In European folklore, the witching hour is the time when supernatural creatures such as witches, demons and ghosts are thought to be at their most powerful, and black magic at its most effective. This hour is typically midnight, and the term may now be used to refer to midnight, or any late hour, even without having the associated superstitious beliefs. The term “witching hour” can also refer to the period from midnight to 3am, while “devils hour” refers to the time around 3am.

[edit] History

One of the earliest known uses of the exact phrasing “the witching hour” is from the 1831 edition of Frankenstein in the introduction by Mary Shelley: “Night waned upon this talk, and even the witching hour had gone by before we retired to rest.”

In 1835, the phrase appeared in the last line of a short story by Washington Irving: “Two pairs of eyes are watching me now, from the couch and the ledge by the window. Faerieland shines in those eyes. And I must leave you, for it’s the witching hour and a full moon is rising. . . .”

However, variants of the phrase were in use much earlier; Shakespeare refers to “the witching time of night” in a soliloquy in Hamlet:

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.

[Act III, sc. ii]

[edit] Witching hour in popular culture

“Witching Hour” is the title of a song by British black metal band Venom, from their album Welcome to Hell (1981). It has since been covered by several other bands in related genres; Mayhem and Sigh have recorded cover-versions of the song, and many other bands, such as Slayer, Therion, and Machine Head have played the song live.

The first novel in Anne Rice’s The Mayfair Witches series is titled The Witching Hour (novel) (1990).

The Foo Fighters’s Another Round mentions the witching hour. Ring in the witching hour, Spells that I’m singing,.

Radiohead’s The Gloaming mentions the witching hour in the opening line. Genie let out of a bottle, it is now witching hour… This relates to the time of day, “the gloaming” literally meaning twilight.

The tagline for the movie The Craft is “Welcome to the Witching Hour”

The Witching Hour was a Harry Potter-themed symposium held in Salem, Massachusetts from October 6, 2005 to October 10, 2005.

In Roald Dahl’s novel The BFG, the opening chapter in the book takes place during the Witching Hour. This is when the little girl, Sophie, spots the BFG.

In the Tori Amos song “Almost Rosey,” there is the lyric “I sober with the witching hour.”

In the 2008 film, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button character Elizabeth Abbott (Tilda Swinton) proclaims, “I’m afraid it’s the witching hour” after the sound of a clock chiming in the background.

In Def Leppard’s song, Animal, there is the lyric “Like a movin’ heartbeat in the witching hour.”

In an episode of King of Queens, Arthur looks at his watch and says “Oh it’s 9:30, the witching hour.”

In the 2005 film The Exorcism of Emily Rose makes heavy reference to the witching hour, noting its origin as a demonic mockery of the trinity, as well as the inversion of 3 P.M., the hour that is claimed to be when Christ died on the cross.

In the 2009 film Paranormal Activity, a demon would typically haunt and disturb the couple between midnight to 3am.

In the 1979 film Amityville Horror always shows 3:15 A.M. on the clock indicating the timeframe when the “voices” speak and evil occurs.

In the 2009 film The Fourth Kind 3:33 a.m. is the usual time of the abductions implying that possession may be involved.