we revisit the earliest recorded Benandante cases, those of Paolo de Gasparutto and Battista Moduco, whose testimonies describe vast armies of spirits gathering on Thursday nights during the seasonal Ember Weeks. Armed with bundles of fennel stalks, the Benandanti battled witches wielding stalks of sorghum, with the outcome determining the prosperity of the  harvest. We hear of mysterious captains, elaborate banners, and thousands of combatants gathering in fields extending into neighboring territories.

We also learn how the spirits of the Benandanti could escape their sleeping bodies in the form of mice, and why disturbing those abandoned bodies might have fatal consequences.

Pausing to examine the peculiar weapons and timing of these battles, we explore the significance of fennel and sorghum, the Catholic Ember Days, and the recurring association of Thursday nights with witches’ gatherings throughout Europe.

As our investigation continues, we encounter testimonies in which the Benandanti’s original mission of protecting the harvest begins to give way to other supernatural concerns.

First, we hear from Caterina la Guercia, who describes her deceased husband’s nocturnal journeys in processions of the dead. Next comes Toffolo di Buri, whose accounts introduce witches devouring children, transforming into cats, and committing other atrocities. We then examine the extraordinary case of a midwife who turned a newborn infant over a roasting fire to