Allison Gross—The title of a Scottish ballad in which the eponymous character, the ugliest WITCH “i’ the north country” endeavoured to seduce a fine young man. Because he rejected her, she turned him into an ugly worm “to toddle about the tree,” but the queen of the FAIRIES, riding by on Hallow-even, broke the spell and changed him back to his “ain proper shape.” This is the only known instance, in English or Scottish folklore, of a fairy undoing the spell of a witch.

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The Halloween Encyclopedia Second Edition written by Lisa Morton © 2011 Lisa Morton. All rights reserved