Hag Stone Folklore, Protection & a Handmade Necklace Giveaway
If you follow this blog, you know that I’m a historical fantasy writer, but you might not know my fascination for storytelling is morphing into a family business. Which brings us to this month’s Wise Ones Newsletter giveaway, a hag stone necklace, handcrafted by my husband, Henri.
A hag stone is a rock with a naturally occurring hole in it. In British and European folklore, people believed that it was a powerful protection amulet.
What Is a Hag Stone? Folklore, Witches and Protection
You’ve seen pictures of witches flying on broomsticks, right? FUN FACT: Celts believed that witches could ride a sleeping person at night, like a horse or a mare. This is where we get the term nightmare.
Why would people think a witch was riding them? Some people have a medical condition called ‘sleep paralysis’. As they wake, they are fully aware of their surroundings but are unable to move or speak. This can lead to them having a panic attack, which can feel like a weight on their chest and they find it difficult to breath. Since there wasn’t a medical term for it in the past, guess who got blamed?
Witches.
But, if you hung a hag stone over your bed, it would prevent nightmares.
If you’d like to win this necklace, just sign up for my newsletter here by September 30, 2026 and when the newsletter is delivered to your inbox, just reply GIVEAWAY and you’ll be entered for a chance to win.
So how did my husband go from carrying boxes of my books to Celtic festivals to handcrafting jewelry inspired by ancient folklore? I decided to interview the man behind the hag stones.
From Celtic Folklore to Handmade Jewelry: Meet the Maker
How did you end up becoming the official hag-stone necklace maker in this family?
Well, after having many conversations with my wife, the award winning author of the family, we brainstormed ideas of things we could sell that could compliment her books and that her readers would find interesting, and landed on hag stone necklaces. My father actually owned a jewelry store, so I was familiar with what makes jewelry pretty.
Walk us through how you turn a hag stone into a necklace. What’s harder than it looks?
I loved the history of hag stones and how they are naturally created. No two are exactly alike, much like each reader we’ve had the privilege of meeting has their own unique style. So, I wanted to create something that each person’s individuality could be reflected. What speaks to you? A more smooth, clean look, or maybe a shape with some actual seashells inside, or some of my personal favorites with crazy shapes. They the necklace takes a bit of effort. The most important consideration is how to hang the hag stone – does it have several natural openings or just one? Which direction will have it look the most interesting when it is around your neck? The hardest thing was learning how to tie the knots exactly the way you want it to hang, and making sure they can be adjusted easily.
Do you have a favorite hag stone you’ve worked with, and what made that one special?
Yeah, there is one hag stone that I still have that I like a lot for a number of reasons. It’s got a bit of a funky shape and has lots of holes from water passing through it, and even has a fragment of a white shell in it. It just speaks to me.
A year ago, did you ever imagine you’d be spending your weekends at Renaissance faires, Celtic festivals, witchy-themed markets, and book events?
A year ago, yeah, I kind of knew after her second book, To Condemn a Witch, hit #1 on Amazon that we really needed to get out there and start meeting more people so she could share her stories. I may not know how to optimize on the internet or make social media campaigns, but when you get to connect with readers and fans there is nothing like it. Bringing a little happiness into people’s lives is the greatest gift and I feel lucky to be a part of it.
What have you learned about Celtic folklore…or witches…that you absolutely did not know before all of this started?
Basically everything. When I used to think of witches, I think I was like a lot of people and just imagined them flying around on broomsticks and doing bad things. Wow, have I found out a lot along this journey! So many women were persecuted as witches when they were literally just trying to help people by grinding herbs trying to fight infections. I never knew that sometimes because accused a woman of witchcraft to steal her land, or just because she voiced her opinion in public.
What’s the strangest or funniest thing you’ve seen at one of the festivals or markets?
One of the best was when my teenage son rang a cowbell as he walked behind my wife and called out, “Witch Trial at 11 o’clock in the big tent!” as the two walked through the crowd. It reminded me the the Saturday Night Life sketch with Christopher Walken saying, “We need more cowbell.” 🙂
