Jon Finch
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In folklore, the witching hour or devil's hour is a time of night that is associated with supernatural events, whereby witches, demons and ghosts are thought to appear and be at their most powerful. Definitions vary, and include the hour immediately after midnight and the time between 3:00 am and 4:00 am.
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Witching Time: Directed by Don Leaver. With Jon Finch, Patricia Quinn, Prunella Gee, Ian McCulloch. The ghost of a witch returns to her place of residence before she died, a rural farm, and possesses one of the current occupants.
- (905)
- Drama, Fantasy, Horror
- Don Leaver
- 1980-09-13
- Overview
- Traditional usage
- In literature and folklore
- Contemporary usage
witching hour, in folklore, the time at night when the powers of witches and other supernatural beings are believed to be strongest, usually occurring at midnight or 3:00 am. The term also has a modern colloquial meaning that refers to a time of unpredictable or volatile activity, such as the unsettled, colicky sleep of infants or the final hours o...
The association of witches with midnight is rooted in folk beliefs that supernatural phenomena are most prevalent at certain times of the day and year. Much like seasonal events, such as the solstices and equinoxes, midnight was deemed to evoke magic, allowing for unpredictable and possibly malevolent happenings. It is said that during the witching hour the boundary between the living and the dead becomes blurred and the living are more sensitive to the spirits of the dead. Witches, sorcerers, and fairies were among the spirits and figures believed to have stronger powers during these times and to carry out their mischief or dark practices at night.
Some beliefs set the witching hour’s boundaries between 12:00 am and 3:00 am or between 3:00 am and 4:00 am. Biblical references to the death of Jesus were calculated as having occurred at 3:00 pm. Accepting this calculation, the inversion or opposite of this time was then considered the “devil’s hour.”
In literature one of the earliest references to the witching hour appears in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, in which Prince Hamlet begins one of his soliloquies:
’Tis now the very witching time of night,
When churchyards yawn, and hell itself breathes out
Contagion to this world. Now could I drink hot blood
And do such bitter business as the day
Would quake to look on.…
In modern times the term witching hour has become an colloquialism for other periods of unpredictable or troublesome activity. Parents may use it to describe the fussy period in infancy when a baby tends to cry continuously, usually during the same time each day and at night. In investing, the witching hour is the last hour of trading before stock ...
Aug 13, 2022 · The witching hour is a time when supernatural events are said to be at their peak, and some say this period of time permits spirits and ghosts to travel between two worlds. It's also believed...
Jun 21, 2023 · The witching hour is believed to be the time when supernatural events are most likely to occur, and witches, demons, fairies, and ghosts are the most powerful. In folklore, the veil between life and death grows thin during the witching hour, allowing the dead to affect the living.
Oct 21, 2019 · What Time is the Witching Hour? Before we can answer those questions, we must first raise another; when does the witching hour actually occur? Well, there happens to be some debate about that, too. Some people believe the witching hour begins at midnight when the world is on the cusp of a new day.
Oct 19, 2011 · The Witching Hour is a time of increased supernatural activity that begins at Midnight every night. Officially, it takes place between 12:00 AM to 12:59 AM. However, its effects continue for hours into the demonic Devil’s Hour.
